Every single year on January 19 the NFL world feels the need to remind everyone it’s the anniversary of the Tuck Rule game. This year that day was Saturday prior to the Conference Championship games. The first of those games ended in highly controversial fashion Derek Carr Jersey White , with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis getting lit up by Nickell Robey-Coleman before the ball arrived and no flag thrown.A flag there would have ended the game and the Saints would have had first and goal and could have run out the clock, added the game-winning field goal and headed to the Super Bowl. Instead the Rams were able to get the ball back with enough time to drive down field and tie the game up and win it in overtime.Then Drew Brees was hit by Donte Fowler has he threw and Brees was intercepted by John Johnson. The Rams took over and moved in to field goal range to win it.It all played out eerily like the Tuck Rule game.Much like the strip sack by Charles Woodson that was wiped away by the questionable application of a terrible NFL rule that has since been removed from the books, it’s a helpless and infuriating feeling for a coach. Far more than any anniversary reminders, it’s heartbreaking ends like that which bring back feelings of the worst call in NFL history. Four year before the Tuck Rule debacle, Jon Gruden and Sean Payton were on the Eagles’ coaching staff together — Gruden as Offensive Coordinator and Payton as QB coach. So, Gruden reached out to his friend Sean Payton to talk about what he saw as a shared experience.“Sean and I worked together a long time ago,” Gruden said Tuesday. “I was involved in a playoff game that ended in quite dramatic fashion and so has he now. So, he and I will have a couple hotdogs and a couple glasses of coke here and talk about things in the future, I’m sure.”Payton and Gruden both have Super Bowl rings as head coaches. Gruden got his the very next season as head coach of the Buccaneers against his former team. But that doesn’t take any of the sting away from the season that was taken from them.“You don’t ever get over that,” Gruden said. “That’s the last time that team will ever be together. It will never be the same. Those guys fought as long and hard as they could and it will sting forever.”I think the players and the fans would say the same. At least the Saints have a Super Bowl in recent memory to ease the pain. The Raiders have three years of seasons that ended with gut punches followed by 15 years of utter franchise futility. And greats like Tim Brown and Rich Gannon never got their Super Bowl ring. That pain won’t just go away.Follow @LeviDamien ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Two defensive captains have been cut, a respected veteran retired and the team’s No. 1 receiver was traded away.The losses for the Oakland Raiders have been mounting on and off the field in recent weeks as a season that began with optimism has fallen apart at the midway point.After four straight losses, including a blowout by Bay Area rival San Francisco Womens Bo Jackson Jersey , have left the Raiders (1-7) tied for the worst record in the NFL, it’s time to start looking to the future.To that end, coach Jon Gruden called in his rookie class Friday following the 34-3 loss to the 49ers and delivered a message to the group.“He was just telling us he needs more from us rookies,” defensive end Arden Key said Monday. “He needs more, more, more. He said we’re doing pretty good but he needs more. We need to lead the league in effort and we’re not doing that as rookies. … It was a wake-up call and we answered.”Little has gone right of late for the Raiders, who have been outscored by 85 points during a four-game losing streak. Derrick Johnson during that span, watched cornerback Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie retire, and traded receiver Amari Cooper to Dallas for a first-round draft pick.That follows the trade one week before the start of the season that dealt star pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago for a package of picks, including two first-rounders.Oakland was last in the league with seven sacks before cutting ties with Irvin, who led the team with three. Only rookies Maurice Hurst (two sacks) and Key (one), along with Clinton McDonald (one) have sacks among players on the active roster.That’s why Gruden wants more from his rookie class that also features defensive tackle P.J. Hall.“I know right now the maturity level on this team has to rise up,” veteran defensive lineman Frostee Rucker said. “We just have to be a complete team and do the little things better. That’s what we’re starting with today Bo Jackson Jersey , trying to do the little things better.”The Raiders also added some reinforcements Monday, signing defensive linemen Jacquies Smith and Kony Ealy to contracts.Ealy had 14 sacks in three seasons with Carolina from 2014-16, including three in a Super Bowl loss to Denver following the 2015 season. He was traded to New England in 2017, got cut by the Patriots and then signed with the New York Jets, where he had one sack in 15 games.Ealy spent training camp in Dallas before getting cut by the Cowboys on Sept. 1.Smith was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and finally got his first chance to play in 2014 with Tampa Bay. He had 13 1/2 sacks in 27 games his first two seasons with the Buccaneers before suffering a major knee injury in 2016.Smith has played just seven games the past three seasons with Tampa, Detroit and Arizona, recording three tackles and no sacks in seven games. Smith was released by Arizona in September.Smith worked out for the Raiders in recent weeks and got the call Sunday, a day after Irvin was released. Smith said he feels as healthy as he has since before the injury and is eager for the chance to show what he can do.“It’s been very frustrating,” he said. “Obviously, I have a ton of confidence in myself. Obviously, I’ve made a ton of plays in this league. Just getting back and getting that opportunity to do that. I’m very confident in my ability. Obviously, these guys see something in me to give me a shot.”NOTES: The Raiders waived James Cowser. … LT Kolton Miller didn’t have a helmet at practice after re-injuring his right knee last Thursday. … LG Kelechi Osemele participated in practice despite injuring his knee again against the 49ers. … RB Marshawn Lynch stopped by practice for the first time since undergoing surgery on an injured groin last month.