The 2018 Oakland Raiders Offseason Thread | **** Off, Marquette

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 3, 2018

King will be held accountable as needed by Gruden. That's something I think we can count on with his staff compared to Jack's staff: personal accountability.

laker4lifeman · Jan 3, 2018

I remember Dowling not respecting Jack his 1st year and he cut him.Wonder what happened to Jack to let it get this bad. Maybe one of the reasons why Ken stayed once he was let go Jack lost all respect from players. Which is dumb because was not producing positive results.

oakland · Jan 3, 2018

laker4lifeman said:

I remember Dowling not respecting Jack his 1st year and he cut him.Wonder what happened to Jack to let it get this bad. Maybe one of the reasons why Ken stayed once he was let go Jack lost all respect from players. Which is dumb because was not producing positive results.
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THIS. Let's not forget that Sio Moore was demoted and traded.
Malcolm Smith had choice words too.

HNL HI · Jan 3, 2018

raider5 · Jan 3, 2018

HNL HI said:

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I think most know the talent on the team is there. No way Gruden even considers coming back unless the situation is right (and of course the money too).

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 3, 2018

What would the Raiders' roster look like under Jon Gruden?

By Vic Tafur 2 hours ago
Day two of “Waiting for Gruden” has come and gone. The Raiders have yet to say anything regarding whether or not they plan to hire Jon Gruden as head coach — they do — as he gets ready for his broadcasting assignment this Saturday in Kansas City.

Who knows, maybe Gruden announces he's the Raiders coach during the broadcast. And they hold the press conference on Monday, 20 years to the day after the Raiders hired Gruden the first time.

Meanwhile, there are possible coordinator and assistant names being leaked by agents, while the current Raiders players try to get fired up without knowing if they will be around to play for Gruden.

“It’s exciting,” linebacker NaVorro Bowman said of the Gruden buzz. “You know what he’s done in the past. You know that he understands the game of football, both sides. He’s studied the quarterback position inside and out.”

Gruden himself is even enjoying the bizarre process, as the Raiders must interview a minority candidate to satisfy the league’s Rooney Rule before hiring Gruden.

“My understanding is they're interviewing candidates this week,” Gruden told the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday, “and they're going to let everybody know sometime early next week or whenever they make their decision …

“I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I'm a candidate.”

Trolling aside, Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is a name being linked to Gruden a lot — and his contract in Cincinnati is expiring and he will not be re-joining coach Marvin Lewis for another season. So, link that one some more.

Jets offensive coordinator John Morton and Rams quarterback coach Greg Olson, who was the Raiders offensive coordinator for Derek Carr’s rookie season in 2014, are also being mentioned as possibilities, even though Gruden is expected to call his own plays.

What about the players? While all indications are that general manager Reggie McKenzie will be back, it’s impossible to know how his role will be affected by Gruden’s arrival until we hear it from Mark Davis’ or Gruden’s lips.

But … we can go by what tendencies Gruden has shown in the past and take a quick look at the roster:

Quarterback — The problem with going by anything Gruden said on his ESPN “Gruden's QB Camp” show is that he seemingly liked everybody. But he did seem overly impressed by Carr’s ability to throw different kinds of passes well and that Carr called all his plays in college at Fresno State.

Carr was broken this season, and Gruden once fixed Rich Gannon, so that has to be exciting for Raiders fans.

Plus, there is a bonus toy here for Gruden. He has said that he's always liked the taller gun-slingers, and he was very high on 6-foot-4 backup Connor Cook when he came out of Michigan State two years ago. The fourth-round pick hasn’t shown much in Oakland thus far, but Gruden once said on his show that “I make noises when I watch Connor Cook throw.”

Running back — Gruden is a TV star and one wonders whether he will have the patience to deal with internet and branding icon Marshawn Lynch and all the things Lynch needs to get you 800 yards on the ground. Lynch still runs hard and Davis loves him, otherwise there would be no debate.

The old coaching staff pretty much gave up on 5-foot-8 backups DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, and it’s hard to see Gruden having Charlie Garner flashbacks with either.

Fullback Jamize Olawale went from a secret weapon under Bill Musgrave to a forgotten man under Todd Downing. He can run and catch, and should enjoy a bigger role again under Gruden.

Receivers and tight ends — I didn’t think Michael Crabtree was coming back at the price tag of $7 million next season, but obviously having a new coach could change that. Plus Morton was Crabtree’s receivers coach with the 49ers — which could be good or bad.

Amari Cooper had a disappointing season and Gruden has to be excited about getting his hands on one of the best route runners in the league. Maybe he puts Cooper in the slot more like he did Jerry Rice in his first stint with the Raiders.

Seth Roberts is guaranteed $2 million next season, so hopefully Gruden likes him too.

Tight end Jared Cook showed playmaking ability, along with the occasional drop. He disappeared down the stretch, and that’s for Gruden to decide whether that was Jared Cook or the play calling and Carr.

Defense — End Khalil Mack is one of the best players in the league, never mind that Gruden once said he would have drafted Johnny Manziel over him. Linebacker Bruce Irvin had 8 sacks, and that’s hard to replace, so those two aren’t a bad place to start for Gruden and Guenther, if he is the guy.

Gruden loves veteran defensive players and Guenther is big on rotating guys, so maybe there is still a home here for Bowman. Safety Reggie Nelson, 34, has lost a step, but had a couple of his best games late and played for Guenther for two seasons in Cincinnati.

Other than that, it’s kind of a crapshoot. Karl Joseph, the 2016 first-round pick, has not been a playmaker at safety, and was even benched briefly this season. This year’s top two picks, cornerback Gareon Conley and safety Obi Melifonwu, played a total of 97 snaps before breaking down.

The Raiders, if they waive veterans Lynch, Crabtree, Sean Smith and David Amerson, would have enough money to lock up Mack and buy a new defense.
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oakland · Jan 3, 2018

It's a no brainer ideal situation for Gruden. I can see us going for a running back in the draft now.

HNL HI · Jan 3, 2018

hopefully Gruden can convince someone Connor Cook is worth a 2nd or 3rd round

laker4lifeman · Jan 3, 2018

The old coaching staff pretty much gave up on 5-foot-8 backups DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, and it’s hard to see Gruden having Charlie Garner flashbacks with either.

What the hell these guys were so bad for our young guys.

Olawale not used this season was so dumb anytime he got the ball he gets big yards.

Luani possibly could steal Karl's spot guy has good instincts but he's a bit raw.

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 3, 2018

Reggie must be livid about how his picks have been underdeveloped. That makes him look like ****.

Also, avy check.

oakland · Jan 3, 2018

laker4lifeman said:

The old coaching staff pretty much gave up on 5-foot-8 backups DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, and it’s hard to see Gruden having Charlie Garner flashbacks with either.

What the hell these guys were so bad for our young guys.

Olawale not used this season was so dumb anytime he got the ball he gets big yards.

Luani possibly could steal Karl's spot guy has good instincts but he's a bit raw.
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Johnny_Cakes said:

Reggie must be livid about how his picks have been underdeveloped. That makes him look like ****.

Also, avy check.
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ALL OF THIS. Again the players wear a mask for the press and for the organization to be professional, but don't tell me this didn't cross Reggie's mind watching talent get wasted.

albooboo · Jan 3, 2018

Q&A with Carr

sohi 23 · Jan 4, 2018

Rosen & Darnold declaring is great news for us. They'll definitely get picked before 9/10. I think Baker Mayfield has a shot at going in the top 8 as well, I just hope the Broncos don't take him. Rosen/Darnold/Barkley will all be off the board in the top 5 so that pushes down some of the best defensive players.

Raiders will have a great shot at getting a defensive game changer. Chubb, James or Roquan.

raider5 · Jan 4, 2018

I hope either Darnold or Barkley go to Denver

Not sold on those guys at all...

ThePeoplesChamp_ · Jan 4, 2018

The fact that Gruden gets up at 3 am to watch film is insane

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 4, 2018

Allen to the Broncos

mr jordan04 · Jan 4, 2018

Kings antics do seem annoying.
And taking that pic with talib was

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 4, 2018

laker4lifeman · Jan 4, 2018

Last i read Browns liked Allen let Rosen go to the Giants other teams can get the trash qbs

sohi 23 · Jan 4, 2018

Mahomes is really good. Last thing we need is for Denver to get a competent QB

njavier03 · Jan 4, 2018

Johnny_Cakes said:

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The Joel Embiid of the nfl

ThePeoplesChamp_ · Jan 4, 2018

It will be surreal when Gruden takes the sideline at the Coliseum.

The_Isomotion31 · Jan 4, 2018

It’ll be unreal when the raiders run spider 2 y banana to olawale for a touchdown rrrrraaaaaiders

Johnny_Cakes · Jan 5, 2018

Raiders Film Room: Chargers game shows what Gruden needs to fix

By Ted Nguyen 10 hours ago
Jack Del Rio's firing a year after an extension and 20 minutes after the final game of the 2017 season were just the latest clues leading to an inevitable reunion between the Raiders and Jon Gruden.

Del Rio took the Raiders job when few others wanted it and helped to change the culture and end the 13-year playoff drought with last year's 12-4 campaign. However, after a disappointing season in which the Raiders didn't come close to reaching expectations, the fear was the Raiders could potentially waste the window that they have to be relevant again with a team budding with young talent.

The greatest reason for hope was Derek Carr, who improved every year he had been in the league before regressing this season. The drop off in his play was significant and has to do with more than just his recent injuries.

Letting go of Bill Musgrave in favor of Todd Downing was Del Rio's greatest error. Musgrave might not be the sexiest name in coaching but he had experience, he had a complete system, and his in-game adjustments were evident in the several comeback victories that the Raiders had in 2016.

Downing may have a bright future in the league as an offensive coordinator one day but right now he simply isn't ready to be one. He seems to be still figuring out what sort of system he wants to implement. There wasn't continuity in his game-plans.

Last year, the Raiders knew they could pound the rock with “Duo.” They knew they could pick up a big gain with “switch verticals.” This year, there weren't enough concepts that the Raiders could comfortably hang their hat on. The team's final lackluster performance against the Chargers summarized all of the problems this offense faced this season.

On the first offensive play of the game, the Raiders' spacing on the route combination shows a complete lack of understanding of how the concept is supposed to stress a defense.

The “mesh” concept is supposed to stress a defense by forcing defenders to have to communicate and pass off receivers when two drag routes intersect each other. On this play, those two receivers were supposed to be Amari Cooper and Lee Smith.

At the top of Carr's drop, the intersection is supposed to have happened or be close to happening, but Cooper is still a 4-5 yards away from Smith when Carr should be ready to throw.

Another problem that has been prevalent all season is the spacing between the routes. The receivers are too close to each other and don't put enough stress on the defense and they are in position to make a play no matter who Carr throws to.

Gruden is a West Coast disciple and understands the importance of thoroughly understanding base concepts and spacing. His system and designs should turn Carr's ability to quickly go through his progressions into a strength instead of a detriment.

One of the strangest thing about Downing's offense was the under-utilization of fullback Jamize Olawale. Olawale is one of the most unique players in the league with his ability to lead block and be a vertical threat in the passing game. The Raiders got a taste of Olawale's big play ability last year but he hasn't been a factor at all this season.

Against the Chargers, he was only in on three offensive snaps.

Though Gruden has been very vocal about his love his for spread concepts, he is at heart a disciple of the West Coast offense that uses a lot of I-formation with the fullback in the backfield. After watching the film of this year's run game, he'll likely install more gap schemes during the summer with a much more comprehensive play-action package that will take advantage of Olawale's talents, similarly to what Kyle Shanahan is doing across the Bay with Kyle Juszczyk.

This lack of a cohesive system greatly hurt Carr. He looked unsure of himself and unsure of where to go with the ball. He needs to have a better understanding of defenders' body positions and how they define what open or covered is relative to the concept of the play.

On this “hank” concept, Jared Cook is Carr's first read but Carr should only throw to Cook if the inside linebacker is way off of him. The design is to pull the inside linebacker away from the outside receiver running the curl route.

The inside linebacker does drop but not nearly far enough to make a play on the curl route but Carr throws the ball anyway. This decision seems to come from a lack of coaching and clear definition of what is considered “open” in this concept.

One of Gruden's strengths is being extremely detail orientated. He'll clearly explain to Carr exactly what he wants and how Carr should react to what he sees on every single play like Gruden did as a young coach to Randall Cunningham in the clip above. After an entire offseason of this type of instruction, Carr should be able to make strides in this area of his game.

A big theme of the last few weeks of the season was Del Rio wanting Carr to “let it rip.” However, this sound bite didn't do much to help improve the passing game. Yes, you want your quarterback to be aggressive and take shots but there simply weren't enough opportunities downfield for Carr.

On first-and-10 in Chargers territory, Downing calls a “shot” play with a deep flood concept similar to the touchdown that Johnny Holton scored against the Dolphins. Defenses are aware that when Holton gets in the game to watch out for a deep shot to him. They do an excellent job of getting deep and bracketing Holton. Carr “lets it rip” anyways and gets intercepted.

This shows a lack of self-scouting and gamesmanship from Downing. If he knows that defenses are going to bracket Holton deep because going deep is about all he's done this season, he has to design plays to use Holton as a decoy. If such plays were put on film throughout the season, perhaps the Chargers wouldn't be so quick to bracket Holton deep when he's in the game.

If only one to two players on the offense regressed, it would be easier to blame those individuals. But when every member of the offense regressed besides center Rodney Hudson, it might have to do with the coaching.

If Gruden can't fix this offense, then maybe it'll be time to start worrying if the Raiders have the right players on the roster. But after seeing what a dramatic difference coaches like Sean McVay and Shanahan are making with their respective teams, the Raiders young core deserve some slack. This offense doesn't need a miracle worker like McVay but it needs someone with a complete system, an experienced teacher and someone to hold players accountable. Gruden fits the description.
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Johnny_Cakes · Jan 5, 2018

Kawakami: The Raiders-Gruden timeline, from impossible to inevitable in five fateful weeks

By Tim Kawakami 7 hours ago
For pure Bay Area NFL seismic impact in this millennium, I'd put the Raiders' eventual hiring of Jon Gruden (next Monday? Tuesday?) and the 49ers' acquisition of Jimmy Garoppolo in October up there with the 49ers' firing of Steve Mariucci in January 2003, their hiring of Jim Harbaugh in 2011 and firing in 2014 and, yes, the Raiders trading Gruden in 2002.

And no other moves since 2000, really, come close.

We don't yet know the true back story of the 49ers' Garoppolo discussions with New England, though I sure hope we find out eventually. That one is an enigma wrapped in a wave of gossip disguised in a Bill Belichick mumble and dressed up by John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan's knowing smiles.

But the Gruden Tale unfolded a little less mysteriously, and certainly was a bit more in public view.

So, while we wait for the grand Gruden arrival in Alameda, maybe it'd help us all just to go through the context and known leadup to Raiders owner Mark Davis firing Jack Del Rio and setting the scene for Gruden (which did not necessarily occur in that order).

Within this, I'm also going to offer some informed speculation — with the help of some conversations with NFL folks who have been monitoring this and tipped me off to the Gruden possibility weeks ago — about everything that affected the twists and U-turns that led to this.

Here's the picture …

Late-November: First signs that Del Rio is in some trouble
Heading into November, I think everybody, most of all Del Rio, assumed that he was generally safe at least into 2018, no matter what.

He'd signed the new four-year extension last February worth about $4.5 million per, we all know that Davis isn't exactly overflowing with the necessary cash for large buy-outs, and Del Rio was the guy who had just brought the Raiders to the playoffs in 2016, their first postseason berth in 14 years.

However … this all started to wobble from the Week 3 demolition in Washington onward. Heading towards Thanksgiving, the Raiders were 4-6, the coaching staff seemed perpetually overwhelmed, Derek Carr was drifting towards a lost season, and whispers started up that things were getting unstable under Del Rio's feet.

There was tension between Del Rio's staff and general manager Reggie McKenzie's personnel office — not quite solved when Del Rio finally fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and replaced him with John Pagano — and the Raiders just never really put things together on the field.

They turned it around briefly by beating Denver and the Giants at home to get to 6-6, but then Del Rio's Raiders never won another game.

Massive NFL disruptions have a way of moving from impossible to feasible to inevitable in just a few losses — and just before December, the Raiders just felt like a team that needed a change.

Also, multiple people familiar with the Raiders' financial situation underlined to me that Davis needed the team to be popular and exciting for the final two scheduled seasons at the Coliseum — to set up a triumphant 2020 debut in Las Vegas and to prevent a full fan backlash for the Raiders' final two Oakland seasons.

Meanwhile, in this period the Gruden rumblings amped up in volume and frequency. The theme: Gruden was interested in coming back and he had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Raiders at the top of his list.

Why was this time different for the Gruden gossip? I think he was less and less comfortable in the Monday Night Football booth with Sean McDonough, I think he figured 10 years was long enough away from coaching, and I think he was ready to hear the right words from either Tampa Bay or the Raiders.

I'm sure Mark Davis heard these same rumors. I'm sure he had heard versions of them for years, and always was intrigued by Gruden, but also had been spurned by Gruden before. So, for most of this season, Davis thought he had his long-term guy in Del Rio.

Then the mid-season swoon changed all that.

Mid-December: The Gruden path is sketched out
I promised myself that I wouldn't write Gruden's name in connection to the Raiders this time around unless I heard something semi-official. How many times and in how many different years can you to check out the same rumor?

But I kept hearing about it, others began to report it, and then Raiders radio voice Greg Papa openly discussed the Raiders-Gruden possibility on his radio show in the days after the Raiders lost in Kansas City to fall to 6-7.

And everything started to add up: A potential Raiders debacle in 2018 and 2019 if things didn't turn around. A loss of faith in Del Rio. The red-hot Gruden talk. And Papa, who knows the Raiders better than anybody, openly wondering about Gruden.

This was not a difficult puzzle to piece together.

So I wrote something — I said that Del Rio had to present an offensive plan to keep his job into 2018 or he'd be replaced; or maybe Davis would just go get Gruden, anyway, if Gruden was available and if Davis decided he could meet Gruden's price.

The more you understood how important it was for Davis to avoid a franchise free fall in 2018 and 2019, the more you realized that $10 million or more a year to Gruden might not be such a titanic investment.

Dec. 24-25: Gruden to Tampa Bay?
By late-December, everybody I talked to in the NFL was pretty sure Gruden was, indeed, ready to get back to coaching. And it definitely wasn't going to be a move to college — the perennial University of Tennessee rumors were always considered a joke by anybody who knew Gruden at all. He was coming back to the NFL.

A Christmastime report by the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the clearest indication: Gruden was contacting coaches and seeing what kind of staff he could put together for a return to the NFL.

And, at the time, it seemed most likely that Gruden was focused on the Buccaneers — he coached there last, he still lived there, his youngest son was going into his senior year in high school, and a week earlier, Gruden had just been inducted into the Buccaneers' Ring of Honor, with the full blessings of the Glazer family, the ownership group that fired him in January 2009.

Concurrently, what I heard in this period: Davis was leaning towards keeping Del Rio for at least another year, if he could just get a sign that the Raiders would get back on track for 2018. Because maybe things just weren't aligned to get Gruden.

Which was definitely the mood around the team. For instance: Before the Raiders' loss to Philadelphia on Christmas night, Papa said on-air that it looked like the timing would not be right for Gruden to come back to the Raiders.

But I am guessing that over the next few days, Davis made two decisions. He couldn't go into 2018 with Del Rio and expect anything different than what he just saw. And that meant that Davis had to go get Gruden.

And to make that a reality, Mark Davis had to come up with an incredible offer.

Friday/Saturday Dec. 29-30: Davis makes the big pitch to Gruden
On the morning of the 29th, Pro Football Talk reported that it seemed likely that Gruden was headed back to the Buccaneers.

But by that afternoon, word had leaked that Dirk Koetter would surprisingly remain in that position — no Gruden in Tampa.

What happened? The Raiders' offer happened. And it's clear that this wasn't initiated by McKenzie or anybody else in the organization. This came from Davis, speaking directly to Gruden's camp, and it essentially was: Whatever you want, we'll give you.

There's no other way the Buccaneers could've been cut off so instantly. Nobody else but Davis could promise that kind of money and that amount of power.

My exact sense of this interchange is mostly speculation, but it's backed up by the reporting from Rapoport, Michael Silver, Bucs reporter Ira Kaufman, and several league sources. Something changed in the Gruden sweepstakes heading into the final weekend of the NFL regular season, and that something was a monster Raiders offer.

If Davis had lost faith in Del Rio, there was only one other way he could go.

Dec. 31: The end and the beginning
The timing and the presentation was stunning, but the actual fact that Davis fired Del Rio right after the Raiders' season-ending loss to the Chargers was not. Davis wanted a clear path to Gruden. The only way to do that was to remove Del Rio as quickly as possible.

Del Rio met with Davis, walked to the podium, said he was disappointed in the loss, announced his own firing, then said he was grateful for the opportunity to coach his hometown team and understood that it was a results-oriented job.

It was a gracious way to handle the situation — no coach should have to explain his own firing — but there was nobody else ready to do it. McKenzie was generally in the dark about the firing and the pending replacement and Davis wasn't ready to discuss any of it.

But by then, everybody knew what was coming down, set up by the momentous ESPN report — Gruden and the Raiders were in deep discussions— the night before.

The report was not refuted. Not by the Raiders, not by Gruden, not by anybody. The only question on the eve of the season finale: would Davis string Del Rio along while waiting for Gruden's final answer, or would he fire Del Rio first, assuming Gruden's return was inevitable?

We got the answer: Del Rio was fired, and the scene was set for the returning hero. We're all still waiting, but I don't think it'll be much longer. Monday or Tuesday, probably. It took a few months — really, a few years — for this to happen, but once Jon Gruden is a Raider again, it'll feel like no time at all.
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The 2018 Oakland Raiders Offseason Thread | **** Off, Marquette

Johnny_Cakes

laker4lifeman

oakland

HNL HI

raider5

Johnny_Cakes

oakland

HNL HI

laker4lifeman

Johnny_Cakes

oakland

albooboo

sohi 23

raider5

ThePeoplesChamp_

Johnny_Cakes

mr jordan04

Johnny_Cakes

laker4lifeman

sohi 23

njavier03

ThePeoplesChamp_

The_Isomotion31 formerly thewindscar31

Johnny_Cakes

Johnny_Cakes

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The 2018 Oakland Raiders Offseason Thread | **** Off, Marquette

The_Isomotion31 formerly thewindscar31