By every team and media account at training camp, the Raiders offense was not spectacular during their time in Costa Mesa, California.
The hope was that either Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew would separate from the competition and become the frontrunner for the starting job, but that hasn’t happened to this point. It seems like every time one of the quarterbacks has a good day, it’s followed with a lesser performance the following day, and head coach Antonio Piece confirmed this week that there has been very little separation between O’Connell and Minshew to this point in the process.
Pierce doesn’t seem to be overly concerned about his quarterback situation and one of the reasons for that sentiment might be that he didn’t have the highest expectations in the first place.
“We’re probably not going to be, to be honest, a juggernaut offense,” Pierce told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler this week. “Would I love to be? Yeah. To sit here and say we’re going to score 30 points a game, that’s not realistic.”
One of the reasons Pierce has endeared himself to so many people in and around the organization is that he rarely minces his words. He has the ability to be honest with his players without turning them off and this week he was brutally honest with the media… to some degree about his players.
But with the wide receivers and tight ends the Raiders have on the roster, there is enough talent for the team to be a juggernaut on offense, but Pierce understands that his offense can only be as good as his quarterback.
To make a general prediction of sorts, the quarterback that will probably start the first week of the regular season will be the player Pierce trusts most to take care of the football.
“You’re not winning this job throwing interceptions,” Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said at the start of training camp, and that was probably good insight into what Pierce is thinking with his quarterback decision. He wants to take care of the ball and win games with his defense. That’s been in his DNA long before he was a part of the Raiders.
On Saturday, the Raiders will face the Minnesota Vikings, who last year held them to zero points in week 14. The score won’t matter as much this time around, but it would definitely be a positive development if one of the quarterbacks is able to turn in a performance worth talking about.
x: @raidersbeat
We just need to get out there and compete. Up till now, we’ve been in the laboratory, experimenting. Our quarterbacks are a bit wet behind the ears, but they have a lot of brand new weapons to help them become great. We’ll be fine. Who knows, maybe even a juggernaut. Anything is possible if you believe!