We move now to sports.

The Las Vegas Raiders open their season on the road Sunday, September 8, against the Los Angeles Chargers.

They finished last season 8-9 but went 5-4 under then Interim Head Coach Antonio Pierce.

So what can we expect from the Silver and Black this season?

For that, we turn to Mark McMillian, Former NFL Cornerback and now Raiders Analyst for 8 News Now.

Welcome back.

(Mark McMillian) Thank you for having me back.

Last year, you said you were going to have me back earlier, but they didn't get off to a good start.

So maybe it was, There's nothing really to talk about.

So thank you for having me back.

-And we had you on for Nevada Week In Person, which I encourage all our viewers to go watch.

You have a tremendous story.

But let's play catch up from last year, because the roster of the Raiders, the whole makeup has changed dramatically.

Let's start with Head Coach Antonio Pierce, now head coach.

Prior to this, though, his highest level of head coaching experience was the high school level.

-Yes.

-Did you agree with this decision to make him head coach?

-Well, at the time, everybody was questioning it, like, he was the linebacker coach, plays with a lot of energy, he's won a Super Bowl, so he's been there, done that, and they just needed a new identity, a new freshness in the locker room, because the fans were getting tired of it.

You can see the players really not buying into the system.

What he was able to do toward the end of the season kind of revitalized the program, got people excited about him being the coach.

You have Maxx Crosby saying, If he's not the coach, then trade me away.

So if you're the head guy up top, you know, Mark Davis, you gotta be like, We can't lose our star guy.

So at that time, it was still questioning, but I think he's the right guy for the job now.

Like I said, this is a tough business.

These coaches get hired to get fired in the NFL, so hopefully they can get off to a good start.

-I mean, I don't think the Raiders really had a choice.

Do you?

-No.

There was no other candidates, especially at that time.

It was the middle of the season.

Josh pretty much just dismantled the whole team.

Him and Carr didn't really get along.

They shipped him off to New Orleans, which I'm sure he's probably happy because he's got a lot of soul food out there.

But like I said, it was just the chemistry wasn't there.

So the players really bought into Antonio Pierce, especially being a defensive-minded coach.

Everybody knows the Raiders love to play defense down, dirty, gritty.

So he's kind of that guy that's preaching that message, and hopefully it transforms onto the football field.

-You brought up Derek Carr.

The quarterback now, Gardner Minshew.

And my producer found a really funny quote.

"Nobody wants him to be a starter, probably even his own team, but he won games with Indy last year," said an anonymous NFL offensive coach.

"When you play him, the kid is competitive.

He will keep you in the game, and then it's going to be a fight."

Your thoughts on that?

-There's a lot of people that didn't like the pickup.

They were thinking about maybe they should move up in the draft.

But they have a lot of players making a ton of money, so they really couldn't have too much move in the draft.

I know a lot of people wanted Penix, who's now in Atlanta.

They wanted the young guy with the Commanders out of LSU.

They wanted him, Daniels, but weren't able to move up because it cost a lot of money.

But Gardner Minshew was available.

A lot of people don't know he beat the Raiders last year, you know, with the Colts.

And he showed a lot of moxie.

He's gritty.

He has a little charisma to himself.

A lot of people say he's got a little Jake, a little Snake, in him a little bit.

You know, he's got the mustache.

He's, you know, he's a high-energy guy.

He's played some high-level football with some really good football teams as well, with the Jaguars and recently with the Colts and the Eagles as well.

-How would you describe this season?

Could you say it's a rebuilding season?

-The players don't want to hear the word "rebuild."

A player never wants to hear that you're rebuilding.

But you know, they have some pieces, some veteran guys.

You've got Davonte Adams, still one of the best receivers in the league.

You got Maxx Crosby, who's probably the defensive MVP, in my opinion, every year the last couple years.

Then you bring over Wilkins from Miami, who's a really good run stopper as well.

So they got some pieces, some veteran guys, but it's still a tough division.

You got "Khaki Pants" Jim Harbaugh over there with the Charges now, and-- -Who may have wanted a job with the Raiders, true?

-I thought he was going to-- he was my number one choice, because I think he just fits that mold of the Raiders.

He's a no nonsense guy.

He's won at every level.

He's won a-- he's went to the Super Bowl with the 49ers.

He just won a national championship with Michigan.

I don't know how long that will last, because the allegations that's going around there.

But he's a good coach.

He coaches up quarterbacks really well, as well as tight ends.

And the Raiders just picked up one of the best tight ends, one of the best players in the draft in Bowers as well.

-How did we get on Harbaugh?

I brought that up because that's going to be the first team they're facing this season.

Perhaps he's going to be a little bit angry if he wanted the Raiders job.

Okay, so not a rebuilding year.

You wouldn't say it, or say that to the players, at least.

-I wouldn't say that to the players.

As a former player, you never want to hear the word "rebuild," especially if you're a free agent and you go onto a team.

You want to win.

At the end of the day, these players, trust me, they make a lot of money; but if you're a real football player, real like-minded guy like myself, you want to win.

No one likes to lose.

These guys may have a lot of money, but when you're losing, no one wants to talk to you.

Your phone is dry.

You can't go out with your family, because everybody's talking about you.

But this is not a rebuilding year when you go get a veteran quarterback like Minshew.

-Okay.

So what about Davonte Adams?

Is he actually happy with the Raiders?

-That's the question that's going around with a lot of the media.

Obviously, you saw the show with wide receivers, kind of threw his guy under the bus a little bit, and, you know, just in and out of the lineup this year.

Even the last preseason game, the preseason game before that, Antonio Pierce came out public, said, Everybody needs to play.

And then obviously, Antonio, you know, he didn't play.

You know, so that kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

If I'm a veteran, at least go inside the huddle with your guys.

May not get the ball, but at least show these guys that you're all in and you're buying into the program.

And him not being in that huddle in the game before the last game with the 49ers kind of rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, because you got Maxx Crosby out there who's busting his butt, you got Jack Jones, you got Nate Hobbs who's a nickel guy.

You got all these guys that's starting getting it in.

Just go to the huddle, just call a hitch.

You don't have to catch the ball, but at least be out there on the field.

-Sticking with offense, no more Josh Jacobs at running back.

-Man, that hurts.

-Yeah.

Granted, last season wasn't great for him.

-Yes.

That hurt big time.

And I'm-- obviously, I'm an Alabama guy, but the guy led the league in rushing two years ago under Kennedy Polamalu, who they fired in the off season, who was a great running back coach.

So there's a lot of stuff that happened in the off season that rubbed people the wrong way.

Josh was a Raider.

He got drafted by the Raiders.

You look at the records he was breaking, Marcus Allen's record.

He was plagued by a little bit of injury last year.

Could have been some other stuff going on.

But you can't let a guy like that leave your building, because he brought so much more off the field than he did on the field, especially in the locker room.

-Who are they replacing him with?

What do you think of him?

-Zaire, he's a young guy out of Georgia.

I think this is his third year coming in.

And obviously, behind Josh, you're not going to get many carries.

But last year when he went down on injuries, Zaire stepped up, made some really good plays.

But there's no replacing of Josh Jacobs, a guy that's proven in the passing game, running game, and a leader in the locker room.

-We talked a little bit about defense and the defensive line, but what about that cornerback position, the very position you played in the NFL?

-There's some holes that they tried to fill in the draft.

But obviously, you know, Bennett, who they drafted high last year, is expected to be healthy.

He's looked good in the preseason.

Nate Hobbs, I always say a healthy Nate Hobbs at the cornerback's position helps the defense out tremendously.

You bring over Jack Jones, who had a really good toward the end of the season last year, plays with a lot of energy, played under Antonio Pierce in high school.

So he knows the guy really well, and they got really good safeties.

And Epps as well.

-All right.

Last question.

The total wins that the sportsbooks have put out for the Raiders, I think is 6 1/2?

Do you think they'll go over or under that?

-That's tough.

It's all about if the quarterback stays healthy, I think they can at least go 500.

It's a tough division.

Like I say, you got to beat the Chiefs, you know?

Then I always say-- I know, they beat them last year, and they went to Kansas City.

-Yeah.

You know, you're right.

-But 800 could possibly get you a wildcard spot in the division.

And who knows?

Once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen.

So they have the pieces.

They have a really dynamic offense.

They have weapons all over the field, especially in the wide receiver position.

You draft one of the best players in Bowers coming from Georgia.

It's going to be a mishmash for any defensive back.

Jakobi Meyers is playing really good.

Tucker has improved dramatically, had eye surgery in the off season.

So they really got some good receivers.

-All right.

Mark McMillian, you can watch him on Channel 8 on game days, right?

-Yes.

I'm there with Chris and Ron every Sunday morning, eight o'clock on Raiders Pregame Live.