Jon Gruden: Great pass rushers are hard to find
http://theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/72359/Jon-Gruden--Great-pass-rushers-are-hard-to-find
The Raiders have two sacks on the season and just 17 total pressures over two games. That certainly won’t cut it, which is why coach Jon Gruden keeps getting asked about it, Scott Bair of NBC Bayarea reports.
That happened again Wednesday, when he was asked how hard it is to find guys who can get after the quarterback.
“It’s hard to find a great one,” Gruden said. “It’s hard to find a good one. It’s hard to find one; you just said it. With college football, they aren’t dropping back to pass and throwing anymore. They’re throwing laterals and bubble screens and running read options. You have to train these guys, and it takes a little time to learn how to rush the passer. We have some guys who are in that process right now (with Arden Key, P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst).”
That certainly will raise some eyebrows, less than a month after the Mack trade. The Raiders found a great one, maybe the best in the NFL, and shipped him to the Bears because they were unwilling to pay Mack’s market value.
Gruden could’ve said it’s hard to find one and keep him and a franchise quarterback and stay in good salary cap standing. That’s dead right, and went into his thinking when executing the blockbuster trade.
“You do what you have to do, with the personnel you have to win the game,” Gruden said. “There were years in Cincinnati when Mike Zimmer was there where they blitzed more than they did in other seasons. ….When you have Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins, you don’t have to blitz. Having the quarterback thinking you’re blitzing when you’re not can also be good. We were able to get Denver in seven-man protections and three-man routes. We just have to do a better job collectively getting off the field.”