Gruden optimistic, but says criticism for 0-3 start justified
ALAMEDA >> Jon Gruden isn’t oblivious to public opinion.
“Can I sense outside negativity piling on who, me?,” Gruden said Monday at his weekly news conference. “I mean, it’s justifiable. I have a pretty good idea of what this business is all about. But I’m also realistic. I’m also very optimistic.”
So while the Raiders have sputtered to an 0-3 start with the Cleveland Browns coming to town Sunday, their head coach believes he’s looking at a potentially a good team, competitive through three quarters against opposition with a combined record of 8-1.
The latest loss came 2820 to the Miami Dolphins, a team which doesn’t necessarily have a big talent advantage but a 3-0 record.
In the bottom-line world of the NFL, talk of being competitive brings mostly snickers and derision. It’s win or lose, and the losers hear about it.
To Gruden, being competitive means learning how to walk before you can run, or in this case, how to compete before you can win. And there have been plenty of non-competitive games for the Raiders over the last 14 years with one winning season.
Holes are springing faster with the Raiders faster than they can plug the leaks. They move the ball but don’t score enough. They fail in the red zone. Their special teams are supplying horrible field position. The defense isn’t supplying enough of a pass rush or tunovers, and the Raiders are giving up huge yardage on jet sweeps.
Yet the Raiders have led at halftime in three straight games, and entered three fourth quarters with a legitimate chance to win . . . only to be outscored 37-3.
Gruden cited specific plays and instances of mistakes that led to defeat, the importance of correcting them, then offered a golf analogy in which he stressed poise and confidence.
“I’ve caddied for John Daly and I’ve caddied for some of the best,” Gruden said “Some of these guys get on the 15th or 16th hole and they’re in great shape, but the fairways get a little tighter. You swing a little faster. You try a little harder. It doesn’t work out.
“We’ve got to take a deep breath and look forward to the moment. We have to apply the pressure, not to say we feel the pressure . . . I think sometimes we have some guys trying to do too much. That’s something we have to solve quickly.”
The often-reported (but never confirmed) 10-year, $100 million contract has placed a target on Gruden’s back, and the Khalil Mack trade brought with it thousands of arrows happily supplied by local, national and social media.
Has Gruden lost it? “I’m not a lot different than what I was the last time I was here” Gruden said. “I wish the results in the win column were better. I’m encouraged by the staff we have, the environment we’re creating and the direction we’re heading. We have a lot of work to do. We have a ways to go.
“I think Derek Carr is magnificent in this offense. I think we’re going to be a balanced team that can possess the ball and make big plays.. I really believe that. I think defensively, we’re still finding ourselves. I’m just trying to get better and trying to provide good, positive, optimistic feedback to our football players.”
Marshawn Lynch emerged from a year-long self-imposed media silence to strike an optimistic tone following the Miami loss, and Kelechi Osemele, one of the most respected players on the team, did the same Monday.
“They’ve been very mature about it, very professional,” Osemele said of the coaching staff. “I don’t sense any panic or anything like it. They go on and prepare, nobody is pointing fingers. People are pointing out the positives and also the mistakes that need to be corrected.”
• One week after being criticized after going 29-for32 that he was too conservative, Carr was being taken to task for being too aggressive — with a red zone interception in the fourth quarter the turning point in the loss.
“I thought we were too aggressive,” Gruden said. “I think at times he is trying too hard. We will talk about that extensively here in the next couple of hours. But I thought he played really good under some tough circumstances . . . I think sometimes he needs to learn a little more patience and I think he will.”
• Place kicker Mike Nugent has a hip injury and it sounds like the Raiders will sign a new place kicker today after a tryout session.
Karl Joseph will probably miss the Cleveland game with a hamstring pull and Gruden believes Donald Penn (concussion symptoms) will be good to go.