The Raiders are back at practice Wednesday, getting ready for their Week 11 matchup with the Dolphins. The last time the Raiders stepped on a field was in Cincinnati before the bye week when they suffered their fifth straight loss. That led to the firing of several offensive coaches and Antonio Pierce considering making (another) change at quarterback.
The decision was between Gardner Minshew and newcomer Desmond Ridder. Minshew had been benched in the third quarter of the blowout loss to the Bengals, and after the game Pierce said they would take the bye week to decide who would start Week 11.
Wednesday, Pierce named Minshew as the team’s starter.
“He gives us the best opportunity going forward,” Pierce said of Minshew. “And he has every opportunity to go out there and help us get to a win.
“It starts with the staff, it starts with me, it starts with a belief. Go out there and let it go. Let it loose. What do we got to lose at this point? Right? 2-7, so everything that’s behind us is behind us and I’m looking forward to everything in front of me.”
“Let it loose” is a different message than Minshew had been receiving. Pierce made it known even from the moment Minshew was named the starter to begin the season that he was on a short leash. Then all along the way he continued to blame turnovers for the issues with the offense. That was until he finally seemed to see what most on the outside had been seeing and that was the playcalling and scheme were the primary issue, leading to the firing of Luke Getsy.
That’s not to say Getsy was the one and only problem. Minshew has had plenty of issues. They seemed like equal parts his own deficiencies as a QB, fearing he would be benched if he made a mistake, and not being a fit for whatever Getsy’s idea of an offense was.
Pierce is right though; what do they have to lose at this point? That’s the mindset they seemed to take on when he took over last season. Playing like they have nothing to lose probably gives them the best chance to win. Walking on eggshells certainly hasn’t been working for them.
