Long live Al

27-0, (i know your not supposed to start a sentence with a number) that was how it ended Monday night for the Oakland Raider. As a long time Denver fan I was happy to see the Raiders get trounced as bad as they did, and I hope it continues all season long. In the aftermath of the game as I have thought about and read some of the commentary on what lead us to where we are I have to shout with zeal – LONG LIVE AL DAVIS! Just a few thoughts I want to throw out there to “Raider Nation” to ponder.

4-12 – 05
5-11 – 04
4-12 – 03

11-5 – 02 (Lost to eventual Superbowl Champion)

8-8 – 98
8-8 – 99
12-4 -00 (lost to eventual Superbowl Champion)
10-6 -01 (lost to eventual Superbowl Champion)

What these numbers show you is that good ole Al has no one to blame but himself. It is very arguable that had Gruden never been traded the Raiders would have won that Superbowl in 02 – (Considering he was the coach of the team that killed the Raiders). Also, it is worth mentioning that the 02 team that did make it to the Superbowl was living on the memory / influence of Gruden and therefore Callahan can only claim small coaching merit for his getting them to the Superbowl; especially after the rumors have how horrid his coaching was leading up to the game.

Next item:

Vince Young
Matt Lineart
Jay Cutler

The Raiders passed on these three QB’s in the 2006 draft. Many people have made quite the fuss about the Reggie Bush pass-over by the Texans (and rightly so I believe) but I will always remind Raider Nation of how the Raiders took Michael Huff when these three guys were still on the board. The sweetest irony will be three or four years from now when Jay Cutler is kicking the living crap out of them as the starting QB of the Broncos… Long live Al….

Note the Raider QB drafts over the past 10 years:

Andrew Walter, QB, Arizona State
Ronald Curry, QB, North Carolina
Marques Tuiasosopo, QB Washington

So when they finally have a chance to take a big name QB they choose another DB. Classic stuff! Long live Al…

Hey Raider Nation, don’t hate me for pointing out the facts, you know it too be true. The greatest thing about all of this is how do you fire the Owner?

Later,

Jon

Some good commentary about Da Rah-das:
San Francisco Chronicle article

Bill Simmons, ESPN’s Sport Guy (my favorite sports writer)

… To the dumbest round of preseason stories: glowing features about Art Shell’s coaching comeback with the Raiders, which proved the age-old adage, “If you let enough time pass in sports, people are bound to forget just about anything.” Shell’s 14-year absence from the sidelines had nothing to do with color; he was a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE game coach. Do you know why we started using the phrase “bad clock management”? BECAUSE OF ART SHELL!!!! During the last two minutes of a half, Art Shell’s math skills made Herm Edwards look like Will Hunting. Really, nobody remembers this? For God’s sake, that’s why he got fired! That’s why I’ve been making “Art Shell School of Clock Management” jokes in my column for the past 10 years! That’s why he hasn’t worked since! …

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