Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza went through his first bad practice, and his coach commented on it.
Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak is juggling a lot of messages these days, and rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza is right in the middle of them. Mendoza had what media observers described as a bad practice on Sunday, and Kubiak wound up pulling both the quarterback and the second-team unit he was running off the field and inserting the third stringers.
Kubiak commented on all this based on yesterday’s practice, according to a report from Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk that referenced reporting from Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, who noted that Mendoza put together a “bounce back performance yesterday.
Kubiak says that all of this is part of the drill, which makes sense up to a point, but he did offer some math to back up his comments.
“There’s 60-to-80 plays in a game, and there’s going to be ups and downs,” Kubiak said in his Monday press conference. “What quarterback can get the rest of the other 10 players playing at their best? So, that’s what we’re looking for.
“There will never be a perfect game or a perfect practice, but I think he’s doing a good job. I don’t expect him to be perfect right now.”
This isn’t what the media is looking for, of course. They’re after dramatic quotes that either confirm or hint at a controversial storyline, and that’s one of the messages Kubiak is pushing back against as he continues to juggle.
The coach deserves kudos for staying consistent, however. Plenty of rookie coaches wind up wasting their time backpedaling after they’ve put their feet in their mouths, and some have to chase down stray comments from assistant coaches, which was something Kubiak had a do a little after the draft to get everyone on the same page.
All of this may or may not make a difference on the field, of course, but it’s reassuring to some extent that there is a plan in place and the Raiders are executing it under Kubiak’s guidance.
Kubiak’s predecessor, Pete Carroll, lost control of both the messaging and the team when things started to go sideways in September, and it will be interesting to see how Kubiak reacts when adversity inevitably hits.
Meanwhile, Mendoza will continue to learn and develop, with QB Kirk Cousins scheduled to be the Week 1 starter, and Kubiak will continue to wrangle with the media here and there as he tries to keep things on track.
