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It wasn’t pretty but the Las Vegas Raiders were able to beat the winless New York Jets on a game-winning touchdown from Henry Ruggs. Immediately after the game, many were criticizing Jets defensive coordinator Greg Williams for deciding to do an all-out blitz, which is the reason why Ruggs was open. Many suggested that Williams called the defense so that New York could lose and keep their path to the number one pick intact.
ESPN released a stat saying that what the Jets did hasn’t been done since 2006, which is as far as their database goes back.
However, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden isn’t buying the stat and called out his former employer.
“I think it’s all hogwash,” Gruden said Monday. “Who has the ability to look at 251,000 games? Nobody can do that. It’s not the first time we’ve seen an all-out blitz at the end of a game.
“I used to work at that channel, so I do know some of these stats are a little bit fantasy-driven. It’s a credit to Derek Carr. It’s a credit to our offensive line. It’s a credit to Ruggs for making a play against any coverage. They played a different coverage the previous snap, we had a good look at [Nelson] Agholor and had that play scored ESPN probably would have had more statistical data for you.”
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Gruden Praises His Offense for Final Play
Whether or not ESPN’s stats are inaccurate or not doesn’t matter. Williams’ play call was bad but the Raiders do deserve credit for the play. Gruden praised his offense for their ability to make a play despite the blitz.
“A lot of people (wonder) what about the call the Jets made?,” Gruden said. “What about the pickup that Darren Waller made on the edge. What about the blitz pickup by Jalen Richard? Are you kidding me? What about the throw under intense fire? And what about the route? That, to me, was as exciting and amazing as any call that anybody made. There was some great execution there.”
Had the Jets gotten to Carr and taken him down, the narrative would be very different right now. Williams did make a questionable call but Carr’s ability to adjust and make the big throw deserves some merit.
Williams Fired Because of Call
The narrative that Williams lost the game on purpose has pretty much been debunked. He’s an aggressive defensive coach and sometimes that works, other times it blows in his face. This time, it cost him his job. Williams was fired on Monday, the Jets announced.
He’s had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator throughout his career but this could be the last time a team gives him that role. He could find another defensive job but it’s hard to imagine a team trusting him to run the defense. The Jets are very likely about to clean house this offseason but Williams’ call was so bad that they couldn’t wait until the end of the season.
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