Jon Gruden has always been a traditional taskmaster. So naturally, hearing him admit his dislike for the new-age offensive trends wasn’t surprising. What was surprising though was his choice for the best QB as per his preferred style of play. The former Raiders HC chose Jared Goff as the flagbearer for it instead of Patrick Mahomes who is consistently finding ways to win.
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Jon Gruden recently appeared on “Pardon My Take” and revealed that Jared Goff is currently the best QB in the league which matches his playcalling mindset. Not just the best, but the best by a long margin as he opined that there is no one close to him.
Gruden backed this up by sharing his observation from last week at the Detroit Lions training camp. The way Goff was performing in practice, the Super Bowl-winning HC couldn’t resist admitting that he could see shades of the legendary Joe Montana in Goff’s exploits.
“Man, I don’t even think it’s close. I did a thing with the Detroit Lions last week. I think Jared Goff is starting to look like Joe Montana to me,” stunningly said Gruden.
The former Arizona tactician then fleshed out his big praise by noting down what Goff does right. Be it anticipating plays, making efficient passes, or simply being tough enough to shrug off defenders, Goff ticks all these boxes remarkably well for Joe.
“He plays with continuous movement. He completes almost every single pass. He’s tough as hell. He has continuity in the same system. He knows and anticipates what plays are gonna be called.”
The best part about Goff for Joe however is his ability to pass all around the ground. Unlike modern playmakers who use their physicality to evade defenders and rush ahead to make plays, Goff’s ability to pass to all his best weapons with equal proficiency and not much vertical movement subscribes to his notion of offense.
That said, what exactly is Jon Gruden’s style of offense?
Jon Gruden wants his QB to play the good old passing game
As Jon expressed while describing his love for Goff, he wants his QBs to essay their primary role of passing rather than roaming around the pitch.
Be it throwing versatile routes or calling audibles to set up the offense, Jon Gruden wants his offensive players to be focused on their primary roles. Anything other than this is “Friday Night Football” for the coach.
“I want to see these NFL quarterbacks drop back to pass, throw an array of routes with different route trees and audibles. I want to see a professional style of pass offense. I don’t want to see the Friday, Saturday night football.”
But why does Jon dislike the modern evolution of the QB role so much? One of the main reasons cited by the coach is the injury risk associated with it. The more you advance, the more you rush forward, and the higher the chances of you picking up knocks and injuries. Gruden hates this.
This is truly an interesting point because Tom Brady’s traditional approach to the QB role might be one of the reasons for his insane longevity. That said, QBs like Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels have the chance to prove Gruden wrong. But when we have the GOAT being the embodiment of Gruden’s style of offense, it’s hard to discredit his views on modern trends.
