FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With media coverage of the NFL combine shifting into higher gear on Wednesday from Indianapolis, there are 36 head coaches and personnel executives who are scheduled to hold news conferences with reporters. One of them, returning Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, spoke with his trademark passion for the game and one of the topics -- brought up by Megan O'Brien of Patriots.com -- was how Gruden views the Patriots.

Lots of admiration there.

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"Oh man, I'm envious of the Patriots -- I really am," Gruden said at his 9:30 a.m. news conference. "The Patriot Way -- finding players that are versatile. Finding players that can adapt on a weekly basis to win a game. They don't care how they beat you, either. They're not afraid to use the 60-minute clock to beat you in the final seconds. And they're not afraid to blow you out, either. But they can morph themselves into a two-back team; they can come out with five receivers and play no-back formations. It's just a pleasure to watch them adapt them every year -- to the new rules, and to the new men on their roster and coaching staff."

Gruden, of course, got an up-close look during his time as ESPN Monday Night Football analyst. Two years ago, before broadcasting one Patriots game, he delivered an inspirational message to six New England high schools and then called the Patriots' 30-23 win over the Ravens.

"It all starts with [coach Bill] Belichick and Tom Brady, certainly," Gruden said Wednesday at the combine. "But the people behind the scenes there deserve a lot of credit."

One other Gruden-based story with a Patriots twist: Gruden once gave Patriots owner Robert Kraft a framed picture of the "Tuck Rule" play and signed it by saying it was a fumble.