Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Keys to victory against Denver Broncos in Week 6
By Nico Di Fede
Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Keys to victory against Denver Broncos in Week 6
Rich Bisaccia needs to light a spark
In the aftermath of former head coach Jon Gruden stepping down from his position, the most important thing to look out for is whether or not the Raiders will come out energized and ready to battle for new interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, or will the team be demoralized and come out flat.
Sometimes when a struggling head coach steps down the team will come out fiery and play with a new level of energy and passion. But is that the case here? Jon Gruden was of course, not fired due to performance, but due to things said in private.
It is impossible for anyone not in the locker room to know what the players’ true thoughts on the Jon Gruden situation are, and whether or not they support his decision to step down. The Raiders did struggle against the Chicago Bears, but at least to me, it didn’t seem to be due to the players not giving their all, they just lost.
The Raiders may feel free from distractions and come out playing with a fire lighted under them, but it is also possible the team is demoralized and not positive about having to basically start over with a new coach and therefore new vision for the future out of nowhere.
Rich Bisaccia is a special teams coordinator, so it is safe to assume he will act more so as a motivator and figurehead while defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and especially offensive coordinator Greg Olson bear more responsibility than they did in the past under Gruden.
The defense has been heavily improved since Gus Bradley was hired, but Greg Olson has been the offensive coordinator for the Raiders in the past and it wasn’t pretty.
Hopefully, Bisaccia will provide a spark and the Raiders come out playing like they did the first three games of the season, and not the last two.