Greg Olson Quantifies the Raiders' Loss of Brock Bowers

On Wednesday, Raiders Interim Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson explained the offense's mentality as they finish the season with their best player. Las Vegas struggled even with Bowers on the field; their offense is considerably worse without him on it. The Raiders will have difficulty adjusting.

"Well, it's always a next man up mindset. I think any coach that you've ever interviewed would tell you that. No one feels sorry for you. Nobody cares, to be honest with you. And as coaches, we preach that all the time within practice. Sometimes you'll pull a player out and make a backup step up to kind of prepare him for those situations. But the whole next man up mindset kind of carries you through," Olson said.

The Raiders have already played several games without Bowers this season, though Chip Kelly was the team's offensive coordinator at the time. Still, coordinators do not touch the field; Las Vegas will have many of the same problems without Bowers on the field, regardless of who is calling the plays.

Olson noted that although he was not with the Raiders during Bowers' rookie season, the talented tight end has been as advertised since the two have worked together this season. Olson knows how unique Bowers' skill set is for the Raiders and how much he impacts the plays called.

"Yeah, obviously, not being here last year, I didn't get a chance to be around him. So, obviously looked at him from afar and was really impressed with how he played and the player that he is, and he did nothing to disappoint me after being here and getting a chance to be with him for a year, because he is an all-around tight end. He's an excellent route runner. He can help you in the run game, in the blocking. He's extremely athletic,” Olson said. 

“He's got a great football mindset, great instincts as a tight end. So, he just brings a lot to the table, very unique in his body type and size. And he's improving. He's one of those guys that every week, we bring up examples of how he practices and how he then carries it into the game. So, practice preparation equals game day reality kind of for him, and he's a great example of that. And we point it out repeatedly during the week, so just been a great player."

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