The Las Vegas Raiders have underperformed on the field and overvalued draft prospects on the board since Jon Gruden took over as head coach in 2018. But one of the franchise's longtime, diehard fans still has faith in a turnaround.
"I think [Gruden] can get it done. I think he has what it takes," star rapper and actor Ice Cube told the Tiki and Tierney show on Tuesday. "The offense was moving in the right direction. We need some more weapons on the outside. Our tight end [in Darren Waller] is a beast, our running backs are great, our quarterback [in Derek Carr], to me, can do it. We need some guys coming off the edge, we need a second level and a third level. That's always been our problem -- the secondary and our linebackers, they hit and miss.
"It's all on the defensive side of the ball. And if we shore that up, we've got a shot. And Kansas City, if they slow down -- hopefully a little bit -- we catch up, get over the hump. I mean, they didn't win the Super Bowl last year -- Tom Terrific. After you go to the Super Bowl a couple years -- you win it once, you don't win it the next year -- it's hard to get back to that third one."
Under Gruden's watch, the Raiders have gone 19-29 across three seasons, with second-, third-, and fourth-place finishes in the AFC West. Although their offense ranked top-10 in yards (383.3) and points (27.1) per game in 2020, their defense ranked 30th in average points allowed (29.9) and 25th in average yards (389.1).
Since representing the AFC in Super Bowl 37, Las Vegas has reached the postseason just once, and finished with a losing record in 14 of 18 seasons. According to the William Hill Sportsbook, the Raiders' odds to win Super Bowl 56 are currently listed at 70-to-1, and their odds to win an AFC West title for the first time since 2002 are listed at 18-to-1.
The Big3 basketball league, which was co-founded by Ice Cube, will begin its fourth season on Saturday, July 10, with games scheduled in Las Vegas and New Orleans across the next two months. The playoffs and championship will take place in the Bahamas from Aug. 28 to Sept. 4.
The entire conversation between Ice Cube and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.