Jon Gruden mentions how hard it is to find a great pass rusher ... seriously
Is Jon Gruden just trolling us all?
Here are some of Gruden’s recent comments and they all relate to the Khalil Mack trade, even if he didn’t intend them all that way:
On Sunday, after the Raiders allowed two long drives to the Broncos in a late loss: “We gotta do something to get more pressure, maybe call more blitzes.”
Asked if he regretted the trade on Monday after the team’s 0-2 start: “No, it doesn’t make me regret making the decision.”
The jokes write themselves. Then Gruden saved the best comment on the matter for Wednesday.
Jon Gruden says it’s hard to find a great pass rusher
This is what Gruden said when asked on Wednesday why it’s so hard to find a great pass rusher:
“It’s hard to find a great one. It’s hard to find a good one. It’s hard to find one, you just said it,” Gruden said at his news conference on Wednesday, via Jason Dumas of KRON.
Yeah, the thing is Jon, you had a great … never mind.
Gruden then continued to say it’s harder to find pass rushers because the college game has changed so much, to focus on quick passes. He said it takes more time to develop pass rushers as a result.
Mack had 36.5 sacks in his final three seasons with the Raiders. If he’s not the best pass rusher in the NFL, he’s on a short list.
#Raiders Jon Gruden asked about his team's pass rush: "It's hard to find a great pas rusher…" pic.twitter.com/D6p3dFWAz1
— SBReport (@sbreport) September 19, 2018
The trade will follow around Gruden for a long time
It’s clear the Mack decision will follow Gruden for a while, and not just for the funny quotes that fit the subject. It doesn’t help that Mack has looked like an All-Pro in his first two games with the Chicago Bears.
Gruden did things his way this offseason. He signed a lot of old veterans. He cut some recent draft picks. It was a curious path, and then he made one of the biggest trades in recent NFL history. When teams get a player like Mack, they hang on for dear life. In the Mack deal, the Bears had the gall to ask for a second-round pick back as part of the trade, and they got it.
Every time the Raiders struggle on defense this season and maybe for the next couple seasons, someone will mention Mack. If the Raiders don’t turn things around after an 0-2 start, Mack will be part of the conversation. Whenever Mack makes a big play for the Bears, Gruden and the Raiders will hear about it. Heck, if we stretch this out a bit, if Mack makes the Hall of Fame — it’s really not too early to start considering that possibility — we’ll hear about the trade all over again.
And it’s not going to get any better as long as Gruden talks about how the Raiders need to rush the quarterback, and how hard it is to find a good pass rusher.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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