The Raiders appeared to get some good news Saturday. It’s a really good football team and we’ve got our work cut out for us.” They’ve got a really good young defense, good guys in the secondary, really athletic guys at linebacker and a lot of high-motor guys on the defensive line. I think they’ve got a great quarterback and they’ve got a good offense, good running back, good tight end and a lot of speed at receiver. They’re obviously well-coached and have a great staff. “It’s going to be a tough, hard-nosed game. “They’ve got a lot of talented players,” Brady said. He is completing 73.14 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. Derek Carr, in his third season under Gruden, has settled into the offense. Buffalo, I think we were in that game, we had some calls go against us that were really tough on us.” We did some good things against New England on a short week. “We’ve been playing pretty good football. “It was a big confidence builder for us, anytime you get a good win,” Gruden said. Coming off the bye week, they are 3-2 with a 40-32 upset of the Chiefs at Kansas City Oct. The Raiders, meanwhile, have a pretty good football team. Since firing him after back-to-back 9-7 campaigns, the Bucs have enjoyed only two winning records (in 20) and have gone 12 straight seasons without a playoff appearance, the second longest drought in the league. It’s important to note that Gruden had four winning records in seven seasons in Tampa Bay, reaching the playoffs three times. This will be an incredibly personal game for Gruden, facing his former Bucs team for the first time. ![]() Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden will be facing his former Bucs team for the first time. It’s a great thrill for us to be able to compete against him.” He’s adapted every year to different personnel, different coordinators. He’s one of the great quarterbacks, certainly. He’s not showing any signs of age at all. “You don’t know what age he is,” Gruden said. He’s passed for 1,541 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions while leading the Bucs to a 4-2 start. Now, at 43, Brady is a Buccaneer and playing well. He traded for the rights for Jake Plummer and flew to Montana just to see if he could talk him out of retirement (he didn’t). Chris Simms, Brian Griese, Bruce Gradkowski, Tim Rattay, Luke McCown, Jeff Garcia. Gruden’s favorite quarterback has always been the one he doesn’t have.Īfter winning a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson, he tore through them in Tampa Bay like a kid tears through his Halloween candy. If you know anything about Gruden, it must gall him to no end that the Bucs and the Glazers convinced the greatest quarterback of all time to leave the Patriots and play in Tampa Bay. I still see it today and it’s a great part of my football history and it’s probably a very sour part of their football history, but that’s the way it goes.” One of my ex-teammates, Charles Woodson, we’ve been together probably more than that, and he and I have hashed it out. “I could see why he hasn’t gotten over it. “I’ve only been around him a few times - not too often - but it gets brought up every time we are around one another,” Brady said. Or it’s a rare opportunity for redemption.īrady was asked this week if he ever hashed out the Tuck Rule game with Gruden during one of their encounters. It’s Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees interrupting a good nap. ![]() Brady and the Bucs visit Gruden and the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday. Of course, they would have to team up to torment him together. We can all see that the relationship that he and Greg Olson have running this offense.Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started. “He has an incredible understanding of what we are trying to do on offense. ![]() “Football-wise on the field he is tremendous,” Bisaccia said. That has helped Carr rank second in the league to Tom Brady with 324.1 yards passing per game. That has helped a defense that allowed the most points and second-most yards per play in Gruden’s first three seasons take a big step under new coordinator Gus Bradley.Ĭarr has also been much more willing to push the ball down the field this season, with his average throw traveling a career-high 9 yards downfield, according to Sportradar, and his deep completions per game more than doubling from 1.4 to 3. Third-year defensive end Maxx Crosby has emerged as a star and has teamed with free-agent acquisition Yannick Ngakoue to form one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league this season. An improved defense and a more aggressive Carr are a big reason for the success so far in 2021.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |