OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2008 SEASON THREAD
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Plus, the Raiders added depth to their blocking and pass-catching roles by re-signing tight end John Madsen, who was let go just before the trip to Orchard Park, N.Y., to face Buffalo in Week 3.
"It was kind of out of the blue," Madsen said of his release. "I had no idea things were really going that bad.
"I guess there can be one person that doesn't like you and one person that does," he continued. "You just never know what's going on behind the scenes."
Damn I was wondering what happened to Madsen. One day I logged online to play Madden and I downloaded the updated rosters right... When my offense came on the field, I called a play that I usually call for Madsen and he wasn't there... I was like WTF? So I figured he was released. Glad he's back... in real life and in Madden 09! LOL
Plus, the Raiders added depth to their blocking and pass-catching roles by re-signing tight end John Madsen, who was let go just before the trip to Orchard Park, N.Y., to face Buffalo in Week 3.
"It was kind of out of the blue," Madsen said of his release. "I had no idea things were really going that bad.
"I guess there can be one person that doesn't like you and one person that does," he continued. "You just never know what's going on behind the scenes."
Damn I was wondering what happened to Madsen. One day I logged online to play Madden and I downloaded the updated rosters right... When my offense came on the field, I called a play that I usually call for Madsen and he wasn't there... I was like WTF? So I figured he was released. Glad he's back... in real life and in Madden 09! LOL
Russell gets advice _ from Kiffin
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Quick hits from Wednesday’s practice and media session in preparation for the New Orleans Saints:
– JaMarcus Russell seemed to appreciate the advice, but chances are Al Davis isn’t going to take too kindly to the idea of Lane Kiffin coaching up his former quarterback.
Russell said he talked to Kiffin Monday night.
“He just called and talked to me about their defense, things he would do if he was here,” Russell said. “So nothing’s really changed.”
Kiffin, Russell said, “has got a lot of off-time on his hands, so he would pay attention to the defense I would have to go up against, (he) leaves me a text message or a voice mail here or there.”
– Defensive end Derrick Burgess re-injured a triceps strain Monday and did not practice. He was the only Raiders player to miss practice entirely. Linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba (shoulder), running back Darren McFadden (toe) and tight end Ben Troupe (foot) were limited.
Those who practiced without restrictions included cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (elbow), running back Justin Fargas (groin) and guard Cooper Carlisle (ankle).
McFadden said he had a “protective shield” on his foot, but said he felt much better than last week and noted, “I can do a lot more than what I’ve been doing.”
– The Saints held a potent Minnesota running attack featuring Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor to 44 yards on 26 carries, which means the Raiders will need both McFadden and Fargas at full strength.
“They’re playing really good at the line of scrimmage, and you’ve got three linebackers who are veterans,” coach Tom Cable said. “I think they’re fitting the run with more discpline, people are staying in their gaps with more integrity and they’re getting some good play out of their safeties.”
– Then again, maybe the Vikings weren’t persistent enough Cable hinted.
“When you really sit down and watch Monday, night, you see that Minnesota went in there to throw the football,” Cable said.
– Making Ekejiuba limited, Cable said, was a precuation. Given that the Raiders face the league’s most explosive return specialist in Reggie Bush, they’ll need Ekejiuba.
Bush has three punt returns for touchdowns, including 71- and 64-yard touchdowns Monday night against the Vikings. Bush had five punt returns for 176 yards and was the first player since 2004 to have two punt returns for touchdowns in a game.
The Raiders faced a similar challenge last season in Chicago’s Devin Hester, with Kiffin boldly proclaiming during the week the Raiders would kick to him rather than out of bounds.
Said Cable: I know this _ Bush isa heck of a football player and you’ve got to respect that . . . we’ll play the game on Sunday and we’ll kick the football and we’ll go do what we can do. That’s all we can do.”
Ekejiuba watched Bush Monday night with interest.
“The whole world has seen what he can do,” Ekejiuba said. “Everybody watches Monday Night Football. Now you’re the next team that’s coming in and there’s going to be a lot of talk about Reggie Bush and what he brings to the table, which is a lot. You don’t want to be the next team that’s on Reggie Bush’s highlight. So you want to come in this week and really focus on him.”
– Hester had six punt returns for 14 yards and two kickoff returns for 34 against the Raiders last year.
“We took a stand last year and said, ‘Alright, we’re going to kick to this guy.’ And that’s what we did,”’ Ekejiuba said. “We kicked to him and we went down and covered the kick. It’s a big statement to make if you’re going to kick to somebody like that.”
– The Saints provide difficult matchups for both of Oakland’s tackles, with right tackle Cornell Green getting Charles Grant and left tackle Kwame Harris drawing Will Smith.
Cable said thought Harris would be better than he was in his return effort against San Diego. Harris was injured in the opener against Denver and gave way to Mario Henderson against San Diego and Buffalo.
“(Kwame) was playing really well in the preseason and he plays really well in the first game, then he gets injured. He was just getting where his habits were what they need to be in our system. Then, all of a sudden, he’s out for two weeks,” Cable said. “You look at it and, today was the first day where I said to him, ‘You’re back. You look like you did going into that first game.’ The expectations are very high. He and Cornell both have big matchups this week with their two defensive ends.”
– Cable’s message this week?
“What’s done is done. From everything that happened last week to the first four games of the season, the first quarter of the season is over,” Cable said. “We have three quarters to play. All we can do is worry about Sunday and trying to get on an airplane in New Orleans and coming back to Oakland 1-0. That’s the whole message.”
– The Saints put place kicker Martin Gramatica on injured reserve and signed Tyler Mehlhaff.
– For the record, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the Raiders had not received any sort of letter from the NFL regarding Davis’ statements about New England tampering with Randy Moss, and that the league had not been notified as of yet regarding a grievance from Kiffin.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Quick hits from Wednesday’s practice and media session in preparation for the New Orleans Saints:
– JaMarcus Russell seemed to appreciate the advice, but chances are Al Davis isn’t going to take too kindly to the idea of Lane Kiffin coaching up his former quarterback.
Russell said he talked to Kiffin Monday night.
“He just called and talked to me about their defense, things he would do if he was here,” Russell said. “So nothing’s really changed.”
Kiffin, Russell said, “has got a lot of off-time on his hands, so he would pay attention to the defense I would have to go up against, (he) leaves me a text message or a voice mail here or there.”
– Defensive end Derrick Burgess re-injured a triceps strain Monday and did not practice. He was the only Raiders player to miss practice entirely. Linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba (shoulder), running back Darren McFadden (toe) and tight end Ben Troupe (foot) were limited.
Those who practiced without restrictions included cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (elbow), running back Justin Fargas (groin) and guard Cooper Carlisle (ankle).
McFadden said he had a “protective shield” on his foot, but said he felt much better than last week and noted, “I can do a lot more than what I’ve been doing.”
– The Saints held a potent Minnesota running attack featuring Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor to 44 yards on 26 carries, which means the Raiders will need both McFadden and Fargas at full strength.
“They’re playing really good at the line of scrimmage, and you’ve got three linebackers who are veterans,” coach Tom Cable said. “I think they’re fitting the run with more discpline, people are staying in their gaps with more integrity and they’re getting some good play out of their safeties.”
– Then again, maybe the Vikings weren’t persistent enough Cable hinted.
“When you really sit down and watch Monday, night, you see that Minnesota went in there to throw the football,” Cable said.
– Making Ekejiuba limited, Cable said, was a precuation. Given that the Raiders face the league’s most explosive return specialist in Reggie Bush, they’ll need Ekejiuba.
Bush has three punt returns for touchdowns, including 71- and 64-yard touchdowns Monday night against the Vikings. Bush had five punt returns for 176 yards and was the first player since 2004 to have two punt returns for touchdowns in a game.
The Raiders faced a similar challenge last season in Chicago’s Devin Hester, with Kiffin boldly proclaiming during the week the Raiders would kick to him rather than out of bounds.
Said Cable: I know this _ Bush isa heck of a football player and you’ve got to respect that . . . we’ll play the game on Sunday and we’ll kick the football and we’ll go do what we can do. That’s all we can do.”
Ekejiuba watched Bush Monday night with interest.
“The whole world has seen what he can do,” Ekejiuba said. “Everybody watches Monday Night Football. Now you’re the next team that’s coming in and there’s going to be a lot of talk about Reggie Bush and what he brings to the table, which is a lot. You don’t want to be the next team that’s on Reggie Bush’s highlight. So you want to come in this week and really focus on him.”
– Hester had six punt returns for 14 yards and two kickoff returns for 34 against the Raiders last year.
“We took a stand last year and said, ‘Alright, we’re going to kick to this guy.’ And that’s what we did,”’ Ekejiuba said. “We kicked to him and we went down and covered the kick. It’s a big statement to make if you’re going to kick to somebody like that.”
– The Saints provide difficult matchups for both of Oakland’s tackles, with right tackle Cornell Green getting Charles Grant and left tackle Kwame Harris drawing Will Smith.
Cable said thought Harris would be better than he was in his return effort against San Diego. Harris was injured in the opener against Denver and gave way to Mario Henderson against San Diego and Buffalo.
“(Kwame) was playing really well in the preseason and he plays really well in the first game, then he gets injured. He was just getting where his habits were what they need to be in our system. Then, all of a sudden, he’s out for two weeks,” Cable said. “You look at it and, today was the first day where I said to him, ‘You’re back. You look like you did going into that first game.’ The expectations are very high. He and Cornell both have big matchups this week with their two defensive ends.”
– Cable’s message this week?
“What’s done is done. From everything that happened last week to the first four games of the season, the first quarter of the season is over,” Cable said. “We have three quarters to play. All we can do is worry about Sunday and trying to get on an airplane in New Orleans and coming back to Oakland 1-0. That’s the whole message.”
– The Saints put place kicker Martin Gramatica on injured reserve and signed Tyler Mehlhaff.
– For the record, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the Raiders had not received any sort of letter from the NFL regarding Davis’ statements about New England tampering with Randy Moss, and that the league had not been notified as of yet regarding a grievance from Kiffin.
Looks like Kiffin developed a cool relationship with JaMarcus. Al shouldn't trip on it because maybe they developed a friendship over the course of the time Kiff was here. Maybe Kiff is having second thoughts of how he handled things, who knows... but it's good to see that JR isn't trippin' and keeping the "piece" between the two.
Fargas and Carlisle practiced without restriction? Looks like it's going to be on and crackin down there in Nawlins.
Fargas and Carlisle practiced without restriction? Looks like it's going to be on and crackin down there in Nawlins.
Check this one out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3633131&type=story
Life in Raider Nation isn't so bad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Seth Wickersham
ESPN The Magazine
Oh, come on. Why do you always have to be so negative about the Raiders? Why do you have to say that Al Davis is senile and that new Raiders coach Tom Cable is in over his head and that once again Oakland is the league's punch line?
Don't be such a downer. Don't be so pessimistic. There are lots of positive happenings in Raiderland, in the same sort of way that the vending machines at the New York Stock Exchange are still functioning. Don't believe us? Here are six reasons why life in the Black Hole might not be so dark after all.
1. Lane Kiffin is gone.
Kiffin was a huge distraction for the team. Everyone knew that Kiffin's dismissal was only a matter of when, not if. Everyone knew he was Davis' 239th choice for a head coach in 2007. Everyone knew Kiffin didn't want to draft quarterback JaMarcus Russell, didn't get on well with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, didn't even love coaching in the NFL. (If University of Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer is fired at season's end, sit back and watch Kiffin push hard for the job.)
Kiffin and the Raiders should have parted ways earlier. But better late than never. Oakland had no chance to win with all the Kiffin drama; without him, the Raiders can focus on football. Which they will have no choice over because...
2. Cable will make them focus on football.
Cable, the Raiders' new head coach (doesn't it seem like every few weeks we say, "The Raiders' new head coach..."?) might not be the long-term answer -- hello, Jim Fassel! But he's tough and smart, and under him the Raiders are going to be tougher and smarter. Why? Nobody will challenge the guy. Cable looks like a Hell's Angel, and he grew up working on a 10-acre farm in Washington. The guy's got old-man strength. And he'll look good as a coach for two reasons: Ryan is still calling the defense, and...
3. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp is now calling offense.
Knapp is no Mike Shanahan when it comes to drawing up an offense, but he has made the playoffs calling shots with Jeff Garcia (in San Francisco) and Michael Vick (in Atlanta). Russell has a better arm than both of those guys. At this point in his career, Russell needs a reputed play-caller to put him in situations he can thrive in. He can't turn into the next Alex Smith, ruined by constant turnover at offensive coordinator. The Raiders should be encouraged by the former No. 1 pick from LSU because...
4. Russell is quietly having a good year.
Lost in all the madness is that Russell has thrown four touchdowns so far and only one interception. Not bad, considering the Raiders have trailed in every game and his only weapon is rookie tailback Darren McFadden, who is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
With those two, the Raiders have not only a foundation on offense from which to build, but also guys that the team respects. Did you see how Russell handled the news that Kiffin didn't want to draft him? He could have popped off; instead he was classy. "I appreciate the opportunity [Kiffin] gave me," he said. "I wish for him to go out and get a job because he's a good guy, a good coach." Teammates take their cues from leaders. Russell, after a bad rookie year, is emerging as the Raiders' calm, cool leader, while at the same time...
5. Al Davis is as feisty as ever.
Davis' press conference last week was classic: He was defiant, accusatory, smart, crazy, ripping the Broncos, the Patriots -- he was Al Davis. It was good for the league -- and the Raiders. Everyone suffers when Davis is behind closed doors and never seen. Davis needs to be out there, spewing whatever is on his mind, causing trouble, filing lawsuits and keeping Roger Goodell on his toes. The Raiders have always been at their best when at odds with the league. It feeds the us-against-the-world mentality on which the Raiders were founded. Davis' press conference has been ridiculed, and this gives the Raiders something to rally around.
Good thing, because they needed something, anything. Life isn't easy when you're on the most mocked team in the NFL -- again. But if the Raiders get panicky, if they start to believe the apocalypse is now -- if playing the Saints, Jets, Ravens and Panthers in the next five weeks gets them nervous -- they can always be happy about one thing:
6. There's always the Chiefs.
Seth Wickersham is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a columnist for ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3633131&type=story
Life in Raider Nation isn't so bad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Seth Wickersham
ESPN The Magazine
Oh, come on. Why do you always have to be so negative about the Raiders? Why do you have to say that Al Davis is senile and that new Raiders coach Tom Cable is in over his head and that once again Oakland is the league's punch line?
Don't be such a downer. Don't be so pessimistic. There are lots of positive happenings in Raiderland, in the same sort of way that the vending machines at the New York Stock Exchange are still functioning. Don't believe us? Here are six reasons why life in the Black Hole might not be so dark after all.
1. Lane Kiffin is gone.
Kiffin was a huge distraction for the team. Everyone knew that Kiffin's dismissal was only a matter of when, not if. Everyone knew he was Davis' 239th choice for a head coach in 2007. Everyone knew Kiffin didn't want to draft quarterback JaMarcus Russell, didn't get on well with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, didn't even love coaching in the NFL. (If University of Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer is fired at season's end, sit back and watch Kiffin push hard for the job.)
Kiffin and the Raiders should have parted ways earlier. But better late than never. Oakland had no chance to win with all the Kiffin drama; without him, the Raiders can focus on football. Which they will have no choice over because...
2. Cable will make them focus on football.
Cable, the Raiders' new head coach (doesn't it seem like every few weeks we say, "The Raiders' new head coach..."?) might not be the long-term answer -- hello, Jim Fassel! But he's tough and smart, and under him the Raiders are going to be tougher and smarter. Why? Nobody will challenge the guy. Cable looks like a Hell's Angel, and he grew up working on a 10-acre farm in Washington. The guy's got old-man strength. And he'll look good as a coach for two reasons: Ryan is still calling the defense, and...
3. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp is now calling offense.
Knapp is no Mike Shanahan when it comes to drawing up an offense, but he has made the playoffs calling shots with Jeff Garcia (in San Francisco) and Michael Vick (in Atlanta). Russell has a better arm than both of those guys. At this point in his career, Russell needs a reputed play-caller to put him in situations he can thrive in. He can't turn into the next Alex Smith, ruined by constant turnover at offensive coordinator. The Raiders should be encouraged by the former No. 1 pick from LSU because...
4. Russell is quietly having a good year.
Lost in all the madness is that Russell has thrown four touchdowns so far and only one interception. Not bad, considering the Raiders have trailed in every game and his only weapon is rookie tailback Darren McFadden, who is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
With those two, the Raiders have not only a foundation on offense from which to build, but also guys that the team respects. Did you see how Russell handled the news that Kiffin didn't want to draft him? He could have popped off; instead he was classy. "I appreciate the opportunity [Kiffin] gave me," he said. "I wish for him to go out and get a job because he's a good guy, a good coach." Teammates take their cues from leaders. Russell, after a bad rookie year, is emerging as the Raiders' calm, cool leader, while at the same time...
5. Al Davis is as feisty as ever.
Davis' press conference last week was classic: He was defiant, accusatory, smart, crazy, ripping the Broncos, the Patriots -- he was Al Davis. It was good for the league -- and the Raiders. Everyone suffers when Davis is behind closed doors and never seen. Davis needs to be out there, spewing whatever is on his mind, causing trouble, filing lawsuits and keeping Roger Goodell on his toes. The Raiders have always been at their best when at odds with the league. It feeds the us-against-the-world mentality on which the Raiders were founded. Davis' press conference has been ridiculed, and this gives the Raiders something to rally around.
Good thing, because they needed something, anything. Life isn't easy when you're on the most mocked team in the NFL -- again. But if the Raiders get panicky, if they start to believe the apocalypse is now -- if playing the Saints, Jets, Ravens and Panthers in the next five weeks gets them nervous -- they can always be happy about one thing:
6. There's always the Chiefs.
Seth Wickersham is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a columnist for ESPN.com
KIFFIN IS STILL COACHING JAMARCUS
Posted by Mike Florio on October 9, 2008, 11:04 a.m.
That sound you hear in the distance is every laser printer in the Raiders organization spitting out a cease and desist letter.
Amazingly, fired Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has been contacting quarterback JaMarcus Russell. With coaching advice.
For example, Kiffin called Russell on Monday night to discuss the Saints’ defense. The Raiders play in New Orleans on Sunday.
“He just called and talked to me about their defense, things he would do if he was here,” Russell said, according to Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times. “So, really, nothing changed.”
And it wasn’t an isolated incident.
“He has got a lot of off time on his hands,” Russell said, “so he would pay attention to the defense I would have to go up against. He leaves me a text message or a voice mail here or there.”
There’s no way that this chapter of the Davis vs. Kiffin feud ends well. The Raiders have coaches in place to tell Russell how to do his job. Kiffin is no longer one of them. Regardless of whether you’re in the pro-Raiders or anti-Raiders camp, Kiffin needs to keep his nose out of the situation.
The same theory applies in any other workplace in the world. Once an employee has been fired — especially when that employee had a key role in the organization — the employee should not be calling up his past subordinates with advice on how to do their jobs.
Though the Raiders are currently as dysfunctional as a pro sports franchise west of Detroit can get, a responsible organization would take swift and decisive action to bring all communication between the current quarterback and former head coach to an end.
Posted by Mike Florio on October 9, 2008, 11:04 a.m.
That sound you hear in the distance is every laser printer in the Raiders organization spitting out a cease and desist letter.
Amazingly, fired Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has been contacting quarterback JaMarcus Russell. With coaching advice.
For example, Kiffin called Russell on Monday night to discuss the Saints’ defense. The Raiders play in New Orleans on Sunday.
“He just called and talked to me about their defense, things he would do if he was here,” Russell said, according to Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times. “So, really, nothing changed.”
And it wasn’t an isolated incident.
“He has got a lot of off time on his hands,” Russell said, “so he would pay attention to the defense I would have to go up against. He leaves me a text message or a voice mail here or there.”
There’s no way that this chapter of the Davis vs. Kiffin feud ends well. The Raiders have coaches in place to tell Russell how to do his job. Kiffin is no longer one of them. Regardless of whether you’re in the pro-Raiders or anti-Raiders camp, Kiffin needs to keep his nose out of the situation.
The same theory applies in any other workplace in the world. Once an employee has been fired — especially when that employee had a key role in the organization — the employee should not be calling up his past subordinates with advice on how to do their jobs.
Though the Raiders are currently as dysfunctional as a pro sports franchise west of Detroit can get, a responsible organization would take swift and decisive action to bring all communication between the current quarterback and former head coach to an end.
^Nope! Like I said, JR is being the professional. He and Kiff probably developed a cool relation/friendship over time so why would JR diss him now? Ain't nothing wrong with talking and taking some tips from Kiff. Maybe Kiff saw some things on film that could probably help JR... who knows. Maybe Monte Kiffin passed on some helpful hints on how to beat the Saints (since the Saints and Bucs are division rivals) JR said he never had a problem with Kiff but he was just speaking for himself.
I don't believe Al lied on Kiffin to fire him... but that's all in another thread!
I don't believe Al lied on Kiffin to fire him... but that's all in another thread!
Even if all is telling the truth. Whi cares he didn't want him. He got him for 2 years . And from what I can see kiffin seemed to wanna take it slow and help jamarcus find himself . Nothing wrong with that. So he didn't pass often a game or 2. Its barely week 6 now. There's a lot of football left to play im sure the plan was to have jruss throw more as the season progressed..
Burgess gets a second opinion
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pm in Oakland Raiders.
It’s not looking good for Derrick Burgess with regard to playing against the New Orleans Saints Sunday at the Superdome.
Burgess missed practice for the third straight day with a triceps injury and coach Tom Cable said the two-time Pro Bowl defensive would be seeking more medical advice.
Cable said Burgess would be on the trip to New Orleans but it was doubtul he would play.
In that case, Jay Richardson would move to left end, with Kalimba Edwards opening at right end.
Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (elbow), running back Justin Fargas (groin) and guard Cooper Carlisle (ankle) all practiced without restrictions before the Raiders boarded their charter flight headed to New Orleans.
Running back Darren McFadden (toe), linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba (shoulder) and tight end Ben Troupe (foot) were limited. McFadden and Ekejiuba should play, Troupe would be available if active.
Cable seemed confident McFadden would play a prominent role along with Fargas.
“Absolutely, we’ll spot it,” Cable said. “I see those guys being able to do a lot, like we did in Kansas City, a good mix of the two of them.”
Safety Gibril Wilson, out with the flu the previous day, practiced without restrictions Friday.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pm in Oakland Raiders.
It’s not looking good for Derrick Burgess with regard to playing against the New Orleans Saints Sunday at the Superdome.
Burgess missed practice for the third straight day with a triceps injury and coach Tom Cable said the two-time Pro Bowl defensive would be seeking more medical advice.
Cable said Burgess would be on the trip to New Orleans but it was doubtul he would play.
In that case, Jay Richardson would move to left end, with Kalimba Edwards opening at right end.
Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (elbow), running back Justin Fargas (groin) and guard Cooper Carlisle (ankle) all practiced without restrictions before the Raiders boarded their charter flight headed to New Orleans.
Running back Darren McFadden (toe), linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba (shoulder) and tight end Ben Troupe (foot) were limited. McFadden and Ekejiuba should play, Troupe would be available if active.
Cable seemed confident McFadden would play a prominent role along with Fargas.
“Absolutely, we’ll spot it,” Cable said. “I see those guys being able to do a lot, like we did in Kansas City, a good mix of the two of them.”
Safety Gibril Wilson, out with the flu the previous day, practiced without restrictions Friday.
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Dead leaves skitter across the asphalt parking lot outside the Oakland Raiders' dark, foreboding facility. The whiff of chlorine wafting from the decorative, fountain-less pond smells vaguely of formaldehyde.
Fall, in a manner of speaking, has come to the Raiders' franchise. Winter, of course, is inevitable. All great civilizations are doomed to die. It happened in Egypt, China, Greece and Italy.
The first and last emperor of the Raiders, Allen Davis, made a rare public appearance last week. Contrary to popular speculation, the 79-year-old owner has not lost his mind. Indeed, Davis displayed a formidable command in a 45-minute news conference designed to justify his firing of coach Lane Kiffin.
"I reached a point where I felt the whole staff, we were fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was to make a change," Davis said. "It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy."
Indeed, 20 months earlier, Davis hired the 31-year-old Kiffin -- only the No. 2 candidate for the Raiders' job from USC's assistant coaching staff, behind quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. Davis, his face florid, eyes tired and a tad watery, was rational in presenting an argument that eventually will come before a judge. Rational but, sadly, irrelevant.
"It didn't have to do with winning," said Davis. "It had to do with personality. It's the first time I ever let anyone go based on what I call [being] a flat-out liar."
It didn't have to do with winning.
But it had everything to do with Davis.
Back in the day, when the Raiders won three Super Bowls in the eight seasons from 1976 to '83, "Just win, baby," was Davis' mantra. During that run, which compares to the New England Patriots' current period of prosperity, no one did it better than the Raiders.
It's been 24 years -- nearly a quarter century -- since the Raiders won a Super Bowl. And yet, that is the happy place, the past, where Davis continues to live.
When he met the media last week, Davis was wearing a black-and-silver Raiders jacket with the phrase "The Team Of The Decades" stitched onto the arm. You'll find it on the cover of this season's media guide. The three Super Bowl trophies, representing quaint Roman numerals IX, XV and XVIII, are on the back, along with the three championship rings and this: "The greatness of the Raiders will continue in its future."
At best, this is wistful thinking. At worst, delusional fantasy.
"Knowing Mr. D. the way I do, there's no way he's going to stop saying that -- because he believes it," said Tim Brown, who played wide receiver for the Raiders from 1988 to 2003.
Brown, like most of the 15 people close to the Raiders who were interviewed for this story, placed the blame for the demise of the Raiders largely on Davis, who has grown increasingly isolated. A number of those interviewed declined to go on the record, citing a fear of alienating Davis.
"The Raiders' organization was a family," Brown said last week in his suburban Dallas home. "That meant whatever happened outside that building stayed outside that building. Whatever happened inside stayed inside. I would have liked for [Davis] not to have gotten into the personal things that happened between them. I don't know how that really came off."
And so, these Raiders find themselves on the threshold of antigreatness. With a 1-3 record entering Week 6 play at the New Orleans Saints, the Raiders are on pace for a 12-loss season. This would give the Raiders six consecutive seasons with 11 or more losses, placing them, almost unfathomably, below the 1985-89 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFL's enduring symbol of futility. Parsing the numbers another way, in going 4-12 last season the Raiders joined the 1984-86 Buffalo Bills and 1998-2000 Cincinnati Bengals as the only NFL teams to lose 12 or more games in three consecutive seasons.
Detroit Lions president Matt Millen -- a former Raiders linebacker -- lost his job after Detroit went 26-57 over the last five-plus seasons. The Raiders, meanwhile, are a league-worst 20-64 since reaching Super Bowl XXXVII, including 5-28 in the AFC West. The reason? Al Davis, who began 45 years ago as the Raiders' general manager and head coach in 1963, cannot be fired.
His two most successful coaches were John Madden and Tom Flores, who from 1969 to '87 won those three Super Bowls and produced a combined record of 203-95-7. But since Jon Gruden left after the 2001 season for Tampa Bay, Davis has hired and fired Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell and Kiffin. Interim coach Tom Cable, Kiffin's replacement and the former offensive line coach, is Davis' fifth hire for the job in just over five seasons.
"It's not a tough place to work -- it's an impossible place to work," Rich Gannon, the quarterback who took the Raiders to their last Super Bowl, said in a Sirius NFL Radio interview. "It's an organization that is, in my opinion, dysfunctional."
Said Brown: "That family bonding thing, that can't be there if you have different coaches coming in week after week after week it seems like. That was the great thing about Gruden when he came in. He established a program. We knew he was making some calls and doing some things that he wanted to do, and guys responded.
"Until they get back to that, it's going to be very difficult to be consistent on the field, winning games."
Gruden, whose Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, had a degree of control with the Raiders. With executive Bruce Allen acting as a buffer between him and Davis, Oakland became a playoff team again. Today, Allen is Gruden's general manager in Tampa Bay.
The primary issue in Oakland is control. Davis won't relinquish much, if any. The overwhelming consensus: Davis needs a general manager. Fact is: Qualified personnel men won't come to Oakland and Davis probably wouldn't trust them if they did. He is Al, alone. The stark, solitary image of Davis last week, bathed in soft light at the front of the team's theater, is more telling than the tens of thousands of words that have been written on the subject (including these).
Once upon a time, Davis was a wizard of personnel.
He liked big, strong players with an attitude. Scouts say that his unshakable faith in "measurables" isn't in step with the times, when the successful teams also give weight to attitude, personality and intelligence. Since Gruden left, the Raiders' first-round draft choices have been cornerback Phillip Buchanon, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, offensive tackle Robert Gallery, cornerback Fabian Washington, defensive back Michael Huff, quarterback JaMarcus Russell and running back Darren McFadden.
Not one of them has ever played in the Pro Bowl -- granted, Russell and McFadden are in their first seasons as starters.
In today's information age, the Raiders reportedly do not keep their scouting records on computers. Davis, who often doesn't arrive at work until after noon, rarely affects the offensive game plan, but former players say he still insists on tweaking the Raiders' trademark attacking defense -- even when it might not suit the team's personnel.
"No one tells you how bad it is," Warren Sapp, who played defensive end for the Raiders from 2004 to '07, said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL."
His advice to prospective free agents?
"Any person that calls me on the telephone," Sapp said, "'Do not go anywhere near Oakland.'
"[Davis] is the common equation. You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing -- you have a functioning football organization
The Raiders' ineptitude has forced them to overpay for free agents.
In the offseason, Davis laid out a staggering $144 million for contracts to wide receiver Javon Walker, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and safety Gibril Wilson. Walker's six-year, $55 million contract is essentially double the three-year, $27 million deal the Patriots gave former Raider Randy Moss.
Kelly, despite coming off a serious knee injury, is the highest-paid defensive tackle in league history.
The atmosphere at the Raiders' facility has turned toxic. On Sept. 22 Raiders senior executive John Herrera accosted San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami in the Raiders' media room about a piece he had written about the imminent firing of Kiffin, saying, "You built a whole column on a lie!"
"You're embarrassing yourself," Kawakami responded coolly.
"I don't care!" Herrera said.
Five television cameras caught the ugly, finger-wagging episode and the video immediately became an Internet must-see among football fans.
"This is a peeling-back-the-curtains moment of the mania of the Raiders," Kawakami said in an interview last week. "It is a little peek into the fanaticism of what's going on."
Kawakami believes Davis desperately needs to trust someone other than himself.
"No franchise puts it on one man, yet this franchise puts it on a 79-year-old man," Kawakami said. "There's fear there. Fear of just dropping off the face of the earth even further than they are, fear of Al being embarrassed. That's why he fires coaches so quickly, because he's embarrassed about what's going on. Five times in the last six years the coach has been the problem.
"Al Davis has never said, 'I'm the problem.'"
Said Sapp: "Al Davis knows football -- it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what he is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field -- deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."
Davis, the first and last emperor of the Raiders, ended his dramatic news conference this way:
"We'll be back. The Raiders will be back. I just know that the fire that burns brightest in this building is the will to win -- and we will win.
"We will win."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com
Fall, in a manner of speaking, has come to the Raiders' franchise. Winter, of course, is inevitable. All great civilizations are doomed to die. It happened in Egypt, China, Greece and Italy.
The first and last emperor of the Raiders, Allen Davis, made a rare public appearance last week. Contrary to popular speculation, the 79-year-old owner has not lost his mind. Indeed, Davis displayed a formidable command in a 45-minute news conference designed to justify his firing of coach Lane Kiffin.
"I reached a point where I felt the whole staff, we were fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was to make a change," Davis said. "It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy."
Indeed, 20 months earlier, Davis hired the 31-year-old Kiffin -- only the No. 2 candidate for the Raiders' job from USC's assistant coaching staff, behind quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. Davis, his face florid, eyes tired and a tad watery, was rational in presenting an argument that eventually will come before a judge. Rational but, sadly, irrelevant.
"It didn't have to do with winning," said Davis. "It had to do with personality. It's the first time I ever let anyone go based on what I call [being] a flat-out liar."
It didn't have to do with winning.
But it had everything to do with Davis.
Back in the day, when the Raiders won three Super Bowls in the eight seasons from 1976 to '83, "Just win, baby," was Davis' mantra. During that run, which compares to the New England Patriots' current period of prosperity, no one did it better than the Raiders.
It's been 24 years -- nearly a quarter century -- since the Raiders won a Super Bowl. And yet, that is the happy place, the past, where Davis continues to live.
When he met the media last week, Davis was wearing a black-and-silver Raiders jacket with the phrase "The Team Of The Decades" stitched onto the arm. You'll find it on the cover of this season's media guide. The three Super Bowl trophies, representing quaint Roman numerals IX, XV and XVIII, are on the back, along with the three championship rings and this: "The greatness of the Raiders will continue in its future."
At best, this is wistful thinking. At worst, delusional fantasy.
"Knowing Mr. D. the way I do, there's no way he's going to stop saying that -- because he believes it," said Tim Brown, who played wide receiver for the Raiders from 1988 to 2003.
Brown, like most of the 15 people close to the Raiders who were interviewed for this story, placed the blame for the demise of the Raiders largely on Davis, who has grown increasingly isolated. A number of those interviewed declined to go on the record, citing a fear of alienating Davis.
"The Raiders' organization was a family," Brown said last week in his suburban Dallas home. "That meant whatever happened outside that building stayed outside that building. Whatever happened inside stayed inside. I would have liked for [Davis] not to have gotten into the personal things that happened between them. I don't know how that really came off."
And so, these Raiders find themselves on the threshold of antigreatness. With a 1-3 record entering Week 6 play at the New Orleans Saints, the Raiders are on pace for a 12-loss season. This would give the Raiders six consecutive seasons with 11 or more losses, placing them, almost unfathomably, below the 1985-89 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFL's enduring symbol of futility. Parsing the numbers another way, in going 4-12 last season the Raiders joined the 1984-86 Buffalo Bills and 1998-2000 Cincinnati Bengals as the only NFL teams to lose 12 or more games in three consecutive seasons.
Detroit Lions president Matt Millen -- a former Raiders linebacker -- lost his job after Detroit went 26-57 over the last five-plus seasons. The Raiders, meanwhile, are a league-worst 20-64 since reaching Super Bowl XXXVII, including 5-28 in the AFC West. The reason? Al Davis, who began 45 years ago as the Raiders' general manager and head coach in 1963, cannot be fired.
His two most successful coaches were John Madden and Tom Flores, who from 1969 to '87 won those three Super Bowls and produced a combined record of 203-95-7. But since Jon Gruden left after the 2001 season for Tampa Bay, Davis has hired and fired Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell and Kiffin. Interim coach Tom Cable, Kiffin's replacement and the former offensive line coach, is Davis' fifth hire for the job in just over five seasons.
"It's not a tough place to work -- it's an impossible place to work," Rich Gannon, the quarterback who took the Raiders to their last Super Bowl, said in a Sirius NFL Radio interview. "It's an organization that is, in my opinion, dysfunctional."
Said Brown: "That family bonding thing, that can't be there if you have different coaches coming in week after week after week it seems like. That was the great thing about Gruden when he came in. He established a program. We knew he was making some calls and doing some things that he wanted to do, and guys responded.
"Until they get back to that, it's going to be very difficult to be consistent on the field, winning games."
Gruden, whose Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, had a degree of control with the Raiders. With executive Bruce Allen acting as a buffer between him and Davis, Oakland became a playoff team again. Today, Allen is Gruden's general manager in Tampa Bay.
The primary issue in Oakland is control. Davis won't relinquish much, if any. The overwhelming consensus: Davis needs a general manager. Fact is: Qualified personnel men won't come to Oakland and Davis probably wouldn't trust them if they did. He is Al, alone. The stark, solitary image of Davis last week, bathed in soft light at the front of the team's theater, is more telling than the tens of thousands of words that have been written on the subject (including these).
Once upon a time, Davis was a wizard of personnel.
He liked big, strong players with an attitude. Scouts say that his unshakable faith in "measurables" isn't in step with the times, when the successful teams also give weight to attitude, personality and intelligence. Since Gruden left, the Raiders' first-round draft choices have been cornerback Phillip Buchanon, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, offensive tackle Robert Gallery, cornerback Fabian Washington, defensive back Michael Huff, quarterback JaMarcus Russell and running back Darren McFadden.
Not one of them has ever played in the Pro Bowl -- granted, Russell and McFadden are in their first seasons as starters.
In today's information age, the Raiders reportedly do not keep their scouting records on computers. Davis, who often doesn't arrive at work until after noon, rarely affects the offensive game plan, but former players say he still insists on tweaking the Raiders' trademark attacking defense -- even when it might not suit the team's personnel.
"No one tells you how bad it is," Warren Sapp, who played defensive end for the Raiders from 2004 to '07, said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL."
His advice to prospective free agents?
"Any person that calls me on the telephone," Sapp said, "'Do not go anywhere near Oakland.'
"[Davis] is the common equation. You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing -- you have a functioning football organization
The Raiders' ineptitude has forced them to overpay for free agents.
In the offseason, Davis laid out a staggering $144 million for contracts to wide receiver Javon Walker, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and safety Gibril Wilson. Walker's six-year, $55 million contract is essentially double the three-year, $27 million deal the Patriots gave former Raider Randy Moss.
Kelly, despite coming off a serious knee injury, is the highest-paid defensive tackle in league history.
The atmosphere at the Raiders' facility has turned toxic. On Sept. 22 Raiders senior executive John Herrera accosted San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami in the Raiders' media room about a piece he had written about the imminent firing of Kiffin, saying, "You built a whole column on a lie!"
"You're embarrassing yourself," Kawakami responded coolly.
"I don't care!" Herrera said.
Five television cameras caught the ugly, finger-wagging episode and the video immediately became an Internet must-see among football fans.
"This is a peeling-back-the-curtains moment of the mania of the Raiders," Kawakami said in an interview last week. "It is a little peek into the fanaticism of what's going on."
Kawakami believes Davis desperately needs to trust someone other than himself.
"No franchise puts it on one man, yet this franchise puts it on a 79-year-old man," Kawakami said. "There's fear there. Fear of just dropping off the face of the earth even further than they are, fear of Al being embarrassed. That's why he fires coaches so quickly, because he's embarrassed about what's going on. Five times in the last six years the coach has been the problem.
"Al Davis has never said, 'I'm the problem.'"
Said Sapp: "Al Davis knows football -- it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what he is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field -- deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."
Davis, the first and last emperor of the Raiders, ended his dramatic news conference this way:
"We'll be back. The Raiders will be back. I just know that the fire that burns brightest in this building is the will to win -- and we will win.
"We will win."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com
I'm watchin AFC Playbook on NFL Network right now
Brian Baldinger picked the Raiders to win the game
also on Total Access Rod Woodson predicted McFadden to have a real big game
looks like some folks in the media are givin us a chance...
NFL Network doesn't seem to hate on the Raiders so much like ESPN does
Brian Baldinger picked the Raiders to win the game
also on Total Access Rod Woodson predicted McFadden to have a real big game
looks like some folks in the media are givin us a chance...
NFL Network doesn't seem to hate on the Raiders so much like ESPN does
GREAT ARTICLE! BRING IN TIMMY!!
Brown stumps for front office job
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Tim Brown did everything but send out campaign buttons while professing his love for the Raiders and his desire to help Al Davis fix what’s wrong with the organization during a radio interview with KTHK (1140-AM) in Sacramento.
Davis said during a press conference announcing the firing of coach Lane Kiffin he was going to add a management level job, and that he had a “unique” candidate in mind with local roots.
Brown has no experience working in an NFL front office, but has never been short on confidence. Among his observations made with hosts Grant Napear and Mike Lamb:
Perception of the organization
“Right now the perception of the Raiders is not good, and that’s what’s so bad is it is a great organization, it’s done great things in the NFL, and for people to be any way thinking that the Raiders are just a laughingstock of the league, it hurts me to the core. I wish there was something that I could do on a day-to-day basis to really help that situation out, but my little spurts on TV and radio is not enough.”
Interest in working for the Raiders
“It would take me about two seconds to make that decision. At some point, home is home, and even though I reside in Dallas, Dallas is not home for me when it comes to the NFL. The love I get when I’m in Oakland, that’s home for me. I realize that, and if the Raiders ever asked me to do anything in the front office, certainly I would jump at the opportunity because I do think, not just my presence in Oakland, but in some of the decision making as far as what’s happening with coaches and players that come in, I think I could be very instrumental in helping in that area.”
The Presidency and Rich Gannon
“Not to make light of the situation, but you can’t do worse than what’s been done already. It’s like whoever wins the job as President. Hey, man, this is the easiest job in America after what’s happened the last eight years. You gotta do better than what’s happened. I think it’s a similar situation. I think where the organization is right now, and the perception of where the organization is right now, if you got a couple of people in there who were good football people and cared about the organization, it would be a very interesting situation.
“Even hearing a guy like Gannon say something negative about the organization is really wrong. Gannon knows that he came there with that `I hate the Raiders’ type mentality. He came in there with that, and showed that to all the players. Gannon wasn’t a very well-like player his whole time with the Raiders. In fact he was downright hated, and if not for my intervention, a lot of times, there would have been times he would have been sure-enough jumped on, almost. So for a guy like Rich to say something just isn’t fair to the organization, I don’t believe.”
The pull of the Raiders
“This is a place that can be turned around very easily. People love the fact that the Raiders, that silver and black, you hear guys talk about it, when I go to the Pro Bowls, I had to bring four or five helmets over because everybody wanted that silver and black helmet. It wans’t the Tim Brown helmet, people wanted that silver and black helmet, they want it as part of their weight rooms or their game rooms or wherever they’re putting that stuff. It’s there, and I think somebody just has to be there to lure these folks. But they’re going to have to know that somebody there is making good decisions. And as much as people love Al, there’s going to have to be somebody else there, I believe.”
Why Bruce Allen was successful
“If you know Al Davis, you know what he’s all about. He wants loyal people at the Raiders. He doesn’t want people there just for the money. If a guy come sin saying all the right things, that guy will be a 10-year player there no matter how he plays. He loves a guy who loves the Raiders and wants to play this game for what it’s all about. I think that’s one thing that Bruce understood. I don’t think they all the time went after the best free agent who was available because maybe that guy is going to be too expensive and they didn’t want to get into the holdout situations and all that, but they went after the guy that said, man, I want to play. If I get the opportunity to play for the Raiders, then that’s what I want to do.”
Co-existing with Davis
“You know, man, I can get along with anybody. I really can, and I know Mr. Davis and I understand Mr. Davis . . . the only thing I would ask of him is to trust me. That if I’m coming in here, then I’m going to do the best job I can possibly do, and it’s sort of like the Gruden mentality _ you’re going to fire me after two years anyway, so let me do what I need to do to get this thing done, and if it doesn’t work, then we’re going to have some great players in here and I’ll be out of here.”
Lack of experience _ the Matt Millen factor
“People are going to say he doesn’t have any front office experience and all this kind of stuff. But football is football. I don’t think I have to be crunching numbers and doing all that kind of stuff. There’s somebody who can do all that. When it comes to talent, coaching talent, player talent, who fits in, who doesn’t fit in, that’s one thing about the Raiders, you learn people. You learn personalities. You learn that because you have a lot of people in and out all the time and, so even if I wasn’t a GM, if I was just there for consulting purposes for players and things of that nature, and coaches, I think that would be something I’m very good at.”
His role and talking to Davis about it
“I don’t really think it should be a GM type position. I think it should be some form of a consulting role. I think at this point I don’t have anything to lose. I’m actually going to be there this weekend for a Gene Upshaw memorial deal that they’re doing Saturday night, and that just may be my opportunity to whisper in his ear and say, come on, man, I can’t take it no more, every time you turn on the TV and the Raiders are mentioned, there’s a punch line behind it. For me, for somebody who gave my heart and soul to the organization for 16 years, and to hear people think I’m just picking up for the organization because I played there, but there are some certain things I really feel about the place, but unfortunately, but people look at me with a cocked eye, saying, OK Tim, that’s cool.”
Brown stumps for front office job
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Tim Brown did everything but send out campaign buttons while professing his love for the Raiders and his desire to help Al Davis fix what’s wrong with the organization during a radio interview with KTHK (1140-AM) in Sacramento.
Davis said during a press conference announcing the firing of coach Lane Kiffin he was going to add a management level job, and that he had a “unique” candidate in mind with local roots.
Brown has no experience working in an NFL front office, but has never been short on confidence. Among his observations made with hosts Grant Napear and Mike Lamb:
Perception of the organization
“Right now the perception of the Raiders is not good, and that’s what’s so bad is it is a great organization, it’s done great things in the NFL, and for people to be any way thinking that the Raiders are just a laughingstock of the league, it hurts me to the core. I wish there was something that I could do on a day-to-day basis to really help that situation out, but my little spurts on TV and radio is not enough.”
Interest in working for the Raiders
“It would take me about two seconds to make that decision. At some point, home is home, and even though I reside in Dallas, Dallas is not home for me when it comes to the NFL. The love I get when I’m in Oakland, that’s home for me. I realize that, and if the Raiders ever asked me to do anything in the front office, certainly I would jump at the opportunity because I do think, not just my presence in Oakland, but in some of the decision making as far as what’s happening with coaches and players that come in, I think I could be very instrumental in helping in that area.”
The Presidency and Rich Gannon
“Not to make light of the situation, but you can’t do worse than what’s been done already. It’s like whoever wins the job as President. Hey, man, this is the easiest job in America after what’s happened the last eight years. You gotta do better than what’s happened. I think it’s a similar situation. I think where the organization is right now, and the perception of where the organization is right now, if you got a couple of people in there who were good football people and cared about the organization, it would be a very interesting situation.
“Even hearing a guy like Gannon say something negative about the organization is really wrong. Gannon knows that he came there with that `I hate the Raiders’ type mentality. He came in there with that, and showed that to all the players. Gannon wasn’t a very well-like player his whole time with the Raiders. In fact he was downright hated, and if not for my intervention, a lot of times, there would have been times he would have been sure-enough jumped on, almost. So for a guy like Rich to say something just isn’t fair to the organization, I don’t believe.”
The pull of the Raiders
“This is a place that can be turned around very easily. People love the fact that the Raiders, that silver and black, you hear guys talk about it, when I go to the Pro Bowls, I had to bring four or five helmets over because everybody wanted that silver and black helmet. It wans’t the Tim Brown helmet, people wanted that silver and black helmet, they want it as part of their weight rooms or their game rooms or wherever they’re putting that stuff. It’s there, and I think somebody just has to be there to lure these folks. But they’re going to have to know that somebody there is making good decisions. And as much as people love Al, there’s going to have to be somebody else there, I believe.”
Why Bruce Allen was successful
“If you know Al Davis, you know what he’s all about. He wants loyal people at the Raiders. He doesn’t want people there just for the money. If a guy come sin saying all the right things, that guy will be a 10-year player there no matter how he plays. He loves a guy who loves the Raiders and wants to play this game for what it’s all about. I think that’s one thing that Bruce understood. I don’t think they all the time went after the best free agent who was available because maybe that guy is going to be too expensive and they didn’t want to get into the holdout situations and all that, but they went after the guy that said, man, I want to play. If I get the opportunity to play for the Raiders, then that’s what I want to do.”
Co-existing with Davis
“You know, man, I can get along with anybody. I really can, and I know Mr. Davis and I understand Mr. Davis . . . the only thing I would ask of him is to trust me. That if I’m coming in here, then I’m going to do the best job I can possibly do, and it’s sort of like the Gruden mentality _ you’re going to fire me after two years anyway, so let me do what I need to do to get this thing done, and if it doesn’t work, then we’re going to have some great players in here and I’ll be out of here.”
Lack of experience _ the Matt Millen factor
“People are going to say he doesn’t have any front office experience and all this kind of stuff. But football is football. I don’t think I have to be crunching numbers and doing all that kind of stuff. There’s somebody who can do all that. When it comes to talent, coaching talent, player talent, who fits in, who doesn’t fit in, that’s one thing about the Raiders, you learn people. You learn personalities. You learn that because you have a lot of people in and out all the time and, so even if I wasn’t a GM, if I was just there for consulting purposes for players and things of that nature, and coaches, I think that would be something I’m very good at.”
His role and talking to Davis about it
“I don’t really think it should be a GM type position. I think it should be some form of a consulting role. I think at this point I don’t have anything to lose. I’m actually going to be there this weekend for a Gene Upshaw memorial deal that they’re doing Saturday night, and that just may be my opportunity to whisper in his ear and say, come on, man, I can’t take it no more, every time you turn on the TV and the Raiders are mentioned, there’s a punch line behind it. For me, for somebody who gave my heart and soul to the organization for 16 years, and to hear people think I’m just picking up for the organization because I played there, but there are some certain things I really feel about the place, but unfortunately, but people look at me with a cocked eye, saying, OK Tim, that’s cool.”