Tag: Antonio Pierce

Antonio Pierce looking to improve Raiders NFL worst turnover differential

Antonio Pierce looking to improve Raiders NFL worst turnover differential

Monday night the Raiders won the turnover battle 3-1. Not only was it not enough to win them the game, but it even the +2 turnover differential wasn’t enough to pull them up from dead last in the NFL in the category.

This season, the Raiders have turned the ball over 16 times — 13 interceptions and three fumbles. Meanwhile they have taken the ball away just eight times — six interceptions, two forced fumbles.

That gives them a -8 turnover differential which is alone in last place across the league.

They didn’t have a forced fumble on the season coming into the game in Detroit and ended up forcing two of them — though one was highly questionable.

Overall, the defense is outplaying the offense and keeping the Raiders in games. It’s the reason the Raiders have three wins despite the offense never breaking 20 points in any game this season. Pierce was asked what he wants from the defense, and he said simply “More. More.”

“We’ve got to create turnovers,” Pierce emphasized. “We’ve got to stop the long drives. Penalties have been the biggest things that have hurt us in those situations. We’ve had great moments, and then we’ve had other moments like what the hell? Just being consistent, first and foremost. Being a defensive player, you stop the run, you build the wall. We make them one-dimensional, and like I tell Maxx, go eat. Go eat. Party at the quarterback, and let’s celebrate and have fun doing it. What I’d like to see those guys keep doing, and Patrick Graham, let loose. Put your ears back, let the dogs loose. When the Raiders are rolling on defense, you guys see it. It comes through the TV. Maxx Crosby’s energy, I’m trying to match his today. I’ve got to match that for the next 10 to 12 weeks.”

On the other side of the ball, Jimmy Garoppolo leads the league with nine interceptions. This despite missing two starts this season.

Pierce announced Garoppolo would be benched in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell, saying of the rookie “gives us the best chance.”

O’Connell has two interceptions in two appearances this season with one start.

Turnover differential can often be a strong indicator of team success. If you are turning the ball over, you better be making up for it in other areas. As yet, the Raiders have not done that.

Raider Nation reacts to interim HC Antonio Pierce passionate opening press conference

Raider Nation reacts to interim HC Antonio Pierce passionate opening press conference

Wednesday, 15 hours after the team announced the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler, the two men stepping up to fill their shoes stepped in front of the media to make statements and answer questions.

Antonio Pierce in particular came in hot, firing off quotable, inspirational words that would have any player wanting to play for him. And the fans were into it as well.

“It’s a new day. It’s a new chapter. It’s a new era. It’s a new mindset. What is that mindset? It’s that of the Raider pride. The Commitment to Excellence. And making sure our alumni, our fanbase, and Raider Nation are proud of what they see on the field. What does that look like? Tough, passionate, effort, energy, and enthusiasm that you see when we all watch our kids and these young men who are now pro athletes played with they they all were in Pop Warner. Having that love for the game. We’re on the same page, Champ and myself. Our staff is connected, we had a great team meeting this morning. Everybody was steely-eyed and focused. We walked in with a smile on our face. The synergy, the energy in this building, the personality of our players will reflect on who we are as Raiders.

“We’re tired of losing. It’s not a good feeling. We’re a production based business. We’re about competition, being competitive and playing with an edge and a swag and a certain confidence every time we walk out that damn tunnel that everybody that is watching on TV can see the product that we’re putting out there is something to be proud of.”

“I’ve been fortunate. From playing at a high level. Went all the way back to my roots and coached at Long Beach Poly High School as a head coach there. Was at the New York Giants in 2017 and then college for four years. And I had opportunities and go to other organizations and I decide not to. The short story, the matter of fact is I grew up in Compton California. I was born a Raider. I was born with the Raiders rolling in the coliseum in LA. I was rolling NWA talking Straight Outta Compton, rocking Raider hats. So, when the opportunity came to work with Pat Graham and Josh and Dave, I jumped on it. So, that’s what set me up for this. I was born this way.”

“I’m relying on our leaders to lead. I’m coming in here with the game plan. This is the picture we’re trying to paint. But they’ve got to carry it throughout. The best teams that I’ve ever been on as a player or as a coach, player ran. Player ran, bottom line. Davante knows what it is. Maxx Crosby knows what it is. Robert Spillane knows what it is. Our captains and leaders know what it takes. They’ve got to go out there and do it, and they’ve got to carry that message to make sure that resonates and we block out all of this outside noise, because we’re going to get some over the next 72-plus hours. And it’s us against the world. That’s our mentality right now, us against the world, Raider nation against everybody else.”

“[Offensive coordinator] Bo [Hardegree] went in here today, the offense, I spoke with those gentlemen. They know exactly the task and the plan going forward and what kind of offense we want to portray. Now, are you going to sit there and rip up the whole playbook? No. But you better go to your key guys. I’m not a fool. I’m a player. Remember I was a player before I was a coach. Player ran business.”

 

Raiders name LB coach Antonio Pierce interim head coach

Raiders name LB coach Antonio Pierce interim head coach

While you were sleeping, the Raiders made the shocking decision to fire both GM Dave Ziegler and HC Josh McDaniels. Following an embarrassing performance on Monday Night Football, owner Mark Davis decided to clean house after a 3-5 start to the season.

The Raiders will now get a head start on their coaching search, but in the meantime, they have named linebacker coach Antonio Pierce their interim head coach for the remainder of the year.

Pierce was hired by McDaniels last season to coach the linebackers. Before that, he was at Arizona State for five years in the same role.

Pierce was the starting middle linebacker for the New York Giants during their 2007 Super Bowl season and has nine years of NFL experience. With Pierce now being the head coach, look for Patrick Graham to continue calling plays on defense and for Mick Lombardi to run the offense with McDaniels gone.

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Antonio Pierce will make NFL head coaching debut vs. Giants

Antonio Pierce is now the interim head coach of the Raiders and will make his debut on Sunday against his ex-mates, the New York Giants.

Former New York Giants linebacker and Super Bowl champion, Antonio Pierce, has been named interim head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The announcement comes in the aftermath of general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels being fired on Tuesday.

“The Las Vegas Raiders have named Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach,” the team announced in a statement.

“Pierce is in his second season as linebackers coach the Las Vegas Raiders, has seven years of coaching experience, and nine years of NFL playing experience. Before joining the Raiders, Pierce spent five seasons at Arizona State serving as linebackers coach before adding the titles of associate head coach and defensive coordinator.”

Almost fittingly, Pierce will make his NFL head coaching debut against his former mates on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The 45-year-old Pierce was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free-agent rookie out of Arizona in 2001. After four seasons in D.C., Pierce signed with the Giants in 2005 and remained with Big Blue until his retirement in 2010.

During his time with the Giants, Pierce was named a team captain and carved out a nice place in franchise history. He was a catalyst in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2007, which was capped off by the largest upset in NFL history — a 17-14 victory over Tom Brady and the then-undefeated New England Patriots.

Pierce was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 as a member of the Giants and recorded 691 career tackles and nine career sacks.

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Social media reacts quickly to firing of Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler

Social media was quick to react to the late-night firings of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired their head coach and general manager in the most Raiders ay possible — with the news breaking just after Halloween.

Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, both hired in January, 2022, were relieved of their responsibilities by owner Mark Davis, and the team subsequently released a statement on social media.

McDaniels signed a six-year contract, which leaves the Raiders having to pay off the remaining four years. Per ESPN, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce will be interim head coach.

The Raiders were 3-5 this season, and 9-16 in McDaniels’ tenure. McDaniels, the New England Patriots’ longtime offensive coordinator, previously served as the Denver Broncos’ head coach in 2009 and 2010, putting together an 11-17 record before he was fired there.

Despite the late-night nature of the firings, social media was quick to respond, because social media never sleeps.

Raiders fire head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler in late-night news dump

The Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after one-and-a-half unsuccessful seasons.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired their head coach and general manager in the most Raiders ay possible — with the news breaking just after Halloween.

Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, both hired in January, 2022, were relieved of their responsibilities by owner Mark Davis, and the team subsequently released a statement on social media.

McDaniels signed a six-year contract, which leaves the Raiders having to pay off the remaining four years. Per ESPN, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce will be interim head coach.

The Raiders were 3-5 this season, and 9-16 in McDaniels’ tenure. McDaniels, the New England Patriots’ longtime offensive coordinator, previously served as the Denver Broncos’ head coach in 2009 and 2010, putting together an 11-17 record before he was fired there.

Raiders LB coach was ‘shocked’ at how much bigger Divine Deablo is this year

Divine Deablo ‘shocked’ his LB coach with how big he was ‘He doesn’t look like a safety playing linebacker. He now looks like a linebacker.’

When the Raiders selected Divine Deablo in the third round of the 2021 draft, they knew he was to be a project. The former college safety was looked at as a linebacker from day one. But that transition doesn’t happen overnight. For some, it may never happen.

With the NFL transitioning away from traditional linebackers to ones who can drop back into coverage the majority of the time, having DB instincts and range is important. But it is still the linebacker position, which means they must have the size. to handle it.

“I think where the game is today, I think it’s a lot of passing,” Deablo said last week. “I think it helped benefit me in that scenario. As far as running game, we do have to put on a little weight to take on these linemen.”

Entering his third season, it’s clear Deablo is right where he needs to be in that regard. So much so, in fact, that his physical growth caught his linebacker coach by surprise.

“He got bigger. When he walked in I was shocked to see the weight and mass he had put on,” Antonio Pierce said of Deablo.

That shock Pierce had was when Deablo showed up for OTA’s this spring. Since that time, Deablo has trimmed a bit so that he can keep the speed that he needs to cover tight ends.

“He understands his game is speed and he’s gotten better at playing linebacker and coming downhill,” Pierce continued. “What I’ve seen is a guy who’s more comfortable playing the linebacker position. He doesn’t look like a safety playing linebacker. He now looks like a linebacker. And he’ll continue to grow. I think each and every year in the league he’ll get better. He’ll see the game as a linebacker, and that will just make him a better football player.”

The Raiders will be relying heavily on Deablo as the longest tenured linebacker in this corps and providing the bulk of the coverage which will allow newly added Robert Spillane to focus more on his middle linebacker duties.

D.J. Davidson was inspired by retired Giants great Antonio Pierce

D.J. Davidson says he found a constant source of inspiration in retired New York Giants great Antonio Pierce, who was his DC at ASU.

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The New York Giants selected Arizona State defensive tackle D.J. Davidson with the fourth pick in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. He is basically an early-down run stopper the Giants will slide into the defensive line rotation.

“D.J. Davidson, see him more as a nose, out of Arizona State, be a good depth player that has some upside,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told the media on Saturday. “We are excited about working with him inside, again, trying to add some depth up front there.”

Davidson was a player the Giants targeted. He had played under former Giant captain Antonio Pierce during Pierce’s time as defensive coordinator out in Tempe.

“He never really talked to me about the Giants or anything like that. I know he played with the Giants when he was at D.C. at Arizona State, he always put up his film,” Davidson told the media on Saturday. “Always saw Twitter clips of him being a monster on the field, coming downhill, making tackles for loss, covering in coverage, all those types of things.

“That’s what really inspired me as a player, seeing my defensive coordinator in that position. And, I mean, it’s the Giants. Knowing he played there and seeing that, I want to live up to what he lived up to and be on that level with him.”

Davidson said his pre-draft dealings with the Giants were all positive and got a great vibe from the atmosphere and deceive line coaches Andre Patterson and Bryan Cox.

“I went on the 30 visit like towards the end of the 30-visit deadline. So I went on a 30 visit and talked with Coach Patterson, talked with everybody, the GMs, player personnel, the whole thing when they brought me in there, and had constant phone calls. I had Zoom calls with Coach Patterson and Coach Cox. And they’re amazing. The building is amazing, the coaches are amazing. I love the Giants,” he said.

Davison said he thought he impressed the Giants simply by being himself with them. The Giants are looking for players who fit their culture and Davidson is their type of kid.

“I believe what made the positive impression is who I am as a person. I went back to my roots. I stayed true to myself. I stayed true and kept it real with the owners, with Coach Patterson, with all of them and what my goals are, just to be the best teammate, to be the best player that I can be, have them challenge me every day, my good days and bad days, and continue to respond in a positive way,” Davidson added.

“I said those things to them, and I think that’s the main thing is just me as a person, they know the character that I am and just keeping the main thing the main thing, coming in, be the best team player, and just really put myself in the best ability and the best situation in their defensive scheme and what they have for this next season coming up.”

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Raiders hiring ex-Giant Antonio Pierce as linebackers coach

The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring ex-New York Giants LB Antonio Pierce to their defensive staff which also includes Patrick Graham.

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Former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce has officially made his return to the NFL.

On Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Pierce, who recently resigned at Arizona State amid an ongoing NCAA investigation, reached an agreement to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ linebackers coach.

Pierce spent five of his nine NFL seasons playing for the Giants from 2005 through 2009. He was a defensive captain in 2007 when the team upset the then-undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Not long after his retirement in 2010, Pierce broke into coaching. His first job came as head coach of Long Beach Polytechnic High School (2014-2017). In 2018, long-time NFL coach Herm Edwards hired Pierce to coach linebackers at ASU.

In 2020, Pierce was promoted to associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator in addition to his role as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. He dropped his linebacker coaching duties this past season and took on the defensive coordinator role alone.

The 43-year-old Pierce official resigned from ASU earlier this month.

Now with Las Vegas, Pierce joins former Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

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Arizona State promotes ex-Giant Antonio Pierce to sole defensive coordinator

Arizona State University has promoted retired New York Giants LB Antonio Pierce to sole defensive coordinator.

Arizona State has promoted former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce to sole defensive coordinator.

Pierce served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach alongside Marvin Lewis last season, but will now take over as the full-time coordinator. Despite the shuffling, Lewis will remain on staff as special assistant to head coach Herm Edwards.

“I am looking forward to this new challenge and opportunity to be the defensive coordinator at Arizona State,” Pierce said in a statement, via ESPN. “I have learned so much from Coach Lewis and Coach Edwards during my time here and can’t wait to apply that knowledge in this new role. We are excited about the group that we have returning and can’t wait to continue to bring in talented Sun Devils.”

Pierce played nine seasons in the NFL, first with the Washington Redskins (2001-04) before signing with the Giants as a free agent in 2005. He was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and an integral piece of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII championship team.

In 124 career games, Pierce recorded 691 tackles, nine sacks, 43 passes defensed and seven interceptions.

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