Everything feels different right now…
The energy surrounding the Raiders since Antonio Pierce took over as Head Coach is palpable. The Raiders improved to 2-0 under Pierce and 5-5 overall, with a victory on Sunday Night Football over the New York Jets.
The team has responded to Pierce’s energy and the players are having fun again. Their joy is evident in all that they do and it has carried over to the fanbase. Raider Nation has been re-energized by everything that has taken place over the past two weeks.
The Silver and Black passed a tough test last week by standing tall against one of the league’s best defenses. The test they face this week will be even tougher as the Raiders travel to Miami. Not only is it a 1:00 kick-off on the East Coast, but the Dolphins are coming off of a bye week and they boast the NFL’s top offense. The Raiders defense has been playing really good football of late, but the speed that the Dolphins feature on offense will be a challenge like none they’ve faced so far this season.
Anyone who’s followed this team for any length of time can see the writing on the wall. This is not a game that sets up well for the Raiders. Further, this is the very type of game that we’ve seen this team not show up for and get rolled too many times. How Pierce gets them ready to take on this challenge will show a lot about him as a leader. What happens when adversity strikes…and things get tough? That will be what I’m looking for this weekend…maybe even more than whether the Raiders can actually win the game.
Win or lose on Sunday…I want to see that energy continue to engulf everything this team does. It’s a much different feel than anything I’ve experienced for the last 20 years…and I like it.