Russini: NFL Week 11: What I’m hearing about the Raiders, the Bills, the Burrow injury, and more
Almost three weeks have passed since Las Vegas’s corporate culture underwent a dramatic change.
A Raiders insider said, “The players have taken over this place.” “Ownership is okay with it as well.”
This club has defeated the Giants and Jets under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who has given his players the freedom to be authentic and communicate their concerns to coaches.
For now, this candor is working.
The atmosphere around the facility during the past month was characterized by another Raiders source. “Since Josh McDaniels and (general manager) Dave Ziegler were shown the door after a year and a half at the helm, it’s like ‘Ding dong, the witch is dead.'”
Naturally, the witch represents McDaniels’ straightforward, often strict teaching approach and demeanor within the facility. He set high standards for his team and employees and operated a tight ship. Nearly every assistant in place right now was hired by McDaniel and is now under a different manager. Some of the people I spoke with still value McDaniels’ strategy, but they are also getting used to living without the “Patriot Way.”
Players now have greater influence over how the team wants to run, and meetings have been rescheduled to earlier hours to fit the assistants’ preferences. For instance, the team’s schedule called for a Friday flight to Florida and a Saturday workout in Orlando in preparation for their Sunday matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Several team captains, on the other hand, voiced their preference to practice in Las Vegas before taking a Saturday flight to Florida. Though it’s a little change, the gamers requested it.
The NFL’s leader in total yardage, Miami, will provide them with a tough test, but the Raiders know their limits. Some are interested in seeing how they will handle difficulty as a group. They have not yet undergone testing.
Though many in the Raiders organization question whether this new player-empowerment strategy is sustainable or whether it’s simply a temporary boost after weeks of suffering, nobody wants to fail or believe that this approach can’t work.
Head coach of the Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott informed reporters that offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was let go because he believed his squad would never be able to return to the locker room without realizing that something had changed. Without using the phrase, he effectively labeled Dorsey the team’s scapegoat for its misfortunes.
