After One Game, Here are Five Things We Know about the Raiders

After a disappointing 0-1 start, here are five things we know about the Las Vegas Raiders heading to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Las Vegas Raiders superstar DE Maxx Crosby and Coach Antonio Pierce / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

HENDERSON, Nev.—After a disappointing 0-1 start to the season, the Las Vegas Raiders remain on the road to face one of their toughest opponents on the 2024 schedule.

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are formidable opponents with realistic Super Bowl expectations. They are significantly better than the Los Angeles Chargers.

After one game, here are five things that the Raider Nation knows about the 2024 Silver and Black gridiron battlers.

1. The Raiders Need to Attack in the Passing Game The Raiders want to practice ball control on the offensive side, and I respect and like that kind of football. That said, Al Davis made it clear that the Raiders don’t take what the defense offers; they take what they want.  I asked Antonio Pierce about what the Raiders ball control offense looked like last Sunday.  “When you talk about our offense, we got playmakers. We got to get the ball into their hands. We got to protect better, and we got to make quicker decisions at the quarterback position. It all goes into play. It's a group effort. It's not on one individual."  Checking down is fine, and I can understand Gardner Minshew doing that when under duress, but he missed multiple players downfield on Sunday because he checked down too quickly.  The Raiders need to use the pass to set up the run when teams are selling out to stop the run.  I asked Minshew if he checked down too much versus the Chargers, and he told me, "Maybe so, anytime you have a team playing a majority of two-high defense, you are going to have a lot of that. They did a good job keeping a roof on things for the most part. We got guys that can really stretch the field and go get it, so we want to find ways to do more of that."

2.  The Rushing Attack Must Attack The Raiders passing game needs to attack, but so does the rushing game.  Zamir White and Alexander Mattison are a terrific 1-2 punch, but the offensive line has to stay on blocks, and Zamir and Mattison, when they put their foot in the ground in this wide-zone attack go get up field, have to square up their pads.  Pierce said of this yesterday, "Yeah, we didn't finish. We didn't finish up front. Running backs got to stay on track and we got run with better pad level with our backs overall. I mean, some of these tackles, we got breakthrough arm tackles. And I think just up front, we got to finish. We got to stay on our blocks. I mean, they did an outstanding job. Hats off to them. They finished blocks and finished plays, and we didn't. And that has to start with us as coaches and the players doing it."  Minshew, immediately after the game addressed the offense being out of sync by saying, "I don't know man, that's hard to say. It felt like a lot of different little things. Just wasn't quite tight enough, didn't execute in general. I think that's going to come with time, I think we are going to get everybody on the same page. Everybody wants to get back to work, everybody ia going to be in the building tomorrow. I feel good about our chances to get it right."

3.  Brock Bowers in an Emerging State  The youngster had a big day in his first NFL game and looked like he was back terrorizing the SEC.  He was targeted eight times and had six catches for 58 yards.  Even with that performance, meat was left on the proverbial bone for the young Georgia Bulldog.  Minshew missed him at least twice, wide-open when checking down too quickly.  Pierce said of Bowers and his performance.  "I thought we saw just a glimpse of what it is and what he can be. What I really was excited about was him in the run game. I thought he had some really good examples of some blocks out there on their defensive ends, 52 and 97. But again, like any rookie, it's his first game. I think he felt like he left some yards out there as well. But it was good for him to get into the flow of the game, get his first couple catches, make some plays, move the chains for us, and again, just keep involving him into our game plan."

4.  Antonio Pierce Won’t Ignore the Obvious  The Las Vegas Raiders rookie coach watched his team struggle in week one.  There's no way to dance around that, and you shouldn’t want to.  However, the big reason that AP got the head coaching job was because he wouldn’t turn and ignore the elephant in the room.  He doesn’t practice coach speak, and his fire burns hot.  In the past, coaches would ignore questions or give the usual back to work after a failure.  It was not AP, who was angry about the loss like any member of Raider Nation.  When asked about his offense, he minced no words about what is wrong.  "A lot. The run game was poor. The passing game was off, and then turnovers – you can't have three turnovers on the road and expect to win."  I  asked him about his calling card that has been discipline since he took over, something missing this past week.  He took that head-on as well.  "Yeah, well, we had two penalties, which one was costly because it was on a big run. And then we had the offsides penalty, that was a sack. So, we had two penalties in the game. The thing that's disappointing was just, obviously, the little deal down there in the end zone. And I get it, we're protecting our teammates, but we never want to put ourselves in a position where it's possibly ejection, fines, or suspension down the road. We don't want to be that team, right? And, again, the history of the Raiders has always been that team, but we don't want to have that. Our guys just got to be careful. Again, I love protecting one another and going to battle for one another, but if you throw punches or anything like that, you're in the wrong sport."

5.  If This Was Week Nine, It Would be Time to Panic For the Season, It  Is Only Week One  I do not believe any reasonable person thought the 2024 Raiders were a Super Bowl contender.  They should be a double-digit win team, though.  With that said, this was only week one, and as Pierce has demonstrated previously, his teams improve as the season continues.  It was disappointing, and make no mistake, that is what it was. It can get buried with a mid-to late-season upset win, which must be remembered.  It is a long season.  This team is not yet defined, and with the effort of the players and coaches, which has already been demonstrated, it is reasonable to expect this team to look different next week.  I still expect the Raiders to lose in Baltimore, but I expect them to win ten games.  Concern is warranted, but panic is not.

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