Raiders Focus on Situational Football at OTAs

This week, the Las Vegas Raiders are wrapping up their organized team activities, or OTAs.

These practices do not feature pads or live contact, but teams still go through drills of different varieties. For some players, this is their first opportunity to learn the system and get a feel for their teammates.

This is now year two for the Raiders under Coach Josh McDaniels, and he has players on the team who better understand his system and what he is looking for in his offense.

The Raiders’ social media team posted a video on Monday of McDaniels ‘mic’d up,’ walking around practice, joking with players, and running them through plays.

Yes, we did Mic Up Coach McDaniels 🎤👀 pic.twitter.com/hP4DJLoLL2
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 14, 2023

Noticeably, McDaniels was calling out different down-and-distance scenarios, running the players through situational football drills. These types of drills can benefit players when they encounter those situations in an actual game.

“I think we’re doing some things; we’re doing a lot of things, I’d say, better, and more, more understanding of why,” McDaniels says in the video. “Which is a huge part of this, you know what I mean? Like, they have to understand why we’re doing it.”

For a practice that doesn’t have any live contact, situational football is a good way for players, especially rookies and new players, to learn what they need to do in that specific situation.

McDaniels' scenarios include a second down-and-one scenario in the first quarter. Another example he shouts out in the video is: “Five seconds left, defense is up by three, it’s third and goal at the five-yard line.”

The practices in OTAs are much more simulated than real practices, so McDaniels has taken the opportunity to sharpen his players’ minds and prepare them for situations they might face in games this season.

Having a mental edge is crucial in the NFL, and understanding situational football can help the Raiders down the line during the season. McDaniels is instilling different situations in his players at the right time, so they can be cognizant of what they must do when the time comes.

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