Sep 15, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll throws a football before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Raiders Encounter Ultimate Blessing in Disguise

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Brock Vierra | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Before the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as head coach, it appeared the job would belong to Ben Johnson. Time would show that wouldn't be the case and regardless of the controversy surrounding the move never made, time appears to reveal that Johnson spurning Las Vegas was actually a blessing in disguise.

Johnson, the now head coach of the Chicago Bears, criticized his team's practice habits, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

"I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship caliber team," Johnson said.

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"We should be going to the football, finishing hard," Johnson said, via Cronin. "We talk about it all the time with the offensive players that our fundamentals, our finish and our technique, they need to show up in walk-through, they need to show up on the practice field. That's how it shows up on game day. Simple things of how do we properly block? How do we catch the ball? How do we block after the catch? Ball security and things like that. It's the little things that you learn in youth league football that even at this level, they make a huge difference."

How do you not show up in walk-through? Half the battle is physically showing up. Why is Johnson talking about stuff that should already be covered before someone plays high school football, let alone paid professionals?

Sure, it's always great when a coach takes responsibility in public but this is week three of the NFL season and if Johnson has to use the media to talk about practice habits, that's as much of a mark on the coaching as it is the players.

Say what you want about the Raiders through two games but no one is questioning the effort of the players. The Raiders don't force a fumble with minutes remaining in a Chargers game that appears lost unless they're about that action and the work behind it.

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It's clear that while Pete Carroll may have some issues he's fixing, he's the right man for the job and anyone not named Carroll would struggle to have this team in the position they sit in right now.

Something to Think About

When Johnson walked into the Bears organization, they already had a quarterback, running back, two starting wide receivers, and several defensive pieces in place. They also had a top-15 pick in the NFL Draft, spent tens of millions to rebuild their interior offensive line and have one of the NFL's most underrated defenders in Dayo Odeyingbo and despite all of that, we're having a conversation about practice?