Raiders Using Training Camp to Work on the Mental Aspects of the Game

As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare for the upcoming season, Coach Antonio Pierce continues to stress mental sharpness and player accountability. After a week of training camp, the players seem to be responding well.

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

The Las Vegas Raiders have completed the first week of training camp. So far, the team has had a productive first few days.

Coach Pierce noted that the team has taken the first week of camp, which includes limited physical contact as the players are not entirely suited up, to work on the game's mental aspects. This is especially critical for the offense, as they are installing a different offensive scheme from last season under their new offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy.

The Raiders have many new coaches on the coaching staff this season. As critical as those coaches are to the learning process, Pierce has stressed that the responsibility of executing the coaching staff’s plans is not the coaches' responsibility but the players'. Pierce believes the players have done an excellent job of taking in all of the changes made to the playbook this offseason. 

"I think it's been really two good practices. I think our guys have done a good job in the playbook," Pierce said. "I told them the mental part is on them, they need to learn the playbook. They did that over the break, and they've done a good job preparing.”

The Raiders enter this season aiming to correct as many of the mistakes they made last season as possible. According to Pierce and multiple players on the team, one of the most significant changes for the Raiders since Pierce’s rise to the head coaching position has been that the team is now player-led. Pierce said that fact has been noticeable in training camp as the players continue to hold each other accountable for mistakes. This is a vast difference from training camp and the first half of last season.

“We have meetings in the morning just to get us ready for a fast start, but they do a good job of bringing the meeting room to the field," Pierce said. "And our leaders are really stepping up. They're holding everybody accountable. So, if you’re a guy that does not really focus or pay attention, or you have any kind of mental lapse, you get called out right away."

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