The Las Vegas Raiders haven't seen their quarterbacks create major separation in the competition for the starting job all offseason long, with both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell routinely struggling in practice.
One big reason for that has been the play of the defense, which has been stifling on a daily basis. Of course, having a star pass-rusher like Maxx Crosby regularly blowing things up doesn't make Minshew's or O'Connell's lives any easier.
As a result of Crosby routinely wrecking reps, head coach Antonio Pierce recently admitted that he has had to pull the stud edge rusher off the field at practice on numerous occasions this offseason in order to give his offense a chance.
“It’s difficult when you have a player of his magnitude, the way he practices, the effort,” Pierce said Wednesday. “I mean, that’s where he gets you at. When guys get tired — and everyone in the league, it happens to them — and all of a sudden on play six, here comes Maxx.
“There are certain plays we want to see, and sometimes you’ve got to pull him off on those plays to get the look for the offense. I mean, he is that type of player now in his career where when he makes up his mind, he’s unblockable. And I think he understands that, and we understand that.”
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The good thing about having Crosby and a talented defense challenging the offense is it hardens the latter unit ahead of the regular season. After seeing such a good group, many defenses the Raiders' offense faces moving forward won't seem so bad.
Crosby is primed to have his best season yet, as he might have the most help he's ever had upfront after the addition of Christian Wilkins, and with Malcolm Koonce coming off the best season of his career.
The quarterback position might be a question mark, but the Raiders will certainly be able to rely on their defense to pick up the slack if the offense struggles.