Legendary tailback is looking forward to season
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, NV. — The Raiders’ alumni is famous for continuing to closely follow their former team in retirement.
With the Las Vegas Raiders reporting to training camp for the 2022 season in exactly two weeks, Raiders’ Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen is excited about seeing how the team responds to the beginning of the Josh McDaniels era.
Allen is very optimistic the talented Silver and Black can build on its 10-7 record in a 2021 season that concluded in the playoffs. Still, the Super Bowl winner knows that the NFL is never easy.
“I’m interested to see how things work with the new coach,” Allen told Silver and Black Pride on Wednesday afternoon at the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. “I think he’s good and he he has a good track record from New England (where McDaniels was the longtime offensive coordinator). But nothing is easy or guaranteed in the NFL. Sometimes, it takes time, so I’m really excited to see how things happen … I do think the talent level on this team is ready to ascend.”
Allen noted the last couple of years have not been easy for the roster with the transition of moving from Oakland to Las Vegas and the Jon Gruden resignation and the Henry Ruggs incident. He’s hoping the team can now get into a new flow after all the change.
He is very excited about the trade for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams and is confident in the offense.
“They have always been able to score points,” Allen said.
Allen, who played for the Raiders from 1982-92, said the team needs to see continued improvement the defense. He is a huge Maxx Crosby fan and lauded the free-agent signing of fellow pass-rusher Chandler Jones this offseason.
While he is hopeful the Raiders are ready to take the next step, he knows this season is going to be challenging because of the conference they are in.
“The AFC is going to be a gauntlet,” Allen said. “I just thing everyone in the AFC is going to beat the hell out of each other … But the Raiders are one of the teams that have improved and it will be fun to see what happens.”