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Thanks to a collective bargaining agreement that limits salaries for players in their first four years and a more spread out game that places a greater premium on speed, teams have relied more than ever on young players.

Gruden still is showing the same kind of preference for experience that he did when he first took over the Raiders back in 1998, signing 11 players this offseason who are already in their 30s.

”We’ve added a veteran presence,” Gruden said. ”Some people don’t like it, but I like Derrick Johnson, I like Marcus Gilchrist, I like guys that know what the heck is going on.”

That’s the opposite direction most teams have gone since Gruden last coached in Tampa Bay in 2008. The youth movement hit high gear following the 2011 collective bargaining agreement and the average snap weighted age for NFL players fell to 26.46 years last season, according to Football Outsiders, the lowest since the website began tracking that number in 2006.

The average age has been falling gradually each year since 2008, with players about a half-year younger now than they were a decade ago.

But Gruden is bucking that trend, signing players like Johnson, Jordy Nelson, Frostee Rucker and Leon Hall.

”Heck yeah that’s a positive,” tight end Jared Cook said. ”It helps the maturity of this team. When you got young guys, especially nowadays Quenton Nelson Colts Jersey , these young guys just don’t get what the NFL is about. Even something as simple as veteran presence and veteran leadership, they don’t understand that. Veteran respect, they don’t necessarily get that. So, having vets in the locker room and having vets around you that know the role, know how things go and that hold other people accountable … is huge. You can’t buy that anywhere, because vets know how it’s supposed to be done, and they’re going to get it done the right way it’s supposed to be.”

Gruden took a similar tack in his first stint in Oakland, bringing in players like Eric Allen, Jerry Rice, Rich Gannon, Andre Rison, William Thomas, Trace Armstrong and Anthony Newman to help turn the Raiders from a losing team into a playoff participant his final two seasons.

Several of the older players have ties to either defensive coordinator Paul Guenther or special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, giving the coaching staff some proven players who are able to help teach the new systems.

”It’s very important,” Guenther said. ”I always say this Josh Allen Youth Jersey , but it’s a player’s game. So when you have guys that really understand the details of everything. Obviously, we haven’t been through a season with some of the guys who were here last year. Some of the things that come up, whether it be in the locker room or in the meeting room. I may say, `Hey, remember when this happened two years ago against Atlanta?’ We recall those things. So it’s very helpful to have guys that are in the infantry line there to help us out.”

The Raiders made an effort to add players like that in every position group on defense with Rucker on the defensive line, Emmanuel Lamur at linebacker, and Reggie Nelson and Leon Hall in the secondary all familiar with Guenther’s defense and able to serve as sounding boards for their teammates.

Rashaan Melvin said he frequently turns to Hall, who spent nine seasons in Cincinnati when Guenther was a defensive assistant or coordinator.

”Any time we’re putting in a new defensive scheme or whatever it might be, he’s been in the system for a long time,” Melvin said. ”If it’s a nickel position, he knows it. If it’s the corner position, he knows it. So, whatever questions we might have to ask or to ask coach, he’s like another coach for us in the room.”

But as much as the older players were brought in for their knowledge, it won’t matter at all if they still can’t play at a high level. They need to be much more than unofficial coaches on the field.

The next few weeks will show what these veterans still have left. The 33-year-old Nelson Anthony Miller Jersey , who has already impressed his coaches and teammates, is trying to prove that his dropoff last season had more to do with Aaron Rodgers‘ injury than his advancing age.

”The thing that you hear about that he can’t run anymore, that’s false,” quarterback Derek Carr said. ”I can tell you, he’s one of the fastest skill guys that we have still. He can run. You see that by his route running. If he can win on underneath routes that means DB’s are scared about what he can do over the top. He’s still Jordy Nelson, that’s for sure.”

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鈥?Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints face the prospect of seeing their season end where it began.That is, unless they’ve improved enough to turn the tables on the Minnesota Vikings, who beat New Orleans convincingly in Week 1.“That feels like ages and ages ago,” Brees said of the 29-19 loss in Minnesota, describing the difference between the Saints then and now as “night and day.”The Saints (12-5) rebounded from double-digit losses to the Vikings and New England Patriots in their first two games to win the NFC South. Now they’re on to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs after holding off Carolina (11-6), 31-26 on Sunday.New Orleans’ next game comes one day before Brees turns 39 years old, and will come one week after the veteran quarterback reminded everyone he’s still capable of big passing days if opposing defenses sell out to stop the Pro Bowl running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara.Brees completed 23 passes to eight different receivers for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Only two of his completions went to Ingram or Kamara, who accounted for only 68 yards from scrimmage combined.“We trust our system. We trust each other and what we proved is we can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Brees said. “There’s no better feeling than knowing you just won, not only won but won a playoff game as a team and now you’re on to the next one.”His touchdown passes of 80 yards to Ted Ginn and 9-yards to tight end Josh Hill helped New Orleans open up a 21-6 lead late in the first half. Michael Thomas caught eight passes for 131 yards DJ Moore Panthers Jersey , including a 46-yarder that set up Kamara’s short TD run in the fourth quarter.For the Panthers, it was an excruciating end to the season. Beaten soundly by the Saints twice before this season, they pushed New Orleans to the brink in the third matchup.Aided by the return of star tight end Greg Olsen, the Panthers drove inside the Saints 22-yard line five times, only to come away with nothing twice and field goals three other times.“That was the difference in the game,” said Olsen, who had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. “We moved the ball pretty much at will the whole game. We just struggled in the first half in the red zone and it turned out to be points that we kept chasing.”Still, the Panthers had a first down on the Saints 21 with 41 seconds left. It wasn’t until Newton’s intentional grounding in the face of end Cameron Jordan’s pass rush, followed by Vonn Bell’s sack on a safety blitz on fourth down, that the Saints sealed the victory.Some other things to know from the Saints’ win:GETTING PRESSURE: The Saints sacked Newton four times. Jordan, Bell, linebacker Jonathan Freeny and defensive tackle David Onyemata each had one. Jordan, a newly named All-Pro, also tipped two passes and might have made his biggest play when he ran through two blockers to force Newton’s intentional grounding. Their pass rush could be a factor against Minnesota QB Case Keenum, who’s been sacked 17 times in Minnesota’s last six games.Certainly Connor Williams Cowboys Jersey , Jordan expects a different game that Week 1, when the Saints had one sack 鈥?by Jordan 鈥?against then-starter Sam Bradford.“We had a young defense that was still learning,” Jordan said. “We’ve clearly turned the corner. We’ve clearly turned to the next chapter. Now we’re into the playoffs and we’ve got bigger and better goals.”SECONDARY CONCERNS: While the Saints’ defense has been far better this season than last, the secondary has looked more vulnerable lately. Against Carolina, they allowed Newton to pass for 349 yards, his second most all season. New Orleans struggled to cover Olsen and versatile running back Christian McCaffrey, who six catches for 101 yards, including a 56-yard score.END ZONE PROTECTION: While the Saints defense gave up 413 net yards, their ability to keep Carolina out of the end zone was crucial.“It’s better to hold them to three than six,” Bell said. “We held them in the red zone and we won the game.”ROAD WOES: While the Saints won their sixth straight home playoff game and improved to 5-0 in the Superdome in postseason games under coach Sean Payton, they’ve won only one road playoff game in their history. That was during the 2013 season, when they won a wild-card round game at Philadelphia before losing the next week at Seattle.The Saints’ all time road playoff record is 1-6..