As the Las Vegas Raiders begin preparations for their Week 2 game at home against the Arizona Cardinals, Hunter Renfrow spoke on the lack of execution this past Sunday. In particular, Renfrow was asked if the lack of preseason action affected his and his teammates play against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. Also, one player that had an outstanding performance was new star wideout Davante Adams, for which Renfrow had plenty of praise for.
Hunter Renfrow heaped praise on Davante Adams and remains confident that the team just needs to execute better.
“Yeah, I was so excited for him. He and Derek obviously played in college. You know, he’s on a new team. He’s in a new city. He’s on a new team that he’s never played with before. So just seeing the confidence that he had and played with was exciting. So, it’s just a lot of fun being able to watch him and play with him. And, you know, hopefully, we can do a good job and I can learn a lot and we can be a better team because of it.”
Adams went to dominate the Chargers’ secondary on Sunday, particularly Asante Samuel Jr., totaling triple-digit yards. As for Renfrow, it was a tough outing, one where he fumbled, a rare event for him. Statistically speaking, Renfrow obviously didn’t do as well as his teammate, as he recorded just three catches for 21 yards. In fact, he was only targeted six times by Derek Carr. However, Renfrow makes a solid point. Adams’ confidence (and experience) is going to bode well for this young team that has experienced little in the way of team success.
Speaking of the team, as most Raiders fans recall, none of the offensive starters saw playing time in the preseason. The only exceptions are Josh Jacobs and the offensive linemen. Some were quick to point out that the Raiders looked rusty and were playing from behind, literally and metaphorically speaking (the Chargers seemed two, sometimes three steps ahead at times). Renfrow was asked if sitting out the preseason played a role, if any, in Sunday’s struggles.
“No, I don’t think I had anything to do with it. We’ve started out to a 3-0, or 1-2 start over the last three years [that] I’ve been here. And we haven’t really played any preseason games. And so, I don’t think that’s it. You know, we had a great practice against New England, we had great practices against our guys and our defense every day. And they’re a really good team. They [Chargers] did a good job, and they forced some turnovers. And so, I don’t think that’s a big part of it. Locking in and executing is the biggest thing we got to do.”
Renfrow has seen it all in his short career. In 2021, the Raiders got off to a 3-0 start before coming down to Earth a bit when they hit 4-2. On the other hand, in 2019, in his rookie year, the Raiders started 1-2, eventually fighting back to a 3-2 record that season before their bye week. Basically, Renfrow knows that coming out of the gate and struggling is nothing new. Give credit where it’s due, though; the Raiders’ offense came alive in the second half against the Chargers, scoring 16 points. Maybe we’ll see this offense pick up where it left off on Sunday. One thing’s for sure: Hunter Renfrow needs to get more looks moving forward.
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*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images