The Time is Now for the Raiders to Make This Move

The Las Vegas Raiders have nothing to lose and a lot to gain during the second half of the season.

Raiders' Opportunity

Heading into the Bye Week, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll explained how valuable the Bye Week was for a Raiders team searching for answers. At 2-5 with several aging veterans, Las Vegas would be wise to see what they have in some of their younger players.

This would be the perfect time for the Raiders to get those younger players valuable experience and playing time in games this Raiders team is unlikely to win. The Raiders will of course keep most of their starting lineup intact, but when the starters need a breather, Las Vegas should not hesitate.

"Big self-scouting opportunity for us, big chance to make sure that we know what our opponents are seeing, and to tweak and adjust and be creative with how we do that. That's what this time is always for. A chance to take a look at some young guys, to give them a better shot, and a couple days that we practice with them, just a better chance to show us where they fit or how far they've come and can they help us. So, it's all pretty much the normal stuff, but that's what we're focusing on," Carroll said.

Carroll explained the benefits of Las Vegas' younger players seeing the field more, especially those players from this year's draft class.

"Carter Runyon caught his first ball there. The ball in the first series right off the bat. He's out there playing football for us and he's contributing to special teams. He's one of the guys that's really helped us in special teams since he's been up. And so, yeah, it helps. The more plays that we can log with the new guys, Jack [Bech] and Dont'e [Thornton Jr.], we can show them the things that they need to improve on and the things that they're not quite as sharp on,” Carroll said.

"It helps them. And there's some pain in that too. There's some pain in there that we have to undergo. But it's how you do it. By the time you get to the middle of the season, these guys should have things really cleaned up, and they should be ready to go and we can count on them and thy can come through and not be error repeaters, you know? And that's what we're working hard at."