Update Shell Emerges

Update Shell emerges:

I have so much respect for Shell. He is a class act and I was rooting for him. It's unfortunate it didn't pan out, but he is still to be remembered as a great Raider..

And to the Al Davis haters. Al was the first to hire a black coach and 30 year old young coaches, when popular belief in the NFL was that coaches should be 50+++

I hope Al and Shell can come to an aggreement and find a place in the Raider organization for Shell..

Welcome Coach Kiffin!!!

Welcome to Raider Nation Kiffin!! We are very excited to have you. Your experience with successful and innovative offenses is exactly what the Raiders are looking for. See the press conference here.

Al Davis has shocked the NFL with his latest hire. Most people didn’t see it coming and many of were worried after Sark and Lofton pulled their names out that we would end up with an uninspiring rethread like Green or Fassel.
The mediots claimed nobody wanted the job and big bad mean stubborn Al is too difficult to work with. It has been more than two weeks of hearing the mediot’s rumors and speculations of the inner workings and intentions of the Raiders somehow transform into “real facts,” even while being highly contradictory and flat out false at the same time.

Now that its over I’m sure the mediots will attack Kiffin for being too young at 31, being younger than some of his players, not having HC experience, having to deal with big bad AL, etc..

Al Davis has a knack for hiring inexperienced coaches to join the Raiders. John Madden was 32 when Davis promoted him in 1969. Mike Shanahan was 35 when the boss hired him in 1988. And Jon Gruden was 34 when Davis turned to him in 1998.

All the young coaches Davis hires have won Superbowls!!Now Raiders fans are hoping Kiffin wins a Super Bowl, just like those other three did.

Other Random Thoughts:

Did Sark pull out to save face, because Kiffin outshined him in the interviews and he knew he would lose the HC position to Kiffin.

Mike Williams has been as bust in Detroit and may be cut lose. Kiffen coached Williams at USC and knows his strengths and weaknesses. Mike Williams knows Kiffens system and thrived in it.

Will Kiffin really get tickets in the Black Hole for his family, like he said he would in the press conference?

Too bad we didn’t get Leinart last year. Kiffin and Leinart would be a good combo.

I was glad to hear that DC Ryan received a well deserved raise and seems content with the DC position.

Kiffen has worked alongside top coaches Pete Carroll and Norm Chow with top athletes and called plays in big games in college that last few years.

The mediots like to say Al Davis is nuts, but last year he was the first to interview and recognize the potential of the coach of the Year Payton and both Whisenhunt and Petrino were hired as coaches by Cardinals and Atlanta. So much for Al not having an eye for talent..

So Much for the AFC West...

Denver lost against the heavily underdog Niners, to miss the playoffs in the last week of the season.
KC's running game (and consequently their season) was brought to an abrupt end by another underdog with the worst run defense in the the NFL.

And the 14-2 Chargers (or more accurate Chargeless) are one and done after taking a week off and hosting the underdog Pats. They lost in a devastating heartbreaking style when on a crucial 4th down the Pats threw an interception, which was then fumbled to give back the ball to the PATS. Add the stupid wasted challenge which came back to haunt them and it doesn't get any worse than that..

While the mediots and our rivals like to smirk and laugh at the Raiders the facts are:

The Raiders have WON, 4 playoff games in the past 7 seasons

The Donkeys have won 1 playoff game in the last 8 years

The Chargeless have NOT WON a playoff in the last 12 years

The Chefs have NOT WON a playoff in the last 13 years
(Thanks Calico Jack for the data)

So much for the rivals taking advantage of the Raiders down cycle..The mediots and the haters like to brag, but what have they done???

Raider Raza Awards 06

Even though it was a tough dissapointing season, several players stood out and were worthy of recognition for their efforts (or lack of efforts.)

Best Offensive Player- Ronald Curry

7^th round pick who after battling back from two serious Achilles injury in back to back years and despite starting the season number 4 on the depth chart and then only starting 4 games, emerged as our best and most reliable receiver and excelled with sure hands, crisp routes, and clutch. Led the league in 3^rd down conversions for 1^st downs and made several spectacular catches. Reminded me of a T.Brown (but with better hands) because he doesn’t have blazing speed, but makes up for it by breaking down coverage, running crisp routes, being in the right place and avoiding big hits..

Runner Up-Fargas

Even though undersized and regarded as a speed back, Fargas played more like a big back as he bullied, punished, scratched, crawled and fought for every inch of every yard. He played with heart and determination behind a poor line..

Best Defensive Player-Derrick Burgess

Although regarded as a pass rusher during an interview (and on the field) he made it known that he takes pride in his run stopping. He is a threat to sack the Qb on nearly every pass attempt and even batted down a ball for Sands to intercept and caused some fumbles. He leads by example.

Runner Up-Nnamdi Asomogha

Stepped it up by working with R.Woodson and Ronnie Lott in the off-season, studying film and staying after practice to work on his hands. The resulta prolific cover corner getting 7 INTS, despite playing man which makes it harder to be in the right place for INTs..

Runner Up-Home-Grown Kirk Morrison

3rd rounder quickly emerging into a star. While he doesn’t lay big hits like Ray Lewis he is fundamentally sound in his tackling and has a knack for evading blocks and getting to the ball carrier..He also is the on field general and kept the young players in their right places.

Runner Up-Sapp

Despite a poor offense Sapp held the defense together and played with much force and passion. Against the Texans he complained to the refs came out for a play then immediately smashed his guy into the ground and sacked his QB for one of his 10 sacks. Although not as good against the run as the pass he remains a force and a great leader for the D.

Biggest PUNK Randy Moss

After dropping TD passes against the Browns, Niners and Cards he claimed that his unhappiness was leading to the drops, disrespected the team on his radio show and then became disinterest on the field, playing with little effort and passion..

Runner Up-Jerry Porter

Got off to a bad start when the coach was trying to instill discipline to the team and never matured, as the season went along he relieved his boredom by patronizing the fans, flashing his money, flexing his muscles and then claiming he hurt his hip when it came down to play..

Biggest Underachiever Robert Gallery

Almost all draft boards had him rated at the top and worthy of the number 2 overall pick, yet he gave up 11 sacks, often jumped early, held, got manhandled, looked slow and clumsy out there....smells like a bust

Runner Up-Tyler Brayton

Another first round disappointment, despite playing in 16 games did not get anywhere close to the QB, got a foolish penalty against the Sea Hawks and failed to make an impact or many palys for that matter…

Best Special Teams Player Shane Lechler

Has mastered the deep kicks, but needs work on the short/ directional kicks to be considered the greatest ever. Made several TD saving tackles and is a reliable place holder for FG kicks and you can ask Dallas how important that is..

Runner Up-Cooper
Plays with pride and heart, so I wasn’t mad when he laid a big hit against the Browns that was a nano-second too late and bit too aggressive. Always enthusiastic and into the game and reliable on punt and kick coverages. Fan Favorite; after the final home game he threw his gloves and even his shoes into the stands

Most Incompetent Tom Walsh
I wouldn't trust him to make an omellete..

The case for Rob Ryan..

My case for Rob Ryan as head coach of the Raiders is both an emotional and logical one

I believe the game of football is an driven by emotion which pushes you to fight when you are tired, when you are hurting, when you are losing, when you want to give up and when you have no more to give it’s the emotion and will power that induces you to keep fighting and demand more from yourself when you feel you have no more to give..

I think Ryan has the ability to will his men to believe and to fight. I remember the Texans game the Raiders lost despite the defense holding the Texans to negative yardage and less than a hundred yards overall. In the 4^th Quarter despite an almost perfect effort by the defense Ryan was yelling at his troops and demanding more. By watching the sidelines you would have thought the defense was the culprit of the losing effort.

Despite 16 awful games by the offense the Defense responded by never giving up and instead stepping it up in lieu of the inept and incompetent offense and even kept us competitive in games we had no chance of winning. Ryan kept the defense motivated and playing hard for all 16 games even when it was clear that the offense was completely incompetent. That shows me leadership. Few men could have held a defense together like that and I think the loyalty the defense has towards Ryan will be contagious.

Secondly, I think the Raiders need some continuity. We have had a rotating door of coaches for too long and the changes in approach and philosophy are having counter productive effects on the players. At least with Ryan half the team will respond with continuity and then it will be less of a challenge to get the offense on board. And should the offense not buy what the Ryan is selling then you can be rest assured that the defensive players will step up and punch the offense in the mouth until they comply.

Lastly, other than Jon Ritchie I can’t think of another recent player or coach that looks more the part like a Raider than Rob Ryan with his long wavy hair and sideline demeanor. Ryan looks the part and I would be proud to have the team take on Ryan’s personality and demeanor..

The Art of Football

It saddens me to have seen the Raiders with Art Shell fail so miserably. It would have been great to see Shell a loyal and lifelong Raider save the Raiders and return us to greatness.

However, it did not happen. Instead Shell struggled with just about everything and could not make us look like a decent team. The coaching staff struggled with calling in plays promptly, using time outs, challenges, developing the offensive line and offensive units. We didn't look prepared all season and we were an even worse second half team. As a result we were 2-14 and last in all major offensive categories including avg 10.5 points a games and 72 sacks allowed which is unacceptable

He feuded with players, was inconsistent and aired out the dirty laundry publicly which was not appropriate.

In the end I respect and admire Shell for being a lifelong Raider, but I am not satisfied with his coaching or handling of the team.