Could Fernando Mendoza Be Raiders Starting QB To Start The Season?

0:00 Obviously, Fernando Mendoza, Heisman winner, okay?

0:02 Had an incredible season, number one overall pick.

0:04 We believe in him.

0:05 You believe in him in the NFL?

0:07 Absolutely.

0:07 Me, too.

0:08 Y

0:08 I do believe in him.

0:09 And I got to stick by that.

0:11 You You know why you believe in him?

0:12 Because he's going to beat you with his mind.

0:15 There aren't a whole lot of guys that that know the game and understand

0:19 the game to be able to see pre- snap movement in the NFL.

0:22 The complexities of half the half the the defense is playing this coverage,

0:26 the other half's playing this.

0:28 He's now he may need some time.

0:30 I mean Troy Aman, Pton Manning,

0:31 everybody needs time to adjust to the speed of the game,

0:34 but he is going to be a game manager.

0:36 He's going to be a distributor.

0:37 And his X factor is he moves better than I

0:40 think a lot of people want to give him credit.

0:43 Big.

0:43 Yeah.

0:43 Big dude.

0:44 Every ball is a tight spiral.

0:45 Yeah.

0:45 We watch him throw during TV timeouts.

0:48 We watch him throw during games.

0:49 We watch him throw on the sideline with his brother.

0:51 We watched him almost take signi's head off whenever he was warming up.

0:55 Every ball is a dart.

0:56 Every single one.

0:57 the RPO offense that everybody was kind of judging him on.

0:59 I think that's modern football.

1:01 And I think the people that think he won't be

1:03 able to figure out defenses just have never He's brilliant.

1:06 This guy's like actually brilliant.

1:07 And and he he makes if he ends up hitting it,

1:10 he makes everybody like Debbut would like him.

1:14 Like you know what I'm saying?

1:14 Like the corners like him, the safeties, the line, like every Right.

1:17 He's a nerd loves ball.

1:19 He's a lovable nerd.

1:20 Exactly.

1:20 You know what I mean?

1:21 When it comes to morale, when it comes to the team morale,

1:24 beers with the lads.

1:25 Yeah.

1:25 Absolutely.

1:26 Just like Kirk, not Herb Street Cousins.

1:29 Very similar kind of vibes.

1:31 Yeah, same kind of That's why it's such a great

1:33 fit to have him in that that room with him and Signetti similar vibes

1:38 as Fernando, you know, like I think those two were a good match together.

1:42 I think those two I think Kirk and Fernando good match.

1:46 I think Fernando and Tom could if Tom was invested

1:49 become a very good I think he's going to have success.

1:51 When do you guys think he starts?

1:54 Well,

1:55 when's their buy?

1:56 We don't know.

1:56 We'll find out Thursday.

1:58 You don't think week one, Kurt?

1:59 Kirk?

2:00 I don't.

2:01 Not with Cousins there.

2:02 Why would they bring him in?

2:03 You think?

2:04 I agree.

2:04 I agree with you.

2:05 But some people think that that Kirk might not start at all.

2:07 It might be I think week one.

2:09 Yeah.

2:09 Debbut.

2:10 Wow.

2:10 Week one debut.

2:11 You think Nando week one over there?

2:13 I think it's going to be hard to to keep him off the field now.

2:16 The biggest We talk about X factors.

2:17 I think the biggest X factor for him going from his style in college

2:21 to the pros is especially in C coup system is being under the center.

2:25 You know, operating from center and then

2:27 hitting those kind of we saw Sam Darnold

2:29 do a ton at play action and hitting guys across the middle in that that's

2:32 a big it's a big change but if he's picking it up in practice and OTAAS

2:37 and mini camp and obviously we've been around him he's going to be locked in.

2:40 He's going to be the first guy in last guy out.

2:43 He's going to do all the right things.

2:44 You talk about him physically, you know,

2:46 being able to move around and get himself out of some If they

2:49 have trust in the offensive line and you got the guy that they spent

2:51 a touch liner balm they spent a bunch of money on, he'll be

2:54 able to call it and get things lined up and sorted out up front.

2:58 I think if all those thing if he checks those box it's going

3:00 to be hard to not trot them out there week one, but we'll see.

3:02 And da just for fans out there when you go from a gun

3:06 to more under center and Caleb Williams

3:08 is dealing this with this now in Chicago.

3:10 It's not just obviously you can go under center and take a snap.

3:13 It's being able to get in a huddle,

3:16 right?

3:17 It's being able to call the plays, which are much longer in the NFL.

3:21 And then the timing and the rhythm when you're under center is very,

3:25 very different than what you do when you're, you know, in the gun

3:28 and you turn your back to the defense.

3:30 Turn your back off the play.

3:31 That is the biggest one cuz when you're quarterbacking,

3:33 you see everything in the shot.

3:35 College guys always up here cuz they're reading.

3:37 They're looking like this since high school.

3:38 When you get under center,

3:39 you're at some point you're going to have to do this one

3:41 and then you're going to have to refind it.

3:43 And that's when panic can set in.

3:45 Nando is not going to have a clue how to panic.

3:47 He's He doesn't even know what that is.

3:48 He's just going to go ahead and move.

3:50 Not that Ty Simpson's not going to be incredibly successful.

3:52 Down in Bloomington, the Indiana run last year,

3:55 there was a lot of chatter about like Mark Cuban has funded this team.

3:58 Mark Cuban has funded this team.

3:59 Doesn't sound like it.

4:00 And Mark Cuban came out and didn't say that he did though.

4:03 Like during the run,

4:04 he did not say he did he did not act like I don't think he was trying.

4:07 He certainly did contribute late million a couple million he has done

4:13 that like he has contributed but I think there

4:15 was a narrative because we get the big

4:16 donor's name at all these other schools that they

4:20 Mark Cuban's Indiana guy so he's definitely the guy I

4:22 think they got a lot of people that they got

4:25 a lot of people in Bloomington that have companies whether

4:26 it's logistics company plastic company medical companies all that type

4:29 of so they got a lot of people going in there

4:31 so when Mark Cuban says hey what in that interview

4:34 I think what he was trying to say is

4:36 like if if you need any extra from this thing,

4:38 I can help get the whole thing done.

4:39 But obviously, it takes on a life of its own.

4:41 The way he said it, if he did it, I don't think I think Indiana has a good NIO,

4:46 strong, but what's great is they're not spending.

4:48 Everyone's like, who's spending the most?

4:49 They're going to win.

4:50 They're not doing that.

4:51 Sig talent evaluator.

4:52 That's the most that's the most important part is evaluation of talent.

4:56 You can't miss on people.

4:57 And then the culture when the Michigan State guy comes out, he's like,

5:00 "What are you doing wearing gold shoes?" We don't do that here.

5:02 Get your ass back inside and come back out with the issue, the team issued shoe.

5:05 D.

5:05 But Nick Sabin said, "If you spend money on the wrong guys,

5:10 yeah, out of." And that's a real thing.

5:11 And I think that's been Signetti's superpower over there in Indiana.

5:14 Yeah.

5:14 Not not like you guys just said, not just the money, but the evaluation.

5:18 He's been the best in the business.

5:19 And that that run last year,

5:21 like that's some of the best that we've seen in sports,

5:24 like regardless of the sport on any level,

5:26 like getting this team to to the heights that they've gotten to.

5:29 So yeah, they will keep winning as long as Sig is

5:31 there running the show and evaluating and getting the right core

5:34 group of guys that want to come in there and actually

5:36 build a team and build that culture week in and week out.

5:39 So yeah, odds are always high on those guys.

5:42 Deep, you know what was interesting

5:43 and nobody can appreciate this more than you,

5:45 AJ, but just the efficiency of the way they played.

5:50 like you'd have to go back and watch every

5:53 game to try to find mental errors or busts,

5:57 you know, on the back end or just they just were in sync.

6:00 They everybody communicated.

6:03 It just it was a welloiled machine.

6:05 It very rarely do you ever see them beat themselves like one time.

6:09 Yeah.

6:09 Last year, the closest I saw to it Go ahead.

6:12 The closest I saw to it, at least being boots on the ground,

6:14 is that uh that Michigan team we watched uh with uh

6:17 with JJ McCarthy and they went on to win it.

6:20 just seeing their whole operation offensively and defensively,

6:23 how they came out of the huddle, their shifts, their motions.

6:25 And then defensively, I think mentors were running the show at the time,

6:28 their disguises pre- snap.

6:29 You saw the same things with the Indiana team

6:32 as far as how they were all on the same page.

6:34 Def like you could just watch a team and tell how they practice.

6:37 You can tell how they meet,

6:38 you can tell how they get along and how they communicate.

6:40 Like they don't have to say anything.

6:41 You could just watch it.

6:42 So those were the close uh closest teams I would say side by side.

6:46 But yeah, it's it's unbelievable the job that they've been able to do.

6:50 That's why I think it will take a year.

6:51 I think it's going to take a year to get back to what they were on the defense.