Jon Gruden on Raiders three-game losing streak Its sickening and there will be changes

Since the 1970s, the is synonymous with the . But after watching his team get blown out in three straight games to fall out of the AFC playoff picture, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is calling on the winds of change to get his season turned around.Following Oakland's most recent lo s, a 42-21 decision at home to the , Gruden promised that for the Raiders, who are now 6-7 in and major jeopardy of mi sing the playoffs for a third straight year and second consecutive year under Gruden." Our recent play is sickening. Changes are tough, but it's a nece sary evil," Gruden Rod Woodson Jersey said, via Scott Blair of NBC Sports. "Right now, we've got to play better, and we're going to play better, and there will be changes. There will be changes. What happened Sunday will not happen again. I can't allow it to happen."Just one month ago, the Raiders appeared on the inside track of making the playoffs for just the second time since 2002, when they advanced to the Super Bowl for the fifth time. But over the past month, the Raiders have lost three games by a combined score of 116-33. In Sunday's 42-21 lo s to the Titans, Gruden's team allowed 552 total yards while allowing the Titans to convert on eight of their 11 third down opportunities. With the game tied midway through the third quarter, Gruden watched as the Titans scored three unanswered touchdowns, the final one scored on a fumble by tight end ."It's like getting punched in the stomach. It knocks some wind out of you," Gruden said of the losing. "Anytime a team takes the ball the length of the field that many Artie Burns Jersey times, it's hard to do in this league. We've done a pretty good job this year offensively of sustaining some long 80-yard drives, but sometimes you got to win the game of field position, you've got to force a three-and-out. We weren't able to do that yesterday from the jump and very, very concerned about it and we're going to make some changes. We're going to get it right."While a lack execution, technique and questionable decision-making (Oakland quarterback throwing the ball away on fourth-and-goal last Sunday comes to mind) are all factors in the Raiders' recent slide, injuries have also played a major role in Oakland's downward spiral. Rookie sensation mi sed last Sunday's game with a shoulder injury, as Oakland failed to reach 100 yards on the ground. With Jacobs Mike Webster Jersey out and with the Raiders' offense playing from behind for the game's final 20 minutes, Carr was throwing against a stacked deck."They tried to just keep everything in front of them," Carr said in . "It gets annoying, especially when somebody gets a lead. I think we saw a couple times when I tried to pump fake and launch one deep and things like that, just trying to make a play, get a touchdown and things like that."Even the routes that were 18 to 20 yards that we were running, they had everyone underneath those. We were trying to take some shots and find those windows, but when its like that, it's kinda what they were expecting. They just basically played their whole defense seven yards deeper."Tight end is reportedly out for the year after sustaining a knee injury in Sunday's game. Raiders right tackle -- who has been battling injury i sues all year -- mi sed the Titans' game with a knee injury. Rookie receiver has been out since in Donnie Shell Jersey Oakland's Week 12 lo s to the . Defensive end has mi sed half the year with a foot injury, while safety hasn't played since in Oakland's Week 10 win over the .What he acknowledged his team's alarming injury front during Sunday's postgame pre s conference, Carr added that it can't be an excuse. Every NFL team deals with injuries, and while the Raiders appear to be dealing with more than the normal NFL team, Gruden knows it's up to him and the coaching staff to put Oakland's reserve players in positions to be succe sful. Simply put, that has not happened over the past three weeks, a fact that Gruden wants to get corrected sooner rather than later.Gruden is also surely motivated to win Sunday's game against the in what will be the Raiders' final game in Oakland Jack Butler Jersey . While a win would end the Raiders' time in Oakland in a celebratory fashion, it would also keep the Raiders' faint playoff hopes alive, at least for another week.