Graney: Why would anyone respect the Raiders right now?

Antonio Pierce is a football coach who doesn’t handcuff his players when it comes to voicing their opinions. Backing it all up is the key part. And often the most difficult.

So there is a lack of respect across the country for the Raiders, predictions of doom and gloom, of no more than six wins, of Pierce being ranked as one of the NFL’s worst coaches.

I’m just not sure what else they expected.

The Raiders haven’t won anything in forever. They have two playoff appearances since 2002. They haven’t named a starting quarterback between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Pierce is in his first season as a full-time NFL coach after going 5-4 with an interim tag last season.

They’re favored to win two games.

These are not facts that create much positivity from the outside. Nor should they at this point.

Opportunity knocks

Good news for them: The Raiders have everything to prove and every opportunity to do so. It’s on them to change the narrative.

Be angry with all of it. Speak out against it. But that doesn’t mean anything unless they win at a high level. Nothing else matters.

It has obviously struck a nerve within the locker room. Players such as Maxx Crosby and Jack Jones and Robert Spillane talked all week about such a forecast of losing, about how it has been addressed internally.

That can be a good thing. Extra motivation never hurt any team. Whatever fuels you, I suppose. No matter how contrived, playing the respect card might help you improve that one percent each day that Crosby and others consistently hammer.

“I love it,” Pierce said Friday before the Raiders wrapped up the first week of training camp. “The best part about it is we’re still 0-0, and we haven’t played any games, and we can control if we win or lose. One thing you’ll see about this team and its personalities — they have a chip on their shoulders. They’re pissed off, and that’s good, (and) as long as we control that energy into something positive on game day, we’ll be fine.”

Success is the only elixir to changing people’s minds. The Raiders haven’t earned much of anything lately. There is talking about it and doing it.

Talk the talk and then walk the walk. And the Raiders have no problem talking about it.

They can’t help it. They’re going to see it. They’re going to hear about it. Social media is abuzz with such stuff. A new set of rankings seemingly comes out each day, and nothing changes about where others believe the Raiders will finish this season. Then go out and change their minds.

So then players express their views. And their coach encourages it to a point.

“It’s a different time,” Pierce said. “When I played, the guy I played for would have probably been fining me left and right. It’s a different age, and you set the standards and expectations. What to say, what to do, how far you go.

“I think they understand those lines and, more importantly, it gives them a sense of empowerment. Whenever they cross the line, we’ll discuss it. If that comes up, we’ll handle it like grown men.”

Pierce talks a lot about building culture. About things such as pride and poise and passion. About how he wants the Raiders to carry themselves on and off the field.

Which is all find and well until you don’t come through on the scoreboard. And that includes the part about having lots to say.

Respect? Win games

“Players are going to talk the way they talk,” Pierce said. “I don’t hold them back from doing it ever. That’s today’s professional football. Whatever you do, it’s all about the grass.”

And that’s the point. You want respect? Win games. Make the playoffs. Change the narrative. Deliver success.

Only then will folks take notice. Only then will opinions change.

How it should be.

Nothing else matters.

“They’re going to keep saying it,” wide receiver Tre Tucker said, “until we prove otherwise.”

Then do so.

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.