Jon Gruden hears ‘the hatred,’ says Raiders aren’t tanking
On Tuesday, as the Oakland Raiders announced they had cut ties with veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson, among their leading tacklers, coach Jon Gruden fired back at “the hatred” and the suggestion his team is intentionally “tanking.”
Gruden: “I’ll say this: we’re not tanking anything. I hear the hatred.” Definitely annoyed people are writing or suggesting that’s happening.
— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) October 16, 2018
It’s hard to take anything Gruden says seriously this year — his continued song and dance about how hard it is to find a pass rusher didn’t help matters. But anyone who’s followed the man throughout his career knows he hates losing.
With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine Gruden is purposefully “tanking,†meaning he’s not trying to throw the season into the garbage pail so he can land a top pick.
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Gruden’s own roster management has a lot to do with the team’s current situation, however. He brought in a ton of old players who are in decline and traded away his top asset for two future first-round picks.
If that doesn’t suggest rebuilding, what does?
While Gruden might not be intentionally trying to lose games this year, he certainly hasn’t done much to give the Raiders a fighting chance.
Now at 1-5 on the season, it’s fair to say the Raiders are among the worst teams the NFL has to offer, if not the absolute worst. Tanking or not, it’s very ugly football.
