Graney: This could be the worst Raiders team ever

I have a buddy who is a lifelong Raiders fan. Grew up in the Bay Area. Loves all that is silver and black. Lives for the stuff.

And it was during Sunday’s loss — a 24-10 defeat to the lowly Browns at Allegiant Stadium — when he texted the following: This is the worst the Raiders have ever been.

Which is saying a lot.

Thing is, he’s not far off.

They’re at least in the conversation.

They’re definitely part of the neighborhood.

In a historical sense, this is awful on countless levels. This is a team that absolutely belongs on a list of the most inferior in franchise history.

It’s the worst team since that glorious 2-14 one of 2006, when two starting quarterbacks (Andrew Walter and Aaron Brooks) each threw only three touchdown passes all season.

When that team finished with the worst record since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Yeah. That squad. A precursor to the JaMarcus Russell Era.

Effort isn’t issue

“At this point, you’re not playing for the playoffs, but you have to keep a positive attitude and keep working,” star defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “You only get 17 opportunities. You can cry and moan, but it is what it is at this point. Nothing is guaranteed. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed for anybody. So you keep showing up and working.”

Effort isn’t really the issue. Talent is. The Raiders have enough of it to be 2-9. They want to be better. They’re just not good enough at most spots.

The offense continues to be a mess. Geno Smith was booed during introductions, and the wrath didn’t stop for the quarterback all day long.

He has grown frustrated enough to have made an inappropriate gesture to fans while departing the field following the loss. His postgame news conference didn’t last more than five minutes, which happens when most of the answers are less than five words.

It happens when you’re sacked 10 times and have seen the ground 20 times in the past three weeks.

It happens when the organization knew — don’t hide behind the injury excuse — the offensive line was a huge weakness and did little to improve it. The Raiders drafted two linemen in the third round, but you have a better chance seeing time than they do.

It’s time the Raiders were totally honest with themselves and their fan base. This team needs a total rebuild. It needs to start over.

It needs to act as it did in 2018, when Jon Gruden’s first year since returning as coach was treated as such. The Raiders finished 4-12, but understood reality. So it made some major moves with the idea of improving over time.

You can sell a rebuild to those purchasing tickets. You can convince them that things eventually will be better in the long run by having some painful moments in the present.

But you can’t fool them, and having a coach who continues to talk about winning now isn’t doing any good. They can’t win now. And he knows it.

“Something good is about to happen,” coach Pete Carroll said. “If you hold onto that mentality and keep believing, you can turn it and make things happen. That’s what has guided me all these years. It hasn’t been here, but it doesn’t change.

“It (always) takes work to get it right. It’s a challenge every season. We’re going to keep doing what we do, and that’s grinding. Everyone in that locker room — they ain’t giving up on each other, and I’m not giving up on them, and they’re not giving up on me, I hope. We’re going to keep battling. That’s what we do.”

Historically bad

It’s not enough. An overhaul doesn’t ensure anything in the coming seasons, but it’s the best chance the Raiders have to make something down the road of what is nothing right now.

They’re historically bad when you begin comparing this team to those of the past.

I’m sure there have been worse — that 2006 team did average 10.5 points a game — but not in the past two decades.

Sunday only re-emphasized that point.

“Seventeen opportunities,” Crosby said. “If you don’t want to be here, go home. It’s about tunnel vision and being locked in. That’s what I try to do. At the end of the day, it’s about winning. I want to win more than anyone on the planet.”

I’m sure they all do. That’s not the problem.

Talent is. And they have enough of it to be 2-9.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.