Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Raiders ‘juiced’ to show off Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football

‘We’re representing Las Vegas in a big way and our energy is going to be through the roof’

Raiders Scrimmage at Allegiant Stadium

AP

Las Vegas Raiders players train at Allegiant Stadium during an NFL football training camp practice Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Injury Updates

Of the four Raiders with the most pressing injury concerns going into Saturday's practice, receiver Henry Ruggs III made the biggest step in potentially returning.

Ruggs practiced, albeit in a limited capacity, in the final full session before Monday Night Football against the Saints. He remains listed as questionable.

Coach Jon Gruden described linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, tackle Trent Brown and tackle Sam Young all as doubtful but said they were improving.

"I'm going to remain hopeful but that's the best I can do right now," he said.

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Co-workers famously loved working alongside Raiders coach Jon Gruden during his nine-year stint as a color commentator on Monday Night Football.

Gruden is so beloved from his time on the broadcast that it’s almost hard to believe he ever caused any disagreement, but he remembered one occasion earlier this week. When executives wanted to alter the traditional Monday Night Football theme song early in his tenure, Gruden wasn’t having it.   

“I fought that at ESPN,” Gruden reminisced. “I don’t need all this new guitars and all of these new beepers or whatever they’re putting in. I like the old Monday Night Football anthem to highlights with Howard Cosell. That was my Monday Night I looked forward to.”

Gruden continues to carry a reverence for the history of Monday Night Football and an excitement to keep being a part of it. The enthusiasm extends to his team, as the Raiders unanimously raved about the opportunity to open Allegiant Stadium in primetime against the New Orleans Saints at 5:25 p.m. tomorrow night during new conferences throughout the week.     

Knowing the entire football, if not sports, world will be focused on their performance in their new, near $2 billion digs helps make up for some of their disappointment about fans not being allowed in the 65,000-seat venue out of precaution for the coronavirus.

“We would love to have fans there but it will still be a great experience just to get in there under the lights, on the big stage and have a Monday Night game in there,” defensive tackle Maurice Hurst said. “It’s the greatest stadium in the NFL and it’s honestly an honor to play in somewhere so nice and get to break it in. You’ve got to protect your home. That’s something we have to do and it starts Monday night.”

The Raiders gave mixed reviews of their first experience playing in an empty stadium, a 34-30 victory over the Carolina Panthers last week. The consensus was that they eventually hit their stride, but they weren’t “juiced” to play early.

Tight end Darren Waller said it was difficult not to inherently be a little flat after the music at Bank of America Stadium cut out and the Raiders warmed up in silence. Quarterback Derek Carr said it was jarring to hear no reaction when he hit receiver Henry Ruggs III with a 45-yard pass completion early in the game.

Safety Jonathan Abram was among those who took it upon themselves to motivate the team as the game went on, but no one foresees the slow start as being a problem on Monday. The magnitude of the moment will have the Raiders showing up hours before kickoff “juiced.”

“Guys are definitely excited to play in our home stadium, I feel like it will lift our energy up,” tight end Darren Waller said. “People aren’t going to be there, but we know we’re representing Las Vegas in a big way and our energy is going to be through the roof playing at home this year. I think it will be a big advantage for us.”

Gruden said he didn’t want to get “real deep and overly philosophical” about what it means to the Raiders’ organization to open a new stadium, presumably because he doesn’t want his players overhyped. He scheduled two training-camp practices in the building the franchise is referring to colloquially as, “the death star,” so players could get used to the atmosphere and get the awe factor out of the way before gameday.

It must have worked as defensive end Maxx Crosby referred to the chance to even scrimmage at Allegiant Stadium as “amazing.”

“Getting to play on Monday night, it’s going to be awesome,” Crosby said. “Obviously we wish fans were in the crowd. It was going to be an insane environment but we’re going to have to wait for that. It’s football and we just have to go out and do our thing.”

Crosby laughed at how some of his earliest recollections of Monday Night Football involved Gruden. He never imagined he would wind up playing for the broadcaster whose commentary he heard every Monday night as a child growing up in Texas.

Gruden can relate, as he shared his own memories of getting to stay up late in the 1970s to watch Monday Night Football with his father.

“I think the guys look forward to having a chance to play on national TV,” Gruden said. “I’m a morning guy myself. I’ve always struggled with night games. I remember even when I broadcasted, I had a hard time staying awake. It’s a long night. You have to adapt your schedule.”   

Chances are Gruden will be just fine come game time. The Raiders have performed well under his direction in his primetime, going 4-2 over the last two years since he took over including 2-1 on Monday Night Football.

They’ve got more standalone night games than the previous two seasons this year. Although the meeting with the Saints is their only appearance on Monday Night Football, the Raiders have three more primetime contests including a pair of Sunday Night Football appearances at Allegiant Stadium — Oct. 25 against the Buccaneers and Nov. 22 versus the Chiefs.

They can’t think of a better way to introduce themselves to their new home city.   

“Welcome to Las Vegas, right?” Carr said. “Any time you play one of those games, every kid I’m sure, everyone watching football growing up can hear that music — ‘dun, dun, dun,’ and you know what time it is.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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