NEWS » Offensive coordinator Greg Olson league-leading distinction

could be of great help to Jon Gruden and Raiders in their trip across the pond Tonight the Seahawks head to London while the Raiders fly out Thursday night. The two teams which are a few hundred miles apart in the states Johnny Townsend Jersey , flying halfway around the world to face each other.Both teams are doing the trip non-stop from the West coast to London, which is about an 11-hour flight. The Seahawks will have a couple days to recover while the Raiders will have one day. According to Jon Gruden, he may need a lot more than a day or even a couple days.“I don’t know. I hope I can make it, honestly. I’m not great. I get claustrophobic,” said Gruden. “My son wasa weightlifter and he won a powerlifting competition in Belarus. I had to fly 14 hours. I had to fly home 14 hours. I had vertigo for a month. I couldn’t even lay down, the house was spinning. I am hoping I don’t get vertigo. I’m not a great traveler. I’ll be honest with you, I hate it. I’m not good. I’m concerned. I’m more worried about that than our goal-line offense right now.”The Raiders made the trip to London back in 2014. That year they chose to play in New England the week before, then fly into London and spend the week practicing there. That allowed them to better acclimate to the game. Then they went out and looked terrible, but that was mainly because they were just a terrible overall team. Dennis Allen was fired after the game, and the Raiders went on to lose six more after that.There are only two players from that 2014 team who will take the field Sunday.But there is one coach as well, and he is a savvy veteran when it comes to playing in London. Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson.“I know it’s seven for sure, maybe eight,” Olson said of how many trips he’s made to London for a game. The last two of those games were while he was the OC in Jacksonville which has played a game in London every season since 2013, so this will be the seventh time Olson has played in London in his coaching career.“I enjoy the trip, really. I think it’s good for team bonding. It’s good to get away for a little bit in a long season. I think it’s great this time in the schedule, Game 6, I think with the four preseason games it’s the half way part of the season. I think it’s a real good time for the team to bond. Get over there, be away from any distractions and just a good time to be with your teammates.” Olson has spent the week in London leading up to the game, obviously with the Raiders, and probably with other teams as well, and said he prefers to head over a day before the game as opposed to spending the week there.“I think it was good for our players to be here and rehab and rest here and be in their own beds and have a chance to sleep. We started by having an early week. They actually are going to get an extra day of rest Friday on the travel day and tomorrow night so I think we will be fresh and ready to go. I like the way that they set it up, our trainers and our strength staff, and coach set it up this year.” Olson is 3-3 on his six trips to play in London, and has won his last three — last season with the Rams and the two previous seasons with the Jaguars. So, I’d say his advice carries some weight as to what works best.Gruden said Olson will be his “tour guide” in London, though there won’t be any time for tourist type stuff.“It’ll probably be mostly just football. I think the length of the flight Gareon Conley Jersey , probably get over there on Friday and mostly just recover with the players. Get them to stretch. Get them a little something to eat. Get their blood pumping. Get a walkthrough. Then Saturday the day before the game, a lot of review. There won’t be a lot of time for sightseeing, but I’ll try to sneak out and make some friends.”Hey, maybe since the Raiders have a bye week a few of the players and coaches will stick around London after the game instead of flying right back home. I know I will.Follow @LeviDamien I can’t recall the last time I saw such an enticing group of potential free agent pass rushers. Lucky for the Raiders, it’s the position they have the most dire need, so the odds are fairly good they can reel at least one of them in this offseason.Certainly franchise tags and re-signings will lop probably about half of this list off, but as of now, take a gander at some of these guys who are as of now headed for free agency.Jadeveon Clowney, TexansThe can’t-miss number one overall pick in the 2014 draft. His elite prospect status is the main reason why the Raiders were able to get Khalil Mack with the 5th overall pick. After injuries ended his first two seasons early, he has now been to three-straight Pro Bowls including putting up over nine sacks each of the past couple seasons.Dee Ford, ChiefsFord has put up double digit sacks in each of his last two full seasons, including a career-high 13.0 sacks last season, earning him his first Pro Bowl bid. What a coup it would be to pry this pass rusher from their division rival.Frank Clark, SeahawksWhat a steal it would be to get this 25-year-old. Tom Cable probably remembers Clark tearing up his tackles in Seattle his last couple seasons there. Clark has averaged double digit sacks over the past three seasons, including 13.0 sacks last season. And he just went on twitter the other day saying he was playing at 60% last season.Ezekiel Ansah, LionsThe former 5th overall pick had put up 44.0 sacks over his first five seasons and got the franchise tag slapped on him last offseason. Then his 2018 campaign ended after 7 games. He had put up 4.0 sacks prior to the injury and the season before that he had 12.0 sacks, giving him 16.0 sacks in his last 21 games. He’s be 30 in May.Trey Flowers, PatriotsFlowers plays his best football in the biggest moments. He burst onto the scene in the Super Bowl against the Falcons in which he had 2.5 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss and 5 QB hits. He had a sack and two QB hits on Philip Rivers last week as the Patriots beat the Chargers to bring his postseason total over 7 games to 4.5 sacks, 18 QB hits, and 6.0 tackles for loss. The 25-year-old has averaged 7.0 sacks per season the past three seasons.Preston Smith, WashingtonThe former second round pick has been up and down over four seasons in Washington. He had 8.0 sacks as a rookie, dropped to 4.5 his second season, back up to 8.0 his third season, and back down to 4.0 last season. Which means, even in his worst season Eddie Vanderdoes Jersey , he would be the best pass rusher on the Raiders.Za’Darius Smith, RavensAt 6-4, 272 pounds, he’s on the larger side. He’s shown versatility as the Ravens have moved him between DE, DT, and OLB throughout his career. Last season he put up a career-best 8.5 sacks which could either show he’s entering his prime or the dreaded ‘contract year numbers’.Chris Long, EaglesLong is about to hit 34 years old. So what. Jon Gruden doesn’t care about age if he thinks a guy can play. The 11-year veteran defensive end had 6.5 sacks last season for the Eagles at the age of 33. He also was part of the previous two Super Bowl championship teams. How cool would it be to have him finish out his career in Silver & Black just like his dad?Brandon Graham, EaglesMaybe another Philly pass rusher. Graham had his best season in 2017, with his 9.5 sacks helping the Eagles on their Super Bowl run, adding another sack on Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. He followed it up with a down year, putting up just 4.0 sacks — his lowest total as a full time starter. But he added 1.5 sacks in two playoff games.Dante Fowler Jr, RamsFowler was the third overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Florida and Mike Mayock’s top rated pass rusher. He has yet to live up to that billing, but he did put up 16.0 sacks over three seasons and is just 24 years old. Maybe Mayock thinks he’s still got that top pass rusher in him? Fowler had a sack in the Rams win over the Cowboys. He will have at least one more shot to show his wares this weekend in the NFC Championship against the Saints.Michael Johnson, BengalsWith Paul Guenther as Defensive Coordinator, the Bengals brought Michael Johnson back in 2015 after one season in Tampa. Johnson started 46 games for Guenther over three seasons, putting up 13.5 sacks. Last season with Guenther gone, the 31-year-old had just a half sack on the season. Maybe reuniting with his old DC would be just what he needs.Shooting starDemarcus Lawrence, CowboysSure, Lawrence would be at the top of this list for any team. He put up 24.5 sacks the past two seasons and is probably the top free agent on the market at any position. But that’s the problem. Lawrence is going to break the bank. The Raiders were unwilling to pay Khalil Mack what he was worth, so why would they now spend the kind of money it will cost to sign Lawrence? His being on the market would be great news, though, as it will help bring the price down for some of the other great pass rushers out there, perhaps to levels that the Raiders are willing to pay.Follow @LeviDamien