Jon Gruden has spent three years trying to assemble a defense competent enough to complement his dynamic offense. To no avail. During that same time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers built a dominant defense through a series of shrewd moves. In other words, whenever Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock preach patience and plead for more
Buccaneers built championship defense in three years, while Raiders remain stuck without any impact players after Jon Gruden’s first three seasons
As long as Gruden is running the show the Raiders will never draft smart or sign the right players in free agency. He has no ability to judge talent whatsoever. I think fans are actually a better judge than he is. He has us beat in quotes and facial expressions though. Maybe they could promote him and bring in a new coach. Make him VP of Standing Around and Making Faces. The excise department could also report to him.
As much as it pains me to say it as a long-time Raider fan – you’re 100% right!
* excuse
Raiders personnel dept is well behind.
You can’t miss on first round picks. You can’t continually miss on players signed via Free Agency.
This is why Raiders aren’t making the playoffs. Personnel drives the talent, and if talent is not there, you are going to be outside looking in for the playoffs each year.
To be fair, PG was so historically inept, it’s hard to really gauge what we have on D and what we don’t. Crosby and Mullen are the only somewhat obvious hits, and Ferrell is solid enough. Biggest need is for a DT who can create havoc, and our secondary to grow very quickly from better coaching.
Solid point, Patrick. However, even with Guenther’s scheme in place, we can get a fair idea what most of the current defenders are capable of doing, in a general sense. The issue that remains is Gruden and Mayock were the ones that hand-picked the players that Guenther had to work with. Something has to change. Now that Guenther is gone, it’s imperative that Gruden and Mayock do a much better job of identifying players that fit Gus Bradley’s scheme and that can be difference-makers, not just position-occupiers. Keep the feedback coming.