On eve of training camp, new coach Pete Carroll says Raiders will win a bunch of games
That effort begins in earnest Wednesday morning when the Raiders open training camp and Carroll isn't lowering the bar for a team coming off a 4-13 season. 'We are going to win a bunch of games,' Carroll said. 'I can't even imagine anything else. I've been winning 10 games a year for 20 years or something. I mean what are my expectations? We are going to win a bunch and I don't care who hears that. It ain't about what anybody hears. It's about what we do and so that's why expectations are really high. The standards need to be so that the expectations can be met. We'll see what happens.'
Carroll hopes to follow the gameplan he took to Seattle in 2010. The Seahawks finished 7-9 in each of Carroll's first two seasons before recording double-digit wins eight of the following nine years. That run included back-to-back Super Bowl appearances – a 35-point rout of Denver and a memorable and heartbreaking oh-so-close loss to New England. Before that, Carroll turned USC into one of the nation's dominant programs that included the 2003 and 2004 national championships, the first shared with LSU. 'You either have a philosophy or you don't and we got one,' Carroll said. 'We got beliefs and principles that guide us so I'm not altering those much. I'm staying true to what we know and what's been successful for us.'
Part of Carroll's confidence can be traced to last year when he was off the sidelines after the Seahawks forced him out. 'The last year was really valuable to me,' Carroll said. 'The perspective that you have when you're in the middle of it is different than when you can step away. The opportunity for clarity … was so obvious to me so I saw things differently and I felt like I learned a lot of things and took in a lot and have altered my expectations of what we're able to do and how we need to go about getting better and doing things more proficiently in all areas.' He could be enjoying retirement but jumped at the chance to coach again when the Raiders called. Carroll turns 74 on Sept. 15 and the NFL's oldest active coach doesn't look ready to slow down. A 1 p.m. team meeting isn't something just to get through but in typical Carroll fashion to attack with gusto.
'We've got to find ourselves,' Carroll said. 'We got to figure out who we are and that needs to be guided well. So it starts with me and then the coordinators through the position coaches have to do a tremendous job of figuring out what they can bring us with the players that we have. It's a big process. It might sound kind of loosey goosey on that thought but this is a specific science to me. It's a fascinating process it really is. I'm really pumped about getting in the middle of it.'
Raiders sign Adams, other free agents. The Raiders signed safety Jamal Adams, who played in five games and started three last season with Tennessee and Detroit. He made first- or second-team AP All-Pro from 2018-20. Adams has started 83 of 85 career games making 50 tackles, 21 1/2 sacks, 50 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 36 passes defended. Four others also signed – wide receiver Phillip Dorsett II, guard Atonio Mafi, wide receiver Seth Williams and safety JT Woods.
No timetable for Wilkins. Carroll said he didn't know when defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, placed on the physically unable to perform list because of a difficult recovery from a broken foot, will return to practice. He can be activated at any time in preseason off the PUP list once medically cleared. 'We have to sort of wait out,' Carroll said. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce is back after missing all of last season because of a torn ACL. 'We're going to look after him, make sure that we do it right and breaking him in but he's ready to go,' Carroll said.
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