Discipline is a fundamental characteristic in American football, even when it has not been given the spotlight it deserves. In this sense, it is one of the strengths that the Raidersespecially since Antonio Pierce He took charge last season, in an interim position that earned him the starting position as head coach.
The team of Las Vegas remains the most disciplined in the NFLwith only 11 penalties committed in the first three games of this campaign. To put it in perspective, the second team that has seen the fewest yellow flags against it is the New England Patriots with 13, while the most punished franchises have been Baltimore Ravens (31)who was beaten in Week 2, in addition to Cleveland Browns (29), this Sunday’s rival.
“It’s something that’s been preached a lot since Antonio Pierce has been here,” offensive lineman Kolton Miller said last week at a news conference. “Emphasis is placed on discipline and communicationespecially before kickoff. “We work on having good hand placement to limit those fouls and it is something we are going to continue working on.”
Behind the scarves
They have been 11 penalties that the Raiders have committed before the end of the first month of the season. Two of them have been for holding on offense, one for pass interference by an offensive player, one for offsides, a couple for holding on defense, one for a pass interference on defense, one for unnecessary roughness and three more in the category of others, which include shoulder pad tackles, 12 men on the field of play or illegal use of hands, to name a few examples.
To this point, the Raiders have been clean in other areas, such as delays of game, false starts, illegal contact, roughing the passer, personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct. Also They are the only team whose penalties have cost them less than three digits, with just 84 yards against. The Patriots have 152 penalty yards and the Ravens have 278 penalty yards.
The 11 penalties have been distributed among nine players: three on offense and the rest on defense. Defensive ends Charles Snowden (holding and offside) and Janarius Robinson (both in the other category) are the only ones who have committed more than one penalty, costing the Raiders little field travel: 15 and 9 yards, respectively. .
The rest of the players have only been guilty once: the secondary defenders Jakorian Bennett (15 yards for pass interference), Isaiah Pola-Mao (nine yards per holding), Tre’von Moehrig (six yards for unnecessary roughness) and Jack Jones (five yards per holding); running back Ameer Abdullah (10 yards pass interference), tight end Michael Mayer (10 yards holding) and receiver DJ Turner (five yards other) round out the roster.
The key against Cleveland
The Raiders repeat at home at Allegiant Stadium against the Browns who have given more to talk about because of their instability than because of their defense. Indiscipline has been a constant for this Ohio team, since In 2023 he was the third who saw the most yellow handkerchiefs against himwith 115 penalties for 897 negative yards.
This year, their 29 errors have cost them 212 yards. They have three false starts, seven holding on offense, five offsides, two holding on defense, one for roughing the passer and 11 in the other category. Their leader, the pass rusher Myles Garrett is the one who has committed the most sanctionswith three out of place and one more in an advanced position.
Unlike Las Vegas, Cleveland offensive linemen have committed penalties: Center Ethan Pocic has committed one false start and two holding the offense; Offensive tackles Dawand Jones and James Hudson have also had false starts or holding; Same case as offensive guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. The forwards combine for 11 penalties, the most for the Raiders as a unit. Their quarterback is not spared either: Deshaun Watson takes a penalty and has cost his team 13 yards.
This lack of discipline can be taken advantage of so that the Raiders can tilt the game towards their side.
RGS
