Raiders' Antonio Pierce Credits Gerald Alexander For Safeties' Play in Camp

The Las Vegas Raiders' safeties will be key for the defense's success this season.

Las Vegas Raiders Safeties Coach Gerald Alexander from OTAs / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

When Antonio Pierce took over as the Las Vegas Raiders' interim head coach last season, an emphasis was placed on forcing turnovers and making plays on the ball.

The Raiders began to do so under Pierce's reign last season, as the defensive backs started earning more and more interceptions throughout the latter half of the year.

That has been the case again throughout camp. The safeties, in particular, have really impressed in that department.

"Just consistent play," said Raiders coach Antonio Pierce this week. "I'm going to go to go to their position coach, I think Gerald Alexander does a good job, has done a great job communicating, demanding, earning their respect, and more importantly, putting what we've talked about in the meeting rooms, on the grass and in individual, and then watch those guys then do it in team periods.

"Tre'von [Moehrig] stood out there the other day in the game. You watched him tackle, come down from the second level. It was impressive. I mean, it was bang-bang, guy's down. And he did a good job of filling the alley. You're starting to see what I think we all hoped for when we drafted him few years back, that dominant presence. And I think, you know he's physical, but I think the one thing we all got excited about it was his ball-hawking ability. And he's shown that throughout camp. He has the range, he has the size, the sky is the limit for him. I think he's now starting to understand, like what we saw with Malcolm Koonce. He's really found his niche, and he's very comfortable in his own skin."

Alexander joined Pierce's staff this offseason after spending the past two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers' assistant defensive backs coach. The two seasons before that, he served as defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins.

Alexander played five NFL seasons, spending two seasons with the Detroit Lions, 18 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and stints with the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.

Be on the lookout for Alexander's room, which made big strides last year and should continue to do so this season.

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