Off The Record blog speculates that Defensive End Richard Seymour's reason for not reporting to Oakland may be his Mapquest directions, plus the fact that there are so many Oaklands.
Actually, what Oakland are we even talking about? Oakland County, Michigan? Is that where the Raiders play? Oakland, Maryland? There’s an Oakland, Oregon. With all due respect, it is very confusing.
I think Seymour's trying to figure out some "small" issues like "Where am I going to live?" Or, "What schools do my kids attend."
Richard and Tanya Seymour
And what about his wife? I'm sure she has major concerns about the move and the trade. That's a hard deal to face when you've played for one team for all of your career. He's not going to tell Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable "I don't want to play for you" just yet. He's reviewing his options.
What's going through his head is he doesn't want to be treated like cattle and is trying to deal with the sudden change and asking if he wants to take it. I'm certain that's what's going on as of this writing.
Tila's lawyer disputes Merriman's claim, saying it's "spin" but does not offer an alternative explanation regarding what happened. Morever Tila herself now says she was not drinking, and that she's allergic to alcohol.
Also not to be found is any reason why Tila's suddenly covering up her tweets. Between these actions and her website message claiming she has multiple personalities, it seems there's more to this story than meets the eye.
I write that with great sadness because to accuse someone of assault is a serious charge that gives everyone pause: everyone either wants to or is compelled to run to the side of the assumed victim and attack the accused.
But what happened when it appears the assumed victim may be using how society responds to his or her advantage and wasn't really harmed at all?
It makes the public more skeptical of such claims and look more at the character of the accuser. This is where we are today, with even her "friends" leaving curious comments on her MySpace pageand this YouTube video from her channel MissTilaTequila, which shows Tila talking about being at a Beverly Hills Mansion (posted August 4th, which was that Tuesday, my birthday, which means it was on August 2nd) and with the camera pointing to a champagne bottle set and saying "pimpin..Rose Chrystal Bottle popin livin it up on a Sunday"..
And in another video created this year and from her channel Tila claims she gets anxiety attacks when she goes out and tries not to because of that, just before she sings a song she wrote saying how she's a "little drunk and gonna get you high."
Okay! More questions.
If she's allergic to alcohol, why make such a video featuring it as a key part of the good life and focus on the champagne bottle not once but twice (she's controlling the camcorder). Why make another video rapping about being drunk?
(And check out the dog on the couch. The dog's reaction seems to be "Ho Hum. Nothing to see here; oh, what's up outside?" Too funny.)
Hey, I agree its the fun life but only in moderation, and I'm honest about how I enjoy the good life and do it with care. This is terrible, to say the least, and calls her latest claims into question.
Tila's lawyer disputes Merriman's claim, saying it's "spin" but does not offer an alternative explanation regarding what happened. Morever Tila herself now says she was not drinking, and that she's allergic to alcohol.
Also not to be found is any reason why Tila's suddenly covering up her tweets. Between these actions and her website message claiming she has multiple personalities, it seems there's more to this story than meets the eye.
I write that with great sadness because to accuse someone of assault is a serious charge that gives everyone pause: everyone either wants to or is compelled to run to the side of the assumed victim and attack the accused.
But what happened when it appears the assumed victim may be using how society responds to his or her advantage and wasn't really harmed at all?
It makes the public more skeptical of such claims and look more at the character of the accuser. This is where we are today, with even her "friends" leaving curious comments on her MySpace pageand this YouTube video from her channel MissTilaTequila, which shows Tila talking about being at a Beverly Hills Mansion (posted August 4th, which was that Tuesday, my birthday, which means it was on August 2nd) and with the camera pointing to a champagne bottle set and saying "pimpin..Rose Chrystal Bottle popin livin it up on a Sunday"..
And in another video created this year and from her channel Tila claims she gets anxiety attacks when she goes out and tries not to because of that, just before she sings a song she wrote saying how she's a "little drunk and gonna get you high."
Okay! More questions.
If she's allergic to alcohol, why make such a video featuring it as a key part of the good life and focus on the champagne bottle not once but twice (she's controlling the camcorder). Why make another video rapping about being drunk?
(And check out the dog on the couch. The dog's reaction seems to be "Ho Hum. Nothing to see here; oh, what's up outside?" Too funny.)
Hey, I agree its the fun life but only in moderation, and I'm honest about how I enjoy the good life and do it with care. This is terrible, to say the least, and calls her latest claims into question.
I love Coach Chris Brown's blog called Smart Football because it's the best place to learn what the the most effective and cutting-edge schemes are and how they work: Urban Meyer's spread, Mike Leach's Airraid offense at Texas Tech, and the "Jet" concept, to name some of them.
The Airraid Offense of Texas Tech
Most of the new plays and formations are at the college level and there's a buzz about "who's doing what" that I've never seen before. But now, college coaches are looking at the NFL as the lesser level of football, at least from a strategy perspective.
Today, I ran across a discussion about Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer's comments in the Sunday New York Times. This is what he said:
“I think it (the spread) would have worked years ago,” Meyer said. “No one has had enough — I don’t want to say courage — no one has wanted to step across that line. Everyone runs the same offense in the N.F.L. A lot of those coaches are retreads. They get fired in Minnesota, they go to St. Louis. They get fired in St. Louis and go to San Diego. I guess what gets lost in the shuffle is your objective is to go win the game. If it’s going to help you win the game, then you should run the spread.”
Florida Coach Urban Meyer
While Meyer's comment may be seen as arrogant, he's correct. Where college teams have become known for a wide variety of offensive variation - Navy has the Speed Option, Hawaii has the Run and Shoot, Stanford uses an older two-back pro style offense with two backs, Cal employs a hybrid H-back system, Florida's known for the Spread - the NFL offenses have a boring sameness.
The Wildcat was born in Arkansas
It's hard to tell one offense from the other. Every team uses the "I" formation. Or if it's not that, then it's the "Offset I" formation. Four wide receiver sets have receivers all lined up the same way, and one back behind the quarterback. The Wildcast's new? Yes.
Most teams have it but no team, except the Miami Dolphins who brought it into the league, have created variations of it. And the Wildcat was created at Arkansas by then offensive coordinator David Lee, who holds the same title with The Dolphins and brought the system to the NFL. Point here is that the NFL's newest innovation is a college-born scheme.
The Wildcat works even in Madden NFL 2010:
And while you may observe that the Wildcat's just a variation of the old single wing set, remember the passing game was not well known at the time; the passes out of the Wildcat are brand new, not a reinvention of an age old approach.
NFL Owners must encourage innovation
Given the fact that NFL players and coaches are paid to spend time on football, one would think the league would be the leader in the creation of new approaches to the game. It's not. I think Meyer's right that the reason is the "retread" coach with the "proven" approach, but in a recession that way can lead to a boring offense that doesn't sell tickets or win games.
Using the Spread, in all of its forms, is an answer but I don't think one should stop there. Developing something new should be the objective just to keep NFL defenses on their toes.
Defenses are made to quickly adjust and as I've written before the Baltimore Ravens have set the tone for the kind of flexible, aggressive styles that have a schematic answer for any offense. Offensive variation is important to counter these defenses.
I had to take a time out to send a little message to my friend Jack Cafferty at CNN. He has a blog post focusing on Van Jones and asking if the White House should have so many czars.
Van Jones: Mayor of Oakland
Now a bit of background, CNN's been very good to me by giving me a platform to feature my video work, particularly during the Democratic National Convention last year, and putting me on live TV more times than I can immediately recall. CNN essentially "made me" so after so many appearances and headquarters visits, like the one below, where I met the iReport staff that's become family to me, I've got a pretty good idea what they're looking for.
Now, I know what CNN's doing - same thing I do - ask a question or go to a subject that I know will smack the hornets nest and get people emailing, commenting, and talking, er, like this one. It's called building buzz and generating new content by creating provocative content. People fall for it all the time, get pissed and write stupid things (which helps the cause), so I decided to help CNN out a bit and in a circuitous way and post something I knew would get others going and draw the attention of their producers:
Jack, leave Van Jones alone. You don’t know the man. He’s not as conservatives have painted him and yes, the Obama Adminstration should have vetted his past better, but he’s done a lot of good here in Oakland and could run for Mayor and win.
Knowing CNN as I do, I figured they'd post this and Jack would read it on the air, and they did and he did. But I beyond the matter of New Media process and economics, I do believe what I wrote. Van Jones can be an effective mayor of Oakland. And now, he's got a good deal of name recognition that would help him raise money to run.
Yes, the current buzz about Van has been negative, but the good thing is that now Van's been "pre-vetted" and can move forward and allow more Oaklanders get to know him. But that's not a problem because the vast majority of us do and we know the real Van Jones. He's committed to improving the lives of those less fortunate, making goverment work for everyone, and improving the overall quality of life. The good news is he's done it here in Oakland.
Van Jones is just the tonic Oakland needs to move forward.
After Jack read my message on CNN's The Situation Room, I got a few texts from people that frankly are in good positions to help him become Mayor if he wanted that. That's not what they were texting about; it was to say "Way to go."
The conservative attack on Jones, a swift-boating and a smearing that left Jones with a new national identity to build from. Yes, he's got to overcome the YouTubing he's gotten and he can do this with, well, new videos. Van's not the radical he was in the past, but you know what, Sean Hannity's not cavorting with the White Supremacist Hal Turner anymore either right?
Yes, Van's said some dumb things in the past and he's apologized for them, but this is 2009 and he's remade himself into a powerful person working for the good of all Americans.
I think you see my point.
To my conservative friends at the conservative website Free Republic, er, Freepers, (and yes I do have Freeper friends and agree with them on not a few issues) which give me so much traffic (thanks!) I've got to let you know that people who support Van Jones, like me, aren't "commies" and in fact have some of you as friends.
I know it makes you feel good to haul off and trash people you don't know, but I think you're wrong about Van and would like him if you met him.
Give him a chance.
To Van, I say this: run for Mayor. For some weird, zippity-do-da, reason only the Lord knows, you've been given a powerful platform and an giant army of really pissed off supporters around America and certainly in Oakland.
You can do a lot of good here. Run for Mayor of Oakland. Strike while the iron is hot.
Is California becoming a "party economy"? Governor Schwarzenegger should talk to Joe Diamos.
Diamos says we're in trouble
Since our credit crunch of 2008 and the staggering wave of not just job losses but the dramatic drop in overall job creation over the last eight years, I've always believed our American economy was in trouble.
Rather than throw out a bunch of statistics, I decided to turn to someone who's in the middle of the economic storm: Joe Diamos of Diamos Funding Group in Redwood City, Ca.
Diamos' company is a law firm that specializes in representing you before the bank you have a mortgage with to get that bank to adjust your loan - called "loan modification" - so that you're better able to afford your monthly payments.
I asked Mr. Diamos how the economy was doing; I didn't get an enthusiastic answer. "It's terrible", he said. Diamos has a specific recommendation for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature.
"Get business to stay in California. We're losing business left and right to other states, Nevada, and so on. We've got to keep businesses here."
I wondered if the Governor and other politicians really understood what was going on? "I think people in general are starting to wake up now," he responded. "People are hurting all over."
Does the Gov get it?
Will a great credit score make a difference in getting a home loan? "What's killing the economy is that they've lowered the requirements so much that anyone could get credit; now we have a wave of foreclosures because people aren't working. It's so bad now, no one can get a loan. If you had an 800 credit score, on the job for 10 years, but lost your job, now the banks will not take a risk on you."
Diamos says banks are out of trillions of dollars because of the foreclosure wave and the credit crunch and says that President Obama's program to help keep Americans in their homes does not have enough money in it. "When Obama put money aside he only put in $75 billion. That's not enough to solve the problem. Everyone's down in (housing) value. One step is to raise the amount of money in the program. The banks spend $50k to foreclose. Banks are between a rock in a hard place; they spend $50,000 to foreclose or that amount to maintain the loan."
"It's a complicated issue, he said. "I think we need to have the market take its course. California's businesses are being chased away; we've got to get them back."
Diamos does not recommend buying a home; his advise is buying real estate is not the best move. "Renting is better", he says. "Give the house back. Real estate's not coming back for 20 years. We've got trillions more foreclosures coming."
Then we have "option on loans" - payment should have been $6,000, after you hit a certain point, you have to make the payment over $7,000 - that will cause another wave of foreclosures." (Option loans are such that payments are calculated to "baloon" after five or ten years because payments are recalculated. Without them, buyers could not easily afford larger, more expensive dwellings.)
Diamos continued, "Then we have commercial real estate and that's another wave of foreclosures coming. I don't think anyone knows how bad the foreclosures are going to be," he said. "We have a big hole. Hold on to your cash; cash is king."
"We do the foreclosures, we've got a line out of the door. If you're behind on the mortgage we modify your loan. I can't get you a loan if you want one, but I can fix the one you have. It's getting worse and worse and worse. The banks don't need to issue loans to make money."
So if you want to have your loan modified, call Joe Diamos. But regarding the American and California economy, we're in trouble. There's no clear idea of what's fueling economic growth because we're losing so many jobs, especially manufacturing employment opportunities.
My personal contention is that our entire system is contracting under the growing weight of the offshoring of employment and we've got to take a measure of draconian protectionism.
Our trading partners will not like it, but on the other hand they need our active economy as a place to sell their goods and services; if our economy is weak it hurts them.
The stimulus package of $780 billion is not large enough; $2 billion would be more effective and I'm not listening to cries of socialism - that' really not the point. Governments running our economic competitor nations have no problem pumping money into their economies so we shouldn't either.
Diamos is correct in stating that the key to the recovery is small business, but we need to have programs to help our businesses grow and not tax them to death as they do it.
This is the first injury report for the 2009 NFL Season and for Thursday night's NFL Kickoff Game pitting the Tennessee Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. This is provided by the NFL.
WEEK 1 INJURY REPORT -- MONDAY
TENNESSEE TITANS at PITTSBURGH STEELERS on Thursday night
TENNESSEE TITANS
Practice Report
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday
TE Jared Cook (ankle), WR Nate Washington (hamstring)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday
P Craig Hentrich (back), CB Ryan Mouton (ankle)
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Practice Report
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
Monday
LB Lawrence Timmons (ankle)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday
QB Dennis Dixon (right shoulder)
Look here for more reports snd visit NFL Business Blog for the best podcasts in the NFL.
Lady GaGa, The Jonas Brothers and Gravy Boat are all in the business of music and part of my new series called "Music Monday" where we feature blogs and videos about local and national singers and groups.
Lady Gaga is the incredible pop pretty singer with infectious dance tunes like "Poker Face. The Jonas Brothers have become a World phenomenon. Now, I present to you Gravy Boat.
Gravy Boat - which features Steve Gerard, Erik Frykman, Marc Ramsey and Don Frank - is based in Marin and plays in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, my connection to this cover band is my friendship with Erik and his brother Lars, which goes back to when we were, oh, 14 years old.
Lars and Me: 1974
Fast forward to August 2009, and I visited San Francisco's popular bar and restaurant La Barca to here Gravy Boat for the first time. I also brought my camcorder, much to the surprise of Lars and Erik. The result is an awesome moment captured in time.
Gravy Boat has been going strong for 15 years and specializes in top pop, rock, and R&B tunes like "I Wanna Rock and Roll", featured in the video. They have an amaingly diverse song list, ranging from "Fire" by the Ohio Players, to "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol.
What I enjoy about Gravy Boat, and I'm not writing this because Erik and Lars are my friends, is that they perform with an infectious energy. Once they get going, there's no stopping them or the crowd. I've got to give it to them, they're great entertainers.
About "Music Monday by Zennie62"
I got the idea for Music Monday from Twitter. It's both a hastag (#musicmonday)and a account page where bands and singers are tweeted every Monday. I got this hairbrained idea that bringing the concept to my blogs with pages designed to gain visibility could help small bands get noticed faster. Gravy Boat is my first experiment.
If you are part of a band or know of one that should be featured here, send me a .mov file of the group or a YouTube link or if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area or the Atlanta Metro area let me know when and where you're performing and I'll visit with my camcorder, or make sure I have someone there.
Lady GaGa, The Jonas Brothers and Gravy Boat are all in the business of music and part of my new series called "Music Monday" where we feature blogs and videos about local and national singers and groups.
Gravy Boat - which features Steve Gerard, Erik Frykman, Marc Ramsey and Don Frank - is based in Marin and plays in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, my connection to this cover band is my friendship with Erik and his brother Lars, which goes back to when we were, oh, 14 years old.
Lars and Me: 1974
Fast forward to August 2009, and I visited San Francisco's popular bar and restaurant La Barca to here Gravy Boat for the first time. I also brought my camcorder, much to the surprise of Lars and Erik. The result is an awesome moment captured in time.
Gravy Boat has been going strong for 15 years and specializes in top pop, rock, and R&B tunes like "I Wanna Rock and Roll", featured in the video. They have an amaingly diverse song list, ranging from "Fire" by the Ohio Players, to "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol.
What I enjoy about Gravy Boat, and I'm not writing this because Erik and Lars are my friends, is that they perform with an infectious energy. Once they get going, there's no stopping them or the crowd. I've got to give it to them, they're great entertainers.
About "Music Monday by Zennie62"
I got the idea for Music Monday from Twitter. It's both a hastag (#musicmonday)and a account page where bands and singers are tweeted every Monday. I got this hairbrained idea that bringing the concept to my blogs with pages designed to gain visibility could help small bands get noticed faster. Gravy Boat is my first experiment.
If you are part of a band or know of one that should be featured here, send me a .mov file of the group or a YouTube link or if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area or the Atlanta Metro area let me know when and where you're performing and I'll visit with my camcorder, or make sure I have someone there.
The lastest information on the ongoing story of the trade of New England Patriots Defensive End Richard Seymour to Oakland has Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on the NFL Network today at 4 PM PST saying that the star lineman told him he wants to come to Oakland.
That counters earlier information that Seymour didn't want to come to Oakland. He was traded to Oakland for the Raiders 2011 first round draft pick, leading some to scratch their heads regarding why the Silver and Black would make such a trade for someone about to turn 30 years old.
The NFL network's Alex Flanagan said it for me "It seems confusing." Mike Mayock said that the Raiders could control Seymour by slapping the much-hated "franchise" tag on him after 2010. Solomon Wilcots observed that would be just the thing to cause Richard not to appear at Raiders headquarters.
The bottom line folks is he's still not physically with the Raiders as of this writing. Nick Haswell of Football Reporters Online still can't get over the trade news.
2009 Dallas Cowboys Preview-By J.P. Fox for Football Reporters Online
Coming off of a horrific ending to the 2008 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys are desperate to not let another season without a playoff victory pass them by. With a season that ended with a 44-6 loss in Philadelphia, with a playoff spot on the line, people in Dallas, and around the country, could begin to wonder about the job security of head coach Wade Phillips. Criticized for running “cupcake” training camps, not being tough on his players, and failing to fully prepare his teams for games, Phillips is definitely on the hot seat coming into his third season as head coach of America’s Team. With an impressive 22-10 regular season record in two years with Dallas, Phillips has not been impressive in the closing months of the season in both years with the team. In his final three games of the ’07 season, Phillips and the Cowboys went 1-2. Dallas ended up losing to the division rival New York Giants in the Divisional round of the playoffs. In his final four games of the ’08 season, the Cowboys went 1-3 and missed the playoffs. With an owner like Jerry Jones, mediocrity will not be accepted. Phillips better get the Cowboys to the playoffs, and WIN in the playoffs, to keep his job.
Quarterback Tony Romo could also be in a make or break year. He was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the 2006 season and brought the team to the playoffs. The following year, he led Dallas to a 13-3 record, but ended the season without a playoff victory. And in 2008, the Cowboys missed the playoffs by getting romped in Philly to end the season. Romo is the heart and soul of the Cowboys. When he goes, the team goes. Some people are ready to put Romo is the same breath as a Peyton Manning, before he won the Super Bowl. Manning just couldn’t get the Colts over the hump. Now Romo has got to get the Cowboys over that hump or he will have a lot of people not too happy about him receiving a $67 million contract before proving himself.
Jerry Jones has rid the offense of Terrell Owens but inserted Roy Williams as the #1 Wide Receiver. The team gave up three draft picks and a $45 million contract to get Williams to Dallas, from Detroit, midway through last season. The team also has speedster Miles Austin at wideout, as well as Patrick Crayton, a good possession receiver, and Sam Hurd, an up-and-coming player. But the receiving corps with probably only go as far as Roy Williams takes them. He will step into the huge, gaping shoes that Terrell Owens left behind. Roy Williams will probably need to have a season like his 2006 campaign, for the Cowboys to keep on ticking. Dallas had T.O. for the last three seasons to be their #1 receiver and now that elite role for the ‘Boys will go to big #11.
The strength for the Cowboys offense will be their running game. They have a three headed monster in Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. Felix Jones is the teams’ biggest weapon and with him healthy, the team will have an extra dimension that they lacked in the ten games he missed last season due to injury. Three players on the offensive line, Flozell Adams, Leonard Davis, and Andre Gurode, have made the Pro Bowl at least twice in their career. With Marion “The Barbarian” as the between the tackles, short yardage runner and #1 back, Felix Jones as a change-of-pace and third down back, and Tashard Choice available to give both of them a breather, the Cowboys should have no problem running the ball this season. The Cowboys were ranked 8th overall in the NFL in total defense last season. But one thing the team did lack was forced turnovers. They ranked in the bottom half of the league in that category. Returning for the defense is star linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who racked up 20 sacks in 2008, Terence Newman (cornerback), Jay Ratliff (defensive tackle), and Ken Hamlin (safety), who each have made at least one pro-bowl, and linebackers Bradie James and Anthony Spencer. Gerald Sensabaugh comes over from Jacksonville and will replace Roy Williams at the strong safety spot. Sensabaugh will bring more play-making ability than the aging Williams. Keith Brooking, who had 100+ tackles with Atlanta last season, replaces Zach Thomas. At defensive end, the Cowboys will have Marcus Spears, a young player who is coming into his contract year, and Igor Olshansky, who comes over from San Diego to replace Chris Canty. Olshansky was drafted by San Diego when Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator there. And lastly, at the cornerback spot opposite Terence Newman, the Cowboys will go with a rotation of second-year players, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Jenkins was drafted in the first round last year and Scandrick, the fifth. Throughout the year, Scandrick outplayed Jenkins and many thought Scandrick would open the season as the starter. Instead, Jenkins will start the first game, Scandrick will start the second, and they will rotate until one significantly outplays the other.
So that outlines who will be playing for the 2009 Cowboys. The team is not too far off from becoming relevant again. They have a strong defense that will look to improve on their strong 2008 numbers with a couple of new faces. Also, a strong running game will only better Tony Romo’s chances of becoming that quarterback that every Cowboy fan hopes he is. A strong running game only opens up big things for a quarterback, and when you have three young, hungry runners, your quarterback is set up to flourish. I believe the Cowboys need a couple players to have big years for the team to break out: Felix Jones, Roy Williams, DeMarcus Ware. Jones missed 10 games last year, Williams had 19 catches in 10 games with the Cowboys, and Ware is looking to force more fumbles and become more relentless in the running game this season. Every Cowboy fan is hoping that the ‘Boys can claim that first playoff victory since 1996 but mostly, they are hoping the team can join the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only teams with 6 World Championships.
Al Davis Did What? By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online
Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders just traded their 2011 First Round Draft Pick to the New England Patriots for Future Hall of Fame Defensive End Richard Seymour. This is just the latest transaction by the Raiders that proves the insanity of Owner Al Davis. It’s almost hard to imagine that the Raiders were participants in Super Bowl XXXVII, just 7 seasons ago. Since the morning of that game, where All-Pro Center Barrett Robbins went AWOL before the game, the Raiders have become the joke of the NFL. The Raiders have a record of 24-72 and a winning percentage of .250 since 2003, good for the worst record and winning percentage in the NFL. As Al Davis has gotten older, it seems that his roster moves and coaching hires have gotten crazier. Here is a look at the top 5 reasons that Al Davis has gone crazy since 2003: 5. Signing DE/DT Tommy Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million contract in 2008: A 4-year pro that has never been to a Pro Bowl and is coming off a torn ACL gets the largest contract ever for a defensive tackle. That’s exactly what the Raiders did by re-signing Tommy Kelly. Kelly was a defensive end his first four seasons in the NFL, but with Warren Sapp retiring, Al Davis was compelled to overpay to re-sign Kelly and move him and his 6-6, 300 lbs. frame to defensive tackle. But to sign Kelly to a contract that paid him more than Albert Haynesworth (in 2008), Kevin and Pat Williams, and Vince Wilfork is quite ridiculous. 4. Offering Head Coaching Position to Tom Cable following 2008 season: Tom Cable is a fine offensive line coach and has been a very successful offensive coordinator at the college level at Colorado and UCLA. But as a head coach, he has a less impressive resume. As a head coach at the University of Idaho from 2000 to 2003, Cable’s record was 11-35, with 4 consecutive losing seasons. After taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season, Cable led the Raiders to a 4-8 finish. His head coaching record is not exactly worthy of a head coaching position in the NFL. 3. Trading 2011 First Round Pick to Patriots for Richard Seymour: Trading for a future Hall of Famer is not a crazy idea. But trading away a First Round Draft Pick for a player that could only be in uniform for one season is. Not only could Richard Seymour not be on the Raiders past 2009, but given the Raiders past performance, the Raiders could lose a top 10 draft pick in 2011. And how much will this move improve the Raiders, to win 5 or 6 wins, instead of 4? But the Raiders and Al Davis are desperate to improve their run defense, which has been the worst in the NFL the past several seasons. But exactly where Seymour fits in Oakland’s defense is in question. Seymour has been a 3-4 defensive end his entire career. By being traded to the Raiders, Seymour either moves to a 4-3 defensive end or to a 3-technique defensive tackle, where Tommy Kelly is currently starting. 2. 2009 NFL Draft: Wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still on the draft board when the Raiders drafted in the #7 overall spot in the 2009 NFL Draft. But Al Davis and the Raiders surprised everyone and drafted speedster receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. Davis and the Raiders are notorious for their love of players with speed, especially with skill position players. Heyward- Bey ran the fastest 40-time at the 2009 NFL Combine at 4.30 seconds. But he is not a polished route-runner and doesn’t possess the best hands. Heyward-Bey was projected as a late first or second round pick. And then in the second round the Raiders selected safety Mike Mitchell from Ohio. Mitchell was considered a late round pick, but Al Davis surprised everyone and took Mitchell early in the second round, when he could have taken him several rounds later. 1. Offering Head Coaching Position to Lane Kiffin: When Art Shell was fired by the Oakland Raiders in 2007, one of the first people Al Davis contacted for the open head coaching job was USC co-offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. After being rebuffed by Sarkisian, Davis moved on to bringing in Sarkisian’s co-coordinator at USC, Lane Kiffin. Despite never being a head coach at any level, or coaching a position at the NFL level (Kiffin was the offensive quality control coach for the Jaguars in 2000), Davis offered the position to Kiffin. Kiffin’s tenure with the Raiders was contentious, almost from the start. There were reports that Kiffin entertained the idea of leaving the Raiders for a college head coaching job before the end of the 2007 NFL Season. Reportedly, Al Davis drafted up Kiffin’s resignation papers following the 2007 season for Kiffin to sign, but Kiffin refused to sign them because he would lose a guaranteed $2 million by signing the papers. Al Davis needs a puppet as his head coach, as Davis has the last word on roster moves and coaching hires. Kiffin was not one who would cooperate with Al Davis in this capactity and his hiring and firing ended up turning the Raider organization into even more chaos.
