Raiders rookie's strong Week 13 performance makes Pete Carroll look bad originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
For weeks and weeks and weeks we heard Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll say third-round pick and guard Caleb Rogers simply wasn't ready to play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementQuestions arose about Rogers because it made no sense to keep him off the field in the midst of a lost season. Las Vegas' No. 1 priority should be getting looks at the young guys, something Carroll is apparently allergic to.
However, Rogers finally got his shot in Week 13 after being a healthy scratch all season and held his own in his NFL debut.
Rogers only saw the field for 17 snaps because he split work with Atonio Mafi, but he surrendered one pressure, per Pro Football Focus, and never looked overmatched.
Taking it a step further, Rogers was the Raiders' highest-graded offensive lineman in the game with a 67.1 mark, which also ranked third among all players on that side of the ball.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe posted a 51.7 in pass-blocking and a 68.6 in run-blocking, with those marks ranking fifth and first among Raiders offensive lineman.
While those numbers aren't great by any stretch, they are good for a guy who made his NFL debut.
Furthermore, they also show that Rogers was more ready than the Raiders head coach thought he was, which is yet another stain on Carroll's tenure.
Carroll's reluctance to play the young guys stems from his desire to try and compete right away, something the Raiders are failing miserably at doing.
While it was great to see Carroll finally give Rogers a shot, Pete's stubbornness still managed to shine through after he made the rookie split work with a veteran journeyman who has no future with the team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWe are long past the point for the Raiders to be giving their draft picks and other young players more opportunities.
A failure to do so from here on out should be a fireable offense.
In fact, if Rogers doesn't get the start in Week 14, we'd send Carroll packing before kickoff.
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