5 reasons why Raiders will fail with Jon Gruden

1. He wants it to be 1998

Gruden literally said he wants to bring football back 20 years, so there’s that.

Between the comment and the signings so far in free agency, the Raiders are committed to bringing back the days of Tyrone Wheatley and Zach Crockett. Of course, that wasn’t abnormal back in the day, but would be in stark contrast to the current NFL.

When Gruden coached Tampa Bay, he was famous for not wanting to incorporate any shotgun formation elements into his offense. In fact, the Buccaneers didn’t call a single play without a quarterback under center in 2006. Last year, the average NFL team spent 68 percent of their offensive snaps in the shotgun. Oddly enough, that’s the exact percentage the Raiders were at in 2017.

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Additionally, Carr is used to that formation on passing plays. Last season, the former Fresno State star was in the shotgun 80 percent of the time in that situation. Furthermore, the NFL has become heavy on “11” personnel, using it more now than ever before. Meanwhile, the two-back sets are borderline extinct, with teams employing it on fewer than 10 percent of snaps leaguewide.

If Oakland wants to be viable both in the AFC West and 2018, Gruden has to step into the present and leave the past behind him. Unfortunately, early returns say he doesn’t seem willing to do that.