When this year’s NFL schedule dropped on May 11th, two things stuck out regarding the Las Vegas Raiders: the opening five games and the bye in Week 12. Initially, it seemed a bye so late in the season would work against the Silver and Black. With Antonio Pierce now at the helm in Sin City, that’s no longer the case.
Things change quickly.
The Las Vegas Raiders Week 12 bye: From bad timing to blessings in disguise
Generally, teams would like to have their bye week as close to the middle of the season as possible. The Raiders were forced to wait until nearly the 3/4 mark before getting a week off. However, as luck would have it, the switch to [interim] head coach Antonio Pierce means the bye in Sin City couldn’t have come at a better time.
Pierce took over in Week 8, walking into a 3-5 record and a listless team seemingly dead in the water. In his first month on the job, Pierce has won and lost two games each. He’s led a 30-point scoring effort and held multi-score leads against both the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Time has not been on Pierce’s side since earning the [interim] head coaching job. However, he has handled it in an amazing fashion. The Raiders’ new man in charge on the sidelines has made all his media engagements while preparing for opponents’ week in and week out. It would stand to reason that #teamnosleep could use a couple of days off.
Take a breath and reassess…
With neither an offseason nor training camp to get acclimated to the grind, Pierce had to hit the ground running midseason—hardly an ideal situation. Splitting his first four games is a good thing.
What the bye week offers is an opportunity for him to self-scout. To review the things and processes that were successful and take note of those that were not. Rewatching tape and seeing where changes need to be made both schematically and in terms of personnel.
Every game the Raiders have played under Pierce has been competitive. Traveling to the eastern time zone for an early-window contest wasn’t a problem. At the start of every game, the team has been locked in, focused, and ready to play.
Five weeks counting down
Pierce is conscious of how much time remains in the season and how slim the team’s playoff chances are with seven losses on the record. Under his leadership, the team has resembled a well-coached unit that plays hard through the echoes of the whistle.
Understanding momentum and how to harness it to his advantage would be highly beneficial to Pierce down the stretch. If there was one thing that would make him instantly more effective, it would be knowing when to be aggressive and when to kick field goals.
When the offense is humming, you go for it. When it’s riding the struggle bus up and down the field, kick the field goal. On 4th and short, there is no need for a home run ball unless it’s wide a** open, and it certainly isn’t the place to be running delayed handoffs up the middle. Sometimes being overly aggressive in pressure situations can work to your detriment.
Making sure the Raiders finish strong…
No one other than Mark Davis and perhaps both Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly know what the criteria for Pierce to drop the interim label and keep the head coaching job are. Pierce has made tremendous strides in the functionality of the franchise on the field in just one month.
He has established a positive and professional culture while allowing the players the ability to release and be themselves. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell has flourished and continues to improve with each passing week.
Regardless of whether or not Pierce can win all five games in succession, he really, really needs to win the contests against Las Vegas’ AFC West opponents. If he can beat them, the Raiders will be 4-2 in the division with a minimum of eight wins.
Losing to Miami and Kansas City is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, those were games no one expected Josh McDaniels to win. Finishing the season with a 5-4 record with the team of guys without Pierce’s stamp on it is not a bad deal.
*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images