Al davis oakland raiders’s team chargers best

San Francisco, CAMale 28 years old
About Me:I’m not what you think I am. By which I mean I am. Wait,
what?

The 2007 season wasn’t exactly kind to the AFC West. The Raiders
showed some early signs of life before they realized they were the
Raiders. Meanwhile, the Chiefs dropped their last nine games and the
Broncos were a lethargic 7-9. The one team from the division that made
the playoffs, the Chargers, spent most of the season as a completely
schizophrenic group that would sometimes look like the powerhouse AFC
team it had been in the past and other weeks would look like a
complete mess. Norv Turner was seemingly on the hot seat every other
week. Not exactly an ideal situation for a division leading team.
The one consolation for the AFC West was that in the 2007 playoffs the
Chargers went to Indy and turned Peyton Manning back into what he’s
spent most of his career as – a quarterback who can’t win big games.
They also turned in a rather heroic performance during the AFC title
game against the Patriots, led by Philip Rivers who was playing on a
torn ACL. Antonio Gates was also limited by an injury. But the real
issue during that game was LT, who sat out the majority of the game
with an injury and was questioned over and over again about his
decision to pack it in while Rivers played on one leg. Will we see
another poor regular season from the AFC West as a collective group,
only to have one of the teams make a surge in the playoffs? Let’s get
to the predictions. 4. Oakland Raiders (Predicted finish 4-12) – I’ll
make no bones about this. This team is a complete mess. But it’s a fun
mess. After last season, Al Davis supposedly sent Lane Kiffin a letter
essentially asking him to cede authority to other members of the
Raiders staff so that Kiffin would be a coach in name only. Kiffin
reportedly refused to sign. So that’s the background between the coach
and owner. When you combine that with the fact that Davis wants to win
immediately, and this team really needs to develop young players this
year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some blowup between Kiffin and
Davis before season’s end. But aside from that, this year we’ll get
to see JaMarcus Russell at the helm for the full year. He really is
the total package if he’s working hard and committed, and he seems to
have had a good offseason by staying in shape. Only problem is he
doesn’t have much of anyone to throw to except Javon Walker. Ronald
Curry, if healthy, is decent, but he’s not exactly a stellar #2
receiver. Probably the best thing Russell has going for him as a young
QB is that he has a very talented backfield to hand the ball off to.
Justin Fargas had a dynamite second half for the Raiders last year
which will also help take the burden off of Darren McFadden. The other
good thing is that Fargas and McFadden provide two different styles of
running to keep defenses off guard. Fargas is a straight north/south
power back despite his small frame and McFadden is obviously a burner.
As for the Raiders defense, it’s always been the one solid thing
despite these past few horrendous seasons. The question has always
been, can the offense match them in any way shape or form? Probably
not this year, but a little bit down the line it’s more than possible.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-11) – This is supposedly a rebuilding year
for the Chiefs, but I’m not exactly sure what they’re rebuilding
towards. I’m not a fan of Brody Croyle at all (although I am of his
wife) and while Dwayne Bowe had a nice rookie season last year, I keep
wondering if Croyle will be able to get him the ball consistently this
year. But probably the biggest problem for the Chiefs is this. If
they’re in a rebuilding year, and their two best players and
headliners are veterans Tony Gonzalez and Larry Johnson, will both
those guys get upset as the season heads into the toilet? Johnson was
rumored to be pushing for a trade last year because of the team’s
struggles, and while Gonzalez has always been a consumate pro, I have
to wonder how long he’ll want to stick it out with this squad that
isn’t going anywhere fast. At least we’ll get to see how Glenn
Dorsey does on the defensive side of the ball, but let’s be honest,
this defense blows. They didn’t have a single pro bowl defensive
player from 1999 to 2006. And their only pro bowler last year, Jared
Allen, got traded to the Vikings. When you combine all of this with
another year of Herm Edwards at the helm, who may be the worst clock
manager in the game after Andy Reid, expect it to be another long
season in KC. I guarantee you Edwards will cost the Chiefs at least
one game, maybe two. Which is why instead of having them go 7-9, which
they could do, I have them going 5-11. 2. Denver Broncos (10-6) – The
Broncos disappointing 2007 season is best described using Jay Cutler
as an example. Cutler has all the talent in the world, but looked
sluggish and lethargic most of last season, just like his team.
However, there was a reason for that. Cutler was diagnosed with Type 1
diabetes in the offseason making him one of only a handful of NFL
players to ever play with the disease. Luckily for Cutler, in today’s
day and age, he’s now able to get the necessary treatment where his
diabetes shouldn’t be a problem this season at all. Hopefully, like
Cutler, the rest of the team will be injected with new life. And even
though Cutler and his primary target Brandon Marshall had some words
with each other during the offseason, Marshall seems motivated this
year. After all, , and that’s after he serves a one game suspension.
Personally, I think we’re much more likely to see Marshall get hit
with another domestic violence charge than catch 140 passes, but I
like his enthusiasm. The big problem for the Broncos is on the
defensive side of the ball. They were 30th against the run last year
and haven’t exactly made any moves that’ll change that. They have a
rough schedule to start out, but the second half of their season is
fairly light. 1. San Diego Chargers (12-4)- On paper, this is the
third best team in the AFC behind the Patriots and Colts. The only
question is, will that happen on the football field as well? Norv
Turner earned a reprieve last season by making it to the AFC
Championship, something Marty Schottenheimer couldn’t do, but if
Turner continues to oversee a turbulent and inconsistent ship in San
Diego, things could get ugly in a hurry. I hate to say it, but the
biggest question about this team is Turner, plain and simple. That’s
because San Diego is capable of being explosive on both sides of the
ball. San Diego still has LT, who I consider the best all around back
in football (he’s much more versatile than Adrian Peterson) and having
Chris Chambers at wide receiver for a full season will be huge for
Phillip Rivers. Although I’ve never been sold on Rivers, and think San
Diego never should have let Drew Brees go, the toughness and tenacity
that Rivers showed in the AFC Championship clearly earned him tons of
respect in the locker room and has made him a clear team leader. And
while he may still look like he’s shotputting his throws, Rivers is
certainly capable of taking this team far. On the defensive side,
whether Shawne Merriman plays or not doesn’t really matter. If he
plays, he’ll suck because of the injury, and if he’s not playing, then
he obviously won’t be on the field. While he’s a huge loss on the
defensive side of the ball, San Diego has plenty of defensive weapons
to at least keep the loss of Merriman from being a crippling blow.
Lastly, since LT is 29, and may not have more than a few good seasons
left, I expect him to have a monster year. This could be San Diego’s
last shot to win a Super Bowl. They’d definitely be an underdog, but
hey, we all know what the Giants did last year.

I forsee only 3 wins for the lowly Chiefs. I’d say the Raiders can win
at least 6, Broncos I doubt go over .500. Chargers win it easily
again.

We’re a little short in the WR area right now, but everything else is
solid. Super Bowls are won with great defense and strong running
games…Shawne Merriman should sit the season out because our LB depth
is solid. The CRO is back and the Chargers secondary gives nightmares
to opposing QBs…The schedule looks good too. INDY and the PATS have
to come to Qualcomm in 2008, and 5 of our last 8 games are at Home as
well. I’m hoping for 12-4, but Chargers fans won’t rest until we can
win a Super Bowl.

WBK72 wrote:
We’re a little short in the WR area right now, but everything else is
solid. Super Bowls are won with great defense and strong running
games…Shawne Merriman should sit the season out because our LB depth
is solid. The CRO is back and the Chargers secondary gives nightmares
to opposing QBs…The schedule looks good too. INDY and the PATS have
to come to Qualcomm in 2008, and 5 of our last 8 games are at Home as
well. I’m hoping for 12-4, but Chargers fans won’t rest until we can
win a Super Bowl.

(Edited 09/03/08 5:46PM by RenegadeLG)
On what kind of paper is San Diego the third best team in the AFC?
Considering their best player on either side of the ball is one
misstep from catastrophic injury, the fact that LT isn’t completely
healthy himself, and above all the fact that their Quaterback is one
of the most combustible morons in the game – the paper on which
they’re so highly touted must be of the toilet variety. I’ll wipe to
that. This article would have looked nice before last season, but
with Beast Mode now only missing one game look for the Chargers to
crash and burn Week 2 and the wheels on the bandwagon to come rolling
off. I hope Ryan Clady goes low on Merriman and does the lights out
dance over his crumpled corpse.

RenegadeLG wrote:
On what kind of paper is San Diego the third best team in the AFC?
Considering their best player on either side of the ball is one
misstep from catastrophic injury, the fact that LT isn’t completely
healthy himself, and above all the fact that their Quaterback is one
of the most combustible morons in the game – the paper on which
they’re so highly touted must be of the toilet variety. I’ll wipe to
that. This article would have looked nice before last season, but
with Beast Mode now only missing one game look for the Chargers to
crash and burn Week 2 and the wheels on the bandwagon to come rolling
off. I hope Ryan Clady goes low on Merriman and does the lights out
dance over his crumpled corpse.

They have to be the 4th at the worst in the AFC. The only teams that
look better are the Pats, Colts, and Jaguars.

(Edited 09/03/08 5:50PM by RenegadeLG) MrNFL wrote:
They have to be the 4th at the worst in the AFC. The only teams that
look better are the Pats, Colts, and Jaguars.

Preseason predictions in any sport are retarded, but especially so
when they favor a team teetering on a complete meltdown. But if we’re
going to play that game, I’d take Pittsburgh over them, too. I’m not
going to lock myself into a Denver AFC West Championship even though
it’s a much likelier possibility than ESPN and similar misinformed
outlets want to accept (#23? lawlz), but don’t be surprised when
Denver and San Diego’s second matchup decides the division.

RenegadeLG wrote:
Preseason predictions in any sport are retarded, but especially so
when they favor a team teetering on a complete meltdown. But if we’re
going to play that game, I’d take Pittsburgh over them, too. I’m not
going to lock myself into a Denver AFC West Championship even though
it’s a much likelier possibility than ESPN and similar misinformed
outlets want to accept (#23? lawlz), but don’t be surprised when
Denver and San Diego’s second matchup decides the division.

Ben has great ‘escapability’ and it’s not like Mendenhaal was running
behind NFL-caliber O-Lineman in college. He creates on the fly. And
yes, that matters, because he will be the feature back fairly early
on. You’re clearly banking on another ESPN-headed myth that losing
Alan Faneca is going to destroy that offense. Alan Faneca was a nice
addition for the Jets, but he’s now on the decline side of the
proverbial hill and it was smart of the Steelers to let him go.
Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth are two of the best blocking TEs in the
game, they will supplement the bookends just fine. Pittsburgh’s
lethal schedule will be their biggest detriment, but yeah – on paper –
I like them a lot better than the Chargers. So does anybody that
subscribes to the fact that there isn’t a more important position than
Quarterback. Big Ben is world’s ahead of Phillip Rivers, and PIT’s QB
on defense, Polamalu, is a lot more likely to contribute than SD’s QB
of D who is working on 1.5 legs at best.

(Edited 09/03/08 6:12PM by RenegadeLG)
And who are these mythical weapons on defense besides Castillo? Their
defense sucks and the guys that do make plays do so because everybody
is keying on Merriman. There’s also that whole deal with having the
worst corps of receivers in the game. Even if you want to count Gates
as a receiver, he’s hobbled. LOSING MICHAEL TURN WAS HUGE. Darren
Sproles is going to get stepped on eventually. Nate Kaeding is a choke
artist. Etc. Etc. They’re swiss cheese.

RenegadeLG wrote:
Ben has great ‘escapability’ and it’s not like Mendenhaal was running
behind NFL-caliber O-Lineman in college. He creates on the fly. And
yes, that matters, because he will be the feature back fairly early
on. You’re clearly banking on another ESPN-headed myth that losing
Alan Faneca is going to destroy that offense. Alan Faneca was a nice
addition for the Jets, but he’s now on the decline side of the
proverbial hill and it was smart of the Steelers to let him go.
Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth are two of the best blocking TEs in the
game, they will supplement the bookends just fine. Pittsburgh’s
lethal schedule will be their biggest detriment, but yeah – on paper –
I like them a lot better than the Chargers. So does anybody that
subscribes to the fact that there isn’t a more important position than
Quarterback. Big Ben is world’s ahead of Phillip Rivers, and PIT’s QB
on defense, Polamalu, is a lot more likely to contribute than SD’s QB
of D who is working on 1.5 legs at best.

How is that an ESPN myth, ESPN would have to first pay attention to
offensive lineman. That line was AWFUL WITH one of the best lineman in
football, and they didn’t do ANYTHING to improve that line. They’ll
give up over 50 sacks again, and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if that
leads to injury issues. And remember, the Quarterback is only as
good as the guys around him, and the line is the most important of
those guys. The Chargers have a very good line, the Steelers line is
terrible. The Steelers have a better D, and better skill positions,
but that line, and a tougher schedule hurts the Steelers a lot.

RenegadeLG wrote:
And who are these mythical weapons on defense besides Castillo? Their
defense sucks and the guys that do make plays do so because everybody
is keying on Merriman. There’s also that whole deal with having the
worst corps of receivers in the game. Even if you want to count Gates
as a receiver, he’s hobbled. LOSING MICHAEL TURN WAS HUGE. Darren
Sproles is going to get stepped on eventually. Nate Kaeding is a choke
artist. Etc. Etc. They’re swiss cheese.

Jamal Williams is the best nose tackle in football, and they have a
strong secondary. The Steelers do have a better defense, and the
Chargers in NO WAY have the worst receivers in football. Titans and
Dolphins are FAR worse. And I think Turner is highly over-rated,
he’s not even the best back in Atlanta.

RenegadeLG wrote:
On what kind of paper is San Diego the third best team in the AFC?
Considering their best player on either side of the ball is one
misstep from catastrophic injury, the fact that LT isn’t completely
healthy himself, and above all the fact that their Quaterback is one
of the most combustible morons in the game – the paper on which
they’re so highly touted must be of the toilet variety. I’ll wipe to
that. This article would have looked nice before last season, but
with Beast Mode now only missing one game look for the Chargers to
crash and burn Week 2 and the wheels on the bandwagon to come rolling
off. I hope Ryan Clady goes low on Merriman and does the lights out
dance over his crumpled corpse.

Still bitter about having your QB called a “Big Baby” I see…1st of
all, the best player on either side of the ball is not “Lights
Out”…The Chargers best player is without a doubt LT and it could
quite possibly be Antonio Gates. The Chargers have so much depth at
LB, so Merriman’s Injury will only hurt himself. Stephen Cooper and
Matt Wilhelm are 2 guys who can dominate the Mid-LB area. Shaun
Phillips is just a machine at the OLB, and the hardest hitter on the
Chargers D may just be LB Brandon Siler. The guy is 6′ 2” 240lbs and
has been playing on Special Teams cracking heads waiting for his
opportunity. How would this article have looked if it was written on
XMAS EVE 2007 after the Chargers spanked the Broncos for the 2nd time
with a 2-game composite score of 64-6? Do you really think Jay Cutler
will have figured it out by Sept 14? Bring Ryan Clady’s B.S. to
“Light’sOut”…All day, All Day….

Whoever wrote this article is funny. Al Davis doesn’t play on the
field, but he can tell people to fumble, break legs, and even call his
own team stupid. Not even close. What makes or breaks a team, is what
they do on the field. Find it funny that this guy thinks the Raiders
will only win 4 games this year, considering they’re playing the 3rd
easiest schedule. And of this year’s opponents, the Raiders Split with
the Broncos and Chiefs, then beat up on a punchless Dolphins team. Go
look up the schedule. Oakland’s only real competition is going to be
the Pats, the Chargers, maybe the Jets, but doubtful, and maybe Tampa,
if they’re not resting the starters. Lastly, banking on Denver to win
because they have Shanahan, is like saying the Raiders will lose
because Al Davis is in charge. Shanahan was there last year too, and
since 1999, they’ve been flat. Half the time, knocked out in the first
round of the playoffs, other half, didn’t make it at all. One time,
they broke through against the Pats, only to lose the next round….no
hope there. Lastly, chargers. Same problem, running away from
history. When Merriman goes out with his leg injury, be sure to thank
Norv Turner for it.

RenegadeLG wrote:
Preseason predictions in any sport are retarded, but especially so
when they favor a team teetering on a complete meltdown. But if we’re
going to play that game, I’d take Pittsburgh over them, too. I’m not
going to lock myself into a Denver AFC West Championship even though
it’s a much likelier possibility than ESPN and similar misinformed
outlets want to accept (#23? lawlz), but don’t be surprised when
Denver and San Diego’s second matchup decides the division.

Preseason predictions are just that…Predictions. You said, “I’m not
going to lock myself into a Denver AFC West Championship blah blah
blah but it’s a much likelier possibility than ESPN blah blah blah.”
That my friend is a PREDICTION. If you think Week 2 will decide the
Division, then I can’t really help you with that one…I do know that
Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey teamed up will be a scary sight for opposing
QB’s, and I do know that Brandon Marshall is a “Phenom” who I would
love to have on the Chargers. But, there will be no “Meltdown” in SD.
In Chargers land we already know how it feels to be “Heavily Favored”
only to lose when it counts. 12-4 in 2004 didn’t win the Super Bowl,
and neither did 14-2 in 2006. Heck, last year we were 11-5 and just
about snuck our way into the Super Bowl. Maybe it would be better if
the Chargers went 10-6 because they play better as the “Underdogs”…
I know it wasn’t fun for you watching Clinton Hart body slam your boy
Cutler on the Safety Blitz XMAS EVE…You guys will be back in
Qualcomm around XMAS time again this season, so you better get that
wish-list letter out to SANTA CLAUS as soon as possible…

Actually, Dre Bly is terrible, so the fact that you don’t follow the
team too closely makes me worry less about your prediction. I said
their SECOND MATCHUP would decide the division, not week 2. Although
San Diego will start the season 0-2. The Padres suck. You don’t have
much to cheer for down there, at least professionally. For that reason
I want to just let it go and let you live in denial. I’ve never known
what it is to live in a city with not a single competitive team, and I
know you don’t want to go back to that place. Good luck either way.
BTW, Phillip Rivers calling anybody a baby is sofa king hilarious.
That guy is an inbred douche.

scottraven wrote:
Whoever wrote this article is funny. Al Davis doesn’t play on the
field, but he can tell people to fumble, break legs, and even call his
own team stupid. Not even close. What makes or breaks a team, is what
they do on the field. Find it funny that this guy thinks the Raiders
will only win 4 games this year, considering they’re playing the 3rd
easiest schedule. And of this year’s opponents, the Raiders Split with
the Broncos and Chiefs, then beat up on a punchless Dolphins team. Go
look up the schedule. Oakland’s only real competition is going to be
the Pats, the Chargers, maybe the Jets, but doubtful, and maybe Tampa,
if they’re not resting the starters. Lastly, banking on Denver to win
because they have Shanahan, is like saying the Raiders will lose
because Al Davis is in charge. Shanahan was there last year too, and
since 1999, they’ve been flat. Half the time, knocked out in the first
round of the playoffs, other half, didn’t make it at all. One time,
they broke through against the Pats, only to lose the next round….no
hope there. Lastly, chargers. Same problem, running away from
history. When Merriman goes out with his leg injury, be sure to thank
Norv Turner for it.

Wake me up when the Raiders win more than 5 games. The team is
pathetic. Let’s just do what you suggested and check their schedule
which is supposedly so “easy.” They play their divisional rivals 6
times obviously, and they’re guaranteed to lose at least 4 of them.
They might split with the Broncos and Chiefs, but 2-4 is the best
they’ll do in their own division. They don’t have a rats chance in
hell against the Bucs, Pats, and Saints outside of their division.
With Favre leading the Jets, they’ll most likely lose that game too
because while they’re just as bad, having Favre gives them the ability
to beat a team as crummy as they are, a la your Raiders. They’re just
as bad as Baltimore, so that game is a toss up. Miami falls into the
same boat as Baltimore, as does Atlanta. They’ll lose to Carolina too
along with Houston and Buffalo, who aren’t incredible teams by any
means, but are still much better than the Raiders. That’s 11
guaranteed losses, maybe 2 wins in the division, and 3 games that
could go either way. They’re 5-11 at best.

Raiders splitting with the Broncos? Maybe if Curry has 8 more of those
58-inch vertical snow catches.

Al davis oakland raiders’s coach week game

Jason Taylor won’t be Dancing with the Stars or sacking for the
Redskins this week. The Pro Bowl defensive end is out after having
emergency…

WASHINGTON — Jason Taylor won’t be Dancing with the Stars or
sacking for the Redskins this week.

The Pro Bowl defensive end is out after having emergency surgery
Monday to drain a pocket of blood from his left calf, leaving
Washington to shuffle its defensive line for Sunday’s game against the
unbeaten Dallas Cowboys.

Taylor, who was inadvertently kicked in Washington’s 24-17 victory
over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, underwent a 20-minute procedure
at a Northern Virginia hospital, coach Jim Zorn said, and was released
in the afternoon.

“They went in and cut open that portion where the blood was pooling
and released that pressure. As soon as it released, the muscle went
back down to normal,” Zorn said. “They closed it back up, and he’s
going to be fine. Our problem is he’s going to be out for this Dallas
game, for sure. I can’t tell you beyond that.”

Taylor, who deflected three of quarterback Kurt Warner’s passes at the
line of scrimmage against Arizona, had his calf wrapped and played the
rest of the game after being kicked. “Later on that night it started
getting more sore,” Zorn said. “He started feeling a little bit [of
numbness] in his ankle.”

Special-teams standout Khary Campbell sat out the 29-24 victory over
the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 after he had blood drained from his
thigh with a needle. Taylor’s recovery could take more than a week
because “they had to open it up” with surgery, Zorn said.

Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin went over the injury report and his
team’s 24-23 loss to Buffalo before the questions predictably turned
to his shaky job status amid more reports his firing as coach was
imminent.

“This seems to be a common question here every day,” Kiffin said
Monday. “I’m going to kind of put it this way: Until I am told by Al
Davis that I’m not the head coach here anymore, we’re going to keep
plugging away the same way we have been.”

Kiffin, who said he has not talked to Davis since before the team’s
season-opening game Sept. 8, is maintaining some gallows humor.

“How about when you go for a jog yesterday and you feel like it’s
paparazzi because the TV cameras are following you and they’re asking
you if you’re still the coach of the Raiders,” Kiffin said. “I felt
like Brad Pitt.”

New England suffered its worst home loss in 10 years Sunday —
38-13 to the winless Miami Dolphins — but Patriots cornerback
Ellis Hobbs was amazed to hear the home fans booing as the teams left
the field for halftime.

“It amazes me how people react,” Hobbs said. “You would think that
this organization hasn’t won as much as they have and been successful
in the years that they have, and it’s a testament to how spoiled they
are where expectations are that high that we’re not allowed a bad
game.”

Detroit Lions vice chairman Bill Ford — son of owner William
Clay Ford — essentially said he’d fire team president Matt
Millen if it was his call.

“I think the fans deserve better,” Bill Ford said Monday, “and if it
were in my authority, which it’s not, I’d make some significant
changes.”

Asked by a reporter if he believed Millen should leave the team, Ford
said, “Yes, I do.”

Not that it’s a novel idea. The Lions are 0-3 and have the NFL’s worst
record (31-84) since Millen took over in 2001.

• Green Bay Packers CB Al Harris underwent additional medical
tests Monday amid a report he might have ruptured his spleen in
Sunday’s loss to Dallas. The National Football Post, a Web site that
lists Harris’ agent as a contributor, reported that the injury could
end Harris’ season but that Harris was seeking a second opinion.

• New Orleans TE Jeremy Shockey is expected to be out 3 to 6
weeks because of a sports hernia. Shockey is scheduled to have surgery
this week.

• Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel said backup QB Brady
Quinn will get increased first-team reps this week and, if necessary,
could replace struggling quarterback Derek Anderson on Sunday.

• Buffalo starting FB Darian Barnes will have tests on his
injured right foot, leaving his status uncertain. Bills coach Dick
Jauron didn’t discuss the nature of the injury.

• Pomona (Calif.) Superior Court officials say former NFL kicker
Tony Zendejas has pleaded not guilty to charges that he drugged a
woman at his Southern California sports bar and raped her.

The al davis oakland raiders raiders afl book

Al’s Wingman looks at a new book written about the Raiders’ history is
left quite disappointed with the project.

I’ve been reading a book called Pride & Poise: The Oakland Raiders of
the American Football League by James McCullough. I was hoping for a
few things out of this book.

First, a real sense of the history of what went on in the Raiders
organization from its inception in 1960 through Super Bowl II (the
1967 season was the Raiders’ first Super Bowl appearance).

I was also interested in details about players, coaches, management,
and how the organization developed the way they did. What this book
turns out to be though is a compilation of news articles from the era.
There is no commentary by the author at all or so it seems that way.
In fact I think it would inaccurate to call James McCullough an author
and I don’t think he would disagree.

The way he describes himself, he seems like Joe Raiders fan. Just
another guy in the stands wearing a jersey. He admits, somewhere on ,
that he is not a writer, he’s just a guy interested in the Raiders’
history, so he did a little digging. The tip off is the book literally
reads like newspapers from the 1960s, with all the antiquated lingo
intact. This is really obvious. I don’t understand why the guy did not
simply state this was his intention from the very start. You know,
like actually write an introduction.

What is even more awful is we don’t know what newspapers the
information comes from or when. Commentary just streams forth as one
continuous fragmented tale. There are no footnotes or bibliography
either. It would have been nice to know the sources of material James
has compiled but hey, I guess that would be considered a luxury unfit
for the blue collar Raider Nation. Though, to his credit, without
James doing the legwork and sifting through microfilm at local
libraries, all of this information would still be buried. The Raiders
organization has never made an effort to detail their history. It’s
just a few statements here and there, with no real details of the
games other than the big ones like Super Bowl II.

There was so much more going on than what the press caught wind of.
Any time you are dealing with teams, leagues, and games, you are
supposed to get stories. We get a lot of details in the book on who
scored and how, but there’s no sense of what any of the players
experienced.

You have lesser-known Raiders, such as Wayne Hawkins and Cotton
Davidson, but no clue what their real contributions are, aside from
game commentary. The Raiders’ main skill-players were RB Clem Daniels
and WR Art Powell, two guys that really deserve a lot more visibility
in Raiders lore, who battled through Jim Crow and really produced big
on the field.

You can be sure the Raiders would have lost a lot more without Clem
and Art. As an interesting side note, Clem is still a respected public
figure in the city of Oakland and owns a Raiders-themed bar that
hardly anyone even knows about (it’s called The End Zone located at
1466 High Street, Oakland, CA). So, what the book amounts to is not
coming close to the potential a project like this could have
been—unfortunately. This cartoon is from a game program of the
black and gold Oakland Raiders taking on the L.A. Chargers.

This would had to have been sometime from 1960 to 1962 since the
Raiders changed to silver and black in 1963. The book does delve a bit
into the impact Al (or Allen, as he was referred to in 1963) Davis had
on the franchise. Al is given all the credit for turning things around
for the moribund Oakland Raider franchise.

He had worked his way up from various collegiate coaching jobs, much
like anyone would do in the profession today.

He started off at the bottom and ultimately got his shot in the pros
with Los Angeles, where he caught on as a receivers coach with the AFL
Chargers before landing the head job with Oakland.

In those days, pro football was nowhere near the big production it is
today. It was a lot easier to get involved if you could handle the
physicality of the sport and gained experience.

Al loved the action and was an excellent coach. His big skill was in
teaching the game. In fact, Al wrote articles for publication. Al the
football scholar was quite an impressive young lad in the AFL era,
both as a coach and then rising in rank to AFL commissioner and then
managing general partner of the Raiders, as we all know. Even though
Al was not athletic, he had a passion for the game that, as the
football nation would learn, was unrivaled by most. However, for
accuracy sake, let’s deconstruct the myth of Al Davis being the guy
who set the precedent for bringing along the black athlete in pro
football. That was an AFL idea from the very start (1960), since the
NFL was slow to accept the black athlete.

Al was not part of AFL management in 1960, and he neither thought of
the idea first (recruiting black athletes in an era of Jim Crow) nor
implemented it first. He liked the idea obviously because he utilized
it, but he had nothing to do with it’s inception. That’s a fact. Next,
there is a myth that Al was somehow the originator of the idea for AFL
teams to play NFL teams in a Super Bowl. In 1961, Barron Hilton, then
owner of the L.A. Chargers, challenged the NFL to a championship game.
That’s where the idea came from.

The NFL looked down on the AFL in a big way and could not be bothered
with the proposal though. Anyway, the Chargers had not beaten AFL
champs Houston in 1960 and were destined to lose again to them in the
1961 AFL championship. The AFL was quite a cast of characters, which
ultimately gave the league some legs. It must have been a grueling
experience to be part of the Raiders in their the first few years, but
things did turn around with Al’s imprinting the pride and poise mantra
on the franchise for the next 40-something years.

I’d like to ask Al’s Wingman to produce some proof for his statement
that the AFL-NFL title game came from Barron Hilton. Just because, the
Chargers were only in LA in 1960, not 1961. Also, as such, while one
person or another might have flipped out the idea, who did the real
footwork? Owners like Davis, Hunt, and others.

It’s in David Harris’s book Inside the NFL. I do not have the exact
page and it is lengthy book, well worth a full read though if you are
not familiar with it.

The AFL was mostly Lamar Hunt in the beginning. Al did plenty of AFL
legwork, I never said otherwise.

sounds good, i’ll have a read up on it. I know for one thing, the NFL
didn’t even consider us a threat, or would give us the chance to
compete directly with them, until we started using tactics, like
taking teams’ QBs, offering good contracts….nothing drives teams to
negotiate faster than a threat of loss.

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The al davis oakland raiders raiders 49ers offense

It’s time to launch another NFL season, or as we like to call it in
Northern California, “Thumped By Thanksgiving.”

Let’s store into the closet the eight dusty Lombardi trophies, the
combined collection of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland
Raiders. Right now, they are as relevant as yesterday’s weather
report.

Let’s also file all those hoary slogans about commitment to whatever
and the endless spin about improve-

ment. Until these franchises rise out of their funk and show something
more than punts and field goals, they will be known as thus:

Howl at the moon, throw darts at the messenger or just sink deeper
into your easy chair. The 49ers and the Raiders are what they are —
two football companies wandering in the NFL wilderness.

Expectations and predictions have been reduced to one huge moot point.
After all, what’s the worth of improvement from 2-14 to 4-12, the
Raiders’ result in 2007? If you downsize from 7-9 to 5-11, like the
49ers did last season, what is your direction when you’ve taken your
most important player — quarterback Alex Smith — and basically
ruined him?

All we can project this season is more exciting offense, a fairly safe
observation. After that, you’re on your own. We’ve been conditioned
for failure, so anything above an unforced fumble is a plus.

The 49ers begin today against Arizona, followed by the Raiders hosting
Denver on Monday night, and from here on, it’s a “show me” world.

Because what they’ve shown lately is big-league lame. The numbers
since the 2002 season leave no argument.

The Raiders, after losing to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl, are 19-61,
the NFL’s worst record. The 49ers, during the same time span, are
25-55, next-to-worst. Both teams have deserved their fate — unstable
or sub-average coaching, bad drafts, misdirected ownership, etc.

The Raiders have positioned themselves for an upgrade via running back
Darren McFadden and quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The quick
development of McFadden, contrasting with Russell’s holdout absence
last year, will help the Raiders.

Across the bay, new offensive coordinator Mike Martz — the 49ers’
sixth OC in as many seasons — might rescue an offense that last year
bordered on unwatchable. The surprise was quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan,
a 29-year-old journeyman, beating out both Smith and Shaun Hill.

O’Sullivan starts today only because he worked with Martz in Detroit
last year and is more comfortable with his offense. The ex-UC Davis
Aggie, unlike Smith, will be bolstered by the 49ers’ first serious
talent at receiver in years.

Better offense aside, both teams are saddled with the same major
problem — uncertainty at head coach. Put bluntly, the seats occupied
by the Raiders’ Lane Kiffin and the 49ers’ Mike Nolan are hotter than
Modesto asphalt at 4 p.m. Both franchises will languish until these
issues are addressed.

Owner Al Davis overruled Kiffin’s dismissal of defensive coordinator
Rob Ryan last winter. Kiffin then refused to sign a letter of
resignation from Davis. The coach basically said, “Fire me and pay me
$4 million, because I’m going nowhere.” Davis blinked, but now he’s
stuck with a coach he likes slightly less than a root canal.

Kiffin’s presence on the Raiders’ sideline, given the toxic
environment, continues the soap opera. Will McFadden’s breakaway speed
and a few wins wash away this mess? Stay tuned. One encouraging, if
costly, sign is the Raiders’ forking over $224 million for McFadden
and three other starters. Regardless how you think about the Raiders,
they’re always trying to win NOW.

Nolan has exhausted all patience due to three factors: 1. His team’s
16-32 record; 2. his careless handling of Smith both on and off the
field; and, 3. his grammar-school game management. Worse for him, his
potential replacement — Martz — calls the plays on offense.

The 49ers believe a defense keyed by linebacker Patrick Willis, merged
with a more productive offense, will correct their course. Again,
we’re waiting.

Fundamentally poor judgment has plunged both Bay Area commodities to
the bottom — the Raiders’ chasing away Jon Gruden after the 2001
season, and the 49ers’ firing of Steve Mariucci a year later after an
NFC West title and a playoff win. Not surprisingly, they’re still
groping for traction.

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The al davis oakland raiders stadium raiders oakland

(09-07) 16:43 PDT — With three seasons to go on their lease at the
Coliseum, the Oakland Raiders are once again putting the team’s future
in play.

This time around, the team wants locals to turn the area around the
Coliseum into a full-fledged retail and entertainment district –
complete with a new, football-only stadium.

“We need to find a way to revitalize the area,” Raiders chief
executive Amy Trask said on the eve of the team’s season opener Monday
night in Oakland against the Denver Broncos.

“What we have suggested is not just a stadium, but something to bring
business enterprise and activity to a part of the community that needs
it,” Trask said.

The team’s call for a new home comes just as the Oakland A’s, who
share the stadium with the Raiders, are laying tracks for a move to
Fremont.

The Raiders want Oakland and Alameda County – which are still on the
hook to the tune of $22 million a year for the 1995 rebuild of the
stadium and subsequent makeover of the Coliseum arena – to help
finance the dream plan.

“Our job is to try to put together a deal so the Raiders will stay,”
said Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, who chairs
the city-county Coliseum Authority and was heavily involved in the
team’s return from Los Angeles 13 years ago. “We are having good
discussions, and that’s as far as I’m going to go.”

Experts say the team has little chance of returning anytime soon to
L.A. or finding a new home in oft-mentioned Las Vegas or San Antonio,
Texas.

The Raiders have floated the idea of a move through the Caldecott
Tunnel to Dublin – or even sharing a new stadium with the 49ers – but
with little effect.

Hence, with their lease winding down – and the city and county already
agreeing to extend the A’s contract at the Coliseum for up to three
years, through 2013 – Al Davis& Co. appear determined to play the hand
they’ve been dealt.

Meanwhile:In the South Bay, the future of the 49ers’ plans for a
stadium next to the Great America amusement park still hangs in the
air – with no quick resolution in sight.

Hopes for a November ballot initiative in Santa Clara to help finance
an $800 million stadium there faded after the city and 49ers failed to
meet a July deadline for putting a deal together.

So far, Cedar Fair, which owns Great America, has resisted offers by
the Niners to allow a stadium to be built on the amusement park’s
parking lot, or even on a neighboring overflow lot.

If a deal can’t be reached, the 49ers have said they may be willing to
buy Great America from the company, which leases the amusement park
site from the city. But the question is, at what cost?

Cedar Fair reportedly has pegged the park’s value at upward of $110
million – well above what the Niners say it’s worth.

In the meantime, the folks at Great America say they have something
other than football on their minds this fall – they’re turning the
place into a haunted theme park, complete with monsters in the midway,
just in time for Halloween.

Here she comes:With their convention behind them, Republicans already
have their new celebrity VP pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, prospecting
for California’s gold.

She’ll be the star of a $1,000- to $40,800-a-head fundraiser luncheon
Sept. 25 at the Woodside home of software and technology mogul Tom
Siebeland his wife, Stacey.(Yes, he’s a cousin of Gavin Newsom’sbride,
Jennifer Siebel.)

The invite, which is already in the mail, lists the hosts as none
other than former U.S. ambassador to France and San Francisco resident
Howard Leachand his wife, Gretchen.

Budget update:When it comes to going around in circles, you would be
hard-pressed to beat the “budget talks” in Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’soffice.

Democrats are adamant that the answer is more taxes and cuts.
Republicans are just as adamant that the answer is even more cuts and
borrowing.

“You know, we could be here until October,” Assembly Republican leader
Mike Villinesof Clovis (Fresno County) reportedly told the governor
during one impasse.

Mrs. D:It shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that Oakland Mayor Ron
Dellums’wife has become a force in his office.

The fact is, ever since Dellums took over in 2007, wife Cynthia has
been playing gatekeeper in both his professional and personal life.

Even old friends have to go through Cynthia Dellums to get to the
mayor – and that includes when they are just calling on the phone to
say hello.

Bow-wow-wow:The Glen Park growler – the guy we told you about
Wednesday who tried to bite a woman on the thigh as she was walking by
– has been popped.

Jake Lewis Dues, 21, was picked up in Golden Gate Park the other
evening after sneaking up on a 32-year-old Richmond District woman as
she was going home from a run, police said.

According to officers, Dues walked up behind the woman and tried to
touch her thigh. She screamed. He scampered. The cops were called and
he was caught, allegedly confessed to sex crimes Inspector Rod
Nakanishi,and now faces attempted sexual battery charges.

Play the John McCainand Bristol Palincaption contest. Pick the week’s
biggest storm. And read the Extra, Extra, Extra musings and insights
of friends including Rich “Big Vinny” Liebermanand The Chronicle’s
Carla Marinucciand Don”Bad Reporter” Asmussen.

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays,
Mondays and Wednesdays. Phil can be seen on CBS 5-TV’s morning and
evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday
at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail .

Not many homes in Northern California have basements that area under
the main floor, below ground level, that builders leave…

In a Union City factory that twists out 150,000 pounds of Red Vines
licorice a day, plant manager John Nelson is betting that…

The al davis oakland raiders ball game times

: After the first two weeks of the season, the Oakland Raiders have
had few problems running the ball, gaining 300 yards in a single game
on the ground.

With a quarterback who had only one career start heading into the
season, an offensive line full of question marks and an unproven group
of receivers that has had difficulty getting open, the Raiders have
been unable to move the ball consistently through the air so far this
season.

“I couldn’t tell you right now that we could go out and win a game
throwing the ball all around,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “We haven’t
been able to show that even in preseason when we tried to at times.
We’ll continue to work on it and find ways to manufacture yards in the
passing game.”

That could be especially important this week against a Buffalo team
that has proven to be stout against the run and figures to stack the
line even more than usual because of Oakland’s struggles with the
pass.

With starting running back Justin Fargas questionable because of a
groin injury and heralded rookie Darren McFadden nursing a turf toe
injury, the Raiders don’t figure to be as strong on the ground. That
could put additional pressure on quarterback JaMarcus Russell and his
receivers.

Russell is just 23-for-43 for 235 yards in two games this season, with
most of his success coming late in a blowout loss to Denver in the
opener.

“It’s not that we’re not a passing team because we don’t want to be.
We’d love to be. I’d love to throw the ball all the time,” Kiffin
said. “That’s not a situation we’re in right now. … I’d love to
throw the ball all over the place. You can move it a lot faster by
throwing it than you can by running it. That’s not where we are right
now with the development of our offense. I just don’t think that puts
us in the best position to win.”

In last week’s 23-8 victory over Kansas City, the Raiders ran the ball
47 times for 300 yards in their biggest rushing game in 21 years.
Russell threw the ball just 17 times, completing only six passes in
the victory. Since the merger in 1970, the Raiders have completed
fewer passes in a game just seven times.

While Russell admits he’d like to throw the ball more often, he
understands that the end result is most important.

“If I have to go out there and hand off 100 times in a game and we
win, I’ll hand off 101 times,” he said. “No matter what it is to win
that game, I’m going to be that team player and go out there and help
out.”

Most of Russell’s passes so far have been to his backs and tight ends.
Tight end Zach Miller is the team’s leading receiver with six catches
and the running backs have combined for nine.

Russell has thrown 25 passes to his wide receivers so far this season,
according to numbers compiled by Stats LLC. Only eight of those have
been completed for a total of 95 yards.

The play at receiver has been an issue for Oakland since the start of
training camp. It only got worse when Drew Carter went down with a
season-ending knee injury in the exhibition season.

Javon Walker, who signed a $55 million contract in the offseason to be
the No. 1 receiver, came into the offseason workouts out of shape and
then had another setback when he was beaten up during a robbery in Las
Vegas in June. He contemplated retiring during training camp but was
talked out of it by owner Al Davis.

Walker missed the opener with an injured hamstring and played only
briefly last week because of the injury, not having a single ball
thrown his way. He has been slowed again this week in practice and his
status for the game against the Bills is unknown.

“Usually, I’ve got a loud mouth about that but I’ve been pretty
quiet,” Walker said. “When I go home I see all the receivers who I
know and who I played against and see all the balls they’re catching,
kind of get to the point where you can’t wait to get back on the same
page as what they’re doing. You look at them, they’re all teams that
have been together and jelled together for a couple years now. So
eventually, looking at this team and the talent we have, we’re going
to be like that in no time.”

Senator Joe Biden’s tendency to go too far and the hazards of debating
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Residents talk about their morning routine in Tian Tan Park, both an
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Iraqi fencers practice their sport, discuss life in a war zone and
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Al davis oakland raiders’s al raiders he’s

In The Princess Bride, Westley only had to make it through the Fire
Swamp once. But San Jose Mercury reporter Tim Kawakami has to brave
the danger that is the Oakland Raiders’ Alameda headquarters on a
regular basis, and that’s much, much worse. It’s not an easy job, but
it’s never boring. By now you’ve probably seen the video of , which
has become a viral superstar in the few short hours it’s been up
today. Herrera offering to punch Kawakami, and the reporter replying
that he’d “love to own a piece of the franchise” has become the quote
of the month so far.

But what was it actually like to be in the eye of the NFL’s most
dysfunctional hurricane? When will Lane Kiffin actually be fired? And
most importantly, just when does Al Davis arrive for work each day? I
talked with Kawakami about all of this — turns out he lives just
down the feeway from me — and more. Let’s talk silver and black
and blue, after the jump.

Tim Kawakami: Not really. But things are not going well with the
organization. They have a head coach they don’t like, and tensions are
high. (Raiders front office personnel) are thinking about their
loyalty to Al, so tempers are on edge. They can’t yell at Lane Kiffin,
so they yell at me. It’s not surprising. But although I wasn’t
shocked, something of this nature rarely happens. You can never really
be prepared for it.”

I wrote a column describing how a Raiders official distributed printed
copies of an ESPN.com article critical of Kiffin to the press, and the
question I asked Kiffin at the press conference centered around that.
That’s when Herrera interrupted and began yelling. I didn’t mention
Herrera’s name in the article, but I will now. Since he started
yelling in front of five cameras, I guess it”s OK to have it out
there. And he did distribute it. Others blogged about it before I ever
wrote it.

Not at all. You can see in the video that he has this look on his face
that seems to be saying, ‘See? Look everybody, this is what I have to
put up with here every day.’ In fact, Lane called me today to
apologize for what happened. But I told him that I don’t need an
apology, and certainly not from him, who had nothing to do with it.

Not angry at all, and you can see that on the video, I think. It was
like it was in slow motion, like I was in the middle of a hurricane. I
was trying to be calm. The video is out there for everyone to see and
judge for themselves.

Kind of crazy. I have to say that there are certain members of Raiders
Nation who are not happy with me right now. Al Davis loyalists will
support him to the bitter end. And hey, I salute Al. I don’t agree
with a lot of his decisions, but I’ve said before that he’s
accomplished more in his life than I ever will, and that’s a fact. But
a lot of people have written in support of the way I handled myself.
Some Raiders fans have said that they were embarrassed over what
happened.

Al’s still a sharp guy, and he knows football, but the energy level
just isn’t there the way it used to be. Things don’t go at a normal
speed at Raiders headquarters. Al wants to fire him, but at the same
time he has to figure out what to do afterward, and he’s not ready for
that yet. He’s got to hire someone else, and that’s not an easy thing
to do when you don’t get to work before 4:30 p.m. each day.

No one’s ever seen him at the office before then. I KNOW that he’s not
there in the mornings. So he may sit at home and plot his moves until
3 a.m., because he’s a night owl, but at home there’s no one to talk
to about it. Things get done when you’re in the office in the morning
working the phones, and that’s hard to do on Al’s schedule. By the
time he gets in, the day is over.

Al knows football. But he’s also paranoid; he’s into conspiracy
theories about himself. He was that way when he was 40, but even more
so now. And the ability to think around that gets harder as he gets
older, so that effects his judgment. Also, he used to have people
around him who were good at public relations. Guys like Bruce Allen,
who were there during the Gruden years. Allen was a real people person
and could help Al deal with the outside world. But Bruce is gone now.
Al has absolutely no one around him who is good in dealing with
people. It’s just Al in the darkness now.

Do you know the Deng Xiaoping story? That’s the infamous one, I guess.
It was at the press conference announcing the hiring of Kiffin.
Afterwards I was talking to Al, and remarked that I thought it was a
strange hire, given that Kiffin was so young and had no head coaching
experience. Al didn’t like that, and said: ‘I’ll bet you don’t even
know who Deng Xiaoping was.’ I was like, what? What does that have to
do with anything? Al pressed it. ‘Who is Deng Xiaoping?’ So I thought
for a minute, and said, ‘Well, if I’m not mistaken, wasn’t he the
General Secretary of the Chinese government during the Tiananmen
Square massacre?’ And Al repiles, ‘But what can you tell me about him
other than that? See? You don’t even know anything about your own
culture.’ I said, ‘Al, I’m Japanese-American, not Chinese.’ And Al
said, ‘Ohh, geez. I bet you’re going to kill me on that now.’ It all
happened in front of about 20 reporters, so I didn’t have to.

Well, I’ve covered the Philadelphia Eagles with Buddy Ryan, the Los
Angeles Rams with Chuck Knox, the Lakers, the 49ers, the Warriors, but
nothing’s been like this. Covering the Raiders is like covering
boxing. You just never know what’s going to jump out at you. What
happened Monday just illustrates what’s going on there in vivid
fashion. It’s a peek behind the curtain. You never really know what
you’re going to see.

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The al davis oakland raiders kelly kiffin team

: Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly accepted responsibility
for his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, saying he
made a bad mistake.

“I just take it as lessons learned what not to do,” Kelly said
Wednesday. “I doubt if it will ever happen again, you know what I’m
saying. I just probably didn’t make the right decision. I just
probably should have left my car where it was.”

Kelly went out drinking Sunday night after the Raiders returned from a
road trip to Kansas City. He was booked at Oakland’s Glenn E. Dyer
Detention Facility on Monday and later released.

“We usually have a driver but that night late when I got over there,
that’s when I found out we didn’t have a driver,” he said. ” If I knew
that beforehand, I probably would have got somebody to come pick me up
at the house and we wouldn’t even be talking about this right now.”

Kelly acknowledged that he is under more scrutiny this season after
signing a seven-year contract in the offseason that was worth up to
$50.5 million and included $18.125 million in guaranteed money.

“He just was like, ‘you can’t take that risk,'” Kelly said. “Don’t
even do it. He understood. … It was a dumb decision on my own. If I
could go back I would have probably just left my car at the hotel and
came back and got it the next day.”

Depending on the outcome of the case, Kelly could face punishment from
the NFL. Kiffin said the team would allow the NFL to handle the
discipline.

“He feels bad for the organization and all the fans and the rest of
his team,” Kiffin said. “It’s a mistake for him to learn from and it’s
just a reminder of what we talk about all the time to our team about
making the right decisions. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the right
decision. He’ll learn from it and, hopefully, other guys won’t make
the same mistake.”

Kelly’s arrest was only the latest distraction for the Raiders, who
are also dealing with the speculation about Kiffin’s job security.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that owner Al Davis was on the verge
of firing his second-year coach and no one from the organization has
told Kiffin that those are untrue.

Davis has not made a move yet and Kiffin is preparing the team for its
game Sunday in Buffalo. Kiffin said he has not talked to Davis in two
weeks and does not know what his status is.

“It shows a lot about our group because if you had some different
guys, they could take advantage of the situation, all the stuff in the
media and the paper, all the reports from our front office that
there’s going to be a firing yesterday and today, all that stuff,” he
said. “They could take advantage of that situation. ‘We’re not
listening to you. We’ve been told, according to the paper, from our
front office, that you’re being fired. It’s just a matter of when.’
So, it shows a lot about our guys.”

As the team returned to practice following two days off, Kiffin did
address the topic with his players, telling them to focus only on what
they can control.

“I really don’t pay attention,” Kelly said. “That really is not my
business so I worry about whoever I’m lined up in front of. Because
the business between them, that’s their business. I can’t worry about
that.”

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Raiders coach kiffin in al davis oakland raiders

Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin talks to assistants in the booth during
their 24-23, last-second loss to the Bills at Buffalo on Sunday.

Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin talks to assistants in the booth during
their 24-23, last-second loss to the Bills at Buffalo on Sunday.

Oakland’s young coach is still reporting to work, but he and owner Al
Davis haven’t been speaking, and his firing appears inevitable.

Lane Kiffin might be standing on the plank, but the Oakland Raiders
have yet to ask him to walk it.That’s what the young coach said
Monday, at least, when asked about reports by Fox-

Sports.com and ESPN that he had already been informed by the Raiders
that he will be fired as coach.”I have not been told by Al Davis that
I’m not the head coach, so until he tells me directly we’re going to
keep plugging away,” Kiffin said at his regular news conference.
“There’s so many conversations that go on around here. . . . If we
believe everything that was said around here, we’d be in a lot of
trouble as a team.”The Raiders are coming off a 24-23 defeat at
Buffalo, where they nearly pulled off an upset before their defense
imploded down the stretch. The Bills scored 17 points in the final
eight minutes of the game to overcome 16-7 and 23-14 deficits.

Stay up to the minute about L.A.’s home teams and Olympians. We’ve
already done the search for you.

Britney Spears– pop princess or pop pariah — has listed her Beverly
Hills Post Office home for $7.9 million.

Kiffin team says in al davis oakland raiders

Once again, Lane Kiffin took the podium for the weekly press
conference amid rampant speculation that he was a goner. Kiffin
pointedly kept the press conference on the subject of the Oakland
Raiders rather than his job security. In fact, Kiffin refused to
address any conversations he had with Al Davis. For those keeping
track, Kiffin’s white polo shirt did in fact feature the Raider
shield. Kiffin’s mood appeared subdued, and no fights broke out
between the Raiders’ employees and the writers.

In a line that may be a plea for his job, Kiffin stressed the
importance of finishing. He interrelated the Raiders problems with
finishing on third down and the red zone with their problems finishing
the game. It would not be hard to extrapolate out from there that
finishing the season would be important as well in finishing his .

“If we had finished the drives in the red zone, (In Buffalo and
against the Chargers) we would have been talking about 20 point
leads.”

He was complimentary on the development of JaMarcus Russell, but
seemed like he still had some reservations about him.

“JaMarcus led the team down for the game-tying field goal. Had
Zach (Miller) not slipped it would have been a touchdown to take the
lead.”

“Russell needs to me more deciciving making his decision on
those short yardage plays, he he just pumped and put his head down, it
would have been a touchdown. But young quarterbacks have to learn
these things.”

“He doesn’t run as much because the defenses in the NFL
are a lot faster. There are times when the defenses in the SEC look
like NFL defenses, but they are not the same. There is a big
difference when its Shawn Phillips out there. He is in a lot better
shape than he was at LSU, thats not the problem.”

“With the bye week we are going to break down on film his 99
passing attempts and see what he can do better.”

“The team goes the way of its quarterback, and JaMarcus needs to
improve on his third down and red zone play.”

“Sands played his best game since I have been here by far. Him
being in shape has improved our running game dramaticly.”

“We brought Kalimba Edwards in on more downs, and he played well
on running and passing downs. He played in 56 snaps, the most of any
of our defensive linemen.”

“I didn’t want to ruin the momentum, and give them a
turnover that they could turn into points before the half. He had been
kicking well in practice and had hit from 70 in that direction. If you
look at the tape of when he had the 64 yard attempt against the
Titans, he didn’t even hit the ball well, his foot hit the
ground before he kicked it and the ball still hit half way up the
uprights. We have usual kick coverage guys in, so we were’t
worried about a return against us.”

Overall, Kiffin looked more relaxed than he did in the last press
conference, and was wearing a Raider logo. While, he refused to answer
any questions about discussions between himself and Al Davis, he did
say that there were no new developments.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
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Junior says:
Kiffin confirmed my statements from yesterday. If the offense goes 3
and out and turns the ball over, the defense will get worn down. Our
offense needs to find another gear in order to put away the game.

I am hopeful that since he hasn’t been let go as of today that
Kif will be around for awhile. We need the continuity in order to keep
improving.

Big John says:
I agree with Junior that we are close. Just need to finish those
drives with a TD instead of 3 measly points.

It’s been the same sort of start the first 4 games, BIG return
by Higgins then we settle for 3. Like Kiffin said, if we convert those
TD’s, we woulda been up by 20. And it woulda been
insurmountable.

Kiffin should stay because the squad plays hard for him. We’ll
hopefully fix our problems in time for the Saints. We have two weeks
to prepare for them…Why not get the win?

The Fifth Horseman says:
Hey Patrick, you still sticking to that 10-6 prediction? lmao, when
are you going to finally wake up and realize that the Raiders are a
garbage organization that will always lose? Your team will be NOTHING
until Al Davis is no longer the owner. I think that deep down, you and
every Raider fan knows that, but it pains you to say it. Your owner is
a loser, your team are losers, and your fan base are pathetic
delusional losers. See you in two weeks after New Orleans hands you
your 65th loss in your last 85 games.

Ralph Castro says:
davis in meeting with napp, cable, and hackett individually today you
think this could be a sign

eks says:
if the team is playing hard for kiffin, I can’t possibly see how
a coaching change will be good, especially for the young guy’s.
And kiffins right, they should be 3-1 not 4-0 because he was talking
about the games they actually played well in. Thats what he meant
Elkins. There playing hard and really that’s all what anyone
could ask for given the stage there in. To become a winner, you have
to be able to go through these situations with the same coaches.
Growing pains. Any Raiders fan who criticizes kiffin every time they
play hard but don’t win, then you are’nt really a loyal
fan. Why does everybody wants to fire everybody? Kiffin has about a 80
percent national approval rating. Last time I checked, that’s
good. All you impatient Raider Fans of Al davis’ circle, chill
out. We had enough of your mafia ways. Keep the peace men.

SpokaneOakfan says:
5th Horseman- how’d that KC team that we destroyed treat ya? I
guess the new Cutler went away.

Elk- Is Kiff supposed to say the Raiders were a play or two away from
beating the Broncos? Really?

No way! There are plenty of others in the organization that need to go
before he does!