OAKLAND – The story of the prodigal home coach was one of the highlights of the opening of the Raiders-Rams season Monday night.

Jon Gruden, armed with a contract worth a record $ 100 million, was back to where he had founded his good faith, in a city that loved and loved him.

L & # 39; man People The magazine was once considered one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. He had abandoned the comforts of the TV booth for endless hours and the scrutiny of the leadership of a legendary NFL team.

The famous quarterback guru embarked on a new project at Derek Carr, a talented four-year-old who had regressed the previous season.

All these stories intrigued, but at the end of the Rams' win in 33-13 on Monday night, the most notable figure of the evening was the one who was not there.

One day after Khalil Mack's spectacular debut with the Bears, which included a pick-six and a striptease, the Raiders were virtually absent. 13-10 deficit at half time.

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Mack, the defensive player of the 2016 NFL, landed in Chicago when the Raiders refused to meet his contract requirements and traded him on Sept. 1 for two first-round picks and an exchange fewer choices. In his absence, Oakland fired Goff once and hit him twice.

"When we can run the ball as they ran in the second half, it's very hard to rush the passer," said Gruden. "Obviously, we did not get to Goff enough, we did not get to Gurley – enough, we'll look at why we do not have it."

They certainly include the absence of an elite smuggler, but Gruden also has other problems to solve if he hopes to send a 6-10 team back.

First running back Marshawn Lynch is 32 years old and, while still able to beat defensemen like he did in the first race of the game with a 10-yard touchdown run, Lynch no longer escapes his opponents .

The receiver's body has a potential star on Amari Cooper, but he also took a step back last season and got just one pass for 9 yards on Monday.

And Carr made his season debut with 303 yards passing but no touchdowns and three interceptions, the final a choice that mostly added salt to the injury after the result was decided.

"He did good things tonight. "It's obvious that some critical mistakes need to be eliminated," said Gruden. "One of them was not his fault, he was fooled by one of our own receivers, we need to do a better job of coaching."

Carr has been a devoted student under Gruden since the coach arrived in January and knew that this match entailed additional expectations because of his presence.

Carr said that he and his teammates avoided getting caught up in the hype of the game and that they were mostly disappointed because they had not lived up to their expectations, not because they had dropped Gruden.

"I can tell you this, the losses with coach Gruden feel a little different from what I've ever felt before," Carr said. "Just positive coaching, the next step, requiring what he needs next time to him for 10 minutes and I already have the impression that we will be better next week."

They would do better if the Lovefest Gruden would last, especially given the unfavorable reaction to the Mack trade. At the beginning of the fourth quarter of Monday, many in the crowd of 53,857 people fell when the attack failed while Carr launched a pass in the general direction of nobody.

With their superstar coach back in Las Vegas in just two years, the Raiders took a different approach than the Rams, who had a 4-12 season on their return to Los Angeles in 2016.

It was also Goff's rookie season after being selected # 1 in the entire draft. The Rams had added Gurley the previous year as the 10th pick, so their offensive anchors are 23 and 24 respectively. In late August, the club signed defensive tackle Aaron Donald, 27, for a $ 135 million deal on six years, briefly the most important ever made by a defensive player.

In contrast, Oakland left with a more experienced team and refused to get rid of Mack, who replaced Donald at the top of the defense pay scale by signing a $ 141 million six-year contract with Chicago.

ESPN reported on Monday that the Rams have offered Mackland first and third round picks, which they plan to keep for only a year to line up alongside Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers on a defensive front . Quartet

The Raiders have declined.

Still, as a coach who shares the decision-making power of staff with Managing Director Reggie McKenzie, Gruden is viewed by fans as a major player in Mack's decision.

Joel Clark from nearby Berkeley, who has been on a subscription since the Los Angeles Raiders came back in 1995, said he was "ecstatic" when he learned of Gruden's return and "angered" Mack's trade.

He expects Gruden to guide the Raiders towards notoriety and declares: "I love Gruden to death. I think he made a mistake (with Mack), but in total, Gruden will be very good for us and I will always support him. He does not realize the mistake he made. "

For the moment, Gruden gets a pass, but it might be wise to remember those fourth-quarter boos that Carr did not put on the stage.