TEMPE, Ariz. -- Antonio Smith has seen the kind of change happening in Oakland once before.
The former Cardinal was part of a defense that got embarrassed by the New England Patriots, 47-7, in Week 16 of 2008 -- the last game Arizona lost that season until Super Bowl XLIII.
That loss “humbled” the Cardinals, Smith said.
“We changed back and had to do a recharge,” the current Oakland Raiders defensive tackle said on a conference call. “We won out through the playoffs all the way to the Super Bowl.”
A Super Bowl run likely isn’t in the cards for the Raiders this season, which has started 0-5 and cost Dennis Allen his job after the first four losses. Offensive line coach Tony Sparano was promoted to interim head coach and was charged with the unenviable task of changing the culture in Oakland, not just in the Raiders’ locker room but throughout the organization.
He started by burying a football that represented the first four games of the season. Smith said the Raiders needed to put their dismal start behind them and it almost helped. Oakland held a lead over San Diego on Sunday until the last two minutes before losing 31-28.
When Sparano took over two weeks ago, he started changing the climate in Alameda, California, almost immediately.
“I tell you, man, mindset is everything. The mindset is everything,” Smith said. “How you feel about what you’re going to do every day when you go into work every day, the way you feel about it when you first step out of bed dictates how much you’re going to get out of it.
“I think bringing the enjoyment back into it and kind of recharging everybody to what this game really is, it brings that excitement back, that enjoyment to go back to work.”
That new mindset was evident in Oakland’s first game under Sparano.
“The team we were when we played was a totally different team,” Smith said. “The vibe was different. The energy was different. And I think it’s still growing. I think that and more people are buying in.”
They have to.
In Sparano’s first team meeting as interim head coach, he wiped the slate clean and warned that change was coming. Then he said there’d be two camps within the Raiders: those who were with him and those against him.
“So, either you get on board with change or we find you a way to get out,” Sparano said in the meeting.
Sparano admits he was part of the philosophy that cost Allen his job -- he bought into Allen’s ideas when he was his hired in 2013. But after back-to-back 4-12 seasons which pre-empted an 0-4 start, it was time for Sparano to move Allen’s philosophy aside, because it clearly wasn't working, and implement his own.
Sparano wouldn’t discuss the specifics of what needed to be changed for the post-Allen Raiders, saying “there were several things just that I would do differently.”
Leading up to the Chargers game Sunday, Sparano said the Raiders’ fundamentals were better in practice, which he said was a result of the practice schedule. There was more emotion and more enthusiasm, he added.
Football was football again for the Raiders, and it showed Sunday. That, Smith said, was a direct reflection of Sparano.
“I think for a minute there it felt like just a job, just going to work every day, just doing your job,” Smith said. “I think Tony’s main goal is bringing that excitement, that fun, the passion back into football.
“I think that the presence that Tony brings has commanded a response, a commitment from the players on this team. Also, at the same time, just knowing the type of person that he is brings an enjoyment for working hard for what you can achieve in this game.”