Additional Playing Time Paying Off for Young Raiders.
After the bye week, Las Vegas Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce wanted to give some of the younger players on the roster more playing time. The Raiders have plenty of veteran leadership in most of their positions. However, with the team and organization looking toward the future, it was essential to see what the team had in other players who might not have played much this season.
Pierce shared his views on the direction of the team. “I think if you’re a Raider fan or you’re within this building, and you cover us, you have to be excited,” Pierce said. “All those first and second-year players stepping up, rookie quarterback, rookie wide receiver, rookie tight end. What about the first play with big Mike [Michael Mayer] on Khalil Mack? Go watch that again.
If you purchase a product or register for an account “You want to talk about setting the tone? That’s setting the tone: second play, Tre Tucker up top. Alright, we didn’t catch it, but you see what our mentality was. And then all those guys on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, go back to Malcolm Koonce, a third-year player getting a significant amount of time.” Las Vegas didn’t have its best showing during the first game after the bye week, but they followed that up with a historical game on Thursday night, with many of the younger players playing prominent roles in the victory.
“It’s just promising, and most of the time in the month of November, December, they hit that wall,” Pierce told me. “We discussed the rookie wall, the youth wall. “I believe our players are improving.”I challenged our team to play our greatest football in the month of December, and we’re on our way. We’re getting there, and it’s encouraging to see them progress.
“It also allows the older guys to put less strain on their legs during practice.” And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now. We’re giving these young guys a lot of reps throughout the week, and we’re seeing the results on game day.” The Raiders owe it to their youthful talent to provide them with as many opportunities to learn and improve as possible. So far, they’ve demonstrated that they deserve greater playing time.
“It also allows the older guys to put less strain on their legs during practice.” And that is exactly what we are doing now. We’re getting a lot of reps out of these young guys all week, and we’re seeing the consequences on game day.” The Raiders owe it to their young talent to give them as many chances to learn and grow as possible. So far, they’ve proven that they deserve more playing time.
