Raiders vs. Chargers INSIDE LOOK: How Antonio Pierce Will Beat Jim Harbaugh | NFL Week 1

today's inside look at the Raiders week one matchup against the Chargers is presented by Panda Subs use code Raiders for 25% off all their workout supplements those links are going to be available to you'all down in the comments and in the description of today's [Music] show Rider Nation what's going on it's Mitchell Rens here and welcome to inside look every week I'm going to sit down with a host of the team that the Raiders are going to be playing and I'm going to figure out what the biggest storylines are for the opposing team we're going to look at the biggest strengths the biggest weaknesses and how the Raiders can beat them I also say this you better pull up to our watch party Raiders Chargers hit that subscribe button on Sunday we're giving away a signed Max Crosby Jersey now usually every single week I'm able to sit down during our Vikings game I sat down with our Vikings host Cowboys sat down with our Cowboys host I've been able to sit down with every single host the problem is I'm not even sure if Chargers fans actually exist I looked far and wide I couldn't find a single one so if you watch this show if you want to share this to a Chargers fan so I know they exist because I'm not 100% sure they do exist I remember the NFL tried to tell me that this lady here she's probably a nice lady was a Chargers fan I don't think that she actually is so if anybody could please help me find a Chargers fan that would be great or if you're like me I think honestly Chargers fans are kind of like Bigfoot which somebody's going to be like Bigfoot's real dude Bigfoot might be more real I proba seen more Bigfoot walking around than I have Chargers fans and if you don't think Chargers fans are real I want you to smash that like button y'all better take over Sofi Stadium black that thing out so coming up here we're going to get into the Chargers storylines against the Las Vegas Raiders and this is from chargers.com because I mean that's all I could find I'm not going to lie to y'all chargers.com broke down some of their biggest storylines and I'm going to tell you if I'm the Raiders how we go out there and how we make sure that those things don't happen one of the first story lines here for the charers is what does the team look like with brand new head coach Jim Harbaugh I mean we talked about the Raiders were the worst head coach team last season with Josh McDaniels a very close second was the Los Angeles Chargers and you got to give Harbaugh as credit right like Harbaugh was a guy that I wanted the Raiders to hire I'll admit that I absolutely agree that Antonio Pierce was the right guy for the job but watching what this team looks like with hard ball I think is a lot different than what people think so this is according to chargers.com the gy harball era is here and the Chargers head coach has installed a new attitude and mindset that is permed throughout the roster offensively the bolts want to run the ball and set the tone in the trenches yes they still have Justin Herbert at QB but imagine the allor quarterback with a bruising running game and an offensive line that can help keep him upright in the pocket if I'm the Raiders and I see that and I agree with it like you have Hardball he's going to be an old school minded dude wants to rely on his defense wants to run the rock then they go out they f find themselves a nice little dude who you know Greg Roman he wants to run the football a lot if I'm the Raiders I'm looking at John Jenkins Christian Wilkins NES the Jade SAA Adam Butler and Lalu and I'm going hey this is an opportunity for you guys to plug up the middle here and really make life difficult on that Chargers offense because if you make them onedimensional with the receivers that they have they're going to struggle a little bit I'm also going to be looking at Max Crosby and Malcolm Co to get some pressure on the edge but that also meets guys like a Tyrie Wilson needs to be fresh Jarius Robinson needs to be fresh the charters are going to play a physical brand of football and we need our defensive line all the players to step up and be ready to go let's have a fun question though because the amount of times I heard the Raiders should have hired Jim Harbaugh over Antonio Pierce because of the resume everybody starts out with a blank resume Harbaugh started out with a blank resume Bill bellich started out with a blank resume it doesn't matter who you are as a head coach you started out with a blank resume so let's have a fun little debate here who's going to have more wins this season as a head coach you think it's going to be Antonio Pierce you think it's going to be Jim harball y'all already know where I'm going give me that AP down below let's go to the Chargers second storyline who steps up at wide receiver there's a lot of different faces here for the Chargers and I actually think that lowkey this is one of those stories that has not been talked about nearly enough and this is what the Chargers had to say about it this is the position group that enters the 2024 Four Season with perhaps the most approv with the three most targeted players from a season ago no longer on the roster the bolts will need someone from this group to step up Joshua Palmer is entering year four with the Chargers and already has a built-in rapport with Herbert DJ Chark is a veteran who brings size and athleticism Quinton Johnson could be a name to watch here the 2023 first round pick Andor an up and down rookie season but flashed in training camp and looks like a much improved player the bols also have a pair of rookies on the roster in second round pick lad makoni and seventh rounder Brendan rice watch for makoni to be a third down option for Herbert due to his quickness and rout running ability and I 100% agree with that if I'm the Raiders the one guy that I am really concerned about is makoni because when you look at the past Seasons where the Raiders have struggled they've struggled against a receiver like Keenan Allen who's not overly athletic but just a extremely good route Runner and that's what makoni is so I'm looking at Nate Hobs Nate Hobs I'm looking at you right now and I need you to be able to step up to the job and get it done Jack Jones I need you to be able to lock guys up on the outside I'd love another one-handed pick six jakori and Bennett if you get an opportunity go out there show that you're not afraid show that you're going to be athletic but I do think the Raiders here if they're able to get some pressure bring it four bring it five that's going to help out these Corners a lot but I also think because of the wide receivers if I'm the Raiders I don't need to Blitz too much I am confident that we're going to be able to get pressure with four and five drop our guys back and win those matchups let's go to the third story line here for the Chargers how much Havoc does this defense create and we saw a lot last season let's not get it twisted seven sacks against the Raiders was a tough one to swallow C Mack had six of them aan OK conell was a statue back there in the pocket and we need to protect better but we also need a quarterback that knows how to have a little bit more pocket awareness chargers.com said this if you watch any of the bolts three preseason games you probably noticed that Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter likes to bring the heat on opposing quarterbacks the Chargers defense tallied seven sacks and pre-season play that was without their Heavy Hitters on the field but the real fun will be to track how Mentor employs The Edge rusher group of C Mack Joey Bosa two tuy Pou Bud Dei ma Bosa tuy Pou were on the field together for 44 plays last season the Chargers tallied 10 combined sacks on those plays if it's third and long look for M to dial up the pressure by using the elite stable of edge rushers at this position so you got Colt Miller you got there mford we cannot have another situation like we did last season where our tackles were getting beat as often as what they were now that's also I think to do with Josh McDaniels being a horrific head coach because after the game McDaniels was asked what he thought he did well to try to you know slow down Mack and he's like Oh I thought we did a good job double teaming him they double team him two times had a 62 snap so it's just McDaniels just showing that he's got no idea what's going on but Colt Miller I got confidence in you know it's a big game right here and I mean a big game for the mford to be able to prove that he's the right guy for the job and if he's unable to get it done I got a lot of confidence in DJ glaze to be able to go out there and get it done bottom line is we could talk about Gardner mry you could talk about all these guys Adel oono you could talk about Devonte Adam doesn't matter if you don't block the Raiders will not win this game and if I'm Las Vegas not only am I going to rely on my offensive line I'm going to try to run the ball a little bit more effectively take some pressure off of those guys coming up here let's look at some of the charer strengths and weaknesses we're going to look at both sides of the football and then I'm going to break down the keys to Victory because to me if the Raiders want to win this game you're going to have to do the little things really really well so AP Tesco hopefully you watch this show and hopefully we bring home a dub this upcoming Sunday before I get into all that though I got to give a shout out to Panda Subs they've been a loyal sponsor here for 3 four years at this point owned by a DieHard Raider fan and if you use code Raiders you're going to be able to get 25% off at Panda subs.com I've spok at Great Lengths about the protein but I do want to tell you guys about the collagen and a reason why is because I know a lot of guys that watch this show if you're like me I don't actually usually just buy things just for me I usually buy something for me that I can also get my fiance 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think the first thing that you got to look at is the strengths and the Chargers they're offensive tackles they're maybe the two best offensive tackle duo in the league I think ran Slater is one of the best in the biz I also think that Joe Al he was my highest graded tackle the fact that you got Slater playing on the left side did allow three sacks but still like he is a highlevel offensive I I I if you were to ask me ran Slater or Colton Miller I'm taking ran Slater all right and that's not a knock on Miller it's just that's where he's at if you were to ask me Colton Miller or Joe ult over the next three seasons I'll take Joe ult if you're asking me for this year I'll take Colton Miller but I'm just going out there and I'm trying to explain to you how talented both of those guys are and they are they're going to try to do everything in their power to make sure that he's upright so max cby Malcolm Co I'm not necessarily worried about those guys as much but they need to be able to win those one-on-one and especially for a guy like Malcolm Coons he needs to go out and prove that he can win that matchup because Max is going to do his thing Christian wilkin's going to bring on a double team if either Malcolm Tyrie or jerius can prove that they can just help out on a few extra snaps I think it's really going to Open the Eyes here for this Raiders defense let's go to the next thing that the Chargers do really well their Edge rushers they got a lot of guys that can get after the quarterback and when you have a team that we do with the offensive line right now I have confidence in in the offensive line but there's some question marks around it you can't really deny that and then you got Gardner muu who you know isn't the most mobile quarterback isn't the best quarterback out there but needs to be protected like any quarterback does c Mack had six sacks against us last season that can't happen again I'll admit that I would say three of those are on the offensive line the other three sacks were 100% on Aiden oconnell inability to feel pressure another player who's coming off a little bit of a Down year six and a half sacks is Joey Bosa I mean when he's healthy he's healthy right now he's one of the best in the biz so being able to limit him is really important another player that the Chargers added was Bud dpri he had six and a half sacks last season they're going to be a team with minra it's going to bring a lot of pressure so our offensive line needs to make sure that it does a good job being able to hold up to that pressure I also think that our offensive coordinator Luke getsy needs to do a good job of if hey you got to put in Alexander Madison our best pass blocking bat to to chip a little bit do that if you need a run the rock with zamir white to take a little bit of pressure off those guys being able to bring the edges that's something you need to do I can't even believe I'm going to say this if you want to do third down in Abdullah little screen action I'm okay with it you got to figure out ways to take pressure off and you got to be able to figure out ways to tire out those Edge guys and instead of them pinning their ears back going out and getting you let them think for a second because if you think for a second in the NFL it's already too late let's go to the next strength here I know Raider fans don't agree with this one but Justin Herbert's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL he doesn't have the win losses probably that a lot of QBs with his talent have and he's choked on some major games right I mean you blow a 29 to nothing lead that's a tough one but from a talent standpoint Alone Justin Herbert has got it like he's got the arm strength he's got the legs he can beat you in a lot of different ways and I'm almost wondering was it a Chargers problem or was it a Justin Herbert problem and it's probably a little bit of a mix of both but for the Raiders you got to get after him this is somebody who's been battling plantar fascia the entire off season and you know there was some questions whether or not he'd be ready to go week one he's cleared the play he's good to go but I guarantee you this the one thing that the Chargers don't want is Justin Herbert running for his life and if Herbert turns the ball over the Chargers are going to be a team that's going to be in trouble they want to play with the lead they want to run the football and if the Raiders get a lead that's where they can be really dangerous in 12 Personnel the Chargers last season were one and five when Herbert threw an interception I'll admit the one game that they won with Herbert starting when he threw a pick was against the Raiders but I think everybody that's sitting up here right now watching the show goes that Chargers team the Raiders team that the Chargers played when Josh McDaniels was the head coach compared to the Raiders team that the that played the Chargers on Thursday night that Antonio Pierce coach was very very different so we talk about Herbert here but let's also talk about our quarterback Gardner mchu and if you're playing fantasy football probably want to start Justin Herbert over Gardner muu and you probably shouldn't even think about it but I've also been doing this for a long time and I know just what you think's going to happen doesn't always happen who do you think's going to have a better game and I want you to think of this from a fantasy football standpoint are you going to go with Gardner menu type GM or are you going to go with Justin Herbert I want you to type JH as much as I want to sit up here and say it's Gardener muu from a fantasy football standpoint I will put my money on Justin Herbert but I actually think it's going to be a lot closer than what people realize the Raiders defense is much better than the Chargers defense let's go to some of the Chargers weaknesses now and how the Raiders can take advantage of this the first one is the pass catchers and we talked a little bit about the wide receivers early on guess what the tight end situation for the Chargers is also not very good Gerald Evert he ended up leaving he's no longer a member of this team if I'm the Raiders I'm bringing four I'm bringing five and I'm going to drop my guys back and we're going to get pressure not pressure sacks we're going to get coverage sacks a lot more often just because they're not going to have guys that can beat our player Quinton Johnson I think he stinks the only guy that I'm worried about legitimately is lad makoni on a basis just because I think he's the biggest mismatch and he's a receiver that I do think Justin Herbert could link up with a lot because he's a good route Runner because he's a lesser version of Keenan now one of the reasons why they went out and got him but pass catchers the Raiders should dominate bring four bring five you're going to be just fine let's go to another weakness here that the Chargers have Christian fton and Jer Taylor when you look at their five DBS that start here for the Chargers on a normal basis the guy that usually lines up on the left side's the Sant Samuel there strong safeties Derwin James free safety aloy Gilman who is actually a player that I thought the Raiders could potentially Target this off season and then you got Christian Fon and Jer Taylor if you're Luke gatsy where are you going with the football I can tell you I'm either going to go in the slot with your C Taylor or I'm going to Target Christian Fon if you want to put Devonte Adams on a Sante Samuel and let him cook there Devonte is going to be more than okay in that matchup maybe you put your tight ends on Derwin James see how that one unfolds my bottom line is this if it's like a third down and five I usually sit up here all the time and I go third down and five like hey let's target number 17 if it's third down and five or a must pickup first down situation and aant Samuels on Devonte that's fine just know that there's a lot of other matchups that we should be able to win those one-on ones with so if on the Raiders I would have Trey Tucker maybe do a little pre- snap motion and then get jacobe in a one-on-one get Brock Bowers in a one-on-one get Michael Mayer in a one-on-one and if it's there you hit him if not there's going to be something else open the Raiders can beat you in a lot of different ways and those two guys are not going to slow you down let's go to the other chargers weakness here it is a million per that interior offensive line their tackles are legit I will see though like if I'm Las Vegas I want to see Max Crosby up against Joe alal I want to see Max baptize a rookie because I don't think that Joe wal's gone up against anything like Max Crosby Crosby's better than K Mack he's better than Joey Bosa he's the best Edge rusher that Al's ever gone up against let's see how he handles it but then also from the interior standpoint according to PFF last season Zion Johnson 57.6 PFF grade Bradley boozman 62.2 Trey pimkin I third who actually played a little bit of right tackle and I think Max Crosby is the reason why he got kicked into guard Joe Al probably helped a little bit too alz 90.7 is from college so just keep that in mind but then from the sack numbers allowed last season the interior offensive line is where the Raiders need to go out and they need to get after so for a guy like Christian Wilkins for a guy like Adam Butler John Jenkins Tyrie Wilson I'm even looking at you we need to be able to get out there we need to show a healthy rotation and we need to be fresh because they're going to be physical they're going to run the football a lot but when they do decide to drop back the pass or in a little play action because it's going to happen often our guys need to be able to get up the field and make some plays happen so I'm going to give my prediction for this game and if anybody hasn't already seen I put out a video earlier in the week about my Raiders record prediction if there's any Raiders or Chargers fans that want to watch my Madden simulation for this game we did it back in May and it's got Gardner muu starting because all along we were like yeah this is going to be the guy that starts for the Raiders I'm going to give you my prediction for this game but before I do if you don't know we got a week one watch party going down this weekend in North Carolina if you want to attend it's free to go go to chatsports.com week1 and this thing's going to be packed I checked in last week they right now or somewhere around a 100 people expected to go and that's just without the plus ones this place is going to be packed back then Bar and Grill there's going to be food deals there there's going to be raffle deals there if you should show up you have a chance to win some really cool Rises there's going to be a special guest there I'm just telling you guys are going to have fun with that one but it's a familyfriendly event if you enjoy what jug and I do here on YouTube why not come hang out with us in person chatsports.com week1 but only if you want to hang out with chugs and I this weekend and a bunch of other Raiders fans so my week one matchup prediction give me the Raiders to win 2421 it's going to be a close game these teams are evenly matched and I do think whoever gets out to that early lead could benefit because both teams want to try to run the football both teams want to go with a balanced attack if I'm Las Vegas I want the ball to start this game I want to set the tone early we'll see what they end up doing but give me the Raiders to win 2421 that's inside look and I'm telling you right now Antonio Pierce is going to beat Jim Harbaugh [Music]