An NFL crew can have as many gifted players as possible.
However, if they do not have a robust vision, culture, or identity, they will come up short in accomplishing their goals.
Thankfully for the Las Vegas Raiders, Coach Antonio Pierce mounted all three characteristics in his interim stint in 2023.
The Raiders went 5-4 in the games Pierce coached. While the wins were impressive, the way the group fought relentlessly when he took over earned him the permanent head teaching position.
Now, the Raiders are aiming for the postseason in 2024. Pierce hopes the team will lift the identification they fashioned into this upcoming season to make the playoffs.
He defined what he wants the Raiders’ identification to be on the modern episode of protecting give up Maxx Crosby’s podcast, The Rush with Maxx Crosby.
“Our resume is on the grass and is on the film,” he said. “When we watch that, it should be that of a crew that’s physical, enjoying with intense effort, passionate, a love for the game, playing for one another, and there’s distinct approaches to be physical. We can’t knock every other’s heads off anymore. That ain’t it. But you heard Maxx say it: ‘Heavy hands.’ Be heavy-handed. Bless them.”
“We bless the souls of our opponents. I inform the guys like this, and they be aware of I hold it actual simple: it must seem right, it must sound right, and it ought to scent right.”
Pierce elaborated on that, announcing when the team closes their eyes or covers their ears, they nevertheless be in a position to sense and trip that success.
“The reality is, we aren’t going to win every game. It doesn’t happen. Only one team has ever accomplished it. But what we can do is manage how we play the game. That we supply the entirety we got. Sometimes, the ball might bounce, we would possibly get a call against us, a man may drop a ball. We’re never going to blame it on that player due to the fact we had other opportunities to win the game.”
“But if you can be proud of what you see each and each and every week, when you come to the game, you comprehend I tell them, ‘We’re in Vegas. We are the No. 1 exhibit in Vegas. It ain’t Usher. It’s the Raiders.”
To watch the whole podcast episode with Pierce and Crosby, click on here.
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders presently maintain the No. thirteen normal pick.
