The biggest issue by far this year for the Las Vegas Raiders has been their feeble offense; Antonio Pierce spoke about it this week, essentially saying it has no identity to call its own.
All season long, the Raiders haven’t been able to stay consistent with any real philosophy on offense. Initially, Pierce wanted that run style, which was once associated with the “old school Raiders,” establishing it and then opening things up. Unfortunately, it appeared that with Gardner Minshew under center, the Raiders were better suited to using the pass first to open things up. The underwhelming performance by the offensive line overall played a factor that didn’t help matters. Center Andre James getting bullied inside every game has also plagued the offense.
This Sunday’s loss followed a similar pattern, with a hand injury to starting quarterback Aidan O’Connell exacerbating the situation. So, naturally, the focus shifted to the run game. All in all, it was actually a solid performance. Alexander Mattison tallied 92 rushing yards off of 23 carries; Zamir White recorded 13 yards of his own as he carried it 13 times; Tre Tucker had a play of his own go for 11 yards. The unit performed admirably overall.
Pierce recognized the rushing offense as one of the few highlights on Sunday when he addressed the media this week.
“I thought we did a good job in the run game. I thought we were physical. I thought we were coming off the rock there. I thought the running backs ran hard. I thought the effort throughout the game on all three phases was good.”
The Raiders offense simply doesn’t have an identity…
While the running backs tried to chip in, we all know how Minshew performed. Those wild and costly interceptions by Minshew were absolute soul crushers. That’s what initially led to O’Connell taking over the team. There’s just no balance, nor is there any consistency under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Pierce, who truly wants that running attack to get going, is likely frustrated by all of this; he recognized the struggle that continues to afflict the Raiders.
“Well, the identity is not there. I mean, we want to be physical. We want to run the football. That’s not anything that I’ve ever hidden or not spoken of. I do think as the game goes on and we get down, I think just in human nature you toss the ball around a little bit more and maybe you lose the flow of the game.”
With Getsy at the helm, things haven’t been working well thus far. Even moving up into the booth upstairs for the games has helped, though Pierce stated that will not change moving forward. With the Kansas City Chiefs and their stellar defense up next, this could get even uglier.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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