How Coach Antonio Pierce, Raiders Start the Season Will be Critical

The Las Vegas Raiders fell into a 1-3 hole to start last season. Coach Antonio Pierce has stressed the importance of the Raiders getting off to a better start this time around.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders spent the second half of the season trying to work their way back from a 1-3 start. It was a hole the Raiders could not get out of, as they eventually barely missed the playoffs. A better start to the season would have given the Raiders a better chance of getting into the playoffs last season. 

As the Silver and Black prepare to start a new season, Coach Antonio Pierce said the team must get off to a fast start. He noted multiple focus areas for the team as they prepare to head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers. The season's first game is always important, but the Raiders starting the season with an opponent within the division only makes Pierce’s focus areas that much more critical. 

"Starting the season fast, you can't beat yourself first and foremost, especially on the road, if I can start there,” Pierce said on Wednesday. “We're on the road, can't beat ourselves. We've got to handle adversity. We talked about adjustments, that's going to come up as well. Got to play penalty-free there as well, can't turn the ball over, and good third-down and red-zone defense. All the things that we talked about and we worked on in this offseason and what we started with. 

Pierce believes there is a fine line between being properly prepared and overthinking the process. He says he plans to do just enough to have the team mentally and physically prepared but not to the point where they cannot play fast and free. 

“But more importantly, man, is less is more,” Pierce said. “I've probably said that before to you gentlemen, sometimes when you're calling the game as a coordinator or as a head coach, you want to throw everything out there in Week One. And let's be realistic, you're still like in that training camp, preseason mode now, right? Because not a lot of reps are there. 

“So, allow your players to play fast, don't sit there and make it a thinking game. These gentlemen are physically the one percent of the one percent of the world. Don't allow it to slow down mentally for them, because you've got all these great schemes and ideas. So, a lot of players to play fast, that's going to be the key for us."

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