Raiders-Steelers: Rivalry Is All But Dead

Considering the history of the NFL, there are few rivalries as nasty as the Steelers vs. Raiders. In the distant past, such matches were blood feuds with playoff implications.

 

Rules of the game were different than they are today. For example, there is no way the Immaculate Deception would have occurred in today’s instant-replay environment.

 

Another example was George Atkinson’s forearm blow to the head of Lynn Swann.  In today’s league, Atkinson would be suspended and fined. Instead, he filed a lawsuit for defamation of character after Chuck Noll made a “criminal element” comment to reporters. In true Al Davis fashion, Atkinson played the loyal lapdog and managed to drag everyone though endless days in court, wasting everyone’s time.

 

If you ever heard him as a commentator for preseason games, then you know George Atkinson is still a waste of time, but that’s another story.

 

In the 70’s, Steelers vs. Raiders was as ugly as a football game could get. Some say it was more violent than the Cowboys vs. Steelers. But gone are the days where anything resembling a rivalry exists between the Steelers and the Raiders.

 

As for this Sunday’s game, Steelers fans hope that Big Ben does not throw four interceptions, as he did in a 2006 game against the Raiders and that their team gets back on track and hit the playoffs in good form, without a letdown game.

 

After all, the Raiders have beaten two good teams thus far this season, so it’s not safe to look past them. 

 

Meanwhile, not a peep of any kind of enthusiasm from Raider Nation exists in this supposed rivalry game. Raiders fans are hoping for the unexpected, like a few touchdowns for a change.

 

Anything is possible, but the Raiders have backed themselves into a corner with so much inconsistency. The Steelers meanwhile, pretty much know what they are doing and it’s just a matter of getting it done. 

 

We expected the Bengals to be the same caliber team as the Steelers this season and look what happened there; the Raiders overachieved and came away with a win. Would that have happened on the road in Cincinnati? Who knows. 

 

The Steelers usually play very well at home so it will be a battle for Oakland all game unless Big Ben does the un-thinkable and hands the Raiders the game, as he did last time.

 

This game has all the makings of a good day for Steelers fans to remain upbeat. We’ll find out if the Raiders have any fight left in them to spoil that. And who knows, maybe such a defeat would rekindle the lost rivalry.

 

 

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Pony Up a Few Million; Own 10% of the Raiders

So the rumors are true.  Just like everything else in Raiders HQ, there are no secrets as soon as Al Davis decides to make a phone call or two or three.

 

What does this tell us?  No one cares about your privacy when it comes to business matters Al. They’ll all speak off the record since you have built your life around the legal system, but one way or the other everything comes out in the wash.

 

Al Davis has long been shopping a tantalizing piece of ownership of the Oakland Raiders franchise. But let’s be realistic, this would be as minority partners with no power or influence at all. 

 

This was the allure for three wall street eggheads who thought they were getting a good deal a few years ago. Can you believe that?  Who would walk into a business deal with Al Davis?

 

No sooner did the eggheads sign over their millions, when Al wheeled and dealed for Gibril Wilson, DeAngelo Hall in addition to laying out hefty sums for Tommy Kelly and Javon Walker.

 

Now that is funny,  seeing the eggheads in their corporate suite at Oakland Coliseum clinking champagne glasses dancing around like they just bought into the good life adds up to priceless humor.

 

For several million less, they could have just bought season tickets for the suites because that’s all they’re getting out of the deal.  That and lost vast sums of money, a whole lot of regret and misplaced hope they will ever see a return on that investment. 

 

It’s all in DeAngelo’s pockets baby.

 

The Raiders franchise is plummeting in value, is an embarrassment to professional sports, not simply based on the (mostly) woeful performance on the field, but for the obvious inept leadership. The world knows how bad Al Davis is at managing his franchise.

 

I’m laughing and so is everyone else who looks at Al’s terms for buying in (if it gets that far, most likely, no one has stepped forward for serious talks since the Brent Jones investment group was rebuffed).

 

We can talk restructured contracts of the players not living up to their commitment as Raiders (no bang for the buck) or we can talk reality which is Al just wants more money to waste on bad personnel decisions and that’s why he wants to sell 10% of the franchise.

 

A new billboard a mile from Oakland Coliseum politely asking “Mr. Davis” to hire a GM is a fruitless wheel spinning exercise.

 

Great sentiment behind the gesture, no chance of success. 

 

That’s what you get when you are dealing with a ship dead at sea.

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Oakland Raiders’ Punting Is Big News

A big win in dramatic fashion is the best medicine for a struggling team. It doesn’t get much better than scoring 10 points in the last 33 seconds of the game to knock off the Bengals last week.

In all fairness, Cincy really should have scored more points the way they controlled most of the afternoon’s action, but that’s the way the ball bounces if you misplay your hand.

So far, two of Oakland’s three wins on the season have been big wins over very good teams (Philadelphia and Cincinnati). Can they do it again with Dallas on Thanksgiving Day?

Not a chance.  Not on three days rest, with way too little depth on defense and special teams.

Despite QB Tony Romo being one of the best chokers in the business, the Cowgirls will find a way to win the game. 

Tom Cable is still a lousy coach and a lousy play-caller. The Raiders run defense is still horrible despite the inspired play of Tyvon Branch at strong safety, leading the team in tackles (if your secondary is making that many tackles in the run game, that’s a problem).

Every Raiders fan is happy to see JaMeatloaf Russell benched. One of the worst football decisions of all time was Al Davis issuing faith in him to play up to his contract.

To his credit, Bruce Gradkowski is a gutsy QB and he will make some good plays, but he will not be able to carry the team. There is still some hope for the receiving game with Zach Miller, Louis Murphy, and now Chaz Schillens working himself back into shape. It’s just not going to be enough though.

Who really cares what Justin Fargas does at this point? His 40 yards per game average isn’t really that important.

It’s one thing to beat a team at home because the other team makes a bad decision, replacing their kick returner at the end of the game and he ends up fumbling. It’s another thing entirely to try and win a game on the road just four days after their last game.

The Cowgirls will likely sleepwalk and score enough to get by.

The most telling sign of how boring/bad the Raiders are is all the discussion of their punting game. Seriously, who cares if a punter can hit a scoreboard? Next to the benching of JaMeatloaf, discussion of Shane Lechler hitting the scoreboard is the biggest story in Oakland.

That takes the cake. You know there’s no news to speak of if a punter is highlighted over Tom Cable’s character assassination, which had previously dominated the first half of the Raiders season.

That’s right, the Raiders always have a punter to get them out of trouble.

Good stuff, what else they got?

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Chucky’s Not Coming Back

Why would he? 

 

Some Raiders fans have noticed how diplomatic Jon Gruden is in everything he says or does concerning the Oakland Raiders, and this provides some measure of hope he would consider returning as head coach.

 

Well, that’s not going to happen so long as Al Davis is alive.  Al is first of all threatened by Gruden’s popularity.  In Al’s world, no one is allowed to take any credit for the team’s (potential) success more than he is.  Al is a very smart guy but he’s also completely absorbed in his own megalomania. 

 

This is why the team is so bad right now. 

 

He follows his own patterns for failure in a mistaken belief he can fix everything by himself.  To him, so long as he controls any possible turnaround (and therefore, controls the glory along with it), he is willing to begrudgingly absorb the failures each passing season.

 

Gruden would not take a job where he did not have final say on the roster, which was a sticking point in his being re-signed to a contract extension when he was head coach for Al.  This led to his famous trade to the Bucs.

 

Every season, NFL head coaching jobs open up, and Gruden has to be considered a strong candidate for any of them.  He has no reason to want to deal with Al again and he won’t.  Despite what anyone says or thinks they know, only a true fool would walk into a situation set up for failure.

 

Gruden was able to succeed as Raiders’ head coach because he worked extra hard to comply with Al’s oversight.  At this stage in his career, he doesn’t need to do that to be successful elsewhere.  He can apply those extra energies to other things. 

 

No coach would want to deal with Al’s constraints unless they were not candidates for other head coaching jobs or they had a personal as well as contractual agreement with Al that clearly specified the boundaries of control the coach has.

 

Gruden was not able to get that the first time around but he worked within acceptable boundaries until it came time for a contract renewal.  At which time, Al balked and let him go to Tampa Bay.

 

That pretty much sums up the reasons why Chucky will not be back to rescue the floundering rotting hulk, knows as the Oakland Raiders franchise.

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Michael Huff Is Making an All-Pro Case for Himself

Despite all the doom and gloom hanging over the Oakland Raiders franchise, there are some bright spots.

 

The inspired play of free safety Michael Huff has to be considered a welcome surprise.

 

After three lackluster seasons and a failed experiment at strong safety, Huff has come into his own.  He is now a confident player making big plays as a free safety and nickelback.

 

In the past, Huff would be late arriving on tackles and pass plays, missing opportunities to slow down an opponent’s drive.  Now he flies to the ball, disrupts passes and is more than pulling his weight as a situational safety.

 

For reasons known only to the coaching staff, Huff is only a part-time starter, sharing free safety duties with Hiram Eugene.  While Eugene is a solid free safety, Huff seems to have turned the corner and is finally living up to his stock as a first-round draft pick from 2006.

 

Based on comments by former Raiders special teams captain Jarod Copper (now a post-game analyst for a local television station), Al Davis does not like Huff. That is the alleged reason why Huff is primarily used as a nickelback unless injuries to Eugene press him into service as a starting free safety. 

 

We can speculate this might be true.  Up to this season, there hasn’t been a lot to like about Huff’s play.  Though he was originally thought to be an answer at strong safety, that is not Huff’s strength.  He is not a tough tackler.  He is better suited to use his speed to provide pass defense. 

 

There are also character traits to be admired about Huff.  Despite the criticism from fans and media over the last three years, Huff never spoke out against the organization or the coaching staff.  He never tried to defend his poor game-time performance.  Huff has remained cool under pressure and has kept working towards becoming a better player.

 

If his high level of play stays consistent over the second half of the 2009 season, Huff has to be considered a possibility to make the AFC’s All-Pro team. 

 

Currently, Jairus Byrd of the Bills leads AFC free safeties with seven interceptions, nine pass deflections and 32 tackles.  Huff also has nine deflected passes and three interceptions with 27 tackles.

 

Close on Bird’s and Huff’s heels as far as overall AFC stats for free safeties is Brodney Pool of the Browns.

 

If Huff continues making great strides to become a polished player, he should warrant consideration come time for All-Pro voting.

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Will the Raiders Be Dragged Down by Coach Tom Cable’s Past?

Unpleasant working conditions have gotten a little worse than grim for Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable.

 

What Cable does and has done is a reflection of the Raiders organization. It does not look good at all when allegations surface of domestic abuse in Cable’s past.

 

We have to ask ourselves, why is this coming to light at this time? Two women, one a former wife, and the other a former girlfriend were interviewed by ESPN. For what purpose?

 

Why would ESPN intentionally paint a portrait of Cable as a man with an anger management problem? Who stands to gain from this?

 

Whatever their intentions, ESPN’s segment helps Randy Hanson and his legal team.

 

Is it coincidence the former girlfriend is interviewed in a lawyer’s office (and if you doubt that, look at the background of the ESPN segment. It’s pretty obvious).

 

Hanson has a notion his job with the Raiders will be restored by way of legal wrangling (since that is his only option left). It would seem his attorney is positioning his forthcoming civil suit case to do just that.

 

My speculation is Hanson’s legal team somehow got this idea rolling with a producer at ESPN. A scoop is a scoop, and Outside the Lines is pretty much designed to dig up dirt like this. So “why not?” asks ESPN. It’s not like the Raiders’ front office is cooperative with us when we ask for simple things. This could be a bite back from the media.

 

Let’s not underestimate the power of legal persuasion. Al Davis’ massive team of lawyers are equipped to do endless battle through the legal system but is this something they really feel obligated to throw their weight into?

 

They may not have a choice.

 

Though this forthcoming case does not have the vim and vigor of an Al Davis fronted maneuver. It is a defensive posture yet history tells us Davis prefers to do battle before making a payout. Such as with the McGah family, for example. That was ugly.

 

There is the matter of high visibility, bad publicity and distraction to the organization. Is Davis willing to put with it? He can’t be happy about an unwanted spotlight nor coach Cable’s past coming to light.

 

Can anyone say background check? There are all kinds of legal things a sharpie shark (such as Hanson’s lawyer) can throw at Davis. You know, like why wasn’t a background check done on Cable to make sure he wasn’t the type of guy that could physically assault employees?

 

Is Davis willing to dole out a big cash outlay to Hanson simply for being the recipient of physical damage supposedly in some way as a result of Cable’s outburst in close quarters?

 

Is this ugly incident enough to cast Davis at fault or is it Cable’s alone?

 

Perhaps Davis will cut his losses and fire Cable, let him flap in the wind and handle things on his own but will that make the problem go away entirely for the organization?

 

Questions and more questions.

 

It seems Davis handled things with decorum with Hanson immediately following the incident.  He is paying Hanson through this ordeal which shows good faith. We have to give Davis some credit here; even though Hanson does not deserve his salary, Davis and his own sharks realized the legal ramifications could come back at them in the event of a civil suit, so why not suck up the loss and pay Hanson?

 

Smooth, baby.

 

Where the Raiders have a leg to stand on is not taking Hanson back as a coach or anywhere in the organization. He had his chance and (allegedly) hung up the phone on Davis. Hanson walked away from a scouting job or some other reassignment.

 

Hanson has shown disloyalty and therefore is barred from the Raider organization.

 

Can you see the tears welling up in Hanson’s eyes? Let’s all cry for him. His boyhood dream is in tatters.

 

“PLEASE, MR. DAVIS, I MADE A MISTAKE. I WAS UPSET, OH GOD PLEASE…”

 

Cry us a river, Randy baby—you are a traitor! But you stand to be a rich traitor so cheer up kiddo.

 

But as for Cable…wow, can Davis get any worse at picking a head coach?

 

Based on what I perceive to be the credibility of the women reporting the incidents, I’m personally convinced Cable’s past relationships with these women paints a picture of a guy with a valid anger management problem. 

 

Domestic violence is no joke, and it’s something that triggers because of whatever the guy’s temperament happens to be. Most guys are able to put things into context when getting angry. Most of us realize you don’t just hit a woman (or anyone unless you want a battery charge). It’s flat out wrong unless you are defending yourself or some unusual circumstance.

 

Whoever came up with the idea to reach into Cable past is either building a case against him for purposes of a civil suit or they just don’t like Cable or want to damage the Raiders. Any way you slice it, these are underhanded tactics and it smells like the work of sharks out for blood.

 

Isn’t it ironic that Hanson’s salary from the Raiders organization “earned” while he sits on the couch is paying for the attorneys attacking the organization?

 

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A 3 Step Blueprint for Jamarcus to Turn His Season Around

How often does Al Davis place a call to a journalist?

 

Not very often. It would even be more rare for Al to call a journalist for a positive conversation.

 

However, recently he did in fact call Jarrett Bell of USA Today .

 

I’ll speculate that his reasons could not have been because he likes the media and wants to provide accurate information.  If that were the case, Al would be a lot more proactive with communicating with “newspaper men” (as he refers to them as).

 

It’s not like Mr. Bell is the only reporter asking questions about the suitability of Jamarcus as an NFL QB.  So why phone Bell out of anyone else asking the same questions?  A chance encounter in an elevator?  Nah, c’mon.

 

But let’s leave on the table the fact that Mr. Bell is black and the subject at hand was black quarterback Jamarcus Russell and Al’s historically generous attitude towards black people. Even though, you know, Al politely declined interviews with journalists of other races and nationalities at the same NFL meeting in Boston a few weeks back.

 

It’s documented elsewhere in various beat writers blogs.  Al granted no interviews at that meeting except for Jarrett Bell of USA Today after meeting in an elevator.

 

Let’s look past all that.  Maybe it was a feel good moment for Al. 

 

Let’s look at the JR problem for what it is.

 

As a less than smart southern boy, lacking maturity and professional discipline, Jamarcus has several drawbacks plunging him into failure.

 

In his defense, it’s a bad idea starting two rookie wide receivers.  He’s not getting much help there.  There is very little to no chemistry with his rookie receivers and JR is attempting to imply this is a major stumbling block for him.

 

We feel ya JR, we really do but you still have to show a little something something.  You are too inconsistent to be anything close to playing decent football.

 

You are bad at fundamental things like protecting the football, not tossing up interceptions like its no big deal, taking command and accountability, being in great physical shape, that sort of thing.

 

JR has long believed being in the NFL would be like being in pee wee, high school and college where he was tailor made to rise above the competition.

 

So let’s just bring this down to fundamental things JR can control at this stage in his lousy career to date.

 

Here is what JR needs to do to salvage the 2009 season:

 

1.  Lose the “aw shucks” southern boy mentality and ignorance.   It’s not endearing.   Speak like a man with confidence who has a clue, not like you are on a farm talking to hayseed reporters.  Perception is reality so if you sound like you are not getting it we are going to think you not getting it.  It’s that simple.

 

2.  Step out of your comfort food zone.  You are fat and we don’t like fat quarterbacks unless you are retired.  You should be pelted with rotten fruit, not boos.  Get in shape!  Commit yourself to being a superior athlete.  Perception is reality so look the part.  You have the potential to do much better if your body is prepared for the game.  Mental discipline follows suit when the physical is up to par.  If you eat poorly, your mind suffers.  It’s true.  See step one for verification.

 

3.  No one has time to let you mature.  Get it done or get out of town.  Yes, you are responsible for the team’s losses.  Even if you aren’t the job of the QB is to take the team on his shoulders.  Even Kerry Collins knew that.  By doing so you set a locker room example your teammates can respect.  It is obvious your locker room does not respect you, based on comments from your offensive teammates.  Perception is reality so figure it out, no one is cutting you any slack except Al Davis and he is looking foolish for putting his faith in you.

 

Oh yea, by the way, all Al really wanted to do with Jarret Bell on the phone call was convince him other successful QBs have taken time to mature.  Well, other QBs who Al cited as successful (Troy Aikman, Dan Fouts among numerous others) were much smarter than Jamarcus.  JR has to follow the three step blueprint if he has any chance at all.

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Bill Callahan Comes Full Circle, Raiders Still Stuck In First Gear

Unless you count the Norv Turner era as respectable, the last, best hope the Raiders had at success was when Bill Callahan was Head Coach.  I know that is a tough pill for many Raider fans to swallow but show me a better offensive line coach the Raiders have had since.

 

Art Shell?  Ok, maybe 20 years ago but his hire was a pretty bad thud when he signed on for a second tour of duty.

 

Callahan, as you may recall, got it done with the offensive line.  If not for Barrett Robbins losing his marbles, setting the wrong tone on the eve of a Super Bowl, who knows what could have been different about the Bucs/Gruden game of retribution.

 

Unfortunately, Callahan also made a ton of errors which tarnished his time with the Raiders.  Much like Tom Cable started out doing great as offensive line coach and is now collapsing like a ton of bricks.

 

It so happens Bill Callahan has rehabilitated himself in the NFL and is doing just fine as offensive line coach of the New York Jets.  How does the O-Line opening things up for the backs to run for over 300 yards against the Oakland Raiders sound as far as evidence?

 

So we have to ask ourselves, if Bill Callahan can fix the Jets offensive line, why can’t the Raiders fix their own offensive line?

 

Khalif Barnes, playing for the first time as a right tackle, gave up 2 sacks against the Jets.

 

Is Cornell Green any better?  No, he pretty much is no help.

 

Langston Walker is a retread, not expected to offer much help either.

 

What is a retread? A guy who could not make another team’s roster.  In the case of Langston Walker, he was willfully allowed to leave the Raiders, go to another team and then come back.  So he is a double retread.  He’s not a solution.

 

So the useless retread offensive line crew of the Raiders consists of Erik Pears, Kalif Barnes, Copper Carlise, Cornell Green and guys that are just average like Chris Morris and Samson Satele.

 

Then at the bottom of that heap is Paul McQuistan.  He is so useless that he does not even get mentioned as a possibility to replace Robert Gallery when he  was lost to injury.  Why is McQuistan even on the roster if he serves no function?  If he is injured, then put him on IR to make room for a guy who can help the team.

 

Strangely enough, the only guy who has really stood out on the line is Robert Gallery, the one time bust who has managed to salvage his NFL career.  We also have to give left tackle Mario Henderson his due as another guy who is doing better than everyone around him.  He has not emerged as a rock but maybe with better players helping out, he will get there.

 

The reasons why the Raiders are woeful offensively has to start with the line.

 

The offensive line has been neglected.  You would think with such a large investment in your QB the next logical step would be to want to protect that investment.

 

This hasn’t happened over the course of several seasons, with lamers being claimed off waivers, a revolving door of other teams’ retreads being installed.

 

So this tells us Al Davis is more concerned with finding defensive players that he wrongly believes will fit in with his man to man system rather than building a credible offensive line.

 

This is the same trail of errors associated with overpaying guys like DeAngelo Hall, Gibril Wilson and whatever other guys not pulling their weight.  Not a single established offensive lineman has been brought in to compete for a job.

 

Until there are better offensive lineman brought in to stabilize the protection, the passing game will suffer.

 

It has been pointed out a few times by lots of people, Jamarcus Russell (or whoever is playing QB for the Raiders) does not have 7-8 seconds to throw.

 

Taking your drop (any more than 3 steps) is tough when your protection breaks down almost immediately.

 

So we’re back to handing the ball off to Fargas every down but that is what happened in 2006 (until he gets hurt again).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bill Callahan Comes Full Circle, Raiders Still Stuck In First Gear

Unless you count the Norv Turner era as respectable, the last, best hope the Raiders had at success was when Bill Callahan was Head Coach.  I know that is a tough pill for many Raider fans to swallow but show me a better offensive line coach the Raiders have had since.

 

Art Shell?  Ok, maybe 20 years ago but his hire was a pretty bad thud when he signed on for a second tour of duty.

 

Callahan, as you may recall, got it done with the offensive line.  If not for Barrett Robbins losing his marbles, setting the wrong tone on the eve of a Super Bowl, who knows what could have been different about the Bucs/Gruden game of retribution.

 

Unfortunately, Callahan also made a ton of errors which tarnished his time with the Raiders.  Much like Tom Cable started out doing great as offensive line coach and is now collapsing like a ton of bricks.

 

It so happens Bill Callahan has rehabilitated himself in the NFL and is doing just fine as offensive line coach of the New York Jets.  How does the O-Line opening things up for the backs to run for over 300 yards against the Oakland Raiders sound as far as evidence?

 

So we have to ask ourselves, if Bill Callahan can fix the Jets offensive line, why can’t the Raiders fix their own offensive line?

 

Khalif Barnes, playing for the first time as a right tackle, gave up 2 sacks against the Jets.

 

Is Cornell Green any better?  No, he pretty much is no help.

 

Langston Walker is a retread, not expected to offer much help either.

 

What is a retread? A guy who could not make another team’s roster.  In the case of Langston Walker, he was willfully allowed to leave the Raiders, go to another team and then come back.  So he is a double retread.  He’s not a solution.

 

So the useless retread offensive line crew of the Raiders consists of Erik Pears, Kalif Barnes, Copper Carlise, Cornell Green and guys that are just average like Chris Morris and Samson Satele.

 

Then at the bottom of that heap is Paul McQuistan.  He is so useless that he does not even get mentioned as a possibility to replace Robert Gallery when he  was lost to injury.  Why is McQuistan even on the roster if he serves no function?  If he is injured, then put him on IR to make room for a guy who can help the team.

 

Strangely enough, the only guy who has really stood out on the line is Robert Gallery, the one time bust who has managed to salvage his NFL career.  We also have to give left tackle Mario Henderson his due as another guy who is doing better than everyone around him.  He has not emerged as a rock but maybe with better players helping out, he will get there.

 

The reasons why the Raiders are woeful offensively has to start with the line.

 

The offensive line has been neglected.  You would think with such a large investment in your QB the next logical step would be to want to protect that investment.

 

This hasn’t happened over the course of several seasons, with lamers being claimed off waivers, a revolving door of other teams’ retreads being installed.

 

So this tells us Al Davis is more concerned with finding defensive players that he wrongly believes will fit in with his man to man system rather than building a credible offensive line.

 

This is the same trail of errors associated with overpaying guys like DeAngelo Hall, Gibril Wilson and whatever other guys not pulling their weight.  Not a single established offensive lineman has been brought in to compete for a job.

 

Until there are better offensive lineman brought in to stabilize the protection, the passing game will suffer.

 

It has been pointed out a few times by lots of people, Jamarcus Russell (or whoever is playing QB for the Raiders) does not have 7-8 seconds to throw.

 

Taking your drop (any more than 3 steps) is tough when your protection breaks down almost immediately.

 

So we’re back to handing the ball off to Fargas every down but that is what happened in 2006 (until he gets hurt again).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jawgate Fallout: Al Davis Again Fails To Bar the Media

Hanging out at Raider fan headquarters (Ricky’s in San Leandro, California ) I heard the first plausible explanation for Randy Hanson’s broken jaw.

 

First, as new details have come to light, we just have to laugh at the scenario in the Napa Marriot hotel room where Jawgate took place.

 

According to the D.A. account of events, Randy Hanson was leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table.

 

What kind of NFL assistant coach would attend a staff meeting with his feet on the table when his boss is trying to get his point across to you?  That seems a little suspicious but considering that a man of legal stature is telling us this information, we have to assume that this version of the story is credible. 

 

If this is in fact true, what seems likely is that Hanson really did fall over when bumped into (rather than being struck). As one of the many ardent Raider fans at Ricky’s explained, when one’s body is impacted (as Hanson would have done hitting the floor or some furniture), smashing your chin against your own collarbone is a perfectly reasonable way of causing not only a break in the jaw but also can cause damage to the teeth,

 

So there you go.

 

As for whether Coach Cable’s tirade is somehow at fault for what occurred is speculative but we will see how the civil case pans out.

 

One thing is certain; the very fact that criminal charges against an NFL head coach is even part of the discussions about the Oakland Raiders has tarnished Coach Cable’s reputation, made the Raiders organization mode of operations even sketchier than it already is perceived and is just a useless distraction no one needs.

 

What needs to be pointed out is Al Davis is at fault for this because it is he who hired Randy Hanson and it was his decision to keep him on staff after dismissing Lane Kiffin last season.  Obviously Hanson felt he was secure in his position enough to have his feet on the table during a defensive coaches meeting with the head coach.

 

But most things don’t change at Raiders HQ, as evidenced by the attempt to ban Yahoo Sports writer Michael Silver from a media production meeting.

 

Hey…wasn’t that what Al tried to do with CBS Broadcast Analyst Rich Gannon just a few weeks ago?

 

One would think Al Davis would have gotten the message by now.  You don’t have the authority to ban anyone with valid media credentials from covering the Raiders wherever production meetings are held.  In fact, Al Davis has no authority to stop anyone from informing the public about the glaring deficiencies within the organization.

 

Do you get it Al?  You have no authority.  How does that make you feel?  A little powerless?  Does it make you feel like a smaller man than you thought you were all these years?  You really gave Pete Rozelle a shot in the gut didn’t you.  How’d that make you feel?  Like a big man for a few days.

 

But, unfortunately for you Al, the party’s over.  Your team stinks to high hell and the world knows it.  There is no bounce back to glory.  You are done and past the point of no return.  You have muffed harshly on just about every draft pick since your last super bowl appearance and have caused calamity within your own ranks.

 

It took defiance by your defensive coordinator to change the scheme so they could manage to sack Donovan McNabb a few times en route to  a meager four-point victory because your horrible offense can only manage a few drives here and there and a lucky break for a change of pace TD.

 

Al’s ego is what keeps the Oakland defense predictable.  Believe it or not Al thinks man to man/single high safety can be effective.  Somehow he thinks opponents won’t see it coming or that the Raiders can match up man for man as well as overwhelm an opponent with a four-man rush (no blitzing) all game.

 

In another instance of bad management, Al trotted out Chaz Schilens for a press conference just last week.

 

Chaz is a solid receiver when healthy but clearly, showcasing him for the media was intended to give Jamarcus Russell a break (since he’s not cutting it as team leader).  You were so hoping Chaz would be able to lift the team’s fortunes.

 

So close but so far.

 

Let’s see, what other recent bad judgment by Al Davis has the hurt the team?  

 

Well, there was cutting Gary Russell after preseason.  That’s because Al (or maybe Kelly Skipper, Running Backs Coach) figured Oren O’Neil or Luke Lawton could adequately handle the fullback role.  Though Gary Russell is a short yardage running back, the coaching staff’s (and Al’s) poor assessment of Russell led to his release, only to bring him back and find out how valuable and versatile he is.

 

RB Louis Rankin surely was worth keeping as well.

 

There’s more but it can wait for another article.

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