Hurricane Passing?
By Charles Ybarra
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 4:36 pm in Oakland Raiders.
The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
The rumors of our Head Coach still standing in position over a Monte Burns aka Al Davis trap door?
Hmph, Who Knows???
Leave it to ESPN to get their facts misinterpreted and to send the Nation in an uproar for the time being.
On the other hand, NUMEROUS insiders in the organization and out have claimed there was truth to this past report. Hell, I believed it, the Writers believed it…even you, the noble die hard.
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I do look for quotes in these types of stories from our Coach, Owner and Directors for more validity to the rumors reported before I truly start to believe.
So far, we’re not getting much out of any of the people I need to hear from.
I’m hoping for a press conference..
but I’m no longer expecting one.
I guess the most important quote in the past few days was Lane Kiffin’s answer to the question: “Will you be the Head Coach for the Oakland Raiders next year?”
Lane answered “I hope so.”
To me, that meant he still had a desire to get this team back into the Playoffs..
Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!
Previous reports stated Lane was leaving regardless of any executive decision made.
I also took comfort in hearing from the Oakland Raiders senior executive, John Herrera.
“It’s not an issue. Lane’s the coach. It’s not an issue,” Herrera said. “I think the one accurate thing [Chris Mortensen] said is that James Lofton will be interviewed. He will be as a position coach and he will do it with Lane on Monday because that’s when he gets back from Mobile and the Senior Bowl.”
At the time I read this, a sigh of relief came from yours truly.. (from the mask and all..huuuuuuuaakaaaaaaaaaaahuuuuuakaaa!)
I also read in the paper today:
Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin returned to team headquarters Monday morning on the heels of a series of reports detailing a bitter feud between he and managing general partner Al Davis, with no overt signs of him being on his way out.
Several of the reports, all unattributed, said Davis had stripped Kiffin of all authority over personnel moves and the hiring and firing of assistant coaches. Yet, Kiffin was the primary person interviewing James Lofton for a coaching job for five hours or so.
Kiffin was joined by offensive coordinator Greg Knapp in interviewing Lofton for an unspecified position. Noticeably absent was Davis. He arrived toward the end of the process, but only to exchange greetings with a player who starred for the Raiders in the 1987 and ‘88 seasons.
Whew! Does this mean Hurricane Chris Mortensen has passed?
Hopefully so..
Maybe when the dust is finally settled, we can all concentrate on more important things in our Raider lives; like the needs for our club, organization and respected Coaches.
I wonder if James Lofton can help our team in knowing some of the ins and outs of the San Diego’s offense? HIRE HIM! We still need to get back at those bastards!!!
Ha! Any of you still have interest in the Super Bowl??
I do. My philosophy states that if enough of you BELIEVE the Giants can upset the undefeated Patriots, New England will have their hands full.
Remember, enough of you have to actually believe in the force, to achieve actions….
SO JUST BELIEVE, DAMN IT!!
Ahem..
Have a great Super Bowl weekend!!
DR out
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January 30th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Great job!
January 30th, 2008 at 6:24 am
well i’m glad that it looks like it passed over but i would say there was some truth to it… it was probably a stare down and lane blinked realizing he had more to lose than al.. i like lane and i think the raiders are on the right road…
now let me put a different spin on this superbowl. i want the pats to win for 2 reasons. i dont like the 72 dolphins any more than the pats. i was a diehard raider fan in those days and i dislike them and the steelers to this day and i live right outside pgh..
if the pats lose they’ll reload and be right back next year.. if they win there will be retirements and big time complacency because they cant do no better next year…. this team needs to be broken up one way or the other..
January 30th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Dan,
That’s an interesting take on the Pats, but considering that the Pats were one ‘tuck’ away from their ‘dynasty’ never happening, I’ll NEVER root for the Pats, NEVER! Let’s see how many offensive holding penalties get looked over for the Pats.
Not to mention the fact that there are already several nauseating articles out there about Moss…. I want the Pats to lose, so they can see for themselves what he’s truly about….HIMSELF.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Not one source named in ALL the B.S. this past week or so. But a whole hell of a lot of these “Raider Faithful” had Al too old and stupid to change his pants. When we settle down to the FACTS…Kiffen has and has been doing business as usual. Amazing how there is a letter that NO-ONE has been able to read a word of. Interesting…but still our own turn to haters so quick. Do you turn into sniches when the police SAY they have something on you too?? Chumps! I ride with Al untill he fades out, and I’m sure not going to act like a punk hater because ESPN makes Raider Nation LOOK bad.
Lets have the facts…4-12, but felt like we started moving in the right direction. We have a QB for the first time in 5 years. We can count how many holes we have for the first time in 4 years. DT, WR, LT, SS, and spoil me with a OLB. And more importantly…Finally Raider fans are showing up to the games to support this franchise. Raiders are in the bottom 3 in revenue because for the past 12 years few are showing up for the games. Money wins people, not every time, but lack of money loses almost every time. But still chumps bitch about the “product” from their couches.
As I was saying, we have money this year that we haven’t had since the superbowl. If ESPN would quit messing with us, we WILL be landing some FA’s and we still have a couple good draft picks coming. Rise above the cloud of the east coast ESPN haters association. Please, I’m tired of hear everyone BITCH!
January 30th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Dan….
I will also add a little to your Pats view that I already agree with.
I hate the Niners, I’m a bit younger…32, so I didn’t enjoy the Madden years. Only through the words of my dads stories. But it will be soooo much fun to argue with the “faithful” that Tom Brady is the greatest QB ever. With equal SB’s and an undefeated season, records, etc…it will drive them crazy. LOL!!! One win away from always being able to push their buttons if they talk too much shit. Go Pats on sunday, then go back to hell.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:54 am
well i blame the tuck on the refs at that time. the pats were nobodys when it happened. if it happened now i’d believe the pats were being favored but i believe the raiders were just getting screwed and they would have had that same call no matter who the opponent was…i dont like moss either but al davis’s choices of coaches namely tom walsh would kill the will to win in most big time players… tom walsh sucked the 1st time around and the fact al hired him was proof al has lost it and should step aside for a good gm…
January 30th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Go Pats on sunday, then go back to hell.
now i love that one and wholly agree.. a big part of my wanting the pats is to shut up steeler fans who all want them to lose just so they can still call themselves the greatest ever because of the 4sb’s in 6yrs… being a raider fan all thru the 70’s some of you younger fans should know that the raiders got screwed big time by the nfl in those days and should have had a few more sb’s..
January 30th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Art Shell hired Walsh…Al just made the mistake of letting Art have control of his staff.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:09 am
yes, my dad has told me many stories. I wasn’t born, but FU&% the Steelers as well!! And as you said, the refs be us, not the Pats.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Chris Mortensen is just another HATER! So, it is no strange he will make a big deal out of something small against the RAIDERS.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:08 am
KD, I like your words about “Snich’s” and “Traiders” in
our mits.. We as Raider fans need to stand to gather no
matter what ESPN or any of the local rags write. See
deep down they know we are on the right track back to
the big show, and it’s killing them.. So now they take
shots at us to try and devide us thinking that will
slow our roll.. So to all you fake RAIDER fans get off
with the other rats, you all in my eyes are like Mike
Vicks cousin turning aginst the man who created the
RAIDERS. Get off now because we will remember who you
are when we are start winning again…
SILVER & BLACK TILL WE DIE!!!
Lil Al….
January 30th, 2008 at 9:49 am
KD,
Al Davis has been a bad owner for at least this decade. I will give credit for his exploits in earlier years, but trading for Moss was one of the few good paper trades made by this club in a while, and what does that say? Sapp we paid full price, same with Jordan and Rhodes. Davis drove Gruden and Gannon so nuts he chased a dynasty away. To even consider Shell and Walsh, not to mention keeping projects such as Alvis Whitted etc. around when winning is important proves this more. Add in the dumb lawsuits, testifying for the usfl, threatening to move all the time, has he noticed yet that every NFL team makes money hand over fist no matter what? Al can’t even be a company man at a company that everyone is paid as an executive. Save the crap about him being the first to hire minorities and women too, this isn’t the 50’s in case you haven’t been watching the elctions. That he beat a bunch of rednecks to the punch is not meritorious, it just makes him the first reformed bigot. My grandpa was a legend in the music biz, sharp as a tack. His views toward life, ala Al, made him too obsolete for such a grand task as running a big company by his early sixties. Al Davis is the kind of guy who would drive over your kids if he caught them skateboarding on his driveway, but you think he is doing a great job. Al- YOU SUCK! You gave Kiffin 30% control last year and he changed your whole team, what does that say about you and your great hires when the guy you found by accident is better than the rest of your staff put together? That is true even with Kiffin making some big coaching errors. Start hiring because people have talent, not muscles, colored skin, or hips and tits. In that same regard, it is time to fire yourself. I would take McNabb’s mom and some soup over you as owner, at least our fellas would be well fed and loved.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:59 am
WMD’s….???? What WMD’S? Everyone thought Saddam had’em … right? So we made a mistake… give CMorty a break…. HA… BS… Proof is always in the outcome… not the income. Garbage in Garbage out… and all those so called sayings… “Nope… No WMD’s here…”
January 30th, 2008 at 10:46 am
OMG finally some reason. I’ve been getting pretty irritated stating the same things you’ve written here about sources and one sided rumors. I’ve been flamed for it too. It appears that SOME of the Nation are getting their reason back. I AM really tired of all these people freaking out and calling for Al’s head over this RUMOR. ESPN should fire Mortensen for this crap. As if anyone could wrestle the Raiders away from Al. Then people say he’s a horrible owner for a decade, except well, we went to a SB 5 years ago, and AFC championship and were screwed out of another AFC Championship by the tuck rule that never got called before. Then on top of that we won the AFC West 3 years in a row; the only time that has ever happened. But no, we won’t give Al any credit for that, we’ll just blame him for the bad stuff.
It’s pretty ridiculous how many Raider fans are starting to be like the media. Blame AD for the bad, give him no credit for the good. Sorry to tell you people, he’s doing things his way, the same thing he’s always done. The same thing that has gotten us into 5 superbowls. Armchair owners make me laugh out loud.
Anyway good blog. Thanks for being a voice of reason.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Lil Al…..Thank you!
Raider Ray….Thank you!
LA Raider….Last decade? How quickly some forget our dominance 3 years proir to the SuperBowl we were just in 5 yes 5 years ago. DA
January 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I have supported AD ever since I became a fan of the Raiders 25 years ago; however, the man does puzzle me every now and then. He seems to fly off the handle at times, which, to me, shows signs that maybe it is time to REALLY look for a replacement. I’m not saying give the old man the boot, but he may need to start handing over the reigns soon. I’m mean, really folks, do expect him to live forever?? God forbid the man dies tomorrow, but if he does then what? Amy trask takes over?? His children? I mean, what the hell.
As Raider fans we are all targets of stereotype, conspiracy theories, and all the other negative crap people like to throw at us. BUT we are a resilient bunch and have heart like no other fans do. We can and will live through the rumormill. So until someone (preferably reputable) comes out and definitively says Kiffin is gone, I will believe he is still the coach and AD will let him coach. He will bring us back to greatness and next year we will be victorious!
January 30th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
AD-
I mentioned Al breaking up a dynasty by meddling with Gruden and Gannon, 5 years ago was what I spoke of. Give B-Robb a little credit for imploding and Gannon for playing like a linebacker, but you have to admit that Gruden ball wasn’t Al’s type. He may not always be the catalyst in problems, but he definitely doesn’t get proactive in maintaining a team atmosphere. At least answer this- How is it that the Raiders are always near the top in merchandise sales, not to mention championships, but not in ticket sales? That is an ownership issue.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
LA:
Ticket sales are slow now because we have to sit through game after game of watching players who either:
1) can’t tackle, 2) can’t block, 3) can’t catch, or 4) don’t even want to play at all. These are talent and coaching issues. And who hires the coaches and talent? I love Al because he made the Raiders great, but at some point he needs to take some responsibility for the mess we’re in now.
During the good days with Gruden, ticket sales were slow because they were sold by the OFMA and not the Raiders. The OFMA was one of the biggest pita’s ever. Buying tickets was painful to say the least. Thank god that’s over now.
Regardless, the tailgating is still world-class and the fans who do come are as ready as ever to cheer’em on. We’re just waiting for something to cheer for.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
this whole situation is completely laughable,headlines:raider nation in uproar over reports that espn and nfl network come up with.o.k. take a breath the world is not ending.nobody is going anywhere but to work in raiderland.how can i be so sure of this you ask?kiffin and ryan are under contract al owns them both and nobody’s gettin fired and nobody’s goin nowhere,they’re stuck with one another for at least 08
January 31st, 2008 at 1:43 am
Good take “RaiderFateful” I don’t care about anything except that the QUIT’R (Moss)goes to the big game and then loses!! (That’s my wet dream… I can never cheer for the Pat’s either (unless they’re playing the CHEF’s) and it will benefit us of course LOL.
I don’t really care about the record anymore than I cared about the fins raving about it. All that maters is that good things should not happen to bad people and the Pat’s either through the mercenary Moss or with all of their cheating should not have a reward for it.
Anymore that those using illegal performance enhancing substances should be rewarded championships or records for cheating and breaking the rules.
Ala, Barry Bonds and yes Baseball people. Even the infamous GAYLORD PERRY who’s in the Baseball hall of fame and was a known and admitted cheater…
One Nation, RAIDER NATION!!!!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:35 am
Hey guy’s the pat’s didn’t beat us and the refs didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves by not stopping the bastards!! as I recall…
January 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I completely agree with the tuck rule comment about the pats, I hate ever saying “what if” as a RAIDER fan my whole life, but if we win that game do the pats regroup the next year and send players away that ended up creating the dynasty. But then again what if Bo doesnt get hurt, and what if Gruden stays, or Franco drops the pass. I guess none of that really matters it is definately time to get it back together and win, be intimidating, and create fear in our opponents again. As for this years Super Bowl I’m a die hard Raider fan from Connecticut directly in the middle of the Giants and Pats its been crazy around here as for me its a good excus to hang out with friends and hope Tom Petty’s half time show is cool. So as a huge football fan I guess I have to say go G-MEN.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Don Wilson, you are absolutely right the tuck rule ended up tieing the game we still had the chance to win and didnt. They took us right out of it after that play.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
KD your earlier comment about putting fans in the stands was great, I’m from the east coast and have been to 1 game last year and 1 the year before in Oakland after being a fan for over 34 years I finally got out there and will go back at least once a year, I have to say I have a brother thats an old school Steelers fan we’ve been to Pittsburg, both NY teams, Patriots, Eagles, Buffalo, and Clevelands stadiums over the years but when I took him to Oakland to see the Raiders / Steelers 2 yrs ago we could not believe how great the fans were it was the most amazing, intense croud we’d ever seen, last year while in Pittsburg he actually got into an argument with his own Steelers fans telling them that the Raiders fans were by far the best in the country I only wish I lived closer to be a season ticket holder, this is coming from a guy that for the past 30 years has witnessed some of the greatest yankee / redsox games ever played live, those are some crazy fans but Oakland was still better. So all the Raider fans in CA, get to the stadium and support our cause, and any Raider fans outside of CA if you’ve never been go it will be worth every penny for the experience.
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
I don’t know about anyone else, but I for one would love to hear from Mr.Kiffen. Even a comment about the weather. C’mon Kiff you can do it! SOMETHING! ANYTHING! We can take it. It like waiting for the favorite Prince of our Raider Kingdom to utter a word to his loyal following. So please Kiff, help us out here!
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
The Raiders have become the Brittney Spears of the NFL!!! Nothing but sports tabloid fodder!!
Look my Grandmother is a spry 86 year old. who is hard of hearing. but can walk with out a walker and doesn’t need anyone to wipe her butt. but she is set in her old italian ways. and admits fully admits with out a doubt that the world has passed her by. by the way she lives in Palo Alto. she is not a football fan and when she saw Al Davis’s picture the other day she thought he was older than she was!!!
Got me thinking. Al is 78 yrs old. but that is calander age! think of day in day out ownership of the Raiders..and the pressure that is being an owner! he can’t last that much longer, and by that I mean doing this day in and day out. and I think that time is coming sooner than later, as the signs are already there. Al is not at the HQ day in and day out like he used to. he is hardly there anymore at all! back in the day he would have been in that Lofton interview!!
Screw that man let some young whiper snapper do it…whilest I just sit in my comfy chair toes up and take a nap!! thats what I am thinking if I am 78!!
Fact is folks and bottom line. If Al Davis wanted kiffin gone..he would be gone! I like what Raiders senior executive John Herrera said “He doesn’t want to get in a situation where he is more caught up in responding to rumors than he iscoaching the football team,” Herrera said
Facts are facts and rumors are rumors truth be known folks “inside sources” don’t know what time of day Al Davis is taking a dump let alone IF Al Davis is going to fire anyone or hire anyone, personally I don’t think there is a person there (including Al Davis!!) who knows what Al Davis is going to do!!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I THINK AL WILL SOON REALIZE THAT HE HAS TURNED THIS FRANCHISE INTO THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE N.F.L. AND HOPEFULLY LET EVERYONE DO THEIR JOB’S,BEEN A FAN SINCE THE MID 60′S AND I AM MORE EMBARASSED THEN MAD. AL YOU HIRED THIS PEOPLE YOU MUST OF LIKED SOMETHING ABOUT THEM,PLEASE GIVE THEM A CHANCE,THEY ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION-I HOPE,YOU HAVE TO LET THEM GELL,NOT DIFFERENT COACHES EVERY TIME WE TURN AROUND. LET THEM RUN AL, LET THEM RUN, YOU WILL SEE THAT IT HELP’S. SO LET’S TRY TO ENJOY THE DRAFT & THE SEASON,WE WILL COME AROUND,RAIDER FAN’S TRY TO KEEP HEAD’S UP,I WILL TRY TO BE POSITIVE,BUT I NEED A LOTTA HELP. PLEASE HANG THEIR!!!!! RAIDER FAN TILL MY DIRT NAP.