Raiders NewsOakland Raiders: Can Jonathan Cooper win the starting left guard job?The Oakland Raiders have signed former first-round guard Jonathan Cooper to bolster their guard depth. Can he earn..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesSilver And Black Pride homepageHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityFollow Silver And Black Pride online:Follow Silver And Black Pride on TwitterFollow Silver And Black Pride on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchSilver And Black Pride main menuFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Silver Mining 7/17: Can G Jonathan Cooper win the starting job?New Womens Derek Carr Jersey ,16commentsPDTRaiders NewsOakland Raiders: Can Jonathan Cooper win the starting left guard job?The Oakland Raiders have signed former first-round guard Jonathan Cooper to bolster their guard depth. Can he earn the starting job with a strong summer?NFL preview 2019: How Raiders' offense stacks up against AFC West rivals | NBCS Bay AreaCan Derek Carr, Antonio Brown and Co. become the premiere offense in the AFC West?What condition every Raiders position is in heading into 2019 training camp from Strong to Critical - Silver And Black PrideIn exactly a week, the first Raiders players will be arriving in Napa to begin training camp. The first players to report will be the rookies, quarterbacks and select first year players, with the...Oakland Raiders: Ken Stabler is the most important player in team historyHe didn't win multiple Super Bowls for the Oakland Raiders, but history will show Ken Stabler was the most important player to wear the Silver and Black.Why Raiders’ Trent Brown Is Poised for a Breakout Year | Heavy.comThe Raiders made Trent Brown a very wealthy man in the offseason, but will he live up to the contract?AFC WestWho will be comeback player of year for Chiefs in 2019?There are three options and each of them has a strong case.Grady Jarrett’s contract shows Chiefs how to proceed with Chris JonesA 2020 franchise tag seems inevitable at this point.Chiefs’ Mathieu gives high praise to pair of Los Angeles ChargersKansas City Chiefs' Tyrann Mathieu gives high praise to pair of Los Angeles Chargers.Broncos report for camp today, likely without Drew Lock – ProFootballTalkFootball is back. Kind of. Sort of. Not really. The Denver Broncos report today for physicals and, later in the day, an initial meeting with new head coach Vic Fangio. As participants in the annual Hall of Fame game, the Broncos (along with the Falcons) are eligible to start early.Melvin Gordon contract rumors: Here's a simple solution to make RB and Chargers happy before 2019 season - CBSSports.comThe Chargers can make an offer to Melvin Gordon that irons out the little issues with his contractReport: Broncos' contract negotiations in stalemate with second-round pick Drew Lock | Sporting NewsDenver has offered Lock the same workout bonus add ons as left guard Dalton Risner, who was as the 41st pick by the team.NFL News2019 NFL training camp battles: Dwayne Haskins looking to win Redskins QB job over Case Keenum, Colt McCoy - CBSSports.comHaskins, who was selected after Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones, enters training camp with a chip on his shoulderEzekiel Elliott: Could Cowboys star be suspended after pressed charges? | SI.comEarlier this month, Roger Goodell determined that Ezekiel Elliott shoving a security guard did not constitute a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. Could new pressed charges change that mindset?Steelers' James Conner on cancer: Doctors said he had a week leftPittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner was told by doctors, "you had about a week left" before they discovered his Hodgkin's Lymphoma.Why the NFL should flush the idea of an 18-game schedule down the toilet - SBNation.comRetired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz shares his thoughts on why the 18/16 proposal would be a disaster. With Reggie McKenzie, we developed a pretty good idea of his strengths and weaknesses. He was known for being patient in the draft and for front loading free agent contracts to limit the potential for dead money should the team decide to cut ties with a player after a couple seasons. He had some success in the draft, but also received a great deal of criticism. Where he was lauded most was his contract work. What we can expect from Mayock could be the opposite of that.Mayock is a draft guru thru and thru. That’s what he has done for a very long time and why he was the most respected name during the draft process and the most respected voice at the NFL Network desk on draft day. The thing is, as Reggie McKenzie would tell you, being a GM is about a lot more than prospect evaluation. Teams have entire scouting departments for that.McKenzie spent nearly two decades in the Packers’ front office learning how to be a GM. Mayock has spent zero time in an NFL front office position and will have to learn the crucial position on the fly. The best Mayock could say to answer that concern is that he has “tried to be the GM for all 32 teams” as a draft analyst, adding “I know what it looks like, I know what it smells like, I just need a little help with the mechanics of running a team.” That’s... something. It’s certainly more than just being a talking head. Mayock knows he will have to feel his way through this job. Mark Davis and Jon Gruden committed to him knowing full well of his deficiencies.“One of the things I told these guys. . . is that I don’t have all the answers Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey ,” Mayock said Monday in his introductory press conference. “To sit in there and pretend I did I think would be disingenuous and the bottom line was for me I was very honest. I need some help with mechanics of the daily regimen, so when you start talking about trades and negotiations and draft day and being on the clock and all that, first time for me and for real? Yeah. But for 15 years I talked to all the top people in the game about what they do and why they do it. We’ll spend a lot of time getting ready for that draft, trust me, and we’ll be ready for free agency.”Gruden said that he and Mayock would both be making calls for trades, which would suggest the two are both taking on General Manager duties. But it seems pretty clear Gruden still has the final say. He did with McKenzie, and he certainly does with the guy he handpicked to replace McKenzie.Just as being a head coach is about more than knowing X’s and O’s, being a GM is about more than just contracts and drafts. There are nuances and intangibles that the great GM’s have and that’s where Gruden thinks Mayock will thrive as a GM.“I know Mayock is going to energize our building,” said Gruden. “I know he’s a great people person, he’s got great people skills. He’ll learn fast what he needs to learn. He’s already met with [Director of College Scouting] Shaun Herock, I think he’s going to be able to adapt to the personnel that we have in place and put his own spin on things quickly.”Gruden and Mayock said they have been meeting behind the scenes for years and Mayock said many football folks had told him they would be a great fit for each other. And it’s not hard to tell why they are such a good match. They were both the top voice on their respective networks for years — Gruden on ESPN and Mayock on NFL Network.Just as Gruden was a QB guy, Mayock was a draft guy. Now he will have to focus on not just the draft, but the pro game. And much like Gruden said his time as a Monday Night Football analyst benefitted him in pro evaluations, Mayock says his days on Thursday Night Football did the same for him.“I’ve spent more and more time on the pro side in the last 7 or 8 years,” said Mayock. “And part of it was driven by the fact that I got Thursday Night Football for our network and part of it was a couple of coaches from around the league who I trust and respect an awful lot have helped me over the years and said ‘Mike, if you want to take this thing to another level, you can’t just be a college guy comparing college players. You’ve got to take those college guys and say does he make a pro roster, is he a backup, is he a starter, is he a difference maker’ so 7 or 8 years ago I made that a priority. I watched a heck of a lot of pro tape both to prepare for games i had and then also to try and get better at my craft.”So, Gruden has his guy. Just as Reggie McKenzie fired Hue Jackson when he was hired in order to bring in his guy, Gruden likely had a hand in firing McKenzie in order to get his guy.It’s exciting to be certain. And I doubt anyone from ESPN or NFL Network will be overly critical of the Raiders’ drafting anytime soon. Though just as many were leery of how Gruden would perform from a schematic standpoint after being away from the sideline for a decade, Mayock will receive skepticism at every turn with how he handles every aspect outside of the draft. It comes with the territory.Follow @LeviDamien