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Raiders Reload Musket: Al Davis Continues to Make His Team Irrelevant
Published: January 7, 2010
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Al Davis is staring down the barrel of another offseason that begins with the organization at square one.
The previous five offseasons that have come since the firing of Bill Callahan have amounted to nothing of significance.
The Oakland Raiders have managed to make no improvement over seven years of attempted reloading. I say reload because Davis does not rebuild. He does not have the patience for it.
It should be painfully obvious to him now that the fans have no patience for the continually bad product that he puts onto the field each year. Attendance is down, support is down, and confidence is nonexistent.
A Raider Nation that had previously returned each year with enough of an appetite to gut the buffet of sub-mediocrity that Davis cooked up has reached its fill this year. Raiders home attendance dropped from an average of 57,850 down to 44,284 disappointed fans per game. The fans have spoken, and they hope that Davis had his hearing aid turned up.
Only a few days into the new offseason, and things are already looking bleak. It would have been a refreshing change to see the kind of swift action that took place in Washington D.C.
One day after season’s end, the administrative powers that steer the Redskins had dumped the kindly Jim Zorn. Day two saw the addition of Mike Shanahan, and bright and early on day three, he was marched in front of the media to be introduced as the new head coach.
This is not the first stroke of football genius to occur in the capital. In mid-December, Dan Snyder realized his limitations and brought on Bruce Allen as general manager.
Snyder, like Davis, has been a maverick insistent on running his team with his own hands. However, the consistently bad performance of his team forced him to swallow some of his pride and bring in some help.
Al Davis must follow suit and learn to adapt. He must realize that his usual approach does not work. Davis needs to focus on adding new weapons in the front office.
There are those willing to help. Take Rich Gannon, for example. The former field general of the Silver and Black (and the last one of note) has recently reached out to Davis. Gannon has attempted to close the rift that opened when he spoke out against the organization and that opened wider when Davis sought to ban him from an Oakland game.
“I picked up the phone and I reached out to Al Davis. So I called Mr. Davis, I have not spoken with him yet, but I’m happy to help out in any way I can. I’d love to help JaMarcus Russell if he wants help. I’d love to help Tom Cable and that organization. It’s important,” Gannon said on his Sirius NFL Radio show Wednesday.
Imagine the possibilities if Davis took a look at the man in the mirror and decided to make that change. Instead, a quick rebuff from Raiders spokesman John Herrera essentially spat in the face of Gannon and his good intentions.
“When he goes on a radio show offering Mr. Davis help, Tom Cable help, the Raiders help, maybe it’s Rich that needs the help,” Herrera said in response.
Al Davis will never end the dysfunction. Things will never be as they should in Oakland. However, his rebellious antics used to help his team win.
In an alternate reality, where Davis’ insanity brings success to Oakland, here’s how things could go this offseason:
1. Davis delivers a roundhouse kick to Dan Snyder’s face and forces him to surrender the rights to Bruce Allen. Davis then appoints Allen as his GM.
2. Allen brings back Jon Gruden, and together they assemble a new coaching staff. Davis awards Gruden with a contract that gives him the freedom he needs to correct the ship.
3. John Madden is brought into the front office to keep Davis company. He helps ease Davis into the role of the silent owner by keeping him distracted with tales of the good ol’ days.
4. JaMarcus is canned. Richard Seymour, Sebastian Janikowski, and Bruce Gradkowski are re-signed.
5. The 2010 draft addresses needs, and no picks are wasted on physical specimens without ball skills.
6. Allen and Gruden scour free agency for hard-working role players and forego the big names that come with even bigger baggage.
7. Raider Nation returns in droves to the Coliseum to support a functional team.
I would even settle for retaining Tom Cable, hiring a new offensive coordinator, and No. 4 from above.
However, these last few years have taught me better, and I see things turning out much worse for the once great franchise. It is more likely for Davis to fire Cable and replace him with any poor sap foolish enough to take the job, keep JaMarcus on as the starter, continue to call his own shots, and produce another pile of excrement to dump onto the field in 2010.
Al Davis is a rebel. He will continue to combat modern organizations carrying only his rusty musket.
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