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09-13-2018, 04:35 AM
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 Even on a tea
On Monday’s PFT Live Hayes Pullard Jersey , former Jon Gruden pupil Chris Simms predicted that Gruden eventually will snap regarding the Khalil Mack holdout, insisting that the Raiders do whatever it takes to sign their best defensive player to a long-term deal, ending his holdout. While that may eventually happen, Gruden went in a different direction on Monday.
Gruden opted to suggest that Mack isn’t much of a difference maker because his presence didn’t make much of a difference last year on the team’s subpar defense. That likely won’t do much to mend fences between Mack and the Raiders. The comments from Gruden come after defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, who previously called Mack a “centerpiece” of the defense, said that Mack has “a lot of catching up to do.” Gruden’s statements also follow his vow to fans that he’ll “find a way to get Khalil Mack back.” So what’s really going on here? Some wonder whether the Raiders have the financial wherewithal to give Mack the contract he deserves, opting instead to string it out on a year-to-year arrangement. If the team can’t afford to give Mack the kind of guaranteed money necessary to sign him to a long-term deal, and if Gruden will be dealing with that reality by indirectly downplaying Mack’s value to the team Fran Tarkenton Jersey , the Raiders should simply trade Mack to a team that can and will pay him what he’s worth. And, yes, that same mindset also applies to the Rams and holdout defensive tackle Aaron Donald. However, no one is doubting owner Stan Kroenke’s ability to pay Donald. The question with the Rams is whether they want to pay him. For the Raiders, it’s fair to first wonder whether they can. If that’s truly the impediment, it won’t matter when Gruden gets to the end of his rope and demands that Mack be paid. Which means that the best move would be to simply move Mack to a team that can and will pay him what he’s worth. Nicklas Backstrom did so well on faceoffs with an injured hand he even surprised himself. ”It’s the playoffs,” Backstrom said after the Washington Capitals‘ 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night that evened the Eastern Conference final at two games apiece. ”You’ve just got to grind. It felt good on the first couple faceoffs, so I just kept taking them.” Returning from a four-game absence with a right hand injury Dee Ford Jersey , Backstrom won six of nine faceoffs and looked more like himself as the night wore on. With Game 5 looming Saturday night at Tampa Bay, Backstrom’s improvement is one of the keys to Washington bouncing back from consecutive home losses. ”I should get back to normal,” Backstrom said after playing 18:51 night in his return. ”I feel really good. I don’t know (how normal) exactly. If I didn’t feel good, I wouldn’t play. The doctors wouldn’t let me play, either.” Team doctors cleared Backstrom to play around lunchtime, and by pregame warmups he was drawing an ovation from fans thrilled to see him back in the lineup. The crowd roared when Backstrom won the faceoff on his first shift, and he got back into a rhythm centering the third line. ”It was so fun to be back out there,” Backstrom said. ”It’s where everyone wants to be. You want to be on the ice. It’s just too bad we didn’t get the win.” A hard-luck loss included two penalties by fill-in No. 2 center Lars Eller Jimmy Graham Jersey , who has five in the past two games. Coach Barry Trotz didn’t mess with his top two lines, but Backstrom could easily be promoted to skate with Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie in Game 5. ”We’re going to need him pushing forward, especially now that he has a game under him,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. ”He’ll take on more minutes and a bigger role. You could tell as the game went on he was getting more and more comfortable, so he’s going to be a much-needed asset for us in these next few games, for sure.” Backstrom appears ready to do that. The 30-year-old Swedish center hadn’t played since taking a slap shot from Pittsburgh’s Justin Schultz on May 5, but if it were up to him, he would have been back much sooner. ”Nick has been champing at the bit for a while now A.J. Derby Jersey ,” said Trotz, lauding Backstrom’s game. ”We’ve been holding him back a little bit, but he’s ready to go.” Even on a team featuring Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals have gone how Backstrom has gone for the better part of a decade. He’s the second-longest-tenured player on the team, and this was his first career game in the conference finals. ”As a hockey player, you want to play,” Backstrom said. ”It feels nice to be back.” — Womens Shaquem Griffin Jersey |
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