Lofton interview concludes
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 5:57 pm in Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders finished a day-long interview with James Lofton for an undisclosed position and senior executive John Herrera had no announcements other than the interview went well and there could be a resolution in the next day or so.
Lofton, fired last week by the San Diego Chargers, twice interviewed for the head coaching job with Al Davis. His interview this time was with coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, according to Herrera, indicating Charles Coe could be on his way out as wide receivers coach.
Having Kiffin and Knapp involved in the hiring of an offensive assistant means any differences the head coach has with owner Al Davis regarding makeup of the defensive staff appear well short of Kiffin either resigning or being fired in the near future.
While stories run rampant of what has gone on behind closed doors since the end of the season, the one I’m certain of is that Kiffin wanted to change defensive coordinators and Davis did not.
I was told today Kiffin’s problem with Ryan is not of a personal nature but one of philosophy. The statement released by Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor was essentially a rebuke to Kiffin.
(Taylor disagrees with this. He called to say Kiffin’s later comments in Mobile about Ryan being under contract and being “excited” about Ryan’s return refute my contention. To me, the key part of that quote was “Rob is under contract.”)
In any event, the fact that Kiffin returned to work and is in the process of making staff changes is the second indication he wants to stay _ the other being his postgame response following the Senior Bowl.
When asked after the game if he would be coach of the Raiders in the fall, Kiffin said, “I hope so.”
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
January 28th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
First
January 28th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Now… lets all move on
January 28th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Imamg….
yeah lets…
Rams talking to Saunders, so I still believe Kiffin stays. If Saunders join the raiders, it will be as OC…
January 28th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
RaiderDell Says:
January 28th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
RaiderDogg,
You provide some sanity around here, I rather here your take on issues than deal with others.
Although, your right it is entertaining.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
All I can do is hope for the best, it’s so frustrating to watch Al pull strings with a coach. Really hope this whole thing shakes out for the positive. The devlopement of #2 is vital to the franchise, and my main objecting point to not keeping kiffin. A new system in year 2 just increases his chance of failure at the nfl level
January 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
well, i’m headed home, nother work day completed, catch up later
January 28th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Hopefully the drama will die down, and we can get back to the business of winning games.
http://mvn.com/nfl-raiders/
January 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
[...] Jerry McDonald – NFL Writer wrote a fantastic post today on “Lofton interview concludes”Here’s ONLY a quick extractThe Raiders finished a day-long interview with James Lofton for an undisclosed position and senior executive John Herrera had no announcements other than the interview went well and there could be a resolution in the next day or so. … [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Sorry to repost. How timely.
Will, believe me I’m with ya. I’m more tired of this that you can imagine. Gruden wasn’t the best personnel guy, and I don’t think he’s that good a coach based on what’s been happening in TB the last few years. I think we’ve righted the ship here with Kiffin but there are clearly some rough waters we’re gonna have to navigate.
Dell, Saunders is here, I’m not in the meeting rooms unfortunatley so I don’t know. They might be dicussing old times, current league trends, might be interviewing for head coach. I honestly don’t know. This I do know tho. K-rock picked up on my post yesterday and remember you heard it here first, the rumour I’m floating out there is Greg Knapp isn’t happy here. So Lofton could be receivers coach, which would be an upgrade or OC. Knapp is a SF guy, and as OC I’m sure he wanted play calling duties, which Kiff took.
Honestly, what I think is gonna happen is Lofton comes in as receivers coach, Saunders as OC, and Kiff gets Millard out as DL coach as a compromise. At least on the offensive side that would be a BIG upgrade in my mind.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
We are heading in the right direction if we bring Mr. Lofton aboard
January 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
All this fuss for nothing! You press people are ridiculous …please tell your collegues how much of our asses they can kiss.
So, allegedly, Kiffin wants Ryan out as DC but Big Al want him to stay for whatever reason. I still maintain that if the HC wants a new DC, if he’s a good HC, he should get his DC. On the hand, I can understand the argument of not wanting Kiffin to be so overburdened at this point in his career. I completely understand the agrument and at some level completely agree. It must be measured by both men and they must come to conclusion given a complete understanding of the proposed undertaking and its requirements. If Al decided not yet – I have no quarrels with that – just minor discomfort b/c its conflicts with my previous assertion – but still I understand the logic.
Maybe thats why Kiffin answered the question the way he did at the Senior Bowl. When asked about he and Ryan, Kiffin said something like “he has no issue with Ryan ….Ryan has one year left on his contract and we are exicted to have him” …note that he didn’t have to say Ryan has [one year left]. I was suspect of this statement when I first read it. But its pure speculation on my part.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Hopeful the soap opera will cease and the team can put together a staff can start preparing for the draft, because I doubt any free agents would want to come to, or stay with, the Raiders after this weekend.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Kiffin and Knapp Why include Knapp if Saunders is coming here to interview for his job? The only truth in these rumors in the past 3 weeks is Lofton is going to interview with the Raiders today. Also it’s nice to see no more naecalling here anymore just different opinions.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
All of this … was created by the media!!! Please be responsible (profesional) before publishing any information,
Thanks.
RAIDER_BOY
January 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
In retrospect it’s sounding like the reports of Kiffin getting stripped of his responsibilities and all but fired – except for the financial considerations – were a little ahead of themselves… like most reports on the Raiders. Even the financials were apparently wrong (firing Kiff outright would’ve cost far less than $4 mil).
January 28th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Right on Dell, thanks bro.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Tgrande……
I have to disagree. Free agents dont always have much choice in where they go. They mostly chase the money. The team being in Oakland may have as much to do with turning FA off as anything the Raiders have done.
Its not as bad as going to Buffalo or Kansas Chitty but not as good as going to NY or any other team with a colorful nightlife.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
If we keep changing coaches and playbook each year…we will:
1. Ruin Russells career
2. Continue to be ineffective offensively
3. No Free Agents will want to come here…
Think of all the good offensive teams…they have been together for awhile….they have trust in each other and they know the playbook inside and out…the new players come in and buy in to the system.
SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS!
The more you win, the more players want to join you. They don’t want to join a team with no direction and never knowing when their coach is going to get fired.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I’m guessing that if kiffin’s agent didn’t put his name out to several colleges expressing interest in the head coach position, that Ryan would be gone. If the players respect Ryan and will play for him, he recently interviewed for the head coach position and your head coach might leave as soon as someone comes up with 2 mil. a year. You got to cover your ass.
Kiffin was pissed during the last game press conference, eager to turn a new page he fired Ryan (with many of our blessings). Al still pissed about the college feelers that were sent out fired a shot across his bow. I hope that’s what happened anyway.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Don’t believe the media racket. I’m the voice of reasoning
January 28th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
GLENN
I was wondering if we can speculate to this thought.
Knapp stays if they hire Saunders but Deflippi leaves to let Knapp work with JaMarcus as QB coach.
Saunders brings the vertical game experience along with Lofton as WR coach.
Knapp was once a QB and had that role in SF with Mooch.
Maybe Coach Flip just didn’t work out.
any thoughts?
January 28th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Just because Kiffin returns does not mean all is well. This franchise is tetering on the edge of the abyss and only Al Davis is holding us back. Isn’t that a scary thought!
January 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Oakglenn…
I agree with you. Knapp was brought in to run practice. He was not intended to have play calling duties. However, I have no idea what his philosophies are and what help, if any, he is to Kiffin. Judging by the Falcons, it would not be much help.
On the other hand, Saunders has produced everywhere he has been as an OC. He can call plays, and his style of offense is more suited to Davis’ liking. He could really help Kiffin.
Remember this as well. Part of the reason Mora Jr. and Knapp were fired from Atlanta was because of their failure to get the most from Vick.
Maybe Davis is concerned over the HUGE investment he made in Russell. He stands to lose a lot more on that than the 4mil he would lose if Kiffin walked.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Im not too crazy about Saunders as OC. Anybody else on that short list?
January 28th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Im with ya
January 28th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Here is a bit of an article on Mora Jr. being fired…
“His teams led the NFL in rushing every year, but quarterback Michael Vick and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp never meshed, and the Falcons struggled badly once the opponent took the lead. Under Mora, Atlanta was 0-17 when entering the fourth quarter with a deficit.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2716540
January 28th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
[...] RaiderDogg wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by RaiderDogg”Here’s ONLY a quick extractRight on Dell, thanks bro. [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
saunders has produced everywhere he’s been? Remember the 1-15 chargers that was his Gem
January 28th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
My main concern is how are the raiders going to be able to compete for Free Agents both the Raiders and other teams. Would you sign a long term deal if you were Namdi or Justin Fargas?
Warren Sapp expressed his dismay repeatedly about not being able to recruit talent in the FA market to come play for Oakland. The whole Kiffin and Ryan debacle only makes the Raiders look that much more dysfunctional. Quality guys like Bernard Berrian, Lance Briggs, and Alan Faneca would probably steer way clear of Oakland: if Oakland was even interested in the first place.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Every mutt has her day, stop e-mailing me
January 28th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
KK -
I have no idea what your e-mail address is. You’ve got the wrong guy.
I will say this:
Peace between us. I mean it. I no longer have any ill feelings towards you in any way.
Take care
January 28th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
The Chargers don’t count. Nobody can win there.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Are you dillusional? who is talking to you? You dont exist. Go away and please leave me the ‘hell alone’
LOSER!
January 28th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
its now time to focus on 2008
January 28th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I agree with that
January 28th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
What a joke……you’ve all been had….Suckers
Did you idiots learn anything from this????
Not the tiniest, inkling of anything,
well media boys bait the hook again the Raider Nation is full of fish.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Man I love the feel of this place now…feels so chippy now. Did we learn any lessons?
January 28th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Phylosophical differences can be dealt with in time as the 2 parties get more familiar with each other. Like i said B4 the 2 coaches involved have only been together one year. As time goes on it can become a very good working relationship. As they understand how each other attacks particular situations then they will start to coach in support of each other. Instead of the way they coached last year. With Kiffin asking Ryan to protect the offense and vice versa.
They will start to take the pressure off each other instead putting each other in bad situations which will benefit both. Hopefully this makes sense. They need to complement each other so that one isn’t putting the other in bad situatins. Which happened a lot last year.
Now hopefully Kiffin can concentrate on the draft.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Yeah, that there’s a new Sheriff in town and his name is
January 28th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
What do you guys thing if the offense does good this year and defense continues to be weak and say we go 5-11 or anything under .500…Will Kiffin keep his job next year?
January 28th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
The final chapters of this haven’t been written yet, so everyone hold your horses. K-rock I think you have it down. Kiff really also needed someone on the offensive side who knows the league to help with game planning. Knapp was perfect for that. I don’t know, Saunders was Assitant HC Offense for the Greatest Show on Turf World Championship Team. Sounds like good credentials to me.
Dell, I think DeFillipo will do a better job with Jamarcus than Knapp will. Knapp wants to call plays, and maybe be a head coach. I don’t think it’s gonna happen here. JMHO.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
parameters…
that is my word of the day…
if Mr Davis allows young Kiffen to stay, Kiffen must understand that word and make it his own…
no one is going to hand the reins of a billion dollar corporation to an unknown without parameters…
like:
you may not fire management employees without consulting the General Partner…
you may not sign a free agent for more than X for longer than Y without consulting the General Partner…
you may not draft anyone that would command a signing bonus of greater than X without consulting the General Partner…
et cetera…
parameters…
i own my own business… and all of my managers and supervisors have parameters…
it let’s me make the important decisions… and i like making the important decisions… because it is my company…
if a manager came to work for me and i gave him free rein of the place… and he fails… it is I who will pay the price…
he’ll just go look for a new job…
this is Al Davis company, we are his customers… we do have a choice whether we want to continue…
for me, i do have faith in Mr Davis… and i am anxious to see how this plays out…
Kiffen needs to pledge his loyalty to the silver and black… earn the respect he needs… earn the priveleges that are usually bestowed on favored and trusted management…
personally, i would tell the kid to take a hike… and find someone who understands the privelege of working for a legend… and for the silver and black…
parameters…
January 28th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I dont understand how parameters werent draw durring contract talks.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
owners don’t want to amend contracts to expand or contract parameters…
and keep in mind nearly everyone on staff has a contract…
and all of those are with the company not the head coach…
January 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Who’s to say that parameters weren’t drawn and then crossed? Assuming that Kiff did try to fire Ryan and have that revoked by Al, it’s possible that there was a parameter violation right there and Al corrected it.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Florida Pete, the “parameters” you are taling about have apparently been changed by senile old goat Al Davis…
Kiffen was apparently given much control and now, after the fact Al Davis, the man most singularly responsible for gutting a once proud franchise by first, moving it to Los Angeles, and now through his continued paranoia, wants to change the “parameters”…
priceless
January 28th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Kiffin it is spelled K-i-f-f-i-n, get a clue
January 28th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I dont know Kiffin peronally but I dont think he’d be that stupid to fire someone without thinking its in his power. It just dont make sense to me. And if he did and it wasnt then it just shows the lines wernt drawn clearly enough.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Easy to make it up guys, your sounding like you should work in the media field.
Pretty obvious with the amount of smoke there was a fire somewhere, but like normal the raiders say nothing…some things never change.
I bet they were shocked by the amount of fans that sent emails etc, and that has to make a difference even to al, its about bottom line. The stadium has been pretty full even with a bad team as of late and when the team turns the corner it should always be full.
So we fans get to hold our breath,,,like normal….thank you media for running with it though
One thought….who the FK is giving this stuff to the media….been going on for ages, no way al or kiffin did….WHO IS THE LEAK????? remember shell even said there was a insider that talked…who is it? someone is doing this stuff to hurt the team with knowledge, a insider…
January 28th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Plrraz…
no-one here seriously believes that an untested, inexperienced coach would be give free reign over a 116 million players payroll and an additonal 15 million staff payroll…
do you???
January 28th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Al is playing this thing like the girl who didn’t get asked to the dance.
His BS “leaks” to the media, putting Kiffin on the spot with this “ficticous letter” that no one outside of a few “insiders” has seen just reaks of melodrama.
Here’s the deal, it’s AD’s team, he can do what he wants, just DO IT!
Take this crap off of the sports page and pull the trigger on Kiffin
Al, you’re craving of attention during SuperBowl week, is weak and insulting to your nation of Raider Fans!
Well, the ones that are still around after this latest PR debacle!
Get a Grip…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I figured that’s how you would respond. I had to give it a shot.
Good luck
January 28th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
If Kiffin leaves i am done with the Raiders and the NFL (the NFL because i am sick of shallow, greedy, imature, classless, characterless, etc etc people like Randy Moss)until Good Ole Al passes away and takes his proper place “down below”. I have been a fan since the 60s and am so sick of Al’s idiotic moves and narcasistic personality. Have any relatives or limited partners tried to have him declared imcompetent? God knows there’s an unlimited amount of evidence to support it!
If anyone on this site was serious, we would hurt Good Ole Al the only way possible – his pocket book:
BOYCOTT ALL GAMES IN 2008 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 28th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
The ghost of Mike Lombardi is the LEAK!…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Lombardi was seen going for a jog….while the NATION was up in arms…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Dear Florida Pete,
How much damage could an unsupervised employee do to a major succesful corporation?? Seriously. How much damage??
Signed,
French Dude who cost bank 8 Billion Euros!!
January 28th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
sure glad the mod gonna get involved here so we dont have all these trolls, gonna be nice to talk to real fans without all the crap to look threw
good nite all
January 28th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
post 57 Oakglen….fantastic respose man, read that story today, unreal!!!! way correct
January 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
oops response lol damn spell check
January 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
heard that Snake, it’ll be nice.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
were not going to rehash this all over again are we? Time to move on. none of us know what transpired except maybe BHP and he’s not talking, although if he has a source why not the media.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Oakglenn…
um… 8 billion euros worth???
did i win???
what do i get???
January 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Repost cuz Im curious what the nation thinks..
What do you guys thing if the offense does good (top 10) this year and defense continues to be weak and say we go 5-11 or anything under .500…
Will Kiffin keep his job next year?
January 28th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
There are a few sheeps around here that wants protection from the moderator but, you are already compost around here. You know who the both of you are!
January 28th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
i would say, assuming it is Kiffin leading the team…
that he would have a strong case to make to Al Davis to make a change on the defensive side of the staff…
Al’s call though…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
good site for infohttp://www.raidernews.com/x/index.php
January 28th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Pete, you know I’m agreeing with ya, right??
Krowlz, I think this is a classic “emperor has no clothes” moment for RYAN. I am one of three people on this blog who’s OK with Ryan, the other two being Ryan himself, and this guy A. Davis whoever that is. What I mean is everyone is gonna have a very close eye on how this defense perfoms. If the offense continues to improve and the defense deteriorates, bye, bye Ryan and Kiff is most likely gonna have free reign to bring in whom he wants, Rahim Morris at the top of that list. If the defense performs well, hey, end of story. Kind of a no lose situation really.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
If Kiffin can get us to the playoffs and Rob Ryans defense sucks next year I think you will see Al Davis make a U-turn and fire Ryan. I look at this as his last chance.
At least Kiffin and Knapp both helped interview, sounds like Davis and Kiff have worked things out for now.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Oakglenn…
we are and were on the same page…
i was just having some fun…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
So you think even if we have a bad record Kiff will stay as long as its because of defense?
January 28th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
i like your take on this oak #68. so lets draft defense first and give him players not projects and see how it turns out
January 28th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/bucky_brooks/01/28/raiders.situation/
great article…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
baaaaaaa
January 28th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I’m posting fast and furious now. If the Mods are gonna really start booting people off, with all the f bombs i’ve dropped here, (amongst other things,) I’ll probably be front row center in the permanently blocked mode. Darn.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
You should be safe Oakglenn.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Oakglenn
i didn’t know “emperor has no clothes” was an expression used by americans.
LOL
January 28th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
[...] mr. raider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by mr. raider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractwere not going to rehash this all over again are we? Time to move on. none of us know what transpired except maybe BHP and he’s not talking, although if he has a source why not the media. [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
[...] Oakglenn wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by Oakglenn”Here’s ONLY a quick extractPete, you know I’m agreeing with ya, right?? Krowlz, I think this is a classic “emperor has no clothes” moment for RYAN. I am one of three people on this blog who’s OK with Ryan, the other two being Ryan himself, and this guy A. … [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Mr. Raider, exactly!!! I don’t know if you saw my posts about NY Giants having high draft choices on their #1 ranked D line, and NE having ALL FIRST ROUNDERS, on their #2 ranked D line. The number one D line versus the number 2 d line in the Super Bowl. Coincidence???? Don’t think so. How’s about the Raiders??? Sands, 7th round, Richardson 5th round, Kelly, freaking undrafted, Burgess 3rd round Phila, Gerard Warren, lst Round. Wonder what would happen if we got some high draft choice on the Dline.
Florida Pete, you’ve been a breath of fresh florida sunshine on this site!
January 28th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Florida Pete..
That is a good article… I belive that is how sports writers should write. He just said how it is with no B.S. very nice and a refreshing read.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
oakglenn…
i know everyone wants a DT…
but… if Chris Long is there…
man, ya just gotta do that…
bedtime for me… thank’s everyone…
pretty civilized board…
take care.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
So Alzheimers refuses to let Ryan go just to spite Kiffin and so him that he still calls the shots? This story just keeps getting worse. Way to go you old far, putting your own agenda ahead of the team for the umpteenth time I’m still out until Alzheimer’s takes his dirt nap.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
See LMN, I forget they’re are Europeans on this site. Here I’ll go back to using American expressions you guys recognize like, “trailer trash”, “want me to kick your ass from here to Albuquerque”, “what are you looking at??” and the ever popular “punk ass”.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Thanks Florida Pete.
Of course that way of thinking would be odd to most in today’s world. Loyalty is something from the past.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
and to let him know that he still calls the shots? sorry about that typing too quickly. Al has really got me fired up
January 28th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Punk ass….LOL
I remember that one.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Oakglenn & anyone else -
How much do you think Trevor Laws raised his value last Saturday at the Senior Bowl? From say the 4th round to mid 2nd? He was pretty active, high energy and disruptive. Plus he has experience at both DT & DE, although he looked much better inside.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I just want this issue to either get resolved or go away. We finally have a little bit of credibility to go with the new coach, and we’re blowing it out of the water.
I’d like to see Ryan get a few Young Guns on the D-Line, since he’s been playing w/ a mismatched set since he got here…Sapps departure should help make that the focus of the 1st round.
Please make this ridiculous story go away….
January 28th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I missed the Senior Bowl
…How did Ellis look?
January 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Laws really impressed me
January 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Krowlz -
Ellis was a pleasant surprise. After all the smack that was talked about him in here I didn’t expect much. Let me tell you HE WAS A BEAST! He looked very worthy of a high pick IMO.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Can we go back to talking about why we should DRAFT MCFADDEN?
I still don’t think this story is over, but no use simmering about the unknown for the next few months.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Florida Pete…
if we take Chris Long, we could take trevor Laws later
January 28th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
LMN got me thinking about Laws just before the Senior Bowl. He looked good. He’s listed at 6′1″, 295lbs. Maybe be a bit short for DT in the NFL, but he was impressive on Saturday.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Can I get somebody to answer this question? If Kiffin asks Al if he can fire Ryan is Ryan still around?
January 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
dang Lag
January 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Can we draft an owner and GM?
January 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I like Bucky’s take, but, these kids are only loyal to the all-mighty Dollar, as is Al, so he should not be too surprised by anything these guys do…
We must remember, Al has burned a lot of his Ex-Partners in the Raiders, going back to the 70’s when he originally wrestled the “Managing General Partner” title into exsistence.
Maybe he is experiencing some Karma and we are all along for the ride…
Does anyone know his exact shareholding of the Raiders at this time? I remember it being barely over 50%, but that was enough to put him in control…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Night all,
I hope I don’t wake up in the morning to learn that James Lofton is our new head coach.
Maybe Kiffin is actively involved in the interview because he wants AD to find a new head coach ASAP so that he can be released from his contract? Scary thought.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Moss was not loyal so why is Al po’d he let him go. He actually quite on the team. We dont even know for sure if Kiffin was interested in another job for sure.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Oakglenn
i dont know what post 84 means or what your mean it
January 28th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Now i cant sleep thanks dakota
January 28th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
mean by it…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
The Raiders just can’t seem to get out of it’s own way.
Why is it that they seem to create problems that aren’t even there?
If what was said is true then I do believe it’s a bold move for Kiff to take the initiative to fire Ryan without even consulting Al or telling him!
Maybe he is testing his boundaries, but that isn’t any different on any team.
Before a coach fires anybody I’m quite sure they have to at least have a conversation with the GM/Owner.
I live just outside of DC and Saunders sucks. He can’t motivate anybody and he is still holding onto a few good years w/ the Chefs.
Kiff wants to run the cover 2 and Al and Ryan despise it. They want man to man, and as long as davis is around that is probably what we are stuck with. Funny how the best teams run the cover 2 these days. The Packers w/ a former Raider tried to play man to man all day and well Plaxico beat the crap out of them ALL DAY!
Good Luck Kiff.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
The cornerback play was most impressive to me saturday
January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Wow. Going back to talking about the draft. How serene!! Good Eye Dogg, I thought Laws was absolutely fantastic. Big, Strong, excellent at the point of attack, athletic, nose for the ball, at one point, he completely collapses the pocket, smashes the QB, the ball flies in the air and he has both the presence of mind AND athleticism to grab the ball out of mid air. Quite impressive. Plus for what it’s worth he is going to Notre Dame, and Charlie Weis knows a tiny bit about coaching so…….Absolute rave reviews Dogg. to answer your question, I think he will be there in the third round.
Sedrick Ellis probably screwed us up in that he could go ONE OVERALL now. People are starting to see, he really is that good. Funny thing about Bill Parcells and Miami is everyone has them drafting either Chris Long, Glen Dorsey or Sedrick Ellis #1 overall, because Parcells builds his teams traditionally with defense. Funny. Why would ya do that?? What does Parcells know about building a team? Oh yeah,forgot.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
ECR, what do the 2 teams in the SB run? Is it cover2 or man with zone mix?
January 28th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Sorry LMN, I was just throwing some American expressions out there. None of them were directed at you. I like your energy, logic and posts. Please don’t take any offense to me throwing silly stuff on the board. The Americans probably got the joke.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Oakglenn….I agree talking about the draft is much better….Things have been out of control here and I have been looking around for other blogs…sure I am not the only one doing that
January 28th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Oakglenn,
Parcells hasn’t won a SB in 18 years. He has never built a SB winner as coach/GM…but yes, he has put some decent teams together, and I would certainly pick him to run the Raiders over the current version of Al Davis. I’m just saying, you can pick offense in the draft and still win the SB…Draft McFadden baby.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Oakglenn…
well, i’m not so smart at this time of day… I’ve stayed up playing online poker all night with some friends…
constantly back to this PC, to check for any news =)
I like that you liked Trevor Laws, its nice to have a backup DT later in the draft if we choose, C. Long, J. Long or McFadden in the first
January 28th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Careful Priest-that’s like asking what’s a #1 receiver.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I will be VERY glad for this coach soap opera to end! One thing I’d like for AD to do…MENTOR, not meddle with the coaches!
I’m a long time fan & I say IF Kiffin really wants to be the Raider HC, then he should outwardly show some loyalty & Pride. I’ve wondered about his loyalty because I’ve seen all the 2007 Monday Press conferences & rarely did Kiffin wear Raider gear. He also did not wear Raider gear during the Silver & Black show. Is he playing some kind of mind game with AD? I have NOT always agreed with what AD does. BUT he is a Legend, he IS the owner of the Raiders & young Kiffin needs to learn & show some respect & loyalty here! I’m just a Fan & I wear my shirts, caps, sweats, & coat all the time during the season & occasionally in off season!
Go Raiders
January 28th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Oakglenn -
Thanks for the response, excellent breakdown as usual. After Saturday I would be suprised if Laws was still around in the 3rd. As of right now the Raiders don’t even have a 3rd round pick right?
January 28th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
PLEASE, don’t ever take offense to anything from me LMN!!
Dakota, he recently built that Dallas playoff team. That’s a damn talented team. Witten, Barber, Romo who I met at the Walter Payton Awards for division 1AA, wasnt even drafted, Ellis, Wares, the pass rushers he spent 1st Rounders on. Again, spending 1st rounders on pass rushers, what does that tell ya??
January 28th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Same concerns here. Ellis looked so damn good during Senior Bowl week that he could be a serious candidate for #1 to Miami. People’s memories are short and they only remember the last thing they see and Ellis showed them an eye full. I’m even almost ready to crown him over Dorsey.
I just don’t think Dorsey is a NT type for some reason. Well know more of the Tuna’s direction as soon as the DCoord is announced if he hasn’t already been. Ellis played NT before and Chris Long played in a 3-4 ..both have more experience than Dorsey. But who knows, maybe they pick Matt Ryan, the Boston College QB. Its easier to justify the contract with a QB.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Dogg, not unless they can get one for Andrew Walter.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I know but why do people bash something because they don’t like it even if there’s no validity to the point they’re trying to make. Just say YOU prefer the cover2, but because you prefer cover2 doesn’t make man defense stupid especialy if you have the personnel to run man defense, it’s actually more versatile.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
120th Oh Yeah!!
January 28th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I’ll be happy with any of the big 4…McFadden, Dorsey, Long or even Ellis. Ellis is certainly no Jerry Ball, I don’t know who said that but they need to get a clue.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Ellis can only hope to be half as productive as Jerry Ball was.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Parcells-pro bowl QB wasn’t even drafted. Unbelievable. Speaking of which, and we’ll start really breaking guys down in the next few weeks, the guy that I really want, is Josh Johnson the QB from University of San Diego. Obviously we don’t need a QB, and not till the way later rounds, but this kid just has it. Whatever it is, that kid has it.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I hope Ellis is only half as reproductive as Travis Henry.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Miami should really consider going after Booty too. I watched him during Senior Bowl coverage and I think he’s gonna be pretty good. Very accurate, even on the run and smart. Plus he’s mobile.
Didn’t really get all the hype about Flacco. Sure he has a “lot of upside” Thats because he’s so far down there’s a lot more room to move up. Kiffin didn’t have him throwing a lot for a reason. He’s really not that accurate although he has a very good arm. His footwork is terrible. He has a lot of work to do.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
The good news Dakota is the talent level drops off pretty quickly after the first five, but then is deep for 3+ rounds. I don’t think you could wrong with either Long, Dorsey, McFadden or Ellis. All are going to make excellent pros.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I highly doubt if we’ll pick a qb. I’m sure you do too Oakglenn. But if we were I wouldn’t mind Booty at all. I’ll feel pretty comfortable with him backing JR. His only problem would be lack of experience.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Terrapin, that kid Flacco just has a cannon. Very Big, very athletic kid. Again Div 1aa guy. My dad met him and Josh Johnson a couple of weeks ago. I’ll ask him about them.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I agree Oakglenn, this is very deep draft, especially at DT and o-line…man I wish we had the 3rd rounder.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
A source told me that Pete Carrol is going to coach the Raiders, and Kiffin will replace him at USC.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
BHP….I listened to Tom Flores on the radio a lot this year during games and I think he knows more than any of us…He would call what the offense did and the defense….Point is he said zone many times concerning the defense…So it sounds to me like the team does mix it up…I just think we have a team of poor tacklers and the blame should be shared by players and coaches alike.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Terr, I was thinking late rounds. One thing we DON’T NEED, is a QB. (on knees thank God)
January 28th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
because they read or heard somewhere that it’s the thing to do.like the west coast off.some think that all the good teams play it because that’s what someone says or writes.when actually,most have no idea what the west coast off. is.in a sense,the Raiders have always played a form of that off.as someone pointed out earlier,Stabler threw more short to medium passes in our 1st SB year than this years raiders.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Jh, you’re exactly right. We definitely run a mix of man, zone, and man with zone under. Why do the LB’s make all the int’s??? Because they’re manned up against Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne??? C’mon. Give me a break. It’s really a shame, 95% of the posters on this site, barely knows what the defense even does in a football game.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
nah …I wouldn’t classify it as a cannon. I’ll just say he has a pretty strong arm. Its no where near JRs caliber though. Flacco’s prob a good kid, but he is so far from ready. Footwork, accuracy – you name it, he’s gotta work on it. But hey, he does have an arm. I swear these announcers kill me with that.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
just saying big arms doesn’t make an nfl qb. ..thats all…i’m sure everyone agrees.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
The defense is mixed up a good bit and they actually DO blitz. Its just not noticable b/c they rarely get through to the QB – just gobbled up by blockers. So the viewer rarely notices it – esp on TV.
late
January 28th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Jh, Lefty, BHP, Dogg, Dakota, Bigelow, Terrapin, I was on the San Diego Discharge site and they have about 20 posts a day, coming off an appearence in the AFC Championship game!! 20 freaking stupid posts. Even before this little coaching debacle, we were having a couple of hundred posts a day. Raider fans are the most knowledgable, dedicated, passionate fans, and it’s all you guys. You guys make me proud to know all of y’all and interact with ya. Nite all.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I hope the Raiders draft Chris Long and he takes number 75, so I don’t have to buy another jersey.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Oak- Im deffinatly in that 95%, but thats why Im here to learn more from you guys.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Ryan- LOL
January 28th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
whats up nation….
like ive said before, i cant get up to date news and opinions from raider fans here in cowgirl county.
i love this blog and what it stands for.
RAIDER FAQHIN NATION BABY!
January 28th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Like I said last week when the stories came out, THERE IS NOTHING TO ALL THIS NONSENSE. KIFFIN IS HAPPY, AL IS HAPPY, RYAN IS HAPPY.
LIFE IS GOOD IN RAIDER LAND…..COME ON NOW, LETS NOT ALWAYS THINK DOOM AND GLOOM
PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION PEOPLE
January 28th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Jerry, I have only one question about the Lofton interview.
Was it white smoke or black smoke coming out of the chimney?
January 28th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Al needs to flush out the mole in his house. Sue ESPN and make them defend their story by revealing the mole.
The only good mole is a dead mole =(
January 28th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Jh you’re right they do mix it up quite a bit. And play different fronts as well as zone. But you’d swear that Ryan never heard of a blitz and has no clue what a zone is. Everything they say that they want Ryan to do he already does, but the defense wasn’t successful so they blame the coach. So be it, it’s just that when I read it sometimes it really gets to me. We just didn’t execute and tackle bottom line. The scheme was fine. maybe the playcalling at times you could question but not the scheme. The Patriots run the same defense a lot but they have very smart vets and they execute and rarely make mistakes.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
The reason why Kiffin prefers a cover 2 to a man up style D is the system. In interviews he has stated that he likes the Colts D because they are succesful no matter what players they plug in the system. Someone stated earlier that Man is better “if you have the players to run it.” That is the whole point. I think Kiffin would prefer to put the players he has into a system. This would keep them disciplined and allow them to stay within the system and not get over aggressive and out of posistion.
That is a weakness of our LB. They over-pursue and get blocked out of their lanes. With the CB turned away from the line in man coverage, there are huge gaps to run through. Stu was no help and the Raiders got gashed for huge gains on the ground.
A cover 2 would help stop the run. It would not stuff it, but it would slow it down. Sort of a “bend but don’t break.”
January 28th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
It’s a wrap nite guy’s
January 28th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
LOL, you guys are talking about how Kiffin is happy and all is well, while in the same breath saying that Saunders is going to be hired as OC. Kiffin is our playcaller. Knapp basically holds Kiffin’s chord. Kiffin is like Gruden when it comes to play calling. He is calling the plays, period. So, if Davis hires one of his guys to undermine him, how’s he happy? You guys are in for a rude awakening. This is far from over.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Kobee, excellent point. Why doesn’t Al sue ESPN for this “false” story? Could it be because it isn’t actually false, and ESPN’s counter suit would confirm the story? We know it’s not because Al doesn’t like lawsuits….
Al Davis has other ideas. Rather than take this to court and get the tables turned on him (remember, in court, people take oaths, former players, coaches, etc., and just imagine what would come out…), he’d rather downplay the story. He knows his fan club will buy it.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Kiffin is really happy:
He’s vocal about wanting a Cover 2, yet Ryan is staying. Sure, between that and Al considering hiring Saunders to undermine him, Kiffin is just smittens. Some of you can convince yourselves of anything, I swear.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
test
January 28th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Those of you talking bout’ the Fins, JJ’s talking about trading up to number 1 for McFadden.
Sorry Dakota, your wet dream is over.
By the way, Roger-Cromarty looked excellent Saturday, along with Ellis and Laws.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Question?? Where did you see that the Long family did not want the Raiders to draft Chris Long or the way Howie used to refer to him Christopher?
January 28th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I just want to someone to walk the plank for this – this is about loyalty, this is about your “word”, this is about ethics, trust……………..blah , blah, blah , blah, blah.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
you got to be kidding me Jerry finally let me back in. I’ve been blocked out ever since I went off on ad several weeks ago, this is too funny, I was getting use to not being in here but I did sort of miss it. i’m going to pace myself. I must admit there is no other Raider blog like this one, believe me I’ve searched!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Blackholepriest,
It might come as a surprise to you but it just so happens that some of us actually watch the games, so stop trying to BS us. We NEVER blitz. Never. I have at least parts of every game this season still on tape. I can watch any of them right now, 2 or 3 series, and I’ll bet you I won’t see one blitz. 4 pass rushers, man coverage. And, sure, our linebackers will play zone at times. Doesn’t matter if we’re getting killed on the outside one on one. It’s still man coverage. Zone coverage is a primarily zone defense, which we do not run.
Stop assuming people here don’t know football.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
[...] SouthTexasRaider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by SouthTexasRaider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractwhats up nation…. like ive said before, i cant get up to date news and opinions from raider fans here in cowgirl county. i love this blog and what it stands for. RAIDER FAQHIN NATION BABY! [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
[...] MaddenRaider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by MaddenRaider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractKobee, excellent point. Why doesn’t Al sue ESPN for this “false” story? Could it be because it isn’t actually false, and ESPN’s counter suit would confirm the story? We know it’s not because Al doesn’t like lawsuits… … [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Jerry writes:
(Taylor disagrees with this. He called to say Kiffin’s later comments in Mobile about Ryan being under contract and being “excited” about Ryan’s return refute my contention. To me, the key part of that quote was “Rob is under contract.”)
………
You see a lot of that going on in this comments section, too, Jerry. People using statements as “proof” that something is or isn’t. John Madden says he loves Al Davis? Well there you have it, Al is the best owner to coach for.
Seeing Taylor pulled the same rouse with you, you can bet that either some of the fans have caught on to this spin tactic, or that perhaps some of these “fans” commenting here are in fact Raider employees doing a little damage control in cyberspace.
Pathetic. If the organization only put this much effort into building winning teams, we’d have a rack full of Lombardis.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I like Kiffin, let him coach.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Ok, I got it figured out.
Remember he said that one thing, back at the beginning of the year…? something about the past glory of the raiduhs, then we saw Lane Kiffin at practice making up new slogans, and again saw him NOT playing Jamarcus Russell? (hmm maybe paybacks?) – and omg he DIDN’T WEAR A RAIDER HAT like Nolan wore a Niner cap! ..and little know fact is that the IS A WALKER behind THE PODIUM!.
LANE KIFFIN IS AL DAVIS!
Call Adam Sphincster I think I’m on to something…
January 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
btw what is that Football » Comment on Lofton interview concludes by… thing – it is frikkin annoying. Runs up the post count oo.
Weird.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Can’t we all just get along.
I am still in the Al must go part of divided nation. Let’s see if the Raiders make any real attempt to get real free agents in here and not the LJ’s of the world. Lord knows they have cap space, what are they waiting for? Make a run at Haynesworth, he can be bought. IF they don’t sign any noteworthy fa’s then I can assume my theory is correct and Al just wants the money and the lip service.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Media made most of this up.
There’s some truth there.
A little.
Saunders is not impressive.
We don’t need Redskin table scraps.
Offense was good.
Passing and receiving was the weakest part of it.
Lofton could fix that.
Wait till Russell gets his legs.
You can kill teams and punish chronic blitzers with a short pass offense.
And then destroy them deep with Russell’s rocket arm.
Defensive line sucked.
Cable showed the difference a great coach can make.
New defensive line coach would do it.
Linebackers are good.
Dbacks are adequate, but we need a Tatum-like punisher.
Kiffin knows how to call plays.
He’s a smart guy.
He’ll only get smarter.
These coaches will all be best buddies if they’re winning.
If he performs next year, Al will give him whatever the hell he wants.
I think once he gets the right coach in there he’ll start to faze himself out.
Even Al has to realize that his current ineptitude is legendary.
His family’s probably already working on getting him to recede into the background.
We hope.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Back from vacation:
I posted about a week and a half ago about information concerning the Raiders and there future state. I mentioned I worked for the city of Oakland in my uncle’s office and also have a step brother working in the production department for the Raiders. I went back and read some comments, some good and some bad. In no way did I ever claim to have “sources”. I pick up on “crumbs” of info and will continue to pass it along to my fellow fans. Its up to each individual to obtain there own opinion of my posts. I posted that the city of Anaheim was pushing for the Raiders to move back in 2011, for now, fans in Oakland are safe. Curt Pringle has had recent visits to the city of Oakland and I figured he was visiting Mr. Davis in Alameda….. I was wrong. Mr. Pringle ( Mayor of Anahiem ) was in town on different matters not concerning the NFL. While on vacation in L.A the past week I did some research and talked to some people and apperently the city of Anaheim is interested in the Jacksonville franchise. If Jacksonville does not fall through then the NFL will grant expansion in So Cal at or before 2014. So Cal had enough of Mr.Davis ( shocking ) and want nothing to do with the Raiders. As for recent events, I really beleive the media jumped the gun and blew it. People I spoke to said Kiffin was gone from Alameda for a total of 6 days after the end of the season along with the rest of the coaching staff. There might have been a dissagreement between Kiffin and Ryan but it was over Millard and Perry along with philosaphy but nothing more. I wish I could say I got that from a strong source but the truth is its just word around the campfire. As for Kiffin not wearing Raider gear at the All star game, If I’m not mistaking, Nolan only had on his 9er hat on for about a quarter before putting on an Under Armour beenie the rest of the way. I’m not a big supporter of Mr. Davis ( used to be ) but proof the media spins things out of control in the East Bay…… The ‘07 Falcons lost there star player Micheal Vick to a jail term before the season stars in one of the worst player scandals in recent NFL history, also there HC quits in the middle of the season only to take another job before Arthur Blank could blink yet nothing was ever mentioned about Mr. Blanks ability to run a team. Can you imagine if J. Russell was arrested and convicted on dog fighting charges before the season started and Kiffin quits 10 games in and takes a job at Arkansas?!?!?!?!? The media would proclaim Mr. Davis as senile while they made out Mr. Blank as the victim. I know my Raiders have had problems over the past 20 years, but other teams have been through worse and it is ludicrous how the media spins things in the bay area, especially with the Silver and Black.
Keep the faith
Stay in.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:18 am
so not to be a downer. i read this every day but rarely post. i am a huge raider fan, but also a journalist and the comment that said why doesn’t al sue ESPN is ridiculous. i’m sorry, but don’t be ignorant.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:24 am
[...] G wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by G”Here’s ONLY a quick extractI like Kiffin, let him coach. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 12:24 am
[...] bishop916 wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by bishop916″Here’s ONLY a quick extractbtw what is that Football » Comment on Lofton interview concludes by… thing – it is frikkin annoying. Runs up the post count oo. Weird. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 1:58 am
This is a good read, very funny.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/29/SPUDUNPUT.DTL
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 am
So the long and the shrt of it is that as with all organizations not populated by YESmen, there was some disagreement and it worked itself out.
Lofton may replace the WR coach with an eye toward developing Higgins, a draft choice and getting Curry back on track. This is essential for Kiffin’s “open it up” plan and Russell’s development.
So when will NFLN fire Adam S for having a record resembling Cam Cam?
“Much ado about nothing…”
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 am
I’d like to say something about some of the Raiders fan sites out there; Great members, and I mean that.
But the mods, on the other hand, must have missed the buss to the police academy. That about sums some of these sites up.
If any of you blowhard mods happen to read this, understand something: Being a mod of a sports fan site is not the equivalent of being a sworn peace officer. It’s not even as important as being a substitute teacher. It’s not even as important as volunteering to sell snow cones at a little league baseball game.
If someone’s making threats or something, I can see playing Sgt. Badass and laying down the law. But for bashing Al Davis and calling out some goofball for invoking the USMC’s “Semper Fi” slogan in a shameless attempt to rally fans into ignoring the BS going on with this team right now? Get real.
And, good luck trying to convince your members the team is not in complete shambles. Perhaps if your guys’ overall editorials on the team were a bit more honest, as opposed to the complete spin jobs they are, you wouldn’t have so many members quick to step up and say what needs to be said about this organization. Just a pointer.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:22 am
[...] Washington Raider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by Washington Raider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractso not to be a downer. i read this every day but rarely post. i am a huge raider fan, but also a journalist and the comment that said why doesn’t al sue ESPN is ridiculous. i’m sorry, but don’t be ignorant. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Coach Kiffin:
An amazing thing happend, you had the overwhelming support of Raider Nation over the Godfather of that nation. We backed you, now it’s time for you to back us. I am not talking X’s and O’s but rather making a committment to the Raiders and meaning it. Whether that is for one year or ten. Yes yes that goes both ways and the organization should do the same towards you, but there is no controling certain individuals.
January 29th, 2008 at 4:03 am
[...] BK wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by BK”Here’s ONLY a quick extractRo, shhhhh. Come on, now. I’m trying to make my site seem like a legit fan site that enforces it’s rules without prejudice. I told you. You can shill for the team and rip the Al bashers all you want, breaking every rule with impunity. … [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Why not package Lamont Jordan and Andrew Walter (who I think will be very good in the right system) together for draft picks? Or, if Sauders becomes OC, that might be an argument for keeping Walter. I have mixed feelings about Sauders … he knows the AFC West, runs a killer offense sometimes, but it’s also the most notoriously complicated system in the league. So we may be looking (if he’s hired) at yet another long transition for the whole offense to learn a new system with the world’s longest playbook. One it takes, though, that could really be something …
But for the continuing Ryan experiment, I agree with several posters here: draft on defense. Give Ryan some run stuffing DT’s and then we’ll see how the year goes.
Hope stability is returning Raider Nation and we can all move on.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:38 am
I read Saunders is talking with the Rams
January 29th, 2008 at 5:41 am
WHAT IF… Kiffin really did get the cart before the horse and “fired” Ryan. Al probably freaked out, 1. why didn’t you consult me 2. who the heck are you going to hire? My guess Kiff wanted the Tampa assistant and then figured out after the fact that he couldnt have him (due to his contract) 3. Al likes ryan
I do have a feeling that if Kiffin stays beyond next season and there is not a hugh improvement in the D Ryan will be gone.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Just a thought about the draft.
There’s been much talk about Chris Long with the Howie connection etc.
But we all know that one of the biggest tests for Mr Davis is how players look “getting off the bus.”
In this respect and maybe also in terms of total upside, I would think Al would be more interested in Calais Campbell, of Miami, than he would Long.
Campbell goes 6-8, 282, i.e. a Julius Peppers style of build.
Of course, there’s nothing to say Al will go D-Line.
He’s prolly had Lane Kiffin in his office whinging about us not having good enough corners to play the Al Davis defense.
Now, how might Al answer that?
If he thinks there’s a corner out there who has elite potential, Al may very well draft him and ignore all our more pressing needs.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:48 am
[...] NC Raider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by NC Raider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractWhy not package Lamont Jordan and Andrew Walter (who I think will be very good in the right system) together for draft picks? Or, if Sauders becomes OC, that might be an argument for keeping Walter. I have mixed feelings about Sauders … [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 6:04 am
imagine being the owner of a business that is not doing as well as it once had…
you understand that what is needed is a bright, young energetic manager who can get your business back on track…
you interview him and he is impressive… smart, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and respectful…
he agrees to come on board and turn things around…
and while you don’t agree with everything he has done… you can see that he has got the place moving in the right direction… not as quickly as you hoped… but definately in the right direction…
and you’re thinking… okay… we need to talk about this… make our plans for the next phase…
and then you discover he doesn’t view being a part of your organization as a long term situation… that he really is just padding his resume and looking for a better deal…
you’re thinking… hey… nobody knew about this kid until i found him… things get worse…
your customers are telling you to step aside and turn the whole thing over to him… he starts acting as though he no longer works for you and can do as he pleases including dealing with other management without consulting you…
and you see a situation slowly getting out of control…
you realize this kid can trash your company and walk away and you will be to blame…
so what do you do with a manager who is looking for a better job???
January 29th, 2008 at 6:15 am
I don’t get it. Why would JJ want to trade up for McFadden. Unless Fred Taylor retires or is traded I just don’t see it happenning.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Florida Pete,
Good post. That’s probably closer to the truth of the situation than anyone is willing to admit. However, remember people have been calling for AL’s job for years. AL doesn’t care about these fair-weather screamers. As soon as were back on top they all will shut-up and go back to cheering AL and Raider as if these sown times never happen.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:39 am
i think Mr Davis is in a no win situation…
he will not get credit when the Raiders do well…
but he will definately get the blame…
January 29th, 2008 at 6:41 am
the faction of our raider nation that maintains “as soon as we’re back on top, all of the screamers will shut up and go back to cheering big al…..” are dreamers. you’re asking an increasingly lame (physically and mentally) 78 year old to bring energy and vitality to the job of building your castle without the aid of power tools. oh, and since his main talent is alienating others, he isn’t going to get good people to help him.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I have followed the Raiders for 42 years.
Davis has acknowledged that he needs better players. He admitted as much when he stated that Kiffin’s knowledge of college talent was impressive and an important factor in his hiring.
The 2006 defense was a mirage created when opposing teams were rarely behind and played ultra conservative.
Kiffin is a talented guy, but for him not to see that is a big miss and a reason why he needs to work WITH Davis. Davis is an extremely knowledgable football man. You will never tell Davis what to do but he can be influenced. That is how you have to work with ANY boss.
Kiffin seemed to be doing pretty well with this concept until now. Kiffin should be focused on getting better defensive lineman. This is not a Rob Ryan/Keith Millard problem.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Aren’t you guys glad you bought into all this B.S. hype for the last week. You must have ADD or something if you think any of this Raiders speculation is anything more than media folks having nothing elso to talk about until the draft. Go to the beauty salon with your mother if you want gossip. I prefer to process things after they actually happen.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Winning cures all and AL knows how to win in the NFL. When we get back on top whether some that absolutely hate AL will give him credit won’t matter to AL. Being on top is credit enough. Just 5 years ago AL and the Raiders had the entire league and all the AL haters eating crow. We lose the Superbowl and out comes all the fairweather screamers whinning, crying and screaming about nothing. We can’t be on top all the time, but we’re still one the more successful franchises in the NFL. Some here act as if we’re the Arz.Cardinals or the Det.Lions.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:14 am
LMAO, This wasn’t fair weathered fans my friend, it was practically the whole Raider Nation except for the yes man. Nation backed kid Kiffin and I bet that just kills you Al athletic supporters, so you gotta try and degrade us.
I agree Al could not care less, fans are just necessary evils for him to make money off that are controlled by the media.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:15 am
To know that the Raiders will be back on top is no dream. To know that AL will have a guiding hand in that process is no dream. To think that a stubborn individual will admit that he/she is wrong especially when the topic concerns Big AL just might be a dream.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:21 am
When will the Raiders get back on top? If they do, people will give credit to the coach first, then Al. Kraft always get mentioned 2nd behind Belichick. If Al could handle that, Jon Gruden would still be our coach.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:23 am
LOL!!! Please. You’re trying to validate some obscure poll vote on a web page. Yeah, AL is shaking in his boots over that. And whether AL cares about the fans, I don’t know. But I do know that AL wants to win and win badly, right now. There are plenty of real examples of owners around the NFL that truly deserve that title of only caring about money not winning. That fact is proven by the same teams continuing to fail year after year; decade after decade.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:25 am
speaking for myself…
i have not degraded people who do not like Mr Davis…
although i have come to wonder why you bother to be a raider fan…
Al Davis has been the guiding hand behind this franchise for 45 years… he might know a thing or two…
but as time goes on, character becomes an increasing issue… not just with Al Davis, but with every other owner…
these days it seems loyalty doesn’t mean much… and so many people are supporting a newcomer with questionable loyalty to the Raiders over a man who has been the Raiders for 45 years…
i don’t know…
but it is bothersome to see the Raider Nation taking a newcomer’s side based on so little…
January 29th, 2008 at 7:25 am
You people amaze me. The team goes out of its way to produce a spasmatic front to indicate “everything is OK, move along” and you all take it hook, line and sinker. Meanwhile, the offense improved last year and the defense regressed considerably…BUT THE RAIDERS BRING IN NOT ONE BUT TWO OFFENSIVE ASSISTANTS FOR INTERVIEWS. Al is still just being a meddling fool.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Credit is credit what order is relative. When the Raiders were on top during the Gruden era, Gruden was given credit resurrecting the team and AL was credited in hiring Gruden as well as “helping” to bring in the players he wanted and needed. And the Raider will be back on top sooner than you think.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Rob Ryan must be thanking his Lucky Mullet that Big Al stepped in to prevent Kiff from dropping the Axe on him. The Mullet thinks he could get a job in 2 seconds?? Yeah right.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:33 am
you keep cheering for al, goon. there’s allot of us cheering for the raiders, and whatever it takes to make them better. we don’t see big al as helping in that regard, not at this point in his career.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Florida Pete…
I for one am not taking Kiffin’s side over Al’s side. I am taking the Raiders’ side over both of them. I want to see the Raiders be a dominant team again. Period. Kiffin needs dedicate himself fully to the Raiders (That is a Given. Al, however, needs to start doing things the right way, not Al’s way. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again each time expecting a different result.
That is what people want to see from Al. The willingness to put his own ego aside for the good of the team. Try new ways of doing things. Try to copy some of the ways other owners have managed their teams.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Dishing on Al Davis by the press, what a hard thing to do. Feels like all the media is Fox News(propaganda) & Davis is Obama/Clinton/Edwards, fill in the blank. That would make Belicheat Reagan who did no wrong or maybe Nixon which the media says “everyone does it he just got caught”! Roaring back is the voice of reason saying “Kiffin, you’re 32 yrs old, you didn’t check with the GM. WHICH IS ME!”
Now my hope is Al Davis is as petty as the rest of you say & will fire Ryan & say “Kiff, you were right of course but I wanted to do it.” This way EVERYONE gets what they want. Kiffin, Davis, Ryan, & the media gets it’s licks in on what a F*cked up owner Al is because he wants to be the boss over his OWN team. Maybe the media should buy their own team to run, hell, give them Arizona they’re just a tax right off as fars as I see. They’ve been to 1 playoff games in 30yrs? Shame on you loyal Raider fans, you could be Cardinal fans after all! GO ARIZONA MEDIA CARDINALS!!! yeah, right.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Man! Chris M. (ESPN) and Adam S. (the famed rumor monger from NFL net.) really sent the nation on a major head spin with all their BS. The raiders senior exec. issued the following statement to set things right:
Herrera insists the Kiffin-Davis feud isn’t the juicy story ESPN’s Chris Mortensen made it out to be.
“It’s not an issue. Lane’s the coach. It’s not an issue,” Herrera said. “I think the one accurate thing he 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.”
And this is exactly as it’s happened. Herrera also mentioned somewhere that “all these false reports about the raiders were unconscionable, and that these reporters should be held accountable” for all the crap they report. I agree, this is exactly where the nation should be focusing all it’s energy…instead of slamming Al, or Kiffin…go after the people who put out this garbage.
-Pissed at the media!
January 29th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Please TW….
If you are going to make political statements on this board, at least take the time to educate yourself that you may respond properly.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:45 am
[...] ATLRaider wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by ATLRaider”Here’s ONLY a quick extractRob Ryan must be thanking his Lucky Mullet that Big Al stepped in to prevent Kiff from dropping the Axe on him. The Mullet thinks he could get a job in 2 seconds?? Yeah right. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
[...] LA Dave wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by LA Dave”Here’s ONLY a quick extractyou keep cheering for al, goon. there’s allot of us cheering for the raiders, and whatever it takes to make them better. we don’t see big al as helping in that regard, not at this point in his career. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I wonder why you yes men are a Raider fans. Have some passion dare to think outside the box. Al’s committed to winning in the last five years? Sorry, he’s either lost his way or thrown in the towel and decided it was better to make money. If the Raiders start winning again it will be because Al butt out and let the coaches coach and broke the MO of scouting and dumped the dumbest projects for smart football (notice I said played football, not track) players
January 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
“Talk of Kiffin’s demise premature…”
Thanks for reporting nothing.
So it’s to be expected that ANG is going to be a parrot organization for BSPN?
I expected better coverage, but all we got was worship of BSPN and NFLN crap regurgitated for us to chew on.
“Make of it what you will, then, but Kiffin coached the North team in the Senior Bowl on Saturday in a black Under Armour jacket, while his assistants sported gear adorned with the Raiders logo.
Don’t mistake that for a coincidence in light of Raiders managing general partner Al Davis reportedly drafting a resignation letter almost two weeks and sending it to Kiffin’s representatives for Kiffin to sign.”
good call.
real good call.
so I guess I will group ANG in with the rest of the crap media sources. I will have to look for more direct lines of info instead of locations more interested in big headlines and the worship of the almighty dollar.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:56 am
K-Rock Says:Please TW….
If you are going to make political statements on this board, at least take the time to educate yourself that you may respond properly.
Obviously a Fox/Republican fan.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Not really. I read my news on the net. Not from Fox either.
Lets keep the politics in another place and keep this board for the Raiders.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:06 am
K-rock you are right players come and go, the team goes and comes and maybe goes again, but I will still root for them. No one not even Al is bigger then them. They existed before him and I am pretty sure they will exist after him. Yes yes, he is the Raiders but all good things have to end sometime. It’s better to end on a note where you are still loved rather than what he is closely becoming. Lombardi was the Packers and they respect him today but they don’t dwell over him, them move on and so will the Raiders
My point was people not some poll, every site I went on back Kiff over Al on this issue.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:06 am
LA Dave,
Nice cheap shot. What other gems do you have for those that disagree with your position? My love and loyalty to the Raiders has been and will always be life long. With that and because of that AL can not be ignored.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:07 am
K-rock can’t we combine them? I really hit the politcal blogs hard as well and it sure would make my life easier, lmao
January 29th, 2008 at 8:09 am
sorry about the type o’s
January 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Just using an analogy, if you can’t handle it politically that’s fine but maybe you don’t know what an analogy is. But then maybe you’re an authoritarian republican oversteping his boundries who has to police this blog for everyone else.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Man, this board would go south real quickly if politics got in the mix.
Not to mention giving me a headache.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Another flaw of Rob Ryan’s is not holding players accountable…how else can you explain the lack of tackling ability by almost every single member of the defense.
Our LB’s may be good in coverage, but Morrison & Howard aren’t much better that Stu when it comes to tackling. It all starts at the top…with King Mullet.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:18 am
If I were responding to TW, I might say something like this…
Maybe you are an uneducated liberal who speaks his opinion as though it is fact and makes claims about people and organizations he knows little about.
Maybe you use analogies to spew venomous attacks on certain people with different views than your own.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Yeah …..leave politics alone……most of you aren’t even smart enough to understand football.
And I still love the Raiders despite the fact they’re smack dab in the middle of liberal heaven.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:26 am
AAAAHHHH, a Fox man, no substance just accusations & name calling. (Uneducated liberal?)
January 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Al Davis for president.
Just win baby.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:29 am
It all starts with keeping offensive lineman out of the Raiders secondary. The Raiders defensive line needs new young talent (Draft), not recycled free agents. The Raiders have had enough different coaches with the same result to prove that this is a player problem.
The D line is simply not talented enough.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:44 am
You call me a name caller after you LABEL me a Fox man and then call me an authoritarian republican.
You start the name calling, then cry foul when someone else responds.
Typical.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Stick a fork in Lane.
He’s DONE.
Just win Baby.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Yes, Sands was a colossal disappointment…let’s hope that he can turn things around…and hopefully there will be better players brought in through the draft on D-Line – Long, Ellis or Dorsey (though I don’t see any decent free agents wanting to come to Oakland these days with the chaos that Al has created)
Even so, I was surprised how weak Morrison & Howard were at tackling… probably because they were babied by Rob Ryan in practice.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Forida Pete…thanks for perspective, posts#42,#181.
BHP…I too love the DBs playing man to man and having great D-linemen pressuring the QB, the Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes days were the best. I just hope Ryan can do a better job against the spread offense. We have to get better on the D-line, left tackle and center. If Ellis and Dorsey are gone and we have not traded down, draft J. Long if the position has not been covered in free agency.
RJV78…its all about winning and if the Raiders climb to the top soon, then we will have a lot more choices where we play football in the future. If the Bay Area does not work out for the future, I would not mind the Sacramento area.
Huff24…I hope you figured out how the loyalty thing is suppose to work.
Hobs Gnarly…Post #189, true, most of the Raider fans want AD to step down as the GM but we still owe him love and respect.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:00 am
K-Rock Says:
You call me a name caller after you LABEL me a Fox man
—-your actions speak for itself.
and then call me an authoritarian republican.
—–Actions, actions, actions, not unsubstatiative proof: K-Rock Says: spew venomous attacks on certain people with different views than your own.
Venomous attacks? OOOOWWWW You could work for Karl Rove.
I stand by this statement: no substance just accusations & name calling.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Mad Dog I will give you yes we owe him love and respect, but that will go south if he keeps it up. Mind you I’m not one calling on him to die, just step aside while he still is fondly remembered as a winner
January 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Or at least hire a GM, I don’t care who it is Denny Green?
January 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
So, “Exlain it to Me (an oxy moron when applied to the rest of your hyprcritical pap)” it’s one thing to play the Rodney King card, (but for a mere second) (yeah. . .leave politics alone) then you go on to insult your fellow bloggers by eviscerating their football knowledge (two words that should never be associated together. Add “football” references to “intelligence” to the mix)because it differs from what you subscribe to.
And you, K-Rock, adding a response recently drafted from the “fair abd balanced” department of FOX News, straight off the desk of Bill O’Riley in your rebuttal to RaiderTW. As if so-called uneducated liberals have a monopoly upon commenting on the opposition. Seems it is more akin for Neo-cons to cast aspersions in a venemous fashion upon those representing a differing viewpoint than theirs. This wouldn’t be you, would it?
Those whom are endeared to every political party worldwide are equally gulity of that tendency.
Do any amongst us have a direct pipeline to, say, the Raiders fron ofice? Have to answer in the negative. Thus we engage in the thought process exchange known as a “blog.” I have witnessed more hatred and disparagement in these pages than @ a Jerry Springer screening. Oh, what has become of us?
RaiderTW, if you purport yourself as a liberal please proofread your copy before submitting. Remember; it’s one thing to be suspected of simplemindedness. It’s altogether another to publically editorialize and erase all doubt.
It is quite fair to substantiate one’s viewpoint. Even better if one correctly quotes history in reference.
It’s quite another to engage in character assination by elementarily discrediting others opinions with such generalities as “all you uneducated liberals (as if a liberal opinion is berift of an educational background. Sounds as if the political stance that one ascribes to is beholden to a monopoly of higher education. Remember, this is still the United States. One’s opinion is a necessisity. The ability to respect that of others is a requirement)” or “all those people think like that.” Talk about uneducated.
This is a football blog. When I submit a diatribe intermingling football, politics, history and current events I endeavor to due dilligance in regards to researching my subject matter. I realize our talents and viewpoints differ greatly; thus many typos, grammatical errors and syntax violations are the norm. I am not guiltless in this regard. However, attempt to read your copy outloud before submitting. This will spare many amongst us from violating our already depleated Tylenol supply.
Otherwise, I patiently await the playing out of our beloved team’s coachinc scenarios, the pre draft combine, free agent acquisition process and a bright future. Hope it takes place in my relative youth.
late
antispy3
January 29th, 2008 at 9:05 am
For the record TW it’s faux news not fox if your progressive minded.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Don’t know if someone has already commented on this, but SacBee (jones) says Saunders’ agent reports no contact from the raiders, while Corkran from CC times says Saunders’ agent says there is an interview. if i did my job this poorly, i’d get fired.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:16 am
or Fixed Noise, Hobs.
I have never had a problem with a base man-to-man defense provided there is a semblance of QB pressure. Then, to me it is the best pass defense. Yeah, those dump passes and screens can go for big yardage against such defense, that’s why LB’s have to be up to snuff. The D-line is the key to the whole scenario.
People can use 3-4, 4-3, zone, man-to-man, Steeler/Tampa 2, doesn’t matter if the D-line and the rest don’t measure up it won’t out very well.
Get RR some more players and I think he’ll do fine. Personally I’d rather work for someone that I like rather than someone I have no enjoyment being around. But, then again I have not had a boss in 14 years.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:16 am
So, am out of line ( politically) by saying that Al Davis could have saved us fans some pain if he would hold a State of the Raiders Nation Address?
Al doesn’t work that way, how many yrs has he functioned without a press representative? He just doesn’t care what the press or league thinks & it’s just funny to see them smear rumours around (sound like a certain news station?).
January 29th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Actually, I would like to see them get Sed. Ellis, but on a hunch I think Trevor Laws in the 2nd or 3 round.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I heard Saunders was already talking with the Rams
January 29th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Tw
Those smears com from were Tw, oh that’s left MSNBC too
January 29th, 2008 at 9:25 am
antispy3 Says:
RaiderTW, if you purport yourself as a liberal please proofread your copy before submitting.
Fox Man Says:
Tw
Those smears com from were Tw, oh that’s left MSNBC too
—-Now that fairly unbalanced!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Ok a few things 1st why is it every damn day some idiot has to make a post saying first? Its a damn waste of blog space and very child like grow up people raider fans have a bad enough rep as it is.
Next I think the poster that said Saunders did well everywhere was talking about his time as a OC only although how well e did in washington is debatebel.
Am I wrong but was Saunders not the head coach that year the chargers went 1 and 15? I could be wrng about that.
Finally in the last couple blogs i have seen some posters saying all are picks were busts.
You can not judge a class after just one season.
JR and MB were a wash this year JR barley played and MB never saw the feild so at least in the case of these two you will not be abel to judge them tell after their 3rd seasons at the earliest JR in particular.
As for the rest well Miller shows promice Moses was cut and as for the rest its still too early to judge.
Wait another year or two before you pass judgment on them and pray we dont have a new coaching staff every year.
Also by all fricken mean stop posting first every damn day dont you guys got something better to do with your time. LOL
January 29th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Raider TW…Here ya go this site has hundreds of listings for political blogs to the left right and the center.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/politics
January 29th, 2008 at 9:39 am
[...] Fox Man wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by Fox Man”Here’s ONLY a quick extractTw. Those smears com from were Tw, oh that’s left MSNBC too. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 9:41 am
??? -
Mike Riley was the coach of the Chargeless when they went 1-15
January 29th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Terrapin,
JJ stands for jerry jones, not jax jags
January 29th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Raider TW…Here ya go this site has hundreds of listings for political radio to the left right and the center.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com
January 29th, 2008 at 9:45 am
MaddenRaider Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 am
“I’d like to say something about some of the Raiders fan sites out there; Great members, and I mean that.
But the mods, on the other hand, must have missed the buss to the police academy. That about sums some of these sites up.
If any of you blowhard mods happen to read this, understand something: Being a mod of a sports fan site is not the equivalent of being a sworn peace officer. It’s not even as important as being a substitute teacher. It’s not even as important as volunteering to sell snow cones at a little league baseball game.
If someone’s making threats or something, I can see playing Sgt. Badass and laying down the law. But for bashing Al Davis and calling out some goofball for invoking the USMC’s “Semper Fi” slogan in a shameless attempt to rally fans into ignoring the BS going on with this team right now? Get real.
And, good luck trying to convince your members the team is not in complete shambles. Perhaps if your guys’ overall editorials on the team were a bit more honest, as opposed to the complete spin jobs they are, you wouldn’t have so many members quick to step up and say what needs to be said about this organization. Just a pointer.”
Here’s a pointer for ya: Stop crying like a baby because you keep getting kicked off. There is a reason for it. I just wish it was permanent. Now go blow your nose, wipe those tears out of your eyes and go eff yourself!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Coaching ResultsGlossary · CSV · PRE
Year Age Tm Lg G W L T W-L% G plyf W plyf L plyf W-L% Rank Notes
1986 39 San Diego Chargers NFL 8 3 5 0 .375 5
1987 40 San Diego Chargers NFL 15 8 7 0 .533 3
1988 41 San Diego Chargers NFL 16 6 10 0 .375 4
3 yrs 39 17 22 0 .436 0 0 0 4.0 Avg Finish
Games over .500: -5
Super Bowl Wins: 0
Overall Championships: 0
Conference Championships: 0
Division Championships: 0
Team’s RanksGlossary · CSV · PRE · Team Ranks in various categories, Lower ALWAYS indicates better performance.
Overall Offense Rushing Off Passing Off Defense Rushing Def Passing Def
Year Tm Tms WL% T/G Pts± Yds± Yds Pts GvA Att Yds TD Y/A FL Att Yds TD Int NY/A Yds Pts TkA Att Yds TD Y/A FR Att Yds TD Int nY/A
1986 SDG 28 24 26 23 17 12 15 27 15 24 6 27 13 2 7 13 28 13 23 24 12 13 7 15 3 1 13 25 25 24 22
1987 SDG 28 10 26 23 18 21 27 25 26 27 20 28 23 7 8 27 22 11 15 15 22 25 24 14 23 14 2 4 8 25 10
1988 SDG 28 20 22 27 26 26 27 8 24 12 19 3 4 21 26 28 16 26 21 18 26 24 22 14 17 25 18 16 18 19 17
3 yrs %tile 39 15 17 31 33 21 32 26 29 50 35 56 68 55 23 25 44 33 36 32 30 40 52 52 56 64 50 43 23 45
Copyright © 2000-2008 Sports Reference, LLC. All rights reserved.
A Sports Reference Site : About PFR | About Sports Reference | Bug or suggestion? | Privacy Statement | Conditions & Terms of Service
Most data provided by 24-7 Baseball, creators of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia
……..>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>……………….
RaiderDogg info I found on Saunders.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am
GD Says:??
jh Says:??
Fox Man Says:???
RaiderTW says: These are the same person!! Maybe???
K-Rock’s been missing since post 219
January 29th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Raider Dell -
good info on Saunders. All I really remember about him is that he was he OC at KC when they had the number 1 offense in the NFL. That was a few years ago. I’d say he did a decent job with what he had over in Washington considering his qb’s were Jason Campbell and Mr Backup Todd Collins. I have a feeling Al Saunders is just putting his name out there in relation to the Raiders to give himself some leverage with the Rams and other teams that may want his services. I highly doubt that he wants to be with the Raiders.
Lofton on the other hand is not likely to be hired in the same capacity that he had with the Chargers. If he is named WR Coach then it may also include an Assistant Head Coach title. I have a feeling that Knapp wants out and Lofton may just slide into his position as well as be the WR Coach, leaving the play calling to Lane. We should know within the next few days if not sooner.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:59 am
For all you Al Davis Apologists:
If you start with Sept. 3, 1995, the first game of their return to Oakland, it starts to get ugly. Between then and now, the Raiders are tied for 26th in the NFL (at .418), and tied for 100th among the 122 teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.
If you refine your focus to the day after their Super Bowl XXXVII beat-down, the Raiders are the worst team in or out of the NFL. Since that day, they are 19-61 (.238) — six games worse than the runner-up 49ers.
Davis’ supporters cite his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his reputation as a football visionary and innovator. He was all those things. But his second reign in Oakland will absolutely impact how he is remembered. He’ll always be the guy who built the empire. Now he’ll also be recalled as the guy who burned it to the ground.
AL DAVIS MUST GO!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Lofton gets hire as and assistant, or future head coach ?? Here goes Alvin again, Lofton is not a winner, fired as a receiver’s coach !!! He could not cut it as receiver coach with the Bolts, what makes him a candidate as a future head coach of the Faiders…….
Start returning your Faider merchandise to the Faiders front office. And start suing Alvin in court, for False Advertising of the Faiders. “Come watch a winner of a team” = False Advertising !!! Settlement = Time to travel to game, day game items you purchased [ tickets etc, ] as False Advertisement and travel time home, and medical costs when you beat your head against the seat at the game for emotional distress when the Faiders did not live up to their advertised product………….
Just sell baby and so it is !!
********************************
January 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am
TW
You can post as you wish or on any subject, it’s your call.
If you would like to talk Raiders, Draft, FA, I have some time here to chat, what is on your mind.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Norv Turner had Lofton fired because he felt undermined by him when all the players went to Lofton after the playoff loss and not Turner. That says more about Turner than Lofton.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
RaiderDogg …I have wondered about Knapp also.He is a guy that is used to calling the plays and maybe he isn’t real happy in his current role.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:06 am
RaiderDogg,
just wondering, what gives you the feeling that Knapp wants out? has he hinted at a wish to be somewhere else?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
RaiderDogg I believe he is heading to the Rams, he probably has ties to the state of Missouri as he coached KC for years there.
…………………..>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Sports > Rams > Story
Rams working on contract with Saunders
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/28/2008
In another sign that Al Saunders could be headed to St. Louis as the Rams’ offensive coordinator, the club has begun contract negotiations to bring the veteran NFL coach to Scott Linehan’s staff.
“We’re in negotiations with the Rams now,” Saunders’ agent, Bob LaMonte, told the Post-Dispatch on Monday afternoon.
“And I think we can come to an agreement.”
Negotiations are a bit tricky because Saunders is believed to have made more than Linehan did last year as Rams head coach.
Linehan makes about $2 million a year; Saunders made in excess of $2 million as offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, according to league sources, and was thought to be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL last season.
Saunders had a year left on his contract with Washington when he was fired Saturday, and he gets that money even if he doesn’t coach next season.
But Saunders wants to work. And after spending 17 years of his coaching career with either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Rams, he considers the Midwest home, and probably will live in the state once he retires.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Jh -
You’re right, Knapp would like to be able to call the plays. When he took this job with the Raiders it was basically a demotion from his previous jobs, but he wanted to get the hell out of Atlanta and rightly so.
Now that he is removed from that situation he is probably looking for the door in this one. It’s understandable and quite frankly I wouldn’t be sad to see him go. I have never been very impressed with his play calling, especially when he was with the 9ers. When he was with Atlanta his offense was like no other in the NFL, in that so many plays were designed to use Vick’s legs to get the job done, which meant a lot of bootlegs and even some option plays, so it’s hard to compare with other NFL offenses. I think that’s why Kiffin liked him though, because his offense moved the pocket around and created different launch points for the qb.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:13 am
My last post was to MaineRaida as well as Jh, sorry I forgot to include your name bro.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:13 am
lol Raider Raul…thanks man….I used to abreviate Jax Jags as JJ …it just didn’t make much sense
January 29th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Good call Dell!
January 29th, 2008 at 10:14 am
[...] M wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by M”Here’s ONLY a quick extractor Fixed Noise, Hobs. I have never had a problem with a base man-to-man defense provided there is a semblance of QB pressure. Then, to me it is the best pass defense. Yeah, those dump passes and screens can go for big yardage against … [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 10:14 am
[...] jh wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by jh”Here’s ONLY a quick extractRaider TW…Here ya go this site has hundreds of listings for political blogs to the left right and the center. http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/politics. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Saunders was just a pawn to promote negotiations by his agent leaking to the media the Raiders called.
His agent admits the raiders did inquire about him.
I wonder if that’s an endorsement of the next head coach, or just what’s up with him?
I never believed he was coming to Oaland.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
glenn dickey posted a blog encouraging the commish to step in. i have a friend that is in al’s periphery circle, and he states that al’s circle hates kif, doesn’t want him. i think the only way to get this franchise righted is to remove him like baseball was sure to do with the yankees and stienbrenner. this is making me sick and is testing my loyalty to the team. season tickets?????????? 50/50 right now after 10 years.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Roodebaker -
Where are your seats? Maybe I’ll buy them since you are giving up.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:24 am
The media spin is starting to break apart, we have no information Saunders was even contacted for the HC job.
We know Denny Green was never contacted either. Green said so himself.
I have been looking for any copy of last years Senior Bowl to see if Nolan wore only Under Armour gear with no 49 logo as well, also looking for last years opossing head coach attire.
More information will filter out soon, we may be surprised.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Raider dell is Acey40Duece.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
The Senior Bowl was sponsored by Under Armour, both head coaches were required to wear Under Armour gear all week in front of the cameras. I don’t know who sponsored the Senior Bowl last year.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Al Davis
Nice try, I don’t use multiple user names. I am who I am, I don’t have to hide behind phony names to post.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Down surfer boy.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Al Davis or whomever your multiple user name is,
Acey40Ducey is more of a Raider fan than you’ll ever be.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
What do you have to say Acey?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Just ask Alvin Davis what his carpet in his office looks like ! He got it wrong 2 times………
Just sell baby and so it is…………..
January 29th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Madden Raider
Is that you?
No, I can’t take credit for your slap down post by Acey #241.
I wish I could.
When registration starts what multiple user names will be vanquished.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I say that your real name or at least last name that you posted under was Beach. I remember you and Dell going back and forth and as I recall Dell owned you. I don’t know Dell personally but I get the feeling that he is an honest guy that probably only uses one name.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I’m not a fan….
I’m THE man.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Maybe Dells is right and you are MaddeningRaider. Either way grow some stones and stop hiding behind multiple names!
January 29th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Acey
I told RaiderDogg yesterday it not worth our time, you definetly got him upset with post 241.
I will try to avoid multiple user names, it just brings us down to their pathetic level.
Let’s talk Raiders draft or Fa.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Al Davis WAS the man…25 Years ago. Michael Jackson was cool back then too… How times have changed.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:45 am
K-Rock is K-Rock. I hide behind no other user names. As a matter of fact, check out other Raider blogs. You will find me there under the same name.
I was missing from post 219 until now because my 9:30 class was over and I am now sitting in Philosophy of Religion taking notes on the A Posteriori Cosmological Arguments for Theism.
TW…. Those who are young and not a liberal have no heart, but those who are older and not a conservative have no brain.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:52 am
And those that bring politics into a sports blog should be shot!
No offense K-Rizzle.
Dell you are right. Whoever that troll was, I think it was Beach, he appears to be gone now. No point in squabbling over nonsense anyway. You, Oakglenn, Bob Marley, Raider Dogg, Terrapin, and a few others are the only posts I usually read. Every once in a while I like to respond to other trolls to put them in their place. I mostly just read though, you guys always break it down for me. I trust what y’all say much more than the media and you are just as informed if not more.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Do you guys know if there is a “rule” for what draft picks are potentially worth? Some sort of logarithmic algorithm that can provide a range of what say a #3 or #4 first round draft pick might field?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Isn’t it funny how quiet some members of the outside press get (i’m thinking Shefter, et al) when it becomes obvious that their scoop stories were bs!
January 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
RaiderDogg Thanks for the corecting me with your post on 238.
I was not sure of my facts. Has he ever been a HC? I could have sworn he was a failed HC some place.
As for the rest of my first post it holds up that first thing some guys do on here is just plain stupid, and you can not judge a draft class as good or bad after it rookie year.
As for my name. I use the question marks cus i aint thought of a cool name for this blog yet. I got names i use in other fourms on other topics that wont work for this one. So for now I am just ??? to stay consistent if i think of something I like that will work I will change it.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Acey
Thanks
The level of frustration around here was unbelieveable.
I understand, but some of those rumors just did’t make sense.
OakGlenn, Marley, Terrapin, RaiderDogg always bring a level of assurance to this blog, they were great to read especially over the weekend.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am
??? -
Dell posted some stats earlier, Saunders was the HC of the Chargeless back in the late 80’s, so you were right about that.
How about this one for a post name:
3 Q’s or maybe Anything But 1st!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am
yo nobody fired!? nobody hired?!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:07 am
No offense taken.
I should keep those thoughts away from this board. Sometimes I just get fired up though.
Sorry Guys!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Off topic…
Not to rain on the Pats parade….but..get this:
During the Patriots last SB run in 2004 they were called for Zero Offensive Holding penalties. During the current Patriots SB run they have been called for Zero Offensive Holding penalties.
I did the math, thats a total of 5 games and 142 passing attempts and zero Offensive Holding penalties.
In 2004 they played the League´s 2nd, 3rd and 7th ranked teams in Sacks, those 3 teams accounted for 133 Sacks.
In 2007 they have faced the League´s 5th and 9th(tied) ranked teams in Sacks, those 2 teams combined for 79 Sacks.
That´s 5 games and 142 pass attempts against Defenses ranked in the Top 10 in Sacks during the season….and not one Offensive Holding called on the Pats.
They´re good, very good but are they that good?.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Acey, RaiderDogg
Early lunch,
Talk with you later.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Article with a different perspective:
Kiffin-Davis report one-sided
Column by Dave Del Grande
Article Last Updated: 01/29/2008 07:19:13 AM PST
There was something missing from the initial news account that opened another dark chapter in Raiders history last week.
Chris Mortensen’s byline should have included: “As told by Lane Kiffin.”
Or maybe it was Monte Kiffin. In either case, it sure wasn’t Al Davis.
The point is: You can only imagine how the “news” might have been reported if it had come from a member of the Davis family. I’m thinking something like this:
Lane Kiffin has threatened to make Al Davis’ life a living hell if the Raiders owner doesn’t give him $4 million for doing absolutely no work, sources close to Davis told me today.
The young man given the opportunity of a lifetime by Davis stormed into his boss’ office on the heels of a season in which his offense improved only marginally despite the organization having imported a handful of key new players, including a Super Bowl star and the No.1 pick in the draft.
Based on that “success,” Kiffin demanded full control over the defense next season or he was “outta here.” Davis obliged, handing him a letter of resignation.
Kiffin refused to sign, insisting on being paid in full or he’d go “Randy Moss” on the organization.
Proving he had a plan of destruction, Kiffin’s first act of defiance was at the Senior Bowl, when he refused to wear a Raiders jacket at the nationally televised game though all his assistants did.
Doesn’t sound like the story Mortensen reported, does it?
The moral: Use common sense before before accepting as gospel everything you hear or read.
Stay tuned for terms of the buyout.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Enjoy your lunch Dell!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
LOL I will consider that RaiderDogg better then anything else i come up with so far it would be better if we al had to register our handels thhat way others cant gaffel them so easily. LOL so anything but 1st. ok how about 2nd 3rd or 4th. LOL kidding 3 Q’s is in the running but i might wait tell we get forced to register the names that way it cant just be take from me. Seems like i am always getting stuff taken from me. LOL
Ok so not
January 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
K-Rock…. since we are supposed to be the same person I was wondering….Do we even understand A Posteriori Cosmological Arguments for Theism ?
January 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Finally…
”Most of the sports media have rolled over and played dead on the New England destroyed-tapes story. The NFL promised to get to the bottom of the Patriots’ cheating and reveal the truth to the public; instead, the NFL destroyed the New England documents and refuses to say what they contained.”
”If the documents vindicated New England or the NFL, it would have been strongly in the league’s interest to say so. Instead, the NFL has stonewalled us, so what does that make you think? Until we know what was on the videotapes and in the documents the NFL destroyed, there will always be a cloud of suspicion over the Patriots.”
”How much of an advantage did they gain by cheating? Did they really hand over everything to the league? Are they still cheating now? Most important by far, have they cheated in the Super Bowl?.”
”And all you sportscasters and sportswriters who will spend this week gushing over the Super Bowl, it would be nice if a few of you mentioned that, a mere four months ago, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell found the Patriots guilty of “a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition.”
Gregg Easterbrook espn.com, today.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am
It would also be good if we can go back and edit our stuff aside from my bad speeling which for me is normal thoes last 3 words on my 288 post aint supposed to be there.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Sorry to interrupt the bickering….
Now, let´s get back to how we suck and how we will suck forever.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Bills signed TE Teyo Johnson.
Johnson has been kicked around the league since getting drafted in the second round by the Raiders in 2003, and hasn’t played since 2005. He is a capable pass-catching tight end, but has failed in promising situations in the past. He’ll compete for a roster spot, but look for the Bills to further address the position.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I have been watching the Pats all morning on Media Day…so I had to vent a little.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Bob -
Please rain on the Pats parade, hell even snow on it and rip through with a hurricane/blizzard. The Pats have been getting games handed to them for years now, although for me it started with the infamous Tuck Rule. I didn’t notice until then because it wasn’t so damn obvious.
It must be nice to have the refs look the other way and give your team the benefit of the doubt in EVERY situation. With the numbers that you have presented it is impossible not to be called for holding several times let alone once! The refs handed The Pats that Ravens game to them late in the season, it made me sick. No wonder Bart Scott lost his cool, I probably would have reacted the same way.
Nice post Bob
Go Giants!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Jumping in on the defensive scheme topic, vis-a-vis primarily a man system verses cover 2, here’s my 2 cents.
I prefer the concept of sticking with man for a few reasons:
- As many of said, it is superior IF you have the personnel to run it
- If you have a system in place year over year the expectation is that returning players get better as the system becomes more instinctive to them
- The team is two years away from being a real contender, so there’s time to add the right players as available while waiting for the offense to mature
- The cover 2 is the current fad in the NFL. Which means that most offenses put a lot of emphasis into practising against it. Better to put something out there less used so that teams need are facing a look that they are less familiar with
- The recent (last 5-6 years) trend in the NFL has moved to TEs as primary receiving threats. This is in large part by design to defeat the cover 2 where the TE can exploit the soft seams underneath the safeties. The AFC West happens to have arguably the strongest overall set of dangerous TEs (Gonzo, Gates and up and comer Scheffler [fantasy breakout tip for '08 season] not to mention our own Miller)
- If you look at the the rcent picks of Huff and Howard I’d say that they were pickedspecifically because of their ability to man cover a TE because of the above point. Moving to cover 2 is not to their strengths
In summary, I think that with the existing personnel, coaching, and experience place that the team is closer to getting to a more effective man scheme than they are to changing to the more vanilla, and thus less effective, cover 2. There’s more to be giined in moving away from the norm and making teams adjust to us, assuming that we can stay the path and get it right by 2009.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:18 am
http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=3&blipid=14689
the above is the “official” draft value chart. I belive Bill Parcells developed this in the mid 90’s…
but i think it is flawed, as it doesn’t not weigh the cost of the pick versus it’s value…
i would rather have the 15th, 16th, and 17th picks in the first round than just the first pick only…
but the values say the equation is equal…
January 29th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Bob here is my take on the cheating…They would not have continued doing it if they felt it didn’t help.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Typing doesn’t seem to be my strong point this morning. Please excuse the many typos. And if anyone is familiar with a strange bug with Vista on a Toshiba M5 where characters are dropped only while typing into web forms, I’d love to hear more about it.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am
The Cosmolical Argument States that
i. Everything that began to exist has cause for its existence
ii. The universe began to exist
iii. Therefore, the universe has a cause for its existence
We are now looking at arguments for and against this premise.
I would understand more if I weren’t on here yapping with you guys.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Thanks Florida Pete.
I’ve seen the table before but as we can see there must be ALOT more to it.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Jh….
Weell, here´s my take on the Pats cheating stuff…
I am a huge fan of Belichick, the simple fact is that he is smarter than everyone else and that´s the reason he´s so succesful.
So, he was ”cheating” as the Commissioner said it himself, you know what?…good for him, if he found a way to beat the system and to take advantage of the rules, I have no problem with it.
The Raiders used to be called cheaters, Chuck Knoll even took them to Court over dirty play, which is another way of cheating, anything outside the rules is cheating.
So, Belichick found a way to get around the rules and more than likely benefited greatly, well blame the league for not taking care of their own product by preventing such a thing.
What bothers me is not Belichick, what bothers me is the fact that the whole media circus gets them a free pass and gushes over them.
Their job was to not let this die until it was all out in the open and they failed miserably, of course the league would not expose itself or one of it´s memebers, that´s no good business, that was the media´s responsibility…if there is such a thing.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I just saw Mortensen on the Mike Tirico show…
Same BS about the Kiffin and Al yadda yadda.
What I want to know is: DID CRAZY AL ACTUALLY SEND KIFFIN A RESIGNATION LETTER???
I heard Nancy Gay “paraphrase” the letter on the radio. Then Trask and Herrera sorta beat around the bush about how Lane still has the same control as before. I WANT THE TRUTH…I CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:37 am
BTW, the 7-8 minutes BSPN used to discuss the Kiffin situation is 6-7 minutes more air time than the Raiders got the entire friggin season on BSPN!!
Crazy Al trumps the press during Superbowl week again!!
January 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Raul…
The truth is out there.
Only Al and Kiffin know what it is.
We will never know.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Bob -
It was the media’s “responsibility” to expose the Patriots as cheaters and the NFL as enablers to that situation. What do they do? The media gushes all over the Pats just like you said. There’s some turmoil in RaiderLand and the mdeia treats it like the Raiders have it coming and continue to pile on, based on unattributed rumors and speculation.
So let me get this straight. The Pats get caught cheating, with proof and they are media darlings. The Raiders conduct business the only way they know how and get crucified by the media based on speculation, not proof. And some people say that there is no media bias. Please.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Raul,
Ask yourself; If Al did compose such a letter, how many people in the organization actually read it??
You can deduce that either Nancy Gay is full of crap and using speculative comments from “sources” or the Raiders have a major mole problem!
You decide
January 29th, 2008 at 11:43 am
K-Rock Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am
“Raul…
The truth is out there.
Only Al and Kiffin know what it is.
We will never know.”
Cue the X-Files theme music
January 29th, 2008 at 11:43 am
K-rock, isn’t it “cosmological?” It’s kind of like Descartes Ontological argument for the existence of God, where God must exist, because only a being that perfect could conceive of such existence, and put it in his brain.
Bob, rain on those f*ckrs. I have never wanted a non-Raiders NFL team to win a football game as much as I want the Giants to win on Sunday.
Klostermann’s deconstruction of the Brady/Gisele photo was good, too.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:44 am
If God did not exist it would be necessary to invent one.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Great post RaiderDogg.
This is about entertainment which is what pays the bills.
The Patriots are the darling story, Brady is the perfect cover story photo. They are not going to kill what feeds them.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Dogg, don’t get me started.
If Walt Coleman is the ref on Sunday, I may give up Football.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Saintkaufman -
Not to mention the facility that is being built by CBS at Foxboro, which is set to be a “Multi-media NFL experience for all fans of the NFL”. The fact that CBS, a known NFL affiliate, is in business with the folks that own the stadium where the Patriots play, is only further evidence of the collusion that exists within the business of the NFL and it’s partners. It’s called “A Conflict Of Interest”. The sad part is that since they are building this place at the Patiots home site, that tells me that the NFL expects the Patriots to win for many years to come. That notion makes me sick to my stomach.
Thanks for the props by the way.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:57 am
walt coleman is a fine referee.*
to have on your team.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:59 am
The other thing that we all must concede is that The Oakland Raiders are a friggin money machine!
We are one of, if not THE most beloved and hated teams in all of sports. That my brothers is a fact.
As a TV show, web site, magazine or newspaper which would you do a report for:
1 million Dolphin fans
2 million Rams fans
or…
20 million Raider fans/haters??
This is a great year for NFL propoganda. You’ve got the darling team at the top which can bring in a crapload of revenue and the most beloved/hated team at the bottom festering in all of this media created drama which sells just as good.
Dollars are just a click away!!
Don’t believe any of it!
Go Raiders
January 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Florida Pete,
Gill Brandt of the Dallas Cowboys came up with the chart.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Wow,
and I was pissed at CBS for not broadcasting in HD!
I’ve got some researching to do….
January 29th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Once upon a time in the west Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Florida Pete,
Gill Brandt of the Dallas Cowboys came up with the chart.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
i stand corrected.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Well good for Gill but it still does’nt provide the answer for what we could feasibly get for our first round pick.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Thanks Zymurge for your analysis of a football related topic. I concur wholehearted with your reasoning.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
First the media tells us Ryan is fired. Then they tell us he is not. Then they tell us Kiffen is being forced out. Then he is interviewing a prospective new WR coach. The media keeps telling us things that don’t turn out to be true, and then then blame Al Davis for it.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
the pats really haven’t had any holding calls against them in the playoffs? that’s criminal. Why hasn’t anyone brought it up so that the refs are “aware”
January 29th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
On the other hand people keep telling us there is nothing going on and obviously something is
January 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
SaintKaufman heres a trade value example,
Here’s how the Chargers’ 2004 draft day deal would have plotted out on the point value chart developed to gauge the value of draft picks:
TO THE GIANTS
Eli Manning (No. 1 overall)
3,000 total points
TO THE CHARGERS
Philip Rivers (No. 4 overall): 1,800
2004 3rd-round pick (No. 65): 265
2005 1st-round pick (No. 12): 1,200
2005 5th-round pick (No. 164): 25.8
3,290.8 total points
January 29th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I wonder if Knapp will sit in on the Al Saunders Interview as well… Even if the reports about the Raiders coaching conflicts are not entirely accurate – the perception of mismanagement and awkwardness is enough to derail Raiders hopes to land valuable free agents. All the more reason that if Al really does put winning above all else, we need a statement or another Al “State of the Raiders” address to clear the air and show the rest of the League that the Raiders have a plan and are not a franchise in total disarray.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Hobs Gnarly, oh someone could point that out to the refs and they might, with a wink and a nod, decide to call one as they were caught naked on this one. Only they would call it on some meaningless third and fifteen with a half minute left in the second quarter leading to a punt which would’ve occurred anyway. It is not the call itself, it is when it is called. The Raiders have been eating this crap for years. By the end of the game, penalty yards may appear balanced but during the course of the contest at a key time you can screw the opponent of your choice with any call or non-call.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Once upon a time in the west Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
very well done, Mr West.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Thanks Once Upon a Time!
I was just trying to figure out what Dallas did in ‘04 with Jones.
I can see now how trading down can be very difficult.
I sure like Jamarcus, but man, we could have loaded up, eh?
Hmmmm…..do you think we’re stuck at #3 or 4?
January 29th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
true true M. But still, it’s mindboggling
January 29th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
That is the funny part of this whole thing… Morons like Chris Mortenson & Adam Schefter are yapping their flapper as much about Al & Kiffin, as they are about the Super Bowl.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Does anyone know if the Long family has requested the Raiders not draft Chris with their pick?
How about this senario, Long drafted by the Chefs?
January 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Yeah Dogg……
Still, as far as our deal is, I wouldn´t necessarily call it ”bias” and certainly not a ”conspiracy”, more like downright lack of real knowledge and pepetuation of preconceived notions and truth is, judging by our record lately, what else are they gonna say?.
I think when it comes to dealing with the Raiders the simple truth is that most of the time there isn´t a whole lot of reputable information coming out.
Which leads most of the media to take whatever rumor they can get and turn it into some sort of catastrophic development, it´s not like the Raiders are gonna come out and call them out, so bashing the Raiders, wether it´s fair or not, will get some headlines.
And best of all, if it turns out to be rather dubious or inaccurate information, they just forget about it or play the ”who knows what the hell is going on with the Raiders, but something is going on and it must be bad / Al Davis is crazy card”.
That´s why I really enjoy Jerry McDonald, if you check the local articles written about this whole fiasco over the weekend, you will notice most writters delightfully berating Davis and thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to mock the guy.
Frankly, it reads a lot more like personal shots on Davis than fact-checked, investigative journalism.
Jerry, as you may have noticed, is not exactly a Davis fan, he´ll take his shots and call it like he sees it but he reports mostly facts, rarely, if ever, engaging in the type of personal, cynical and destructive critizicsm that prevails in many other outlets.
I think, as fans we don´t need reporters to tell us how bad we have had it the last few years, we are fully aware of it and some of us feel the tide is about to turn, maybe we are naive but maybe we are right too, only time will tell.
What we ask for is serious, honest, first hand information we can rely on about the Raiders daily happenings so we can make our own opinions, and that is what Jerry gives us, thanks for that JM.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Saintkaufman,
I would like to see us trade down,one player does not make a franchise.This club needs players on the O-line and D-line.But that being said you need two teams who are willing trade partners.
By the way I cant recall a time Al Davis has traded down a high first round pick.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Bob -
Excellent post as usual. I agree with you about Jerry too. He has made his position pretty clear regarding Davis but he never resorts to allowing his personal feelings to get in the way of good journalism.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Very thoughtful BM
January 29th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Yeah, I totally agree.
However, even a couple of spots could get us a third. Unfortunately the RB spot is VERY deep this year and there really is’nt any other skill position players that could go that high, maybe QB. Perhaps Baltimore is someone we could work with.
I wonder if Arizona could become a potential partner if McFadden is still on the board at #4. You know Wisenhunt wants to run and Edge is hittin the wall. Their D is much improved and could be a couple of O players from finally getting there.
I hope someone will make a call when we go on the clock. Man, what a cool job those guys have!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
The tide is once again turning, yes, the Phoenix must burn to arise from its own ashes. Perhaps K-Rock can divine from his Cosmological Theistics and let us know how prominent that rise will be in the nearest of futures.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Although AD does not have to or should he hold a press conference every five minutes…It would help to personally throw a bone out to the press once in awhile…But then again he may be one of those that believes there is no such thing as bad press just as long as your name it out there you are relevant.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Thanks for the article, Jerry! Hopefully, someone who knows Al personally let him know that 90% of the Raider Nation are behind Lane Kiffin. And hopefully, Rob Ryan learned something from a terrible defense in 2007.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Fire Kiffin = Charger.
No one likes Al Davis as much as Dakota likes McFadden.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Thanks guys.
Well, I’ve come full-circle in my head about this thing. And the bottom line is this:
I’m a Raiders fan. All other fans are Raider-haters. Nobody but other Raider fans gives a crap about the Raiders or Raider fans but us. All Raider-hating media (Gay, Kawakami, Mortensen, Schefter, etc) don’t give a crap if what they’re reporting is pure BS or not. If what they report promotes Raider-hating, that’s all they care about. Even IF there is some shred of truth, it doesn’t even matter because Crazy Al will do what Crazy Al wants to do. Crazy Al is not (and SHOULD NOT) be affected by what Raider-hating media is saying or speculating. In the end, I’m a Raiders fan, and there isn’t anything anyone can say or do that will change that.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Amen Raider Raul
January 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Hi Raider Raul.
I’m SaintKaufman and I’m a Raiders fan too!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Although I personally would never refer to Al Davis as “Crazy Al”. Being the Black Sheep of my lineage I am used to non-conformity as a way of being.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Saint Kaufmann, I took Raul’s words to mean something other than that he is the only Raider fan there is.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I’m just as big of a McFadden fan as Dakota!
As long as it means that we can trade down for his sorry ass! Sorry Darren. You’re good, but not THAT good!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Any update on what’s happening at the Raiders HQ
January 29th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
M,
Of course not. It was kind of a lame joke about Raiderholism.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
i’m of a mind that Michael Bush and Justin Fargas can caryy the load…
Rhodes staying on at the right price could be helpful…
i do not think we need a high priced running back…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Last year things started to break when coaches were removed from the official web sites coaching staff list before anything was released.
So far, so good!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Yeah other needs as far as taking another running back when we are loaded with them.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Jerry, is John Herrera a reliable source for you? Is John Herrera a reliable source for “inside” information on the Raiders that I as a fan appreciate?
keep on keepin on Jerry and die-hard bloggers…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
besides it all depends on how #3,4&5 picks are decided. If Atlanta gets the 3 they take McFadden easy, they need to replace the star they lost. Miami is going to take Dorsey or Chris Long and St. Louie takes Jake Long to learn under Pace for a year.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I agree Florida Pete.
The only reason we bring Justin back is to show the young guys how it’s done ON and OFF the field. Let Lamont and Dom go for cap space. If I could endulge in one pick this year it would be for Jamaal Charles in the 2nd. It’s not what we need but if he stayed another year in college he’d be a top 5 pick. You want to talk about a kid that can stick his foot in the ground and hit a hole, holy mother!! Give Bush and Jamaal 1 year in the system and let them take over in ‘09.
By the way, I think Rathman has gotten too little credit for the improvement in the running game. Lamont was tearing it up before his injury, Justin comes in and does the same thing then Rhodes follows up in the last 2 games. I know the line has improved and the system is supposed to allow runners to go wild, but I saw something different this year in both Fargas and Jordan. Can’t wait to see how he develops Mike Bush.
I’m in!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I just noticed there is no round 3 & 5 pick. what happend to them?
January 29th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
If D-Mac is on the board there is no was A.Blank will take him after the Vick debacle.D-Mac has some of those skelatons in his closet.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
hmmm good point but I think he gets talked into having to have a playmaker for fans to rally behind
January 29th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Goodell is Kraft’s BallBoy, and owes him for his job.
He was never gonna come down on the Pats or tarnsih the image of the latest Dynasty.That’s why they killed the whole “cheating-Gate” story. Old Roger wasn’t gonna have a scandal that rivals the Doping issues in other sports, in his first year.
BTW: had anyone ever heard of Goodell before he took over? Did not think so…
This league is nearly in line w/ professional wrestling.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
M & St. Kaufman,
Thx for the support! I guess Raiderholism is a disease with no cure…
Not even 12-steps can help us here!!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I was thinking the same thing… Is John Herrera actually a reilable “source” on what is going on a Raiders HQ? Or is he a puppet, like Artie Gigantino, that is more like Baghdad Bob…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
FIRE KIFFIN – I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to respond to you. You posted 2 quotes by me and you can go ahead and re-post them because I can back them up.
I’m in with Kiffin and I’m out with Kiffin. Hell yeah. I believe in Kiffin. I am sick and tired of going through coaches all the time. I know the only way this team will ever be good again is by being consistent. If they continually aren’t consistent and are not focused on winning, why in the hell should I be focused on them? If they won’t give me the time of day…why should I give them the time of day? Its a 2 way street and I shouldn’t be the only one going down the road towards them. As fans, we pay for the Raiders existence. If Al Davis wants to keep pulling the plug on us every chance he gets, then his focus is on money or on his own personal endeavors. I WILL NOT pay for that and I do not support it.
Let me also say that it depends on how Kiffin leaves. If hes fired after a year, then I can’t sit back and watch it happen time and time again. If Kiffin is given 3 years to put this thing together and he fails and gets fired. I can live with that. When I say that I am out with Kiffin…thats what I mean. If I am not a Raiders fan, then I am not a football fan. Its that simple. I can’t follow another team and I won’t. I live and die by the sword when it comes to the Raiders. It hurts too damn much to watch the Dumbest Team in America because thats how everyone looks at us. I don’t want to be a scapegoat for Al Davis. I should be able to walk down the street and be proud.
If I was to step away from the Raiders, it would be a temporary one. Things surrounding this team would have to change and until that would happen, consider my life with the NFL on pause. Period. I’m all Raiders or nothin.
Regarding going to church instead of watching the Raiders. Who fukin cares? I have every right to decide what I need and want to do and if I deem church more important, then that is my own lifestyle. You don’t have to like it but I’m not going for you…I’m going for me and you know what? I even said I would pray for the Raiders and they ended up winning so maybe they had a little help? You don’t have to believe that…but you sure can’t hate that.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Hobs
The 5 th round pick went to … gasp … Denver in return for Gerard Warren. The third I think was traded to get up to grab OT Mario Henderson (who then didn’t play … I admit I don’t get that move at all ..).
So sadly only a few picks to work with.
Does anybody think the Raiders will be able to get picks through trades? A third rounder just seems so desperately needed right now. There should even still be a few good safeties left at that point, like the kid from Arizona State maybe, assuming DT in round 1, and either WR or OT are picks in round 2.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Not even 1200 steps Raul!
‘08 is gonna be alot of fun to watch.
..even when it is’nt!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Tooz -
Goodell was actually Tagliabue’s right hand man from what I understand.
Hobs -
The Raiders traded their 2008 3rd pick so they could move up and pick Zach Miller in the 2nd of 2007. The 5th round pick went to Denver for Gerard Warren.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
On the other hand, maybe it will be McFadden in round 1 and DT in round 2. Any thoughts out there on what is more likely? Seems to depend on what they think of Michael Bush’s potential, and whether Rhodes and Fargas stay, and on much more…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
If only the Raiders can convince a team to give them their 3rd for Andrew Walter they would be all set. The problem is who would give up a 3rd for Walter? If they do get a 3rd round pick here’s hoping that Trevor Laws is still on the board, that is unless the Raiders already selected him with their 2nd rounder…
NC Raider -
I thought the 3rd rounder was traded to pick up Miller. You may be right, it might have been for Mario Henderson. Can someone clarify? Thanks in advance…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Dogg
I thought that that the Raiders actually moved a few spots to get Miller, gaining another 3rd round pick last year. Anybody know for sure?
January 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Dogg
Sorry, sounds like our conversation is backwards (!). I think we submitted at around the same time. Anyway, I too would like some clarification and any thoughts out there Raider Nation on how to get a few more draft picks.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Where’s Huff24 when you need him? Now I’m going to have to do the research! Damn I’m lazy…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Cool, people talkin’ Raider football.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
We trade 2nd round picks with detroit.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
We traded down with Ari 5 spots for I believe was a 3rd rounder?
January 29th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
No news Vicky. Hope BlackHole Priest hasn’t gotten into hot water for puttin’ it out for us yesterday.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
oops my bad we traded with Arizona.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Sorry, we got a 4th rounder out of Ari which we used to do the Detroit trade.
So basically we moved 5 spots down, got our man(Miller)and used the 4th rounder for it to get McCown and Williams.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
The Raiders originally owned the #33 overall pick, and they got 3 players from that pick. How? The Raiders
traded down to #38 with ARI and acquired the #105 overall pick. This was a deal that favored the Raiders. According to the trade-value chart: #33 = 580 points; #38 = 520 or 530 points; #105 = 84 points. So the Raiders came out 24 or 34 points ahead, or the equivalent of a high 6th round pick. They selected TE Zach Miller at #38. They then traded the #105 to DET for WR Mike Williams and QB John McCown. Hence the 3 players from 1 pick.
The Raiders acquired pick #91 from the Pats for a 2007 7th rounder and 2008 3rd rounder. Many insiders think that this deal with the Pats was secretly part of the Randy Moss trade because value wise it didn’t make a lot of sense for the Pats to make this deal.
So you were right NC Raider, we traded our 2008 3rd rounder as well as a 2007 7th rounder in order to draft Henderson.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Fluffy 24 -Bless you Fluffy.
May Al be with you.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
what Saintkaufman said
January 29th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
We traded down in 2nd round in 2007 to get Zach Miller…
Why we don’t have a 3rd round in 2008 has nothing to do with Zach
January 29th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
You guys saying we traded down int he 1st w/ AZ for a 3rd rounder??
January 29th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
LMN -
That has already been established, thanks for playing. There are some parting gifts for you at the door.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
RaiderDogg…
Good work =) sorry for the lag
January 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
i gotta say raiders.com is pretty weak…. not much news atall and nothing goes in to much depth.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
La Milicia Negra -
No worries, too bad you weren’t around a minute ago, I could have stayed lazy. Thanks for the info. And yes I was wrong about Miller, it was Henderson.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Taking another look at our apponents next year…It dosnt look as easy to me as it first did. I expect most of those teams to improve.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
FIRE KIFFIN – You try to call me out and I respond with logical answers and all you can do is call names? Wow. You had nothing else to say? People who call names rather than give an intelligent response have a lack of character and have self esteem issues. Look, I know you didn’t have a comeback to what I said so calling me a name made you feel bigger and less insecure. I understand. I guess I’ll just have to accept you for who you are.
I’m sure you will respond to this because you’re going to have an itch to say something and you’re going to spout out obscenities to make yourself feel better. Just do us all a favor and think before you do so. Thanks.
I’ll be back later. Peace.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
” i gotta say raiders.com is pretty weak…. not much news at all and nothing goes in to much depth.”
That’s exactly why I think John Herrera is about as credible as Bagdad Bob… “There is no situation here…everybody move along…”
January 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Acey40deuce…
easy now kiddo, look at the timestamps… plus theres helluva time lag right now
January 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Oh…I almost missed another creative response. You actually took time out of your day to post that? Now you’re just filling up space. Anyways…I’ll be back later.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
new thread
January 29th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
LMN -
just messin with ya bro, sorry
January 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Thanks Dogg. I still don’t why they made the move to get Henderson, giving up a key 3rd round pick, and then saying the guy isn’t even close to ready. I hope he pans out, down the road (ok, not down the road .. soon), but still wonder what was going on there. We need that damn pick this year.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
[...] Acey40Deuce wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by Acey40Deuce”Here’s ONLY a quick extractLMN -. That has already been established, thanks for playing. There are some parting gifts for you at the door. [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
To the Nation: I don’t beleive everything written or reported about our Raiders, and I stand by my belief that Al needs to put a person in place to run the show, but as much as I beleive there is an issue between Al and Kif, I cannot deny that maybe Al is just putting him through his paces. Al is never going to let you know how much he loves or respects you until he has had his fun at your expense. A boy who would become a man must earn that distinction from the men around him. I am starting to beleive that Al feels like if you want to “be the man” here in Oakland, I want to see how much it means to you. This may be stretch, but it just may be a little bit true as well. Or maybe Al is just f*ckin nuts and needs long stay at casa de nuthouse.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Just sell baby…………Loften hated it here when he played for the Faiders, now the Faiders are interviewing fired offensive personal. Thus is why the Faiders are fading more.
Al Davis, sell the team !!
January 29th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
I am so sick and tired of this every year coaching change and problems with the raiders,,al davis just needs to shut his pie hole and let kiffin or whoever do gis thing to see if it works or not..i mean what do we raider fans have to lose, with 5 straight 10 digit loss seasons, some thing has to be better than what is now happening..davis just needs to let it go , he has proved that he is not capable if turning this team around any time soon.
I have been a loyal fan since the fall of 1968, and this is so frustrating..I know teams will have their bad seasons, but this is worse than bad, this is a titantic that is sunk to the bottom of football’s ocean floor..
Perry
January 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
maybe Nerve Turner was concerned that Lofton might take his job???
lot of ways to get fired from a job…
one of the best ways is to be considered a threat to your boss’s job…
Lofton’s a good coach…
let’s give him a chance…
January 29th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
[...] a few comments that Jerry McDonald helped to shed light on. McDonald posted the report last night, following James Lofton’s interview. His interview (Lofton) this time was with coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
[...] Just sell Baby…….. wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Lofton interview concludes by Just sell Baby……..”Here’s ONLY a quick extractJust sell baby…………Loften hated it here when he played for the Faiders, now the Faiders are interviewing fired offensive personal. Thus is why the Faiders are fading more. Al Davis, sell the team !! [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
“,,al davis just needs to shut his pie hole ”
are you kidding me???
if you owned the majority share of a business, would you expect to have to “shut your pie hole”???
you think Kiffin knows more about football and winning than Al Davis???
tell me…
do you think it doesn’t eat at Al Davis what has happened to his Raiders since Robbins went Tequila Sundown on the team???
Gruden gets disloyal… and shops for another gig for the previous two years…
Callahan appears to have everything under control right up to the day before the Super Bowl…
the very next year, with practically the same team, an injured Gannon falls out of the lineup and the Raiders head south in a hurry… Callahan thinks calling his team stupid in front of family and friends (oh, and the rest of the planet) is the tie that binds…
the clubhouse revolts…
Callahan is replaced with Norv Turner… who was terminated by D Snyder just when it looked like he had it turned around… the guy has remarkable success establishing strong running games…
but not for us…
and it is so dismal… that Davis figures Art Shell, a Raider legend and a reasonably successful coach, may have taken the previous 10 years to think about if “he only had one more chance”…
hell, i wanted Art to have that chance and so did many of you… right up to the moment Art named his offensive coordinator… and i thought, okay… maybe Walsh is wanting that 2nd chance too… too bad Davis didn’t interfere…
i remembered what the Raiders were like under Shell… very, very good… they had to be…
because every single man, woman, and child in the civilzed world knew what play the Raiders would run next…
and so it was again… astonishingly so… unprepared… same game plan every single game… the same crap that presumably cost Shell and Walsh their jobs 10 years earlier…
and so Al Davis thinks… this has got to get better… I need to find another Gruden type… a real football guy that I can trust and train… and who can bring these Raiders back to glory…
and maybe he did find that guy… young Kiffin does remind many of us of Gruden…
including Gruden’s one fault… disloyalty…
it appears Kiffin isn’t as committed to the Raiders as Al had hoped… Kiffin apparently had been out shopping… for another job…
and what does the majority of the Raider Nation have to say to Al Davis…
is it: It’s okay Mr. Davis, you’ll find a better HC…
no…
it’s: “,,al davis just needs to shut his pie hole “
January 30th, 2008 at 9:56 am
good post from florida..
all’s good in the hood n oaktown….a little dysfunctional, but that is the raiders.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I couldn’t have said it better myself Florida Pete. AL want’s to win and win now. If AL doesn’t believe in what Kiffin’s selling especially after a 4-12 season, as the owner he has the right to make a change. Was AL suppose to retain Loser Callahan after his horrible 4-12 season? Was AL suppose to retain Norv Turner after his two years of failure? Was AL suppose to retain Art after his one year of horrible coaching? Was AL suppose to keep these coaches for the sake of consistency? Sure we’d be consistent, but consistent what? LOSERS. And as a life long fan of the Raiders not Kiffin or USC as the two seem to be the same, I want results not more excuses and BS both of which were plentiful this past season.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I don’t know about Al and Kiff but I’m ready to COMMIT TO EXCELLECE. Enough of this resign/fire me B.S. Water under the bridge now make what changes whether it be offensive/defensive coaches if we have a better one in store. If we are going to hire Lofton do it and improve on the WR play. Too much speed and potential and not enough plays made. Al and Lane sit down and discuss what FA will improve this team if we can get them to sign/resign with us without overspending. Evaluate the Draft which will be here before you know it and draft for need like the DL,SS OLB and on O WR, OT and RB. We are in a position to draft well whether we stay put or trade down for a pick in the 3rd and 5th rds which I prefer. Now it’s up to the Head Raider in Charge to let the GREATNESS OF THE RAIDERS come forth. JUST WIN BABY.
January 30th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
lofton will be a great addition to the Raider’s coaching staff but we need better wide receivers.Hopfuly the Raiders will take some in the draft.
Raider 4 life
April 28th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Lofton…
The Raiders finished a day-long interview with James Lofton for an undisclosed position and senior e [...]…
January 29th, 2010 at 4:18 am
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