With Pete Carroll's Raiders, It's All in the Details

As the Las Vegas Raiders ready themselves for their first training camp under Pete Carroll, there's two phrases that virtually personifies what could be most important to the success of the silver and black.

The two are "It's All in the Details" and "Details. Details. Details". In a recent edition of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast, On SI Senior Beat Writer Hondo Carpenter discussed how attention to the concept is changing the culture in Vegas already.

"Pete's made it clear to his staff... details, detail, details. Made it clear to his leaders and players... details, details, details. So that, like I told you the other day, I'm talking to players, and none of them are even looking past training camp. It's all about details. I've talked to several players now since minicamp ended, and all of them with a litany, a list of things over these six weeks they've gotta have improved or worked on ahead of training camp," explained Carpenter.

"Details matter, and little things from eating. Okay, the players know what supplements to take, what supplements not to take, okay, but then there are constantly new supplements coming out, and the Raiders are making sure, hey, here's a new supplement. Don't use it there. It's like, not just read the list, it's details, as far as little things, a Raider coach literally working with a player about moving his foot back a quarter inch, a quarter inch. Details, understanding, this is what you bring to camp with you."

Carpenter explained further just how precise the new administration has been, and how players are taking it seriously.

"Understanding when we tell you this time, this is what we mean. Understanding the schedule on the wall is not a suggestion. I'm going to tell you something. It used to drive Raiders players crazy when there would be schedules, and it's happened a lot where something's scheduled, but God only knows when that's going to happen. It's not this administration. If Pete Carroll says, 'We're meeting at 10;30', you better be in your seat at 10;28. If he says, 'We're ending at 12', you know you're ending at 12. It's details. It's going through a one player talked about learning plays under this new stat is incredibly difficult because of the amount of detail requested. I am a person who believes that details matter, and so the smaller the detail you pay attention to, the less something can go wrong."

"I'm going to tell you the new coaches that have been brought in, [They] all have that. All have that attention to detail, and the coaches that were retained already had it, and Pete Carroll is doing a tremendous job of getting things down, and now the Raiders are paying attention to those little things. The littlest of details you know, making sure you're taking a drink even when you're not thirsty, because you're in the desert. Little things about treating your teammates, and that many of you may think, well, that's stupid. Well, it's not stupid. It's not stupid when you care about every little detail, and when you care about every little detail, but first care about the little details of the person's life."

There is a detail-orientedness In this franchise, from where your foot goes to where your eyes are, to taking a drink when you're not thirsty, to making sure you're careful on rehab, to diet, to family, to schedules, the whole thing. It's fascinating, and that's just another reason the little things are being addressed. Why I expect this Raiders team to be different? Because we're already seeing it, that's a big deal".

The concept of being detail-oriented is already paying off in culture, but it takes a while for any plan to be old-hat. It's a process and may not equate into wins right away. However, it's one that when fully in effect, is designed to result in next-level professionalism.