Hats Off To the Oakland Raiders

[roadwarrior]

You guys sure made my Broncos look good!  

Another game like that and you'll want to

put helmets and pads on your cheerleaders.

8-)

[Muddy]

Ah.....were'nt those the cheerleaders? ;D >

[S I G M A]

the most excitement in that game was watching how bored the raider's fans were

[Siebert Outdoors]

the most excitement in that game was watching how bored the raider's FAN was

I fixed your statement for ya. ;D

[Aaron]

I am pretty disappointed in my team.  I thought this might be the year they turned things around.  I expected more from the defense.

Hopefully, they will settle down and get better before the end of the season.  I would be ecstatic to see them finish 8-8.

[jax]

HOLY *#$@!!!

The Raiders do have a FAN!!!

I don't think the Raider's know how to settle down. That has been their problem for years.

[5bass]

As a life long Raider fan I can honestly say that I'm about to jump off the ship until Al Davis either steps aside or passes on (not hoping for him to die, by the way). The team is a mess year after year and Al Davis is the core of the problem.

They can't get a good coach because all of them know what Al Davis is like to work for. They cant even get 'good' people to come in to interview for the job and listen to what Davis has to offer. He goes thru coach after coach, pays big money for draft picks and free agents but doesn't bother to get a coach that can understand how to best utilize what they have.

These top draft picks are essentially rotting their careers away in Oakland, just waiting for their contracts to be up so they can hit the highway. I dont blame them. They have no WR's left that are worth anything but fully expect Russell to be 'the man' and run the team. Gimme a break. Raiders s u c k.  

Commitment to Excellence...my @$$  

[5bass]

Ah.....were'nt those the cheerleaders? ;D >

....and who's your team muddy? Thats what I thought.  

No smack talking unless you have a favorite team that I can fire back on.  

Gotta play fair.  

[Sam]

OK, so they lost one game.

So did the other half of the league.

OK, so the defense was not stellar.

OK, so the offense did not click.

Just give 'em some time.

Jamarcus is a wonderful product loaded with potential and he will carry the Raiders back to glory.

I am not saying when this will happen, but it will happen.

Maybe.  

[fish-fighting-illini]

 Wasn't Al in charge during the 70's Raider prime time?

What has happened has Al just gotten too old?

[Tin]

Sportcenter made them look like the Bad News Bears this morning. It was like 2 minutes of bloopers.

[flippin4it.]

Wasn't Al in charge during the 70's Raider prime time?

What has happened has Al just gotten too old?

          Al's cheese slipped off his cracker along time ago.......He kept Marcus Allen from having a stellar carrier in Oakland.

[5bass]

The NFL passed right by Al Davis and he didn't even see the blur. Davis is 'old school' and will be until the day he dies. He has full control of all personnel decisions, including the head coach, his coaching staff, the ball boys, the water boy, hot dog prices, etc. The guy is a control freak. Jerry Jones (Davis' good buddy) was smart enough to give up some control when Parcells took over and look at them now. They're at the top while the Raiders are still at the bottom.

This past offseason he tried to get head coach Lane Kiffin to quit because Kiffin wanted to get rid of Rob Ryan (Raiders D coordinator). Davis said no. He and Kiffin had a 'falling out' and Davis asked him to resign. Kiffin, being a smart fella, declined. If he quit, he wouldnt get paid. If Davis would've fired him (which he was probably praying for), he would have been paid.

So now the owner and head coach are at odds after just one season. I believe Kiffin's contract runs out after this year and I fully expect him to be gone even if he turns the team around and Davis wants him to stay. But if he doesn't show major improvement by about mid-season, Davis might load him in the cannon and fire him off early.

This is just one example of how Davis exhibits total control over anybody in the Raider organization. He stuck it to Mike Shanahan (now Broncos coach) back in the early 90's and he's one hell of a coach. John Gruden was a great coach but Davis & Co. ran him off too. Gruden built a great team in just a few years in Oakland only to be run off and then beat them the very next season in the Super Bowl.

Davis has admitted in the past that he hates to lose but I question that when I see all the stupid moves he continuously makes. It's very disappointing to be a Raider fan these days.

Rant over. Sorry about that.

[jax]

That sums up one of my all time favorite quote.

"Attitude is a reflection of leadership."

I try to remember that everyday.

[crypticstatic]

Al Davis needs to sell this team to Amy Trask or any other owner that will let the coaches coach and let people do their job without interferance from a controlling stubborn owner like Al. It's sad to see this orginization become what it has because of ONE person.

Kiffen himself was quoted as saying that he has washed his hands of the defense since only Al and Rob Ryan (the D coordinater that Kiffen wanted fired) discuss defense strategy.

We Raider fans can expect more heartache and pain so long as Al has control. I can't even beleive I'm saying this but reality is a B***h and I was once a proud season ticket holder before I moved out of state.

I'll always support the silver and black and the players that play for this team but I have to remind myself that everytime I purchase something of the Raiders I'm giving my money to a man (who is a legend and an NFL pioneer) who is to stubborn to realize that he alone is a huge part of the demise of what was and hopefully will be again a proud, dominating force in the NFL.

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