Jack Jones went off on critics saying Antonio Pierce shouldn’t be the Raiders coach

Not a whole lot of people believe in the Raiders this year. And that's less a battle cry and more just, unfortunately, the sad truth about the state of their roster. You could probably make the argument that they're a team heading in the right direction, but it's not like anyone's taking them seriously as AFC West challengers yet. But don't tell Jack Jones that!

In a recent press conference, Jones was asked about the lack of enthusiasm for the Raiders and, more specifically, their new head coach Antonio Pierce. And if you can believe it, he's not a fan.

Jack Jones goes off on critics of Antonio Pierce and Raiders

"Him being ranked as the 28th coach, I felt like they were disrespecting him," Jones said. "Me, the team, him. I don't like that. That set a fire under me. We're going to show everybody. 6-11 is crazy. I'm going to get beat 11 times throughout the year? I'm going to lose more than I win? I don't like that. That's not who we are. That's not why we're working, that's not why we're here. We're going to step up and we're going to show why."

As boilerplate as Jones' response may seem, that's also the kind of energy that makes fun teams enjoyable to watch. If the Raiders' are going to lose 11 games this season, the very least they can do is make it fun. And if Pierce is able to continue connecting with and motivating the team the way he did after taking the job in the middle of last season, 11 losses kinda feels a bit high. 9? Sure. But "don't lose double digit games" seems like an approachable goal this year, and Jack Jones is already clearly on board.