Raiders: “We’re not tanking anything,” Gruden says.
Filtering through a quiet locker room Tuesday afternoon, a couple of Raiders players said they’d been told to use the team’s bye this week to take a mental and physical break following their painful 27-3 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday in London and their resulting 1-5 record.
Head coach Jon Gruden said his parting words for the week included an additional theme.
“We’re not tanking anything,” Gruden said. “I hear the hatred out there, some of the rumors that we’re tanking it to get a first-round pick or a higher pick. … Ain’t nobody tanking it. I don’t know who wrote that or who said that or who thinks that, but that ain’t the case here.”
In a wide-ranging news conference, Gruden said the Raiders already were “diagnosing everything” that has factored into their poor record.
There are plenty of maladies.
As one of five one-win teams, the Raiders rank last in the league in point margin (minus-66) and 29th in turnover margin (minus-5). They rank 26th in total defense, 28th against the run and 30th in opponents’ passer rating. Their offense, which ranked in the top five in total yards after Week 4, has fallen to 15th with outputs of 289 and 185 yards the past two games.
Gruden said he and general manager Reggie McKenzie “had a long meeting” Monday: “I know that’s a shock to some people. They don’t think we have any meetings. I’m telling you we’re working hard to solidify this roster every day and improve ourselves.”
The pairing of Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr has yet to yield many positive results. Carr has completed 71.7 percent of his throws, but he is 21st in passer rating (89.4) among quarterbacks with 100-plus attempts and has thrown more interceptions (eight, tied for most in the NFL) than touchdown passes (seven).
“Derek and I had a long meeting already this morning,” Gruden said. “The results, they need to improve. I know that. But he’s the strength of this football team.
“He’s on my watch. I said it when I got here. He doesn’t play well, I’ve failed. This guy is a good player that can be great. We’ve got to protect him better so we really see what he can do.”
Against the Seahawks, Carr was sacked six times behind an offensive line playing its third-string left guard and starting rookies at both tackle positions for a second straight game. Left tackle Kolton Miller has played the past two games with a knee injury sustained in Week 4. According to Pro Football Focus, Miller allowed three sacks and seven pressures Sunday.
“I think it’s been a little bit of a factor,” Gruden said of Miller’s knee. “I don’t think either (Miller or right tackle Brandon Parker) was 100 percent in London. It’s a credit to them for going.”
Miller said after the Oct. 7 loss to the Chargers that his knee injury is “similar” to the one that has sidelined Pro Bowl left guard Kelechi Osemele the past two games. Asked about Miller being on the field against Seattle, Gruden said the Raiders are “doing the right thing.”
“We’re doing the right thing holding K.O. and playing Miller,” Gruden said. “They’re both fighting through some difficulties, like a lot of guys do in this league.”
Another unstable position for Oakland has been cornerback. After starting the first five games, Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin were effectively benched Sunday in favor of Daryl Worley and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Conley and Melvin declined comment Tuesday, but Melvin — who has acknowledged needing to adjust to new coverage techniques after signing with the Raiders this spring — wrote on Twitter after the game: “Frustrated and upset. I’m tired of it!” He added: “I’m done trying to change my style. It’s not me. Back to what I know and what got me here!!”
Asked Tuesday about Melvin’s apparent frustration, Gruden said he hadn’t talked to Melvin but “heard there was a Twitter report out there.”
“Melvin’s on his seventh team, I think,” Gruden said. “He’s had different techniques, maybe he’s confused, I don’t know. I’ll talk to him. But he’s got to play better. He’s in a competitive situation. Perhaps he’s frustrated. And I can’t blame him.”
Gruden was asked about the Raiders’ overall morale.
“I like the morale on our team,” he said. “They were in there lifting weights this morning. We’ve got a good nucleus of people here.”
Running back Jalen Richard said players are frustrated with the results but that losing consecutive games decisively to the Chargers and Seahawks “doesn’t make us doubt” within the locker room.
“It’s a high focus on just trying to turn this thing around, using this bye week to really just clear our minds and come back ready to compete,” Richard said. “You’ve got to go out and just have fun and continue to compete.
“You just can’t let nobody just do us the way Seattle did. That just can’t happen.”