OAKLAND — No, it wasn’t a true West Coast offense. It wasn’t a modern spread scheme either.
What John Gruden debuted Monday night was something a bit different — a wonderful marriage between the two systems, created over the last nine years in a Tampa strip mall.
Let’s call it the Spread Coast offense.
And after nine months — or nine years, depending on how you look at it — it was worth the wait for Raiders fans.
Gruden’s scheme was trustworthy — creative but sound, reliable but unpredictable.
His quarterback, on the other hand, was anything but trustworthy in the Raiders’ 33-13 loss to the Rams.