Raiders Verbiage Under McDaniels Takes Time

Whether it is rookies or veterans, the Las Vegas Raiders vocabulary in the game plan takes time for new players.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders selected Michael Mayer in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft after Mayer posted one of the most successful careers for a tight end in Notre Dame history.

As he enters his first regular season in the NFL, Mayer is learning exactly how different the NFL is from college. Mayer feels the verbiage is one of the most significant differences between college and the NFL.

"It's not easy. I mean, I'll just say that straight up," Mayer said.

 "I know in college, my offense was very, very simple. One, two-word things. Here, there is a lot more that goes into it. There's checks, there's alerts, there's things like that, reloads, and so it's just about repetition for me."

As with any rookie, Mayer feels repetition is the key to learning the offense.

"Really repetition, if I fail at it, alright cool, I'm going to go back and do it again until I get it. And that's kind of my mindset. That's my mentality as of right now. I'm really trying to wrap my mind around this offense and really get it down before the season starts."

To Coach Josh McDaniels, the difference in verbiage Mayer is experiencing isn't uncommon for rookies. McDaniels points to Jimmy Garoppolo as a veteran who shared the same thing. 

"Yeah, there's a lot of [college] teams that don't even have words because there's somebody on the sideline that are showing them signals or poster boards or pictures or whatever it is. So, we've been battling that for years now," McDaniels said before practice. 

"I remember when we drafted Jimmy [Garoppolo], I think that was his first huddle and in many cases sometimes their first snap from center. So, this has been upward of 10 years plus, relative to college football kind of heading in a different direction. So, we've had to navigate that I'd say with every rookie class we've had on both sides of the ball."

While the Silver and Black are marching toward the regular season, expectations are through the roof for what could be a foundation-setting rookie class.

While physically, that rookie class looks the part of National Football League warriors, this isn't college. They are playing against bigger, faster, and stronger players every week and learning the vocabulary of new offenses and defenses that make the game exactly as described: professional football.

 The Silver and Black open the regular season at the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 4:25 p.m. EDT/1:25 p.m. PDT.

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