Graney: Raiders made right QB call, but things must improve

Well, they had to pick someone, right?

The Raiders on Sunday came to a conclusion about which quarterback will start the season. Gardner Minshew got the nod over Aidan O’Connell.

Fact: It’s the right call.

Fact: It won’t matter if Minshew isn’t far better than he has been.

The Raiders can’t win games without a stronger performance than what we’ve seen so far from the team’s quarterbacks. Things can’t remain status quo. Success won’t arrive if that’s the case.

Minshew hardly looked the part in a 27-12 preseason loss to Dallas on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. He completed 10 of his 21 passes for 95 yards and produced just three points in five drives. He missed throws. He missed reads. It was just not good enough.

But it’s also true he has been the better overall quarterback since training camp began.

Which on most days hasn’t said much.

Minshew is just the best option right now. And he has played enough in the NFL — 37 career starts and a Pro Bowl appearance last season — to understand results need to improve.

No one really grabbed the job. But someone has to play.

Playing to win

“We support (Minshew),” coach Antonio Pierce said. “Our team’s behind it. Our staff’s behind it and our organization is behind it.”

Going with Minshew is the best decision if the Raiders are playing to win now. He has a better chance of making things happen and offering a spark when plays break down.

He’s also a veteran who has won games in the league. Pierce said experience mattered when making the final decision. It should. The Raiders, until proven otherwise, will be led by their defense. Minshew has been around long enough to know managing the game is vital on such a team.

“His personality is infectious, his energy is infectious, his leadership is infectious,” Pierce said. “In (terms of) improvement, footwork in the pocket, staying on script. There is some magic about him when he breaks the pocket and does his thing. But a lot of times, the first and second read is there, so we have to let it rip. He understands that and, more importantly, about taking care of the football.”

Pierce talks of things in quarters. Like the first quarter of the Raiders’ season including two away games and two home games. He believes Minshew can navigate the schedule better.

O’Connell would have been a more long-term choice. He went 5-5 in 10 starts his rookie season. Odds still favor him playing at some point this year. Just not to start things.

The selection of Minshew suggests the Raiders at least have an eye on winning now rather than making their priority building for the future.

True pros

Each quarterback handled the past several weeks with extreme professionalism. Each supported the other at every turn and in every interview. Each said all the right things while slugging it out to see who would emerge as the No. 1 guy. Things were lacking on the field but not off it.

This was Minshew following Saturday’s loss to Dallas: “We’ve had a super competitive camp and been neck-and-neck the whole way. … We’ve left it up (to Pierce) to make a hard decision. … I’m super optimistic about what we’re gong to be able to do as a team this year. I’m just looking forward to this year in general.”

He’s the right choice to start.

Which won’t mean much if his play doesn’t improve.

The Raiders need more to win games.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.