Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast: The Day After the Debacle

Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast reflects the day after the debacle versus the Carolina Panthers.

Sep 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) is tackled by Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Luke Masterson (59) in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders (1-2) are a team desperately trying to find their identity.

They wanted to be a ball-control, run-first offense, and they aren’t. Their normally stalwart defense struggled in a devastating loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The team, with so much promise, has fourteen games left on the season, but with a brutal second-half schedule, they must find answers immediately to save the season.

Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast reflects on the day after the debacle versus the Carolina Panthers. You can watch that podcast below:

After the game, Coach Antonio Pierce addressed the media and here is a transcript of what he said:

ANTONIO PIERCE: No, just, it was poor. Just not good enough. Obviously the crowd was ready. I appreciate the crowd, everybody showing up, they did their part. We did not. Scheme wasn't good enough. Design of the plays wasn't good enough today. What we thought was going to work didn't work and on the grass we didn't execute nor did we put forth the effort to me we put in games past.

1. Antonio, you said you've wanted to be a team that controls the line of scrimmage and on both sides of the line of scrimmage today, that didn't seem to be the case. ANTONIO PIERCE: We got our ass whopped.

Q. Yeah, any reason? What's the crux of that would you say?

ANTONIO PIERCE: We got our ass whopped. We got to put pads on, I don't know, got to get on the sled. Same group that's, for the most part, all come back and same technique, same coaches, it's not a different scheme, so obviously we have to coach better and be some hard asses on the guys and guys have to take some rough coaching because just didn't see that on either side of the ball. We had an opportunity to run the ball and we didn't. Didn't do that at all. We tried and tried and tried and I would have booed us, too, offensively, defensively we didn't do a good enough job up front, not good enough.

Q. Coach, I know you're up set with the performance. How would you rate your concern about the team's effort? It seemed like this is one of the first games under your leadership that the team just didn't seem to show up tonight.

ANTONIO PIERCE: No, they didn't. I think as the game went on -- I don't think it was the team. I think there was definitely some individuals that made business decisions and we'll make business decisions going forward as well.

Q. Antonio, last week there was talk about maybe some disrespect that was happening nationally around with the point spread and heard it from the players but basically what it's asking people to believe in them and kind of let them down a little bit today. So, you know, where does that fall into -- you got to earn that. That belief and that trust needs to be earned on the field.

ANTONIO PIERCE: Yeah, I think the one thing I've always said and spoken to you gentlemen about and ladies is being consistent. We're here right now and that's not what we're fighting for and that's not what we're striving for and it showed up today and if I could say I saw it coming I would have told you that but I didn't see that coming and inconsistent plays is something we just got to constantly keep working on.

Q. Seemed like, I know you mentioned the trench bus in the secondary, there were a lot of Panthers that got open near the middle of the field and got a lot of space to run. That's not something we've really seen a lot of out of this defense. Can you explain those breakdowns?

ANTONIO PIERCE: Yeah, I mean, played a lot of men in this game and there's some zone and want to be tighter coverage and obviously, listen, got to give credit to them, they came out here and put their best foot forward and we didn't.

Q. AP, this offense, other than a quarter and a half in Baltimore struggled a little bit. What do you think's the problem or is it something you got to look at film at?

ANTONIO PIERCE: No, just PNT and first and ten. The next down is probably second and eight, second and nine a majority of the time. If you can't win on early downs, teams are going to just keep teeing off on us and have their full arsenal of third down menu and that's really what you're seeing. So until we can do better, either run the ball or be more productive, get there, get some positive plays on first and second down. It's not going to be good but we'll -- we got to work at it, it's a long season, it's week three. We'll go into the lab and we really got to chip away.

Q. You brought in Aidan O'Connell late in the game. Is that something that might be on the table moving forward?

ANTONIO PIERCE: I think the game was out of hand and, you know, got two quarterbacks at battle, let the other guy go in there and see what he can do for a little bit.

Q. Coach, what do you take away as some positives of –

ANTONIO PIERCE: Nothing.

Q. -- today's game. Nothing?

ANTONIO PIERCE: Nothing. Except for the crowd. Thank you Raider Nation, (indiscernible) sorry that we didn't come and do our part.

 Q: Saw Jackson Powers-Johnson playing a little bit of right guard. Is that because of Dylan had the foot injury this week, or was it just –

ANTONIO PIERCE: That was just the plan. Nothing with Dylan. Dylan's been playing really good for us. That's just the side we decided to put him on.

Q. I had a couple question. Looked like Marcus Epps suffered some sort of lower leg injury at the end of the game, if you had an update on his status.

ANTONIO PIERCE: I just know it's a knee. Get more evaluation on that one.

Q. Secondly, I know you mentioned all week and then even just now you wanted to establish the run this week but is there a certain point where you guys have to -- I don't want to say abandon the run, but go with a pass-first approach if it's just not working?

ANTONIO PIERCE: We got to do something to fix it. If it's to throw it open up the run, I mean, scheme, players, coaching. I mean, said it before, I'm not going to sit here and just keep watching it. It's just not good enough. 3.4, two yards last week. That's not us. That's not the identity. That's not what I want it to look like. That's not what our team is going to be and we got to work on it.

Q. What did you see in the trenches on defense. Were you happy with the effort on defense in the trenches?

NTONIO PIERCE: No. I thought today was just bad by all of us. Bad day for the Raiders.

Q. One more, as far as offensively via Gardner, what would you say you see from the offense as far as Gardner early on?

ANTONIO PIERCE: It looked like everything. It started with the run game, passing game wasn't there. I mean, look, obviously you're watching, your eyes go in different places, but. We had a shot, I mean, there's some things we wanted to do that showed up, it was just here, you don't see it for another 10 minutes or 12 minutes or another quarter or even at all, so just not a good performance by us at all today. Thank you, guys.

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