jatfly
AKA:Burgraider
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
- Messages
- 3,413
- Reaction score
- 198
Suddenly, Raiders are interesting again
John Devine Just a thought
Article Last Updated: 10/07/2007 01:43:06 AM PDT
Come on, admit it. You're numb.
Perhaps in a state of shock, of disbelief, flabbergasted.
If you recall, your best athlete was traded for a fourth-round pick. The top pick in the draft finally suited up four games into the season, sporting a hat instead of a helmet.
Your coach can't even get through security because he looks like a ball boy.
Your games are blacked out.
So what?
The Raiders are tied for first place, with a quarter of the season gone.
You're not the only one scratching your head.
A team that won just two games last year is on a two-game winning streak heading into its bye week.
Remember, this is Lane Kiffin coaching the Raiders, not his legendary father, Monte, the defensive genius in Tampa Bay.
Whatever shred of dignity the Raiders had left after hiring Kiffin was disappearing faster than the veterans.
Al Davis hired a 32-year-old coach no one had heard of, who wasn't even on the radar when the search began.
Davis was desperate.
Or so he led us to believe. Don't let those sweatsuits fool you. Big Al is as sharp as ever.
What Davis saw in Kiffin was perhaps a reincarnation of Jon Gruden.
Right now the youngest coach in the NFL has taken a team no one else wanted and has got them buying into his beliefs.
Two wins isn't exorcising the demons from the past. But four games into the season it is clear the Raiders are on the right path back to respectability. And you know what, they're fun to watch.
Will it last? Probably not.
Then again, a look at Oakland's schedule suggests a playoff run is not out of the question. Remember, it's a last-place schedule.
Plus, all of a sudden, the AFC West doesn't look so menacing anymore. Three teams are 2-2 and San Diego is 1-3.
Even after opening the season with two gut-wrenching losses, the franchise had a different demeanor about them.
Battling back from a 17-3 deficit to Detroit and a 17-0 disadvantage in Denver to actually take the lead in both games proved one thing. This team won't quit on Kiffin.
Say what you want. But had Oakland held onto leads in both those games, it would be — dare I say — undefeated.
Remember, a missed field goal cost them a game in regulation in Denver.
Isn't this the same cast of players that quit on Art Shell last season during a tumultuous 2-14 record?
For the most part, yes.
Amazing things happen when players believe in their coach.
Need proof?
Look at San Diego right now.
Those who didn't want to be part of the retooling process in Oakland were shipped out or released.
Kiffin made an immediate impact with his confidence and work ethic. Hey, he got Warren Sapp to drop 52 pounds in the off-season.
All of a sudden, Sapp looks more like the dominating defensive lineman he was under Kiffin's father when he helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl in 2002.
Kiffin embraced receiver Jerry Porter, who stood on the sidelines last year in Shell's doghouse, making over a million dollars to watch and disrupt.
He brought in players no one else wanted in Daunte Culpepper, Jeremy Newberry, Gerard Warren and Mike Williams.
Culpepper made the most of his first start at quarterback last week, taking snaps from Newberry and throwing for two touchdowns while running for three.
Williams, considered a bust in Detroit after just two years, is becoming a nice complement opposite Porter, while Warren had a big sack in the Raiders' win over Miami.
The Raider way, right? Bring in renegades to heighten their image.
Not quite.
These were players desperate to play the game and turn their careers around.
I wouldn't say the Raiders are playing with a chip on their shoulders as much as they're just enjoying the game again.
Winning helps. But so does chemistry. Last season this team was a dysfunctional mess.
This year the offense has flavor, the defense fire.
That blue-collar attitude being demonstrated is a reminder of the Raider teams from the 1960s and 70s.
The Raiders are playing hard for their boyish coach, who last season was a quarterbacks coach at USC.
With a couple of wins under their belt, the Raiders' confidence is flying around like the defense.
And now the AFC West looks — well, mediocre.
Why can't Oakland do an abrupt turnaround?
Didn't New Orleans go from 3-13 to 13-3 and get into the NFC Championship game last year?
Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves — 12 games remain.
But never underestimate a bunch of players who felt unwanted.
Something to prove? No doubt. Pop a cold one, Raider Nation. And start filling that Coliseum. You're missing something special.
John Devine Just a thought
Article Last Updated: 10/07/2007 01:43:06 AM PDT
Come on, admit it. You're numb.
Perhaps in a state of shock, of disbelief, flabbergasted.
If you recall, your best athlete was traded for a fourth-round pick. The top pick in the draft finally suited up four games into the season, sporting a hat instead of a helmet.
Your coach can't even get through security because he looks like a ball boy.
Your games are blacked out.
So what?
The Raiders are tied for first place, with a quarter of the season gone.
You're not the only one scratching your head.
A team that won just two games last year is on a two-game winning streak heading into its bye week.
Remember, this is Lane Kiffin coaching the Raiders, not his legendary father, Monte, the defensive genius in Tampa Bay.
Whatever shred of dignity the Raiders had left after hiring Kiffin was disappearing faster than the veterans.
Al Davis hired a 32-year-old coach no one had heard of, who wasn't even on the radar when the search began.
Davis was desperate.
Or so he led us to believe. Don't let those sweatsuits fool you. Big Al is as sharp as ever.
What Davis saw in Kiffin was perhaps a reincarnation of Jon Gruden.
Right now the youngest coach in the NFL has taken a team no one else wanted and has got them buying into his beliefs.
Two wins isn't exorcising the demons from the past. But four games into the season it is clear the Raiders are on the right path back to respectability. And you know what, they're fun to watch.
Will it last? Probably not.
Then again, a look at Oakland's schedule suggests a playoff run is not out of the question. Remember, it's a last-place schedule.
Plus, all of a sudden, the AFC West doesn't look so menacing anymore. Three teams are 2-2 and San Diego is 1-3.
Even after opening the season with two gut-wrenching losses, the franchise had a different demeanor about them.
Battling back from a 17-3 deficit to Detroit and a 17-0 disadvantage in Denver to actually take the lead in both games proved one thing. This team won't quit on Kiffin.
Say what you want. But had Oakland held onto leads in both those games, it would be — dare I say — undefeated.
Remember, a missed field goal cost them a game in regulation in Denver.
Isn't this the same cast of players that quit on Art Shell last season during a tumultuous 2-14 record?
For the most part, yes.
Amazing things happen when players believe in their coach.
Need proof?
Look at San Diego right now.
Those who didn't want to be part of the retooling process in Oakland were shipped out or released.
Kiffin made an immediate impact with his confidence and work ethic. Hey, he got Warren Sapp to drop 52 pounds in the off-season.
All of a sudden, Sapp looks more like the dominating defensive lineman he was under Kiffin's father when he helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl in 2002.
Kiffin embraced receiver Jerry Porter, who stood on the sidelines last year in Shell's doghouse, making over a million dollars to watch and disrupt.
He brought in players no one else wanted in Daunte Culpepper, Jeremy Newberry, Gerard Warren and Mike Williams.
Culpepper made the most of his first start at quarterback last week, taking snaps from Newberry and throwing for two touchdowns while running for three.
Williams, considered a bust in Detroit after just two years, is becoming a nice complement opposite Porter, while Warren had a big sack in the Raiders' win over Miami.
The Raider way, right? Bring in renegades to heighten their image.
Not quite.
These were players desperate to play the game and turn their careers around.
I wouldn't say the Raiders are playing with a chip on their shoulders as much as they're just enjoying the game again.
Winning helps. But so does chemistry. Last season this team was a dysfunctional mess.
This year the offense has flavor, the defense fire.
That blue-collar attitude being demonstrated is a reminder of the Raider teams from the 1960s and 70s.
The Raiders are playing hard for their boyish coach, who last season was a quarterbacks coach at USC.
With a couple of wins under their belt, the Raiders' confidence is flying around like the defense.
And now the AFC West looks — well, mediocre.
Why can't Oakland do an abrupt turnaround?
Didn't New Orleans go from 3-13 to 13-3 and get into the NFC Championship game last year?
Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves — 12 games remain.
But never underestimate a bunch of players who felt unwanted.
Something to prove? No doubt. Pop a cold one, Raider Nation. And start filling that Coliseum. You're missing something special.