Random Takes

I'm obviously no Jim Rome, and not even a Raider Take (http://raidertake.blogspot.com), but after sitting through the game Sunday and finally getting the energy to read the posts since, I have a few random takes of my own to add to the pile.

1. Ronald Curry - Ok I know all about this poor guy and his injury issues. But it was great to see him zipping around the secondary again making great catches and looking like the stud he is. I just can't understand Art Shell's stubborness in starting Whitted over this guy. Whitted tries hard but he just doesn't have what Curry has. With Moss injured, it appears Curry will get a bit more PT, but I just don't understand how Art can keep a talent like Curry on the bench when we appear to be so bereft in that department. A smart man plays Curry and Morant the rest of the season to get a feel for what they can do together. Moss is Moss, and Whitted is at best average, and there's no better time than the present.
2. Nnamdi Asomugha - This guy is just getting better and better. Did you see that second interception he had Sunday. That was an insane catch. I hope they keep this guy locked up on contract for a while. I think Fabian Washington is going to be really good too, but he didn't have his best day Sunday. Hang in there man.
3. Chuck Bresnahan - Too bad his defense never stopped anyone when he worked for us!! Seeing him brought back some ...errrr....memories.
4. Aaron Brooks - I've said it before and I'll say it again. He is NEVER going to be good. Just sit him on the bench and bring in Walter. It does us absolutely no good to continue to start brooks. If we can get Walter some PT, he might actually develop into the starter we need him to be. Either way, history has shown us Brooks is not a winning, viable QB in the NFL. Worst case scenary of bringing in Walter is that we learn more about what he can or cannot do for us. Winning is irrelevant now. Build for the future!!
5. Art Shell - Hasn't done an insanely good job this year. He let his feelings for Tom Walsh dictate his decisions, has made some pretty poor personal decisions, and his game management needs work. However, I think given enough time he COULD do a good job. Let's face it, no new coaches ever turn a 4-12 team around in the first season. Most often when new coaches start there is little to no tangible improvement the first year. If Al Davis does fire him, I would support promoting Ryan and letting him pick his new crew. He's done a good job of getting quality assistants, and he is a motivator. With that said I think it's worth giving Art more time to get this turned around. Throwing a new coach into the mix every year won't solve anything.
6. Personnel in general - There are a lot of players they should absolutely be getting a look at for these last 3 games. It will really be the epitome of silliness if we don't get a better look at players like Madsen, Morant, Curry (as #1), Walter, Lee, and a bunch of others. If nothing else we can take this dead season and do some personnel evaluation. Come on Art, let's figure this thing out.
7. Denver - Oh that was awesome seeing them get beat down like that. Good job Shanihan.
8. I've been reading a lot of people griping about the Raiders not drafting a QB last offseason with their first pick. I think it's pretty stupid to get on them about this since they got Michael Huff who has started every game and has played very well contributing to a defense in what has been a huge position of need for us since Rod Woodson retired. Those people are forgetting about the missed tackles like Shannon Sharpes big touchdown run in the AFC Championship against Baltimore. Our defense that year and several years surrounding were our weakness. Also let's add into the equation what has happened with our last two first round QB picks. And no these guys weren't reaches. They were supposedly awesome QBs whom would have been drafted even if we hadn't picked them up. These names still evoke fear and loathing: Todd Marinovich (Marijuanavich) and Marc Wilson. With the infrequency that first round draft QBs actually live up to the hype, I am not sure how you can blame a team from not going back to that well again. The last time we got it right was in 1968 with Stabler. My point is look how many first round draft QBs are busts in the NFL, and you'll see why Oakland avoids putting themselves in that position. Ryan Leaf anyone?

For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S CORNER!!

Fumblaya - Fumblerooski

After watching the game Sunday and chewing off half of my fingers via my nervous habit, there are just some things that need to be said.

First I want to give props to the Defense. It has to be painful to hold a team to negative 5 yards passing for the entire game and still go home with a loss. I know that I was upset about it and I didn't even have to play opposite the offense. I don't see how they hold it together so well week after week. All I can say is we have a talented, classy, level-headed, hard working defense that deserves a lot better than the situation they find themselves in right now.

Secondly, John Shoop provided a much better game plan this week. Lots of quick hitting passes and runs. The majority of the sacks came because our offensive line is horrible and Brooks often forgets to throw the ball after the 3-step drop. I almost forgot what a slant looked like until Sunday. Unfortunately even the best game plan requires that the players execute with some semblence of consistency.

I really don't understand what has happened to our offensive line. They weren't great before, but I don't remember them being utterly horrible. Maybe I blocked it out to alleviate the pain, but I just can't understand what has happened to these guys. I'm not even sure what should be done here. Obviously we need to clear out most of these guys and replace them, but it's a tall order to replace virtually the entire offensive line in one off season. Maybe we could entice Lincoln Kennedy and Steve Wisniewski out of retirement. Short of that I don't know how they're going to fix this, but it quite obviously needs to be addressed.

What in the world was with all the fumbling? I can see the initial fumble happening. Hey it happens to everyone once in a while. But after that, it would seem that people would protect the ball even more than normal to prevent it from happening again. And there is just no way to justify 2 fumbles on 2 consecutive drives. The way to fix that is a cranial-rectomotomy. Some time on the bench might help as well.

Brooks is just not the answer. I am not sure Walter is either. But you have four games left to try to get something, anything to build on next year. There is no reason to play Brooks anymore. He's not winning, and he's not going to be in our long term future. Walter MIGHT be in our long term future, so you might as well play him now and see if you can get him going. Either way, the season is over, and we should be seeing what we can do about building up for next year. Winning or losing these four games means nothing either way, but determining whether or not Walter is a salvagable QB of the future is something we could use the rest of the season to figure out.

Reshard Lee might be pretty good. The first fumble not withstanding he played pretty darn well. His blocking is decent, not great but there is some potential there for a running back. He runs hard and seems to catch well out of the backfield. This guy might be someone to keep an eye on. Having not been overly impressed with Jordan so far, it would seem viable that we keep an eye out for hidden talent.

Lastly, I keep reading that the Raiders are the worst team in the NFL and we'll be getting the first draft pick. I still don't think they're the worst team, although that's hardly a ringing endorsement. I will say our offense is definitely really bad. But our defense is now ranked #3 overall in the NFL. It's always said that defense wins championships. The problem with that is the offense has to at least do enough not to lose the game for you. Right now the Raiders offense is losing the games for us. It's sort of a Jeckyll and Hyde situation right now. Here's hoping we can use the last 4 games to accomplish something constructive.

For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S CORNER!!

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!

I don't mean to start off with a question, but what exactly is going on with the Bay Area sports writers? I have never seen such a conglomeration of Raider haters as you see when you read the sports pages from most Bay Area newspapers. For each Nancy Gay (good writer at the SF Chronicle) there are 2 or 3 Ray Ratto / Monte Poole type writers. These "Chicken Little" disciples bring a whole new meaning to "yellow journalism". (Ok that might be an exaggeration; but hey, what's good for the goose...)

I often wonder how these writers would feel if every day they were treated to newpapers full of people criticizing them on how well (or poorly in most cases) they do their job. How would their confidence fair if every day they were told how horrible they are, and how lacking in talent? You'd think that by the number of emails they get from rabid Raider fans, they'd calm down a little with the sensationalism that they use to describe what they apparently feel is the fall of the Raider Empire. They report daily on the issues the Raiders have as if no other rebuilding organization is having them. How many offensive coordinators have been let go this year? Yet though the Raiders have issues common to other teams in the league, Monte Poole decided to treat us to this lovely article http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_4753692, which is the reason for the title of my blog post today.

There is an awful lot in this article that I object to, but rather than rip apart the whole thing, I'm going to just grab a few of my favorites. So starting with his first paragraph:

"THE OBSOLESCENCE of Al Davis has not been graceful. A man who wielded power like a wrecking ball has become bitter and ineffectual, unable to stop his beloved Raiders from plunging into an unprecedented irrelevance."

I laughed pretty heartily at the obsolescence of Al Davis remark, because we all know that Al is damned by the media when he's too hands on, and he's damned by the media when he lets the reigns go. Either way he can't win, which is the tactic of a hater. Find a way to make him the bad guy no matter what the circumstances. By the way, when was the last time Monte had a conversation with Al Davis? I would venture that it hasn't happened. According to the NFL, Al was KEY in getting the players union agreement resolved. That doesn't sound obsolete to me. As for the phrase "unprecedented irrelevance", I find this curious. Is he saying that the Raiders are the worst team in the history of football and thereby irrelevant to the NFL? Or is he saying that they are the most irrelevant Raiders team in history? Either way, it's a ludicrous statement. You can ask the 2 teams the Raiders beat if THEY think the Raiders are irrelevant. For that matter ask the last 3 teams that the Raiders played if they think the Raiders are irrelevant. All three divisional foes would probably tell you the Raiders are pretty tough.

The problem with this type of journalist is that they're more about the dramatic effect of saying "Raiders implode as Shell explodes" than the facts. They're not really interested in the fact that the Raiders (although not a very good team) are improving. I thought journalism was about fact over effect, but apparently I am mistaken. There are issues in a number of football team's locker rooms. It's not just the Raiders. I for one watch every game, and I see something most "professional sports writers" don't. That is growth. There is a very big difference between the Raider team that played San Diego and got shut out in week one, versus the team that was a bad call and a bad pass from beating them in week 12. I'd love to slice and dice the article more, but this has gotten really long. Raider take over at http://raidertake.blogspot.com uses the phrase "Defending the Nation!" on his blog. I think it's great. Don't believe half the garbage you read from the "professional journalists", and defend the Raider Nation.

For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S CORNER!!

Exit Tom Walsh

It looks like the Raiders went ahead and demoted Walsh. http://www.raiders.com/newsroom/newsroomNewsDetail.jsp?id=29182 I cannot say I'm sorry to see him go. I'm sure he's a good guy, and must have done something to earn Art Shell's loyalty like that, but it's a good time for a fresh start and a fresh approach. I seriously doubt there will be wholesale changes to the offense, but perhaps just enough to give our beloved Raiders a bit of urgency in the next couple of weeks.

John Shoop is now the offensive coordinator; promoted from TE coach. He served as our QB coach last year and now has a shot at reviving our struggling offense. He did lead the Chicago Bears to a 13-3 record one year, although there were some complaints that his offense was too oriented around the short pass. Seems like the same complaints people had about Oakland's offense when Chucky was head coach. Either way it can only get better. I have a renewed hope, and it's not even summer yet. Good luck Coach Shoop, we're all rooting for you.

For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S CORNER!!

In the words of Arsenio:

Just some things that make you go hmmmmm.

1. Apparently there just isn't a way for the Raiders to escape some type of controversial call every single week. There are a couple of troubling facts in relation to our latest insane call. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the ACTUAL penalty for an illegal forward pass a 5 yard penalty AND loss of down? So even if the non-fumble were actually some type of insanely conceived illegal forward pass, shouldn't it have been Raiders ball anyway, by turnover on downs? I'm not saying it's the only reason we lost, but it obviously didn't help matters. Secondly, doesn't a pass usually involve a receiver somewhere on the field? And since there were no Chargers forward of the play, wouldn't one assume that if it were indeed a pass, that Jackson would be throwing to one of his players BEHIND him? Maybe I'm reaching here, but so were the refs. hmmmmm
2. Apparently the fact that the Chargers and every other team in the country hate the Raiders so badly doesn't prohibit them from copying their fans. According to: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/27/sports/professional/chargers/112606195022.txt there is apparently something referred to as "The Charger Nation". Who knew? But then imitation is purportedly the sincerest form of flattery right? So they must secretly love us and want to be us. hmmmmmmm
3. I'm definitely not on the Raider/NFL conspiracy bandwagon. I've been a fan all my life, grew up in Alameda, and seen a LOT of what some might say were bad calls. My family are all Raider fans, and even my wife is coming around to enlightenment, but doesn't it seem odd that each of the last few games has had the same basic script? Raiders lead going into the 4th Quarter, some weird and very obscure call is made, the Raiders lose their momentum and lose in the final minutes. If I didn't know better I could probably make a case between the similarities of the last few games and the WWF. hmmmmmmm
4. Randy Moss is just killing me. I have never seen such a drastic turn around in player, and I can't even comprehend how he could have such low moral values as to do what he's doing. In America we get paid when we work. And aside from a few people who have found a way to cheat the system, that's pretty much the rule. But somehow, Randy has found a way to not only get paid without working, but has been given a medium for justifying his ineptitude. My only wish, is that if the Raiders don't get a good trade for him, that he either pays back a bunch of the money and gets cut. OR that he's kept and only allowed to play special teams until his contract is up. Let's see what 2 or 3 years of special teams tackling does for his "HOF" career status. Mean...yes Vindictive....yes He could fix all of this by giving even a little effort on Sunday's and shutting up and being a team player. hmmmmmmm

The last thing: I am riding one Raider bandwagon, which happens to support the idea of firing Tom Walsh. I don't feel Art Shell is really a problem (except in defending Walsh) and I like how the team is progressing, other than when they actually have the ball. Rebuilding takes time, but if you're going to rebuild, rebuild a Corvette as opposed to a Studebaker. I'd like to see Art realize that while his loyalty to his friend is admirable, it's also going to cost him greatly if he sticks with it. Tom Walsh is not only out of date, he's out of touch with football as it is now. I don't want to see the captain go down with the ship here. Art is a lifetime Raider and as such, I wish him much success. But Tom Walsh has not earned the same status, so before it's too late Art, I implore you; cut him loose.

For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S Corner