There seems to be a consensus that Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce will get the best out of his team. But its "best" doesn't necessarily mean greatness.
Many have already written off the Raiders as Week 1 approaches, but those close to Pierce have faith he can get them back to a winning standard.
Pierce's former teammate, All-Pro New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, is one of them.
"He won't like what I'm about to say, from one perspective, but he'll love what I'm going to say out of this," Tuck told FanSided's Mike Luciano. "You got to think about how his career eveolved and how good he was at middle linebacker. Antonio is not that athletic. Like, he's going to hate me saying that. AP, there's no metric of athleticism that he's going to jump off the wall with. He's nowhere near the strongest, he's nowhere near the fastest. None of that. And think about it from this perspective: He still made very play that he was supposed to make at that linebacker position. And that speaks to how smart he is and how instinctive he is. And obviously, there is no question about his leadership.
"So, I know for a fact that team is going to be better just because he's going to have everyone on that team ready to run through a wall for him because he is a player's coach 100%. And by player's coach, I don't mean he's soft, that he's their friend. no, he knows how to get the most, extract the most out of his players because he's been there. And he knows what works from that motivational perspective. Add into the fact that he is much more than people think or have given him credit for. A football-minded person."
Tuck also credited Pierce for the staff he surrounded himself with.
"He did the right thing, right? He's never been in the head coaching position," Tuck said. "So, what does he go do? He goes and calls Coach [Tom] Coughlin, Coach Marvin Lewis, guys who've had phenomenal careers in this sport, to help fill in the gaps of things he might not necessarily know as being the head of the helm."
Tuck won two Super Bowls and was named to two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro First Team in his nine years with the Giants. He spent his last two NFL seasons as an Oakland Raider.
