From the perspective of a viewer, the Giants’ shellacking of the Oakland Raiders appeared to be an ugly exercise in pro football.
From the perspective of a participant, it was even worse.
New York linebacker Antonio Pierce shared his views regarding the Raiders during a Tuesday appearance on Sirius NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and Marty Schottenheimer.
“I do not like knocking teams,” Pierce said. “But right now, they’re struggling. We’re playing that game the other day and, honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice. It felt like we were going against our offense [in a controlled setting] as far as the tempo.
“There was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint against their offense. We’re getting three-and-outs. You don’t hear nobody [saying], ‘Hey, let’s go!’ trying to pick the guys up, rallying them, getting guys fired up. There was nothing. It was quiet. A guy gets sacked or somebody gets beat, they just get up. It’s not like there’s yelling or no kind of [emotion] about the way they were playing.
“It was shocking to be out there in that game and get that kind of feeling.”
The 1-4 Raiders, who somehow beat the Chiefs, have lost three straight games by 20 or more points -- and by scoring seven points or less in each game.
“It’s sad because I grew up a Raiders fan,” Pierce said. “That organization right now, they need some guidance. They need somebody to pick them up.”
There was a flash of optimism during the first two weeks of the season, when the Raiders nearly beat the Chargers and then won at Kansas City. Since then, however, the team has fallen apart, and this once proud-to-the-point-of-defiant franchise suddenly seems to be at the lowest point that it ever has been.