Random Thoughts...

hawaiianboy said:
Fassel was our QB coach the year after Art's first go around I believe, though for the life of me I can't remember who the OC was....

Any chance we take a look at him as a possible OC with next year in mind?... He kept getting mentioned as a Al Davis guy and HC possibility here...
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I honestly thought that Fassel was the odds on favorite to be our HC this season. It would be tough for anyone to co-exist with Billick's enormous ego. That team has just not had the talent at the skill positions since Billick's arrival so I don't blame their offensive woes on Fassel. Cripes they're still 4-2.
 
We have all the human material to be a good team. We don't have many superstars, but the results should be far better. There's a core of veteran players and a new wave of young players, they way the roster is assembled looks like they can mix things up to play good ball. The defence is already in the third year of the system, its more than a work in progress. The offence is a new one with almost all the same players as last year... well except for KerryBoy, but nothin can be worst than having him at QB right now. Things look very, very bad here. The blame is on everybody, and doesn't look like they will be ready soon. But the men are there... is the mind?


So, with enough material to be in contention we are the worst team in the league, and it's not a recent thing. Turner age looks now a like a horrible nightmare, but Shell is reaching new heights. Turner was condemned from the very beggining, I never expected much from him, and now Fatt Shell has made everybody hopeless, at least for this year. His image is very damaged. Nobody says hes smart, or a good strategist. All they can say is he is a HOF player and knows the Raider tradition. I wish some other things could be said, like leadership or preparation for the games and halftime adjusts.

I know we have to wait enough to make a fair judgement on our head coach, but his situation reminds me of those boxing fights when one of the fighters is hitted misserably since the first round. You don't have to wait till the end to see the outcome.

All problem is in their heads, both coaches and players. They lack perspective, they only see the hole theyre in. First they believed they were already an improved team. The reality check against SD was tough. The crows were not the most adequate enemy to build confidence after that. But then came Cleveland. The Raiders more or less controlled that game, but their minds played them tricks. After one half they were thinking the silver and black was back in bussiness. They were confident for nothing. Second half was a reality check as hard as SD. Except this time they still can`t recover. Our opponents are kicking a man on the ground. You can see they're never worried.

The Raiders wont fix it training extra hours, they already do enough training, they will just get tired. They have to dig in their minds and try to get into somethin real to apply on the field. You can see they want to do so much in every play, pass calls want to eat the field in a moment. They call Running plays when no matter the box is stuffed and all the LBs know Jordan is gonna carry the ball, and he ain't that fast to make them guess. In the trenches we are fighting with pistols, while they have machine guns and mortars.

If this is the case they need another strategy to make the best out of their still weak weapons.



They should forget everything and start from scratch, even if there's only 11 games left. Their recent memories are such a heavy burden, they won't let them play comfortable.

It is almost a fact were gonna have a very heavy losing season. What we should expect is some real improvement, not words. It seems like an impossible task now. First, as they want to do, the run must be stablished. I don't see them anywhere near now. The line has improved the pass protection, but has been unable to open holes consistently. This is no easy task. Now they can pass, but still is a big problem to get the ball to the main target. The number two is in fact no. 3 (Whitted) and viceversa (Curry). I don't mention Porter, cos he's already outa here in one or other way. Talk about wasted money. Anderson, our only legitimate TE is inconsistent at best. You need to trust your TE. I don't think Walter can say so.
 
hawaiianboy said:
At this point it just makes me feel better to convince myself that the plan all along was to have Art evaluate the roster first hand for a year, then bring in Petrino once his brat kid finishes high school this year....
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Al would have to really open up the wallet for that. With Louisville's success this year, Petrino is going to be in high demand once again, especially if Bowden or Paterno (or both) hang'em up.

Maybe Shell becomes a GM as Al's health fails him?
 
Jack's sore libido said:
Maybe Shell becomes a GM as Al's health fails him?
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This is pretty much where I'm at.... I already think Al's health has reached the point where he's started to phase himself out for a fulltime move to Casa de Davis..... That he didn't show up at the combine was telling IMO....

When Al said Art had a lifetime contract, I assumed he'd be the guy with soem fancy title in charge of player personnel while Amy and Mark Davis handled the business side of things... The way Al looks right now, it appears like that's intended to be sooner than later, maybe even as soon as next season...

I'm just going to assume there is a plan of progression in place... hopefully...

You're correct in that we'd basically have to hand a blank check over to guys like Weis, Petrino or Rich Rodriguez to get them to leave the safe jobs they had now...


I dunno, maybe the prospect of working with Art instead of Al will make the job a little more coach friendly... One thing I'm almost 100% sure of is the next guy will be offensive minded... Since we don't have that guy on staff already, the avenues seem to be:

1) Throw big money at the Petrino's, Weis's or Rodriguez's of the NCAA world or Jeff Fisher should he free up...

2) Give a chance to coaches dying for another shot... Jim Fassel, Mike Tice and Rick Neuheisel come to mind, maybe even Denny Green...

3) Take a chance on a young assistant with some steam... Lane Kiffen maybe....


Obviously, #1 is a long shot...

Randy Moss could be a factor... Never mind making his contract more palatable for the team, I think he may flat out refuse to report/retire unless some good moves are made...
 
Am I the only one horrified at the thought of Art having even more power? I'm really not comfortable with the atmosphere he's created in the lockerroom, and I also wonder if he'd let a new coach kick his buddy hire Walsh to the curb.


I'd personally prefer to see him given some buddy position with little or no impact on the team and give Lombardi a shot at being the fulltime GM...provided someone better doesn't come available.
 
Crow said:
Am I the only one horrified at the thought of Art having even more power?
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bro, im just as worried as you are about Art running the ship

it seems like theres no player in the locker room that supports shell, and his tough guy approach is not working

if the guys first move was bringing in Tom Walsh as an OC, i could only imagine what other personell moves he would/could make

im just hoping some young raider fan hits the lotto and buys the team:D
 
Where does Lombadi fit into the coming changes in the front office?

I wish like hell they would stop showing shots oif Al Davis at the game sitting here with a towel or blanket on his lap and his mouth open like some sort of nursing home wheel chair invalid. It's really sad to see that and the damn networks love showing that picture over and over again. Pisses me off.

Frankly I'm not sure where this oprganization is going if Al really let's go. Who is the "football" guy in the organization? The combination of X's and O's and smart personnel guy all rolled into one? You know Jimmy Johnson comes to mind but then I guess that's a pipe dream.

Art shell deserves a place in the company IMO but as the lead dog I'm not so sure.
 
Crow said:
Am I the only one horrified at the thought of Art having even more power? I'm really not comfortable with the atmosphere he's created in the lockerroom, and I also wonder if he'd let a new coach kick his buddy hire Walsh to the curb.
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Any coach worth his salt is going to want to bring his own staff in and have some measure of autonomy. Question is, will that ever happen? I want to know where I can get a job like Mike Lombardi's? My team has undoubtedly had the worst four year span in it's history and I'm still gainfully employed.
 
Madturk said:
Any coach worth his salt is going to want to bring his own staff in and have some measure of autonomy. Question is, will that ever happen? I want to know where I can get a job like Mike Lombardi's? My team has undoubtedly had the worst four year span in it's history and I'm still gainfully employed.
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I would say that about Freddie B too. It's not like his great coaching skills have worked any sort of magic with our receivers.

As for Lombardi I don't know if it is his fault. I think he works more on the cap and contracts than anything. I still think Al has most of the say so on player selection. I figure this since it seems his approach to the draft hasn't changed at all. He did it that way long before Lombardi was here and is still doing it that way. So I put that on Al and not Lombardi.
 
Maybe I'm one of the few who thinks that Art is a positive influence on this team, that he knows what he's doing and going to need 2-3 years to turn this ship around? I mean, look... it's not exactly like the guy took over a playoff team and has run it aground. He took over a squad of marginal talent.. the worst team in the NFL over the previous 3 seasons! So far, I see improvement over last year's squad where it matters most, not in the W column, but in trenches and on defense. With another offseason of drafted players and FA acquisitions, the lines will be improved by another magnitude and we should be able to compete.

Hell, we're already competing as is, but our players just aren't executing. With 4-5 drops per game and players running 1/2 speed through plays, that just can't be entirely laid at the feet of the coaches. They must be given some time to accumulate a group of players that fit their mold and to coach the rest of them up.

Personally, I'm on the fence with B&B guy, as I think it takes him way too long to make adjustments (like, a week instead of a play or two lag time), but I DO think that Art is the right guy at the right time for this squad. He's exactly what we need.
 
Bottom line is (I think I mentioned this before) that this is Art's first training camp and games with this group of players. He has to install his system and like Gruden weed out the cancers. He's doing that but it's going to take some time. I know we're all frustrated with how long turning this thing around is taking but if we keep changing coaches and systems it will be a never ending state of flux.
 
CrossBones said:
..but if we keep changing coaches and systems it will be a never ending state of flux.
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basically we'd be the lions if it came to that.:o
 
CrossBones said:
Bottom line is (I think I mentioned this before) that this is Art's first training camp and games with this group of players. He has to install his system and like Gruden weed out the cancers. He's doing that but it's going to take some time. I know we're all frustrated with how long turning this thing around is taking but if we keep changing coaches and systems it will be a never ending state of flux.
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What are you talking about Rick? :p
 
Here's a random thought for you Step....this team blows and I get hemmroids just thinking about them these days.
 
This team has done horribly, Pops. No denying that. That said, this is still the team that I support and I'm still going to watch them and discuss them and, you know me, I'm going to tend to be more optimistic than not.

As for your ass problems, go see a doctor. He'll probably prescribe you some sort of suppository. I'd imagine that it'll hurt quite a bit when you apply it, but it can't be any worse than watching us get killed by San Diego, right? ;)
 
TheNextStep said:
I dunno guys... Bobby Petrino signed a HUGE extension just this summer to stay where he is.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/07/13/petrino.contract/

Now I know that all things are negotiable, but I dunno...
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Yeah, but that guy flirts with every job opening that comes down the pipe. Only thing is, would he have to be bought out of a big deal? If so, I can't see the Raiders ponying up to pay him AND pay Louisville for the right to steal him.
 
TheNextStep said:
This team has done horribly, Pops. No denying that. That said, this is still the team that I support and I'm still going to watch them and discuss them and, you know me, I'm going to tend to be more optimistic than not.

As for your ass problems, go see a doctor. He'll probably prescribe you some sort of suppository. I'd imagine that it'll hurt quite a bit when you apply it, but it can't be any worse than watching us get killed by San Diego, right? ;)
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For dull aching pain, this stretch takes the cake. However for most single painful moments, I have two much worse: 51-3 and the fumble. So, I know pain thanks to this team.

That said, I have been a fan since I was 3 and am optimistic too. This team is doing what it can though to beat that out of me.

Thank God for the Sabres.
 
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