Since joining the Raiders, Jon Gruden has put together a healthy collection of doubters. So far, the popular concern seems to be that he won’t be able to relate to a newer, younger generation of players.
And while it’s true that Gruden will have high expectations for everyone (including coaches) when it comes to work ethic, the irony of the out-of-touch-Gruden narrative is that he actually seems to relate and communicate very well with players – especially when compared to the coach he replaced.
As it turned out, a lot of what led to Jack Del Rio’s demise was a lack of trust from players combined with his inability to communicate effectively with factions of the locker room.
Gruden, so far, has been the opposite. Listening to the players talk, it’s seems like they prefer to know where they stand and appreciate Gruden’s honesty.
The players also seem to believe that Gruden knows more about what he’s talking about when he speaks.
Jared Cook: “Gruden knows what he is talking about. You can tell the difference between a coach that does and a coach that doesn’t.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) May 29, 2018
Maybe Gruden will wear on a few players (you think Bill Belichick doesn’t?), but how could he possibly do worse than what went on last year?
Del Rio let his star running back do whatever he wanted, stood by as the relationship soured between his quarterback and star receiver, and essentially lost the locker room by the end of the season.
After all that, it’s hard to see what Gruden is doing and worry that things could possibly getting worse.
twitter: @raidersbeat
It’s the “It can’t be any worse than last year” season…..fantastic!
It’s the “I claim to be a fan but dont have anything positive to say and refuse to get behind the team and cheer them on” guy. While youre pissing and moaning and essentially trolling the Raiders I hope you realise that you fail as a fan. The players are working on getting better. You should do the same.
I completely agree. Gruden is a people person he is direct and honest and players will respect him whether they agree with his decision or not. He will be tough when he needs to and push when necessary. But those players will get better. This team has a foundation of smart vets will a core young group to continue to build off of. These young players will learn how to be solid teammates and continue the building process for years to come. Gruden will wear a chip on his shoulder to drive him. He did it his first go around in Oakland and he’ll do it again. This year will be a huge success and the doubters will be on the bandwagon before you know it.
I could not agree more. I’ve been saying it all year. Gruden knows what is doing this time around and trust me he didn’t spend the past 8 years twiddling his thumbs. He knows how every team in the NFL operates and does their business and he will be determined more than ever to make sure we finish on top. You don’t spend the past 8 or 9 years studying every team and every facet of the NFL only to come back to coaching and be worse than before. Let the haters hate because it’s gonna be that much more of a smile on my face when they come crawling back to the pirate ship wanting admission. Go Raaaaaiiiders!!✌
i still don’t understand the narrative that he doesn’t know how to relate to people the age of his kids.
There’s going to be a lot of crow to be ate when the Raiders run the table. I don’t know how these analysts think that they know something Gruden doesn’t know. This offense is going to be dynamic. This defense is going eat QBs alive from the trenches to that revamped set of corners. Hey if we have trouble covering TEs who cares , everything else is going to be locked down. So what if your TE has a big day. The Raiders offense can destroy you in every way imaginable. There’s players coming of the bench that can take over a game. The AFC West might be wide open but when it comes down to crunch time who wants it more than Carr???
I had a weird dream that Conley was hurt again , but I looked at Melvin, Worley, N Nelson and Hall and said to my self even without Conley these corners are better than anything we had in the last 7 years. Then I woke up and realized Conley is fine. This will be the first time in a very long time we might see a Raiders team with a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense. I know I’m jumping the gun but it’s this coaching staff that has me gushing. You gotta love Grudens honesty. He doesn’t hide any answers about injury and hes vocal about his critics which tells you that he has a huge chip on his shoulder and so do the players.
-what makes you think Mahomes is an upgrade or even ready or if he ever will be?
-what makes you think the Chargers aren’t the chokers, or that their oline can hold up against anybody?
-Denver? Did I miss something or did they win 3 games last year? Pretty sure Keanum can’t fix all of that.
Don’t be surprised if the Raiders sweep this division , they still have the best oline, WRs, clutch QB, RB stable, best defensive player in football, and don’t sleep on the rookie DTs , by the end of the season Conley will be known as the best corner in the division too.