Pierce lacks confidence in Raiders offense as he searches for physical identity
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was asked Monday whether there was any part of the offense he could confidently rely on to execute when needed.
"No,” Pierce said.
That summed up where Las Vegas stands on that side of the ball roughly midway into the season, and the statistics bear it out.
Entering Sunday's game at Cincinnati, the Raiders' offense is near the bottom of the NFL in scoring, yardage, rushing and third- and fourth-down conversions. It's in the middle of the pack in passing.
Thus it's not surprising the Raiders are 2-6 and on a four-game losing streak in which they have averaged 16.5 points, fifth worst over that span.
Pierce wants to establish the identity of a tough, hard-nosed offense that is reminiscent of his playing style with the Giants. But he's still searching for that offensive identity.
“I don’t think any team that’s in the National Football League with a new offensive coordinator and quarterback are just sitting there jelling right now,” Pierce said. "But if you just talk about us, I want to run the ball. I want to be physical. I want to be able to throw the ball down the field and have shots.
“But all that has to be tied in to down and distance, play calling, execution. It’s everybody involved. There’s times and there’s good flashes.”
He pointed specifically the Raiders recent ability to play well on script. They scored touchdowns on the opening drives of three of their past four games.
It's soon after that when both teams make adjustments that Las Vegas has most struggled.
Not that it's a complete surprise.
Former All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams missed three games with a hamstring injury before he was traded to the Jets two weeks ago. The new No. 1 receiver, Jakobi Meyers, was out two games with an ankle injury before returning last week.
Even more critical, the Raiders still searching for a franchise quarterback, and there were no illusions Gardner Minshew would be that kind of player when he signed a two-year, $25 million free-agent contract in the offseason.
He was brought in as more of a bridge QB until the Raiders could find a true difference maker, but the hope was Minshew — who has shown flashes in his career of making teams competitive — could at least put the club in position to fight for a playoff spot.
But Minshew struggled with turnovers — he leads the league with 11 — and was benched in favor of Aidan O'Connell after five games. Minshew quickly got back his job when O'Connell was injured in the first quarter of his first start this season.
He played his best game of the season in Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Chiefs, throwing for 209 yards and two touchdowns and a 117.9 passer rating.
“Felt like we were doing a good job of ... establishing drives and staying on the field,” Minshew said. "I thought we did some good things on third down. Now it’s kind of looking at those three-and-outs, the quick drives. How do we sustain? How do we just be more consistent there?”
His performance against Kansas City was tempered when Minshew lost a fumble that set up a touchdown that allowed Kansas City to extend its lead to 14 points with 4:59 left.
Minshew, though, isn't responsible for all the offense's problems. He's had the extra burden of trying to make plays with a run game that ranks 31st in the NFL with 79 yards per game.
A combination of poor run blocking by a line that has dealt with several injuries and lack of quality plays by the running backs have created the dismal results.
Much was expected of Zamir White after he rushed for 397 yards in four starts to end last season. But he got off to a slow start, injured his groin and watched Alexander Mattison take his place.
Neither has shined, combining to rush for 429 yards, averaging 3.1 yards per carry.
In his two games back from injury, White rushed for 12 yards on five carries. Pierce said White hasn't received the ball enough to establish any kind of rhythm.
“Sometimes the (game) flow doesn’t allow that, but we got to find ways to get him in the game and keep him in,” Pierce said.
White said he was anxious to contribute more often.
“Every play, I'm like, ‘Man, I just want to be out there right now,’” White said. “Anything I can do to help the team.”
The lack of overall production has resulted in an offense that scored less than 20 points in half of its games.
Whether it's the players not executing or first-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy not sending in the right plays, the bottom line is the Raiders aren't getting the job done.
“There's no one person to blame,” Mattison said. “There's no one situation to blame. There's no one part of the game to blame. It's a collective effort.”
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