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OAKLAND – While he was preparing his face for what he hoped to be his first victory as an NFL head coach in exactly nine years and ten months, Jon Gruden was sitting in the area reserved for coaches in the locker room at the Oakland Coliseum Sunday morning, scrolls his mobile phone and has news decidedly disturbing.
"Zut – Khalil Mack had another he threw in a rhetorical tone, shaking his head at the Raiders' assistant coaches. "Are you kinding me?"
Two hours before the Raiders and Cleveland Brown get into an epic overtime showdown with 53,387 fans drained and thrilled, Gruden knew the score: with a $ 100 million 10-year deal, a record of 0-3 and his fingerprints everywhere The trade that rid his team of one of the first defenders of the league, he went from a few months to the bright red death's head of the world of football. Mack's latest attack was, figuratively speaking, another blow to the head coach who had left the city.
To Gruden's credit, he is not forgetting: as Mack, the rider he traded against the Chicago Bears shortly before the start of the regular season following an extended contract dispute He continued his reign of terror against the opposing quarters – forcing a pair of turnovers The Bears' win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Gruden knew it would increase the pressure on him to defeat an already agitated Raider Nation.
Even after Oakland had an improbable and thrilling 45-42 win over Matt McCrane's 29-yard goal at the end of the overtime period, Gruden remained aware of his recent status in some boxing punch quarters for residents of the United States. league – and punchline.
"I really do not have much euphoria," said Gruden while he was in the Raiders locker room after his first victory since he had guided the Buccaneers to a 23-20 win over the Saints of New Orleans on November 30. 2008 – and his first in Oakland since leading the Raiders to a 38-24 win over the New York Jets in a first-round playoff game on January 12, 2002. "I'm happy for the guys, for the The staff and fans – especially the fans – had a winning season in 15 years and the game was difficult.
"We have a long way to go, we have veterans who have given us good leadership and who have shown us the way, and we have a lot of recruits playing, we're going to put the wheels back and roll this thing, but that will take a little work, and I do not want to stay here and tell everyone that we have come in. Because I'm sure it's the last thing anybody wants to hear now.
And yes, Gruden smiled when he spoke. By the end of the conversation, he reluctantly admitted to having taken some pride in Sunday's result, albeit in the context of the praise of his somewhat beleaguered quarterback, Derek Carr.
However, for his players and assistants, it was in fact a milestone for a rock star coach who, despite his penchant for salinity, remains positive and imperturbable while many foreigners cast doubts on his return.
"He needed it," said veteran Donald Penn, who left the game after suffering an injury in the third quarter, which means the Raiders' offensive line would be reserved for rookies the rest of the race. "we need this. Given all that we experienced, it meant a lot to keep fighting throughout a match like this and finding a way to win. He stayed positive all the time, and it has paid off today. "
Forward Bruce Irvin, who had a bag in the first quarter, Baker Mayfield, first choice of the Browns, was chosen for the first time in the NFL: "Yeah, man, that's a great feeling – he's missing from the match for nine years, and especially with the adversity we faced, it was good to tie him up, keep fighting and win that first victory. "
He came on a glorious afternoon of East Bay steeped in silver and black significance, with Gruden one of the Three former Raiders coaches (with Browns coach Hue Jackson, with whom Gruden worked as an assistant at the University of the Pacific in 1989, and his predecessor, the current coach of the Oakland offensive line , Tom Cable) walk on the side.
Sunday was also marked by the tenth anniversary of the infamous Press conference on the overhead projectorOn the final day, Al Davis announced the dismissal of head coach Lane Kiffin and the promotion of Cable to the position.
At the time, Gruden was a month away from what was to be his last season in Tampa. Referred by the Buc six years after leading the franchise to his only title – obtained by crushing his former team, the Raiders, in the Super Bowl XXXVII – Gruden turns into a brilliant career as an analyst Monday Night Football. Some have assumed that he could never come back on the sidelines.
All this ended last January when Mark Davis, Al's son and successor, signed a massive contract with Gruden and brought him back to Oakland, proclaiming at a triumphant press conference that It was the "best day of my life".
Davis was much narrower after Sunday's win, which pushed the Raiders to 1-3, while dropping the competitive Browns at 1-2-1.
"I do not even consider it the first (win) in nine years," said Davis. "It's the first in four weeks – it's a start."
Referring to the notion that the game went through Gruden, Davis sarcastically replied, "Oh yes, it did."
The most important passes of this game were delivered by Carr, who overcame a pair of steals for a total of 437 yards and four touchdowns, including a seven-yard narrow-end strike from Jared Cook, followed by a precise conversion of two points in the corner. from the end zone to Jordy Nelson – with 30 seconds left in regulation.
After being defeated by the Rams early in the season and criticized for his inability to complete two road games in Denver and Miami during which he had ample opportunity to win, Carr found himself alive in the middle of the third match. quarter after Oakland lost 28-14 points.
The Coliseum was alive with the sound of the swell, as in the 33-13 loss to the Rams on the first Monday night of the regular season. Once again, Gruden was well aware of the feeling of his criticism for not being up to billing – and for a brief moment, he let a negative thought pass him: Why the hell did I come back for CE?
At this point, a return of the Raiders seemed highly unlikely. They had only managed a score at the attack, as Oakland 's corner half, Gareon Conley, had counted for the first points of the match on a 36 – yard interception return for the touchdown. This was the first of Mayfield's four turnovers, which nevertheless had a very productive debut, completing 21 of 41 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
Both teams also had success on the field: Marshawn Lynch of the Raiders – the most struggling of the time, or perhaps all the others, won 130 yards in 20 races. Meanwhile, Cleveland's Carlos Hyde ran for 82 yards (though he missed a few inches of his last game carryover, thanks to a controversial reversal of the replay of a first try that could clinch the match) on 22 portages while his rookie reinforcement, Nick Chubb, beat a series of 63 and 41 yards, the latter giving the Browns a lead of 42-34 with 4:20 left.
In the end, the Raiders – who had left a ton of big potential games on the field, including a first-quarter pass that Carr threw in an open tackle from Nelson and a possible 53-yard touchdown in the second. Quarterback who received this quick goal, Martavis Bryant, managed to not get caught despite his presence behind the Cleveland High School. He lived up to the fifth quarter thanks to the grace of the football gods, or at least the team officials: after the defense, the Brown -down stop and Cleveland took over on his own with 1:51 to go, three Hyde races seemed to have chilled the game – but the third and second conversion of the wearer was judged just after replaying the first marker, giving Carr another shot at redemption.
For the coach and the quarterback, it was not an innocuous experience. Despite all the hopes of knowing if Gruden and Carr, deeply religious, would swear together, would be very close to each other, and despite all the talk that both had underperformed in 2018, their link was solid from the beginning, and each man kept a strong trust in each other.
"It's all the opposite of what some people feared," Carr said as he stood in front of his locker shortly after Sunday's win. "He was so positive, even when I screw up something, he always stayed with me, no matter how lousy he is, he always tells me," You're going to be one of the best. "It's a special feeling for a quarterback to feel that support."
After being questioned for months on his relationship with Carr, Gruden has reached the point of exasperation.
"Do not they believe me?" he asked after Sunday's match. "Do not they want to write the truth? Look, the guy finishes almost 75% of his passes, and we just started working together." I mean, I love my quarterback. I would like people to
Gruden said, "I'm so proud of him.You have no idea.It was huge.It's a Gregg Williams defense." (The Browns) intercepted Ben Roethlisberger four times. Drew Brees had three points until the end of the game. They closed Philly in the preseason. go.
"Derek was great, if you do not believe me, look at the tape, do some research, he did a lot of work."
According to the players and assistants, Gruden did a good job throughout the week highlighting the positive aspects of the Raiders' performance, preaching: "We're right here, we just have to finish". At a meeting on Saturday night at the hotel's team, he told his players: "No one presses, relax, feel no pressure, put it on my shoulders. You're just playing outside. "
Afterwards, in a jubilant dressing room, Gruden praised the Raiders' mental strength by saying, "You have never resigned.You stayed together.You are fighters." There were some loud cheers and Gruden returned to leave for his post-match press conference before defensive coordinator Paul Guenther added an epilogue.
"Oh, one more thing – here, my coach," Guenther said, picking up a match and throwing it at his boss. Gruden watched his quarterback throw 58 assists on this surreal Sunday, but it's safe to say that Guenther's draw was not forgotten.
"Jon is an emotional guy," said Greg Olson, Gruden's offensive coordinator. "During the game, he lives and dies at every game. I tell you, he loves football and he has an affinity for the Oakland Raiders, he really knows that." He feels obligated to the people of Oakland, he owes them as many victories as he can get before the team moves. "
Gruden finally won his first victory in almost ten years and when McCrane's kick poked his way through the posts in the southern part of the Coliseum, rest assured, deep satisfaction spread through his being, if only for a few moments.
"That's why you train," conceded Gruden as we finished our conversation. "That's why you come back … for this feeling. But I also know that we have a long way to go. "
Follow Michael Silver on Twitter @mikesilver.
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