Additional Playing Time Paying Off for Young Raiders
After the bye week, Las Vegas Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce wanted to give some of the younger players on the roster more playing time.
The Raiders have plenty of veteran leadership in most of their positions.
However, with the team and organization looking toward the future, it was essential to see what the team had in other players who might not have played much this season.
Pierce shared his views on the direction of the team.
"I think if you’re a Raider fan or you’re within this building, and you cover us, you have to be excited," Pierce said. "All those first and second-year players stepping up, rookie quarterback, rookie wide receiver, rookie tight end. What about the first play with big Mike [Michael Mayer] on Khalil Mack? Go watch that again.
"You want to talk about setting the tone? That's setting the tone: second play, Tre Tucker up top. Alright, we didn't catch it, but you see what our mentality was. And then all those guys on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, go back to Malcolm Koonce, a third-year player getting a significant amount of time."
Las Vegas didn't have its best showing during the first game after the bye week, but they followed that up with a historical game on Thursday night, with many of the younger players playing prominent roles in the victory.
Las Vegas Raiders running back Zamir White scored his first career touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers.
© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
"It's just promising, and most of the time in the month of November, December, they hit that wall," Pierce said. "We talked about the rookie wall, that youth wall. I think our guys are getting better.
"I asked them to challenge our team to play our best football in the month of December, and we're getting there. We're getting there, and it's good to see them learning.
"It also helps the older guys to not put so much wear and tear on their legs in practice. And that's what we're doing now. We're giving these young guys a ton of reps throughout the week, and then on game day, we're seeing the benefits."
The Raiders owe it to themselves to give their young talent as many opportunities to learn and grow as possible. So far, they've proven they deserve to see even more time on the field.
The Silver and Black will return to action versus their AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Christmas Day in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Don't miss it on Monday, December 25, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST.
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