The Raiders have a Gruden problem

[The Franchise]

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nf...gruden-problem

It’s important to remember that Jon Gruden, Oakland’s $100 million retread of a head coach, wasn’t hired to make personnel decisions. Those duties, at least in theory, should fall in the hands of long-time GM Reggie McKenzie. But in looking at Oakland’s offseason transformation, it would be naïve to think McKenzie is running the show. Gruden’s fingerprints are all over the Raiders’ new roster and that’s a problem.

We knew the Raiders were taking a risk in bringing back Gruden, who last coached in the NFL with Tampa Bay in 2008. In his heyday, Gruden was lauded as a coaching prodigy. He lived up to that label by winning Super Bowl XXXVII, becoming the youngest head coach in history (at the time) to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. But Gruden has never made it back to the big game—in fact, he hasn’t won a playoff game in two tries since reaching his apex in 2002.

While many remember Gruden as an offensive mastermind, his coaching record, particularly during his seven-year run in Tampa (he went just 57-55) says otherwise. The 54-year-old has rehabbed his image in subsequent years with his stellar analysis on Monday Night Football as well as his enlightening Quarterback Camp series on ESPN. He may have been an engaging television personality—hence his endorsements with Bridgestone, Corona, Dunkin Donuts and Hooters, among others—but Gruden was merely an average NFL coach the first time around. Even his lone Super Bowl came on the strength of a stacked roster he inherited from Tony Dungy.

Giving full roster control—and $100 million—to an average-at-best coach who hasn’t been behind an NFL sideline in a literal decade seems like a reckless misstep for a team that looked like it was finally onto something after making the playoffs in 2016. But here we are, living in Gruden’s warped football dystopia, where long-snappers and converted fullbacks reign supreme.

Let’s look at the damage, shall we? Gruden did get one thing right this offseason. While not necessarily an upgrade on T.J. Carrie, who departed in free agency, Rashaan Melvin was a solid addition to the Raiders’ secondary. A late bloomer, the 28-year-old was in the midst of a career year with Indianapolis in 2017 before a nagging hand injury cut his season short. But aside from that peace offering, Oakland’s offseason has been one head-scratcher after another.

Exhibit A: Doug Martin. It’s true that Martin was a first-team All-Pro with the Bucs in 2015. It’s also true that he has statistically been the league’s worst running back over the last two seasons, finishing dead last in yards per carry in both 2016 and 2017. On top of that, Martin turned 29 in January (that’s still younger than incumbent, Marshawn Lynch) and is coming off a PED suspension that cost him the first three games of 2017. The fact that Martin has a legitimate chance to start next season would be reason enough to question Gruden’s judgment, but it gets worse. Rather than staying the course with Michael Crabtree, who has led the Raiders in receiving touchdowns each of the last three seasons, Oakland sent the former first-round pick packing and replaced him with an even older Jordy Nelson, who is coming off a career-worst year in Green Bay.

Breno Giacomini did more than earn PFF’s worst tackle grade last season. He earned PFF’s worst grade of ANY player at any position. DeShone Kizer, Brett Hundley, Breshad Perriman—all of them looked like world-beaters compared to the Hindenberg known as Breno Gomes Giacomini. Naturally, he’s the current front-runner to start at right tackle for Oakland. And while division-rival Kansas City was putting the finishing touches on a three-year deal with playmaker Sammy Watkins, the Raiders were busy making Andrew DePaola one of the league’s highest-paid long-snappers. Neat.

How about Keith Smith? Ever heard of him? He’s a former linebacker who logged 128 snaps at fullback for the Cowboys last year. By the grace of God, the Raiders decided to give him a two-year, $4.2 million (*immediately spits out drink*) contract. Oakland already had an established fullback in Jamize Olawale (he’s since been traded to Dallas), but when Keith Smith is available, you don’t walk to sign that man—you RUN. The same goes for Josh Johnson, a 31-year-old journeyman the Raiders signed to compete with Connor Cook for backup reps behind starting quarterback Derek Carr. Johnson, a fifth-round pick of Gruden’s ’08 Bucs, last attempted an NFL pass in 2011, though he did have a few kneel-downs for the Bengals in 2013. Did I mention Gruden stole his own son Deuce away from the Redskins (coached by Gruden’s younger brother, Jay) to be the Raiders’ new strength and conditioning coach? That must have been an awkward phone call. Sorry, bro. It’s just business.

So how did the Raiders, pray tell, afford such lavish expenditures? Easy—they unloaded a pair of All-Pros. It’s boilerplate stuff, really. What could go wrong trading return man Cordarrelle Patterson (second-highest kick return average in NFL history) to the Patriots? Or cutting punter Marquette King (third in net punt average last season). Who needs that guy, right? The Raiders also declined to re-sign Sebastian Janikowski, he of 414 career field goals including a 63-yarder, an NFL record at the time, in 2011.

Right about now you’re probably wondering what in God’s green earth this Gruden fella is up to and I don’t blame you. I’ve found myself pondering the same thing. It’s one of the five stages of Gruden Grief. While the inner workings of Gruden’s brain will always be a mystery to us (I’m imagining a 24-hour loop of Spider 2 Y Banana), reports from beat writers Bill Williamson of RaidersSnakePit.com and Vic Tafur of The Athletic give us a window into the coach’s thought process. According to Tafur, there were “whispers of King’s personality not clicking with Gruden’s” while Williamson agrees that Gruden wanted to send a “message” by showing King the door.

This is a side of Gruden we didn’t see on MNF. Gruden was overwhelmingly positive as a television analyst but now that the man has a football team to run, he’s not messing around. Part of the fun of football Twitter is overthinking things and the outcry over King’s release is a prime example of us doing just that. King is certainly an upper echelon punter and a boon to Oakland’s special teams unit, but at the end of the day, he’s just a punter. Life will go on.

The problem isn’t King—it’s Gruden’s outdated, ego-driven approach to team building. You can make the argument, as many Gruden supporters already have, that King’s release was a cap-saving move (it freed up $2.9 million). Those same sheep will argue that King’s four personal fouls over the last two seasons were a detriment to the team. But if Tafur and Williamson’s reporting is accurate, the real reason the Raiders cut King was because of his colorful personality and the threat it posed to Gruden’s hardnosed, no-nonsense style of coaching. King isn’t a disruptive player—he’s good at his job and likes to have some fun. But Gruden wouldn’t know the difference.

Gruden said at the NFL Combine that he wants to bring the Raiders back to 1998 by playing a throwback brand of football. That’s almost as cringe-worthy as Bill Polian saying Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson should switch positions because he’s too small (6’3”/211) to play quarterback. Wake up, guys. This isn’t 1998. It’s 2018. Gruden can scoff at analytics all he wants but the reality is, forward-thinking teams like the Patriots and Eagles are the ones having success while members of the cocoon, as Evan Silva calls it, are being left behind.

Is it any wonder the Browns went 0-16 last year with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams trotting out the same ineffective defense week after week, regardless of opponent? The Patriots and Eagles were chameleons, routinely exposing their opponents’ weaknesses with exhaustive game-planning. We’re not even three months into the Gruden Era in Oakland—the second Gruden Era, I should say—and the man in charge has already admitted he’s not willing to play ball. Rather than adapt to an ever-changing analytics-driven landscape, Gruden is going to do things his way, which apparently means dumping a pair of All-Pro special teamers and a proven touchdown scorer in favor of a backup QB he coached 10 years ago, a running back who can’t play anymore and the worst tackle in football by a landslide, according to PFF.

There’s something to be said for unpopular personnel decisions. Bill Belichick makes them all the time. He traded Chandler Jones when it was time to pay him. He dealt Jimmy Garoppolo when it became clear that Jimmy G and Tom Brady could no longer coexist. He benched Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl and let him walk in free agency. LeGarrette Blount, Jamie Collins, Dion Lewis, Logan Ryan … the list goes on and on. Those are tough moves to make and not all of them have worked in New England’s favor. Belichick’s decision to exile Butler may have cost the Patriots a Super Bowl this past season. But when you’ve won over 200 games and seven Super Bowl rings, you tend to get the benefit of the doubt. If Gruden was expecting to get that kind of leeway after spending a decade up in the broadcast booth, he’d better think again. This is the NFL, the ultimate “what have you done for me lately” league. The answer: not much.

As badly as Gruden squandered free agency, the Raiders still have some intriguing pieces. Carr is being paid like a franchise quarterback, even if he didn’t play like one last year, while pass-rusher Khalil Mack continues to be an unstoppable supernova. And despite frequent lapses, Amari Cooper remains one of the most promising young receivers in football. There’s no telling what could happen in a wide-open AFC West. But if Gruden can’t get with the times, 2018 could pass the Raiders by.

[The Franchise]

We're going to destroy them.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

https://deadspin.com/ass-team-of-the...nce-1829764478
The team gave a 10-year, $100 million contract and complete control of the franchise to this towheaded freak, who last called a play in 2008 and has never been a personnel man. And what have they gotten out of their investment so far? A 1-5 record that should be 0-6 and some of the most embarrassing performances that any team has put forth during this young season. The 27-3 mushing they suffered at the hands of the Seahawks on Sunday constituted one of the saddest football games I’ve ever seen. The GIF at the top of this post, which shows Carr seemingly on the verge of tears after being sacked for the sixth and final time, is both genuinely depressing and already the defining moment of the Raiders’ season. Nothing better represents how quickly everything’s gone to shit than the quarterback who really and truly was good enough to earn a $125 million deal in 2017 blubbering, “Help help help help” while half-broken on the field

My God ... he is crying! They weren't joshing.

He's saying, "Help me up! Help me!"

Damn, man.

FAX

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

https://deadspin.com/ass-team-of-the...nce-1829764478
The team gave a 10-year, $100 million contract and complete control of the franchise to this towheaded freak, who last called a play in 2008 and has never been a personnel man. And what have they gotten out of their investment so far? A 1-5 record that should be 0-6 and some of the most embarrassing performances that any team has put forth during this young season. The 27-3 mushing they suffered at the hands of the Seahawks on Sunday constituted one of the saddest football games I’ve ever seen. The GIF at the top of this post, which shows Carr seemingly on the verge of tears after being sacked for the sixth and final time, is both genuinely depressing and already the defining moment of the Raiders’ season. Nothing better represents how quickly everything’s gone to shit than the quarterback who really and truly was good enough to earn a $125 million deal in 2017 blubbering, “Help help help help” while half-broken on the field

I don’t wish that on Carr. He’s Faid but he doesn’t deserve that. He hasn’t been the total one who sucks the penis that other Faid teams have been. Not sure I can say the same for Crabtree and Cooper, but I don’t wish complete psychological breakdown on the guy.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I don’t wish that on Carr. He’s Faid but he doesn’t deserve that. He hasn’t been the total one who sucks the penis that other Faid teams have been. Not sure I can say the same for Crabtree and Cooper, but I don’t wish complete psychological breakdown on the guy.

Simpatico on that sentiment.

But if that clip is any indication, it appears he's on the verge of one.

If this continues, he's going to need group therapy ... and it's going to need to be a very large group.

FAX

[MahiMike]

What do you think about Carr for bortles? Asking for a local fan base...

[Beef Supreme]

From that same article:


"So how did the Raiders manage to suck this bad? By essentially breaking the conventions of the game. The purpose of a passing offense is to move the ball down the field; the Raiders spent the game seeing what would happen if one was designed to do the opposite. Carr’s average air yards, which measures how many yards each pass travels down the field, was 0.1 yards. Here is what a visual representation of that looks like:"

[kcpasco]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I don’t wish that on Carr. He’s Faid but he doesn’t deserve that. He hasn’t been the total one who sucks the penis that other Faid teams have been. Not sure I can say the same for Crabtree and Cooper, but I don’t wish complete psychological breakdown on the guy.

That GIF genuinely makes me feel bad for the guy. Hopefully Chucky runs him out of town and onto an NFC so I can root for the guy.

Number 77 needs his ass beat for allowing that to happen to his QB.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I don’t wish that on Carr. He’s Faid but he doesn’t deserve that. He hasn’t been the total one who sucks the penis that other Faid teams have been. Not sure I can say the same for Crabtree and Cooper, but I don’t wish complete psychological breakdown on the guy.

I'm not making fun of Carr. He's caught in the crossfire of what an absolute disaster Jon Gruden as HC is turning out to be. Seriously, once you're driven to the point of tears that aren't happy playing ****ing football, something is irreparably damaged.

[TwistedChief]

It makes me just a little bit sad we end the season at home against the Raiders and there’s a better than average chance it’ll be Henne and not Mahomes who gets to shred their defense.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by TwistedChief

It makes me just a little bit sad we end the season at home against the Raiders and there’s a better than average chance it’ll be Henne and not Mahomes who gets to shred their defense.

Henne will put up Mahomes level stats against our pathetic defense.

I really don't know how KC has managed to allow more yards than us.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

I'm not making fun of Carr. He's caught in the crossfire of what an absolute disaster Jon Gruden as HC is turning out to be. Seriously, once you're driven to the point of tears that aren't happy playing ****ing football, something is irreparably damaged.

Agreed. There are players I wouldn't feel bad if that happened to, but not many. Carr isn't one of them.

I'm not saying I want him to do well, but **** man. He might be done.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by Beef Supreme

From that same article:


"So how did the Raiders manage to suck this bad? By essentially breaking the conventions of the game. The purpose of a passing offense is to move the ball down the field; the Raiders spent the game seeing what would happen if one was designed to do the opposite. Carr’s average air yards, which measures how many yards each pass travels down the field, was 0.1 yards. Here is what a visual representation of that looks like:"

I hate saying this. But Smith got a boner seeing that.

[Valiant]

Honestly I don't see why green bay wouldn't send a 1st for Cooper. Same with another team that thinks it is on the cusp for Carr, a late 2nd or late 1st or the longer this goes the draft capital goes down.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Honestly I don't see why green bay wouldn't send a 1st for Cooper. Same with another team that thinks it is on the cusp for Carr, a late 2nd or late 1st or the longer this goes the draft capital goes down.

Because Cooper really isn't that good? He had the 3rd highest drop rate between 2015-2017. You can say he's being misused and I'd agree with you, but a lot of his problems are on him.

[Buehler445]

Didn't he get fat as **** too?