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The one move that defined the 2018 NFL season for all 32 teams

By Erik Lambert

ALAMEDA, CA - JANUARY 09: Oakland Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden looks on during a news conference at Oakland Raiders headquarters on January 9, 2018 in Alameda, California. Jon Gruden has returned to the Oakland Raiders after leaving the team in 2001. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
ALAMEDA, CA - JANUARY 09: Oakland Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden looks on during a news conference at Oakland Raiders headquarters on January 9, 2018 in Alameda, California. Jon Gruden has returned to the Oakland Raiders after leaving the team in 2001. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) /
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ALAMEDA, CA – JANUARY 09: Oakland Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden looks on during a news conference at Oakland Raiders headquarters on January 9, 2018 in Alameda, California. Jon Gruden has returned to the Oakland Raiders after leaving the team in 2001. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) /

Oakland Raiders: Hiring Jon Gruden

No doubt the PR department is spinning things in such a way that makes Gruden look good after beating the favored Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday. They’ve won two of their last four games and things must be getting better, right? Well, both wins were by two and three points respectively, both were at home and one of them was against the struggling Arizona Cardinals. The bottom line is the Raiders are still a three-win team and not going anywhere in 2018.

It doesn’t erase the fact that Gruden’s season as a whole has been a complete failure. He took over a team that made the playoffs two years ago and won seven games last year. They had a strong core of talent in place with Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, and Khalil Mack. All he had to do was build the roster up around them and this team had a chance to win. What did he do?

He signed off on trading both Mack and Cooper who are starring in Chicago and Dallas as both teams surge towards the playoffs. There is no question that the plummet of that team to the bottom of the AFC started with his arrival.

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