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OAKLAND – Jon Gruden has gone through several stages since returning as the Raiders head coach. Re-adapt to money and black. This first practice out of season. His return to Napa and his training camp. The pre-season stroll in the sidelines at Oakland Coliseum.
They all meant something to Gruden, who can sometimes be nostalgic. On Monday night, he will face the Los Angeles Rams. These games, the ones that really matter, explain why Gruden returned to training.
The Raider nation loves Gruden, especially in East Bay. They should welcome him with open arms Monday night, even after trading some All-Pro arsenal.
"It's really special for me," said Gruden. "I know there has been a lot of news this week with what has happened, but I want to do everything I can to help bring back the Raiders. I like very much the efforts of our team, our coaching staff. It will be very special on Monday night. "
Gruden has spent his last nine years as a Monday Night Football Color Analyst. The Raiders and Rams play the second half of a double-header, with the full team of analysts streaming live from Jack London Square.
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That's what you expect from a celebrity head coach as popular as any player on the list. Gruden will compete with Rams head coach Sean McVay, a longtime family friend and protégé. The game starts in prime time in the west.
The stories that are heading towards this game are numerous.
None is bigger than the news mentioned above. He referred to a controversial decision to negotiate Khalil Mack for a compensation program that includes two first-round picks and a lot of control. The Raiders have delivered their best player and have nothing to help the 2018 team, suggesting that Gruden is preparing for a better future in the short term. Doing this a few days before the regular season left a bitter taste with much astonishment, Mack wears blue Bears and burnt orange.
Mack did not take the bite Sunday night. He added to his intensity, adding a bag, a forced fumble and an interception returned for a touchdown in his first game with the Bears.
The Monday night result will be questioned, including how the Raiders could have done with Mack in the trenches. A loss will fuel this speculation. A victory will push him further in the rearview mirror and will make the season fall in strength.
The Raiders could come out and control this game. They could be smoked. There are many things we do not know about these Raiders and how Gruden will lead them. It was as vanilla as possible during a pre-season when the regulars were barely playing. We have an idea of the depth diagram of the team and who fulfills which role, but several points will remain unresolved until the game begins.
The Rams also played things close to the chest, which means the teams will have to adapt as the game progresses.
"It will be a challenge," said Gruden. "We will have to make adjustments to what they do. I'm sure they have a lot of secrets in their sleeve that they did not show. That's why we've set aside Microsoft tablets so we can make the adjustments as soon as possible. "
The biggest mystery, however, concerns Gruden himself. His program is well known for his stints in Oakland and Tampa Bay, but he has evolved from having spent the last nine years studying crime and working with NFL coaches as a member of the media. Gruden will have a few laps in his sleeve that will be unveiled as the season progresses. This will be a huge asset to the Raiders if they can capitalize on the element of surprise.
"The Raiders' advantage for this game of Week 1," said former NFL quarterback and current NBC analyst Chris Simms on NBC Sports Bay's "Central Raiders". I think he's going to release the kitchen sink, all he stole from Sean Paytons, Kyle Shannahans and Sean McVays from the world he has accumulated during his 10-year vacation with ESPN. I think we'll see them all here in the first few weeks of the season. I do not know what it's going to look like, but it's not going to look like (Gruden's attack) in Tampa, and it's certainly not going to be like what he did last in Oakland or what we have seen in pre-season.
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