At the time Gus Bradley was announced as the new defensive coordinator for the Raiders, the thought was that the Raiders would switch to a Cover-3. That’s what Bradley ran in Seattle when he was DC for the 2009-12 Seahawks.
At that time, the Seahawks had one of the best defenses in the league, deploying the vaunted ‘Legion of Boom’. Bradley’s job in commanding that defense earned him the position of chief coach of the Jaguars in 2013, where, for some reason, the defensive game plummeted.
In three of his four seasons as a Jaguars coach, the defense has been ranked among the worst in the league in allowed points and yards.
After Bradley was fired after the 2016 season, All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey had some less than stellar things to say about how the defense was commanded by Bradley and DC Todd Walsh.
“Every week, we made the same defense,” said Ramsey in an ESPN article. “We never change defenses. We never change the moves. What we were doing at the beginning of the season, we were doing first at the end of the season. What we were doing on the second descent, on the third descent, the same. Nothing has ever changed. “
These criticisms followed him when he was hired by the Chargers to be DC under Anthony Lynn in 2017. But under Bradley, Chargers’ defense was among the best in the league, just as Seattle’s had been with him as A.D.
On Bradley’s part, he said he learned a lot by being a head coach instead of just a defensive coordinator.
“When you are a head coach, you are involved in many offensives
Encounters. You are sitting with the offensive staff, the offensive staff and are listening to how they plan the game, how they do it by formations and which formations they think best attack this style of defense, ”Bradley said Tuesday at his press conference introductory Raiders. “So I think it was beneficial in many ways, it gave me a different view of how defenses are attacked, how offenses are attacking us.”
Of course, the question is whether Bradley’s approach has changed since his days in Seattle, or even since his days in Jacksonville. In particular, how flexible is it? And, in turn, how predictable are your defenses? Is it still strictly Cover-3?
“I think the base is very Cover-3. But I think it has evolved since Seattle, ”said Bradley. “When we went to Jacksonville, there were things that we incorporated. We went to the Chargers once too. So, I think it’s more of a multiple than maybe the Seattle days. But it’s really about looking at the people we have and putting the guys in a position where they can play a lot. Positioning them where they can make moves. That is the task that we will see next month or later. “
There is some evidence of what Bradley talks about. As ‘Tape Don’t Lie’ co-host BD Williams points out here.
Josh Allen is a perfect litmus test for whether Bradley has evolved because Allen is one of the young stars of the NFL with his combination of arm talent and mobility. It may be an omen of how he will deploy defense against names like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, which the Raiders will face twice a season in the near future.