Las Vegas Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza called a bust by Rob Parker before running the snap

Rob Parker thinks Fernando Mendoza is going to be ruined.

The child has not taken a single picture. Not a single representative training camp has been conducted. Haven’t thrown a pass that matters since the national title game. And we have to file the judgment in May.

What is the proof of that? The NFL left the Raiders on the primetime slate. This is the whole logic. Apparently, the people who plug the games into the time slot in the league office have better information about Mendoza than Jon Spytek. These are the same brilliant minds who come to Jacksonville every Thursday night and tell us it’s time to watch.

Fox Sports’ Rob Parker’s “Hot Take” Is Simply Ignorant

Fernando Mendoza Attacker
May 2, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs through a drill during rookie minicamp at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagine Images

I pulled the clip a second time because I wanted to make sure I held it correctly. I did it. Fox Sports Radio. Thursday. Mendoza’s busted, don’t bother looking, Brady ruined the franchise. All this cooked in May.

First let me explain the obvious part. The Raiders won three games last year. Three. Whenever the league gave him a primetime window in 2025, he was unwatchable. Why on earth would Park Avenue hand them another Sunday night from a rookie quarterback’s college tape? They won’t do that. He didn’t. Lincoln Kennedy said the same thing on the Raiders squad show and Kennedy played here, which means his read on this makes about a hundred times more sense to me than Parker’s. You earn primetime. This roaster hasn’t earned dishwater from Andy Reid’s plate.

He’s not on Mendoza. This is the situation he went into.

The piece that really gets under my skin is the valuation. Or what is missing.

41 Touchdowns. 3,535 yards. Heisman Trophy. Natty. In Indiana. I said Indiana. Spytech will not even take trade calls on picks. Not “took them and passed them.” Did not pick up the phone. I’ve covered enough drafts to tell you when a GM is doing due diligence and when he’s already made a decision. This is decided.

Criticism of Fernando Mendoza from “anonymous sources”

Fernando Mendoza Raiders Rob Parker
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Now, the anonymous ACC coach who spoke told ESPN that Mendoza doesn’t have NFL traits. Sure, whatever. Ever since I was secretly drinking beer in college, anonymous coaches have been misunderstanding quarterbacks. They missed Brees. Brady missed. Mahomes missed by a country mile. The track record of sinking anonymous scouts on top picks is, to put it mercifully, poor. And now we’re supposed to believe one of these guys as scripture because this quote fits the premise that Parker was already cooking in the chamber? No. I am well.

Kirk Morrison has been in the league for a long time. Morrison said Mendoza is the hardest worker he has seen in his years in college. Morrison’s name is on it. The other boy was not with him. Pick one for the ride.

Parker’s Tom Brady performance as Raiders owner is also ridiculous

tom brady las vegas raiders
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Then we get to Brady and this is actually where Parker offers his hand to me.

Brady ruined the Raiders. That’s his line. The attacker. Hugh Jackson. Dennis Allen. Del Rio. Give Gruden a run. McDaniels shot himself on the side of the road. Antonio Pierce. Pete Carroll for a year. The franchise that nuked itself every 20 months for 15 consecutive years. Brady reportedly ruined it.

Get out of here with him.

I will come equal to you. I’m not the guy who’s going to die defending Brady’s minority stake. The questions of how practical a part-owner should be are real, and the people I trust on this beat are asking them every week. We can do that column some other day. But the version of history where Brady torches a thriving operation? You have to forget that the last decade and a half of Raiders football even existed.

Brady was in Spytek’s room. In Kubiak’s room. In the room when the front office ultimately chose the quarterback they wanted, not the quarterback they got. He is not wasting anything. It’s someone who is finally aiming the gun in a direction that makes sense.

Raiders hot takes are just for clicks and attention

Rob Parker Fox Sports Mendoza

And here’s the thing about what Parker is doing. He is not analyzing the team. He is making a clip. He knows the word Raiders prints engagement. He pressed the button. The button worked. I’m at my desk on a Sunday at 9pm writing about him, so well, he won the day.

This does not mean that he is right.

Honestly a read on the 2026 Raiders is more boring than a viral clip. The spine is in reconstruction for the first time in forever. Spytech has done more in four months than in the four years of the last three regimes. Kubiak’s scheme needs to fit the bodies on the roster. A quarterback may be good, may be great, may spend a year on the bench and clipboard. I’m optimistic, but I’m not booking flights to Los Angeles. Cousins ​​are still cousins. The O-line is still a project. There is still a question mark on the receiver room. All of this is true at the same time.

But you don’t drop the word bust on the No. 1 pick in May because the TV schedule didn’t break out the way you wanted.

The kid hasn’t played a single snap.

Look at something. Then come find me.

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Scott Gulbransen, a quintessential expert in the field of sports journalism, serves as an editor, nfl , mlb , Formula 1 … More about Scott Gulbransen

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Golden Knights Snap Skid, Slaughter Penguins in Dominant Win

After losing six of their last seven games, the Vegas Golden Knights were in desperate need of a win. Pacific Division aside, the losing streak was doing nothing for morale. Thus, Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was exactly what the doctor ordered.

As has been the case in the past few games, the Golden Knights started strong. In the first period, they created 13 scoring chances while limiting the Penguins to six.

The Golden Knights broke the ice first at 8:41. Brett Howden forced Parker Wotherspoon into a turnover, and Colton Sissons tipped the puck over to Brayden Bowman. Bowman caught the puck, danced around Wotherspoon, and found Sissons for a back-door tap-in.

“Once we get that first [goal]That was big,” Brayden Bowman said after the game.

The Golden Knights doubled their lead just 5:02 into the second period. Pavel Dorofeyev drove the puck deep into the zone, and Tomas Hertl kept the game alive in the back of the net. Brayden Bowman blocked Pittsburgh’s first clearing attempt, and Cayden Korczak blocked the second. Korczak found Dorofeyev on the goal line, and Dorofeyev beat Artur Silovs off the gloves.

Trailing 2–0, the Penguins began to apply pressure; He came on the board at 8:26 of the second minute. Rickard Rakell got the spot over Braden McNabb; Bryan Rust received a pass for a back-door tap-in.

In recent games, the Golden Knights have struggled to stop the bleeding. They had no such problems on Thursday and responded with an own goal just 54 seconds after Raquel tallied.

The Golden Knights restored their two-goal lead at 9:20 of the second game. Mitch Marner intercepted Connor Dewar’s passing attempt, entered the zone, and executed a turnover with Pavel Dorofeyev. He received the puck above the goal crease, waited for Arturs Silovs to be out and fired it home in midair.

“He had a bit of a shock there [in the second period]Brayden Bowman said. I thought we responded well. They score, and then guys go out there and get it right back. This is a huge thing for the morale on the bench. I mean, we were up.

The Penguins cut the Golden Knights’ lead to one at 16:22 of the second minute. Ryan Shea sent a stretch-pass up the ice to Anthony Mantha, who was moving into the Vegas zone. Mantha protected the puck, deflected off Brayden Bowman and found Ben Kindel for a back-door tap-in.

The strong third period has defined the 2026 Golden Knights; Thursday was no different. Despite falling behind 11-6, they did not allow any more goals. The Golden Knights remained strong defensively and controlled 74.43% of the expected goal share.

The Golden Knights once again took a two-goal lead just 4:35 into the third minute. After a Penguins foul, Pavel Dorofeyev fouled Ville Kauvinen with the puck. Dorofeyev passed it to Mitch Marner who entered the zone. Marner returned to Dorofeyev trailing in the slot, and the winger got home his second of the night.

The Golden Knights added insult to injury at 6:20 of the third minute. Shea Theodore sent a stretch pass to Ivan Barbashev at center ice. Barbashev entered the Penguins zone, cut to the middle of the ice, and passed the puck to Jack Eichel; Eichel stepped into the slot and beat Arturs Silovs.

Despite trailing by three goals, the Penguins pulled Arturs Silovs for an extra attacker with 7:39 remaining in regulation. The Golden Knights held them to five shots on goal and Adin Hill turned them away.

Hill finished the night with 24 saves on 26 shots, a .923 save percentage and a 2.53 GSAX.

After several attempts – including Adin Hill’s bid on goal by the goalkeeper – Brayden McNabb hit the empty net with 59 seconds remaining in regulation.

Captain Mark Stone returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games due to an upper body injury.

It is no coincidence that, in their first game, the players attributed their strong performance during the 6–2 victory to the energy on the bench.

The players credited the energy on the bench for their strong performance during the 6–2 win.

“We had some good energy tonight,” Braden Bowman said after the game. “I think that’s important when we’re playing our best. We’ve got good energy on the bench, and I think that carries over onto the ice.”

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Hannah Kirkel is a beat writer who covers the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNote. She studied more about Hannah Kirkel

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Refund complete! Marner, Golden Knights rally to snap skid

The Vegas Golden Knights have a problem: They don’t play a full 60 minutes.

Throughout the season, they have struggled to get off to timely starts and only find their game when falling behind by several goals. However, they have managed to score points from most of those attempts. In the 62 games played this season, the Golden Knights have entered the third period trailing by at least one goal in exactly half of them. His record in those 31 games is 6-16-9.

These Golden Knights are nothing if not determined. This cardiac-return method is not a recipe for success; However, it is thoroughly entertaining.

History repeated itself on Wednesday when the Golden Knights played the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. They scored the first goal, but entered the second round trailing by two goals. After an ineffective second period, they were able to tie the game in the third period. And in overtime, Tomas Hertl scored on the power play to complete the comeback, snapping a three-game losing streak, and giving his team a 4–3 victory.

For the first time in three games, the Golden Knights scored first Wednesday, striking just 1:50 after puck drop. Pavel Dorofeyev forced a turnover behind the Red Wings’ net, and Mitch Marner found Reilly Smith in the left circle for a short-side snipe.

His strong start could not last long. The Golden Knights did not manage another shot on goal for the next 8:24 of the game, and recorded only seven shots in the first period. The Red Wings tested Adin Hill 11 times and created seven scoring chances.

The Red Wings got the equalizing goal at 5:58 of the first period. Tomas Hertl lost his defensive assignment, and Emmitt Feeney fired a shot from just above the right circle. Marco Casper provided the screen, and Feeney’s shot sailed home.

The Red Wings took the lead 15:15 of the first. Brayden Bowman picked off Andrew Copp’s pocket to deny him a chance to score, but Simon Edvinsson became active from the point and got to the puck first. Edwinsson stepped into the spot unopposed and defeated Adin Hill with a sneaky wristlock.

The Red Wings increased their lead just 59 seconds later. The Golden Knights tried to break the puck, but Axel Sandin-Pellica forced a turnover at center ice. Lucas Raymond took it the other way, drove into the zone, and found Alex DeBrincat all alone in the high slot. DeBrincat fired a shot from distance that hit Adin Hill at wide receiver.

The Golden Knights fared better in the second period – but not by much. They missed their power play opportunities, but killed the two minor penalties they took. Despite spending a good portion of the period on the penalty kill, they managed to defeat the Red Wings 8–6.

If you looked at the box score, you would assume that the Golden Knights were dominant in the third period; You would be wrong. They defeated the Red Wings 8–7, but gave up 12 scoring chances and left Adin Hill out to dry on multiple occasions. However, Hill was up to the task and made one big save after another.

The Golden Knights got within one at 11:37 of the third. Rasmus Andersson tipped Noah Hanifin’s blast from the point, and the puck found Ivan Barbashev next to the crease. Barbashev scored his second goal in a row and his seventh in ten games.

Barbashev’s goal gave the Golden Knights some life and they finally started applying offensive pressure. They equalized with 3:24 remaining in regulation.

Mitch Marner forced a turnover, and Tomas Hertl got the loose puck first down. Hertl worked hard for Shea Theodore, who fired a wrist shot. Simon Edvinsson blocked Theodore’s shot; Hertl moved the puck behind the net and delivered a centering pass to Marner across the crease. Hertl’s pass was found and Marner shot over Cam Talbot.

In overtime, the Golden Knights were unquestionably the better team. They created three high-danger scoring chances, one of which led to a penalty for Noah Hanifin.

The Golden Knights completed the comeback just 19 seconds into the ensuing power play. Mitch Marner found Tomas Hertl next to the crease and Hertl headed in to give his team a 4–3 victory.

This Golden Knights team is far from perfect. They are inconsistent, their defensive positioning is prone to be poor, and they struggle to score in a way that such a talented team shouldn’t. And yet, despite all their shortcomings, they have a 29-19-14 record and lead the Pacific Division with 72 points.

Just imagine where they could end up if they could reach their full potential.

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Hannah Kirkel is a beat writer who covers the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNote. She studied more about Hannah Kirkel

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