Coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock have prided themselves on bringing in self-starters, players who need nothing artificial to get excited about playing the sport they love.
But even for the most dedicated Raiders, there was nothing really to prepare them for the Week 1 experience of playing a real game in an empty stadium.
Tight end Darren Waller noticed it even before the ball was snapped before a 34-30 win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
“There were a lot of weird moments, a lot of awkward silences,” tight end Darren Waller said. “They played music, then it cut off and we were warming up to dead silence. Somebody would score a touchdown adn it would be weird. It’s something that’s going to take some getting used to.”
Stategically, Gruden cited the need for changing snap counts, audibles and even hand signals. Quarterback Derek Carr said making those changes is standard operating procedure anyway, but noticed how strange things would be when he overthrew Henry Ruggs III on the Raiders’ opening possession.
“There was no reaction,” Carr said. “Usually you’d hear an `Aww!’ or a cheer or something that you’d know the outcome of the play. And there was nothing. There wasn’t even a build-up. That was really weird for me to comprehend.”
The Raiders will get the silent treatment again Monday night when they host their first game in Allegiant Stadium against the New Orleans Saints. Citing COVID-19 health risks and not wanting to choose among season ticket holders, owner Mark Davis decreed the Raiders would not play in front of fans at home this season.
So the Raiders can plan on having New Orleans defense playing close attention when they’re in their huddle, which running back Josh Jacobs noticed against Carolina.
“The opposite team, you can see them try to look in your huddle and figure out what you’re saying and things like that,” Jacobs said.
New Orleans won its opener at home 34-23 against Tampa Bay in the Supedome, a similar environment to what the Saints will see at the new stadium Davis has called the “Death Star,” the fictional mobile space station of Star Wars fame.
Given that the NFL has mandated the level of crowd noise, it will have the impact of elevator music. Gruden said he barely even noticed the noise in Carolina.
“If you were trying to describe it it might be “convention center happy-hour type audio,’ ” Saints coach Sean Payton said by conference call. “The unique thing is you can hear a lot on the field, almost similar to a joint practice.”
Tight end Jason Witten, as well as offensive coordinator Greg Olson and others, also compared the atmosphere to a scrimmage and said it was important to make sure the intensity level didn’t decrease in the relative silence.
“Sometimes you feed off the fans and you don’t even realize it,” Witten said. “I just try and echo that to the team. I think everybody is going through it. But you’re a pro football player and it’s a great opportunity. I thought we did a great job bringing our own juice and having it for the entire game.”
Payton, having watched other sports going through the same things, believes the best should still prevail.
“Golf is going on without any fans and the No. 1 player in the world is still playing at a high level,” Payton said. “Hockey is the same way, the NBA. It’s different, but then pretty soon you get back to what you’re focused on.”
Defensive end Maxx Crosby believes the debut of Allegiant Stadium will still be special.
“Obviously we wish the fans were in the crowd. It was going to be an insane environment, but we’re going to have to wait for that,” Crosby said. “It’s football and we just have to go out and do our thing.”
KWIATKOSKI’S LOOKING GOOD — ON THE SIDELINE
Ah, the mysteries of the NFL injury report. When Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther talked with the media via Zoom conference Friday, he volunteered of middle linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, “Nick looks really good right now.”
When the injury report came out a short time later, Kwiatkoski was listed as “did not participate.”
Kwiatkoski left after 22 snaps with a pectoral injury and hasn’t practiced this week. Others who didn’t particpate included right tackle Trent Brown, (calf) wide receiver Henry Ruggs III (knee), tackle Sam Young (groin) and slot corner Lamarcus Joyner (not injury related).
The Raiders hold their final practice on Saturday, and it usually holds that those who don’t participate two days before the game will not play. Kwiatkoski, Brown and Ruggs have not practiced this week.
Given that Ruggs is a wide receiver, he would seem to be the most likely of the three to see action. Ruggs can play limited snaps and be a factor that must be defended even if he’s not a focal point.
Kwiatkoski and Brown, both of whom are in the middle of the action on every play, have no such luxury.
WALLER’S STATS
There’s a possibility that if the Raiders are as balanced on offense as they hope to be, that the statistics of Waller could drop from the 90 catches and 1,145 yards in a breakout season in 2019.
And he’s fine with that.
“If that’s the case, I’m all for it,” Waller said. “I’m here for winning. I’m here for a balanced offense and a great journey with the team. If that requires less of me, and my numbers, my stats, are down, people will get on me for less fantasy points but that doesn’t matter to me. It’s about winning. If it means a more balanced attack, sign me up for it.”
Waller was targeted eight times against Carolina, catching six passes for 45 yards.
OLSON ON BREES
Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson, the quarterbacks coach at Purdue from 1997 through 2000, keeps a yellowed clipping of the West Lafayette Journal which is headlined: “Brees climbs the depth chart because of accuracy.”
Drew Brees, who faces the Raiders Monday night, was the Maxwell Award winner as the nation’s top quarterback for Purdue in 2000.
“His accuracy really jumped out at us,” Olson said.
Brees’ career completion percentage of 67.6 percent is the highest in NFL history.
