CLOAK OF IMMORTALITY Gets Some Press

Check out David White's blog post speculating that there may be a chance that Justin Fargas returns for the 2010 season:

When the Raiders released veteran running back Justin Fargas on Saturday, they put out a "cloak of immortality"-type statement out as they do for longtime players at times. (He's the first to get one since Adam Treu in 2006, if I remember right, though Zack Crockett may have got one in 2007).

Nice.

Regarding the actual news, it sure is a good thing the Raiders are dropping Fargas, because he makes all the slackers on the team really look bad.

Art Shell JaMarcus Bad

David White's article in today's Sporting Green asks newly-signed Langston Walker how this offense compares to the Tom Walsh-inspired debacle he played on 2006. Take it away:

"Hopefully I can come in and help this team at some point," Walker said.

At some point? How about this instant.

The Raiders barely score against subpar competition. Imagine all the scoring they won't be doing against the Eagles' third-ranked defense Sunday at the Coliseum.

"Aw, man, we've just got to put up points," rookie wide receiver Louis Murphy said. "That's all I can really say about that."

Fine. Let the numbers speak for themselves after a 1-4 start.

Today's Raiders have scored 49 points through five games, one point less than the '06 Raiders. That makes this the worst scoring start in franchise history.

Wow. 1 point less than the '06 Raiders. Unbelievable. And this on the heels of Antonio Pierce saying that playing the Raiders felt more like a scrimmage.

I have a friend who is a big Eagles fan. He invited me to go to the game with him this Sunday. There's no way I'm paying Al Davis one penny for the right to watch his clown college in person.

More Nnamdi on Vick

I attributed this to Jerry Mac's twitter feed, because that's where I saw it first, but I should give props to David White who was on Chronicle Live with Nnamdi last night, which is apparently where the quote comes from.



Also, I'm not sure why the embedded video is cut off. The code they give you to copy is weird and needed to be edited, by me, with my limited skills.

Props to Ratto, I think, for the Bernie Maddoff joke.

Why Jerry McDonald is still the best

Because as good as David White has been since the end of last season, nobody knows his readers like Jerry Mac:

...although there was no mention of the abolition of Walt Coleman.

That's called playing to your audience.

Post Mini-Camp Round-up

It's gotten quiet the last couple of days, but here's some of what's been going on:

Lowell Cohn covered the JaMarcus/Goldmember relationship, and compared says JaMarcus is just like Joe Montana was at the same stage of his career...er...kinda...

David White has five questions for Thomas Howard. Jerry uses this as an opportunity to discuss new D.C. John Marshall, and rehashes the Lance Kiffin/Rob Ryan feud. Money quotes:

If Ryan wasn’t so busy trying to put together a defense in Cleveland, he could probably feel the force of the wheels from the Raiders team bus.

and

Doubtful you’ll hear any response from Ryan, who will no doubt throw his considerable weight into building up some of the Cleveland Browns as unblockable and unstoppable.

Jerry Mac and Phil Barber address Timmy's comments about Al and African-American Players from Notre Dame. Bonus points to Barber for his headline, "Al Davis Doesn't Care About Black People (From Notre Dame)." That cracked me up.

Florio says the Raiders are partying like it's 1999 with five QBs on the roster. Shit, was that really 10 years ago?

Ratto on Lorenzo Neal

In addition to finally finding a use for Twitter, I'm finding myself being talked into this Raiders off-season as well.

Ray Ratto makes the case for the Lorenzo Neal signing:

Neal's is the type of signing the Raiders are often accused of making too seldom - that of the guy who spreads belief on the ground and in the room. His M.O. has been as the man who takes the "dys" out of "dysfunction," because he has done it with bad, mediocre and good teams in his career. He also knows that he can't be taken seriously if he can't lead with his play, and if he couldn't play, Al Davis would have tried to find someone else who does what he does.

Only there isn't anyone like Neal even at this stage of his career. Training with Liddell alone doesn't make that happen. Though this minicamp is showing off the Raiders' much-discussed draft class, Lorenzo Neal's arrival might be the more important development. If he can do what he has done in his other stops, he will be worth his weight in Darrius Heyward-Bey's money.

Here's hoping.

David White Interviews the Natives

This is the kind of piece that writes itself apparently.

If nothing else, it shows the that Raider Nation is World Wide like BDP.

So stop the violence, Raiders fans.

David White: "Madden would re-infuse instant credibility to the franchise"

Dan's favorite Raiders blogger (other than, maybe Dan Hauenstein) speculates on Madden's next move and possible involvement with his team.

Jerry acknowledges the desire of the Nation, but still comes off like a wet blanket.

Kawakami doesn't think so. He really doesn't think so.

Florio acknowledges the rumors, but doesn't add to them or give his opinion. Calling the overhead projector press conference the "infamous 'Lane Kiffin Must Consume Fecal Matter And Die' press conference" made laugh, though.

Raiders and David White Having a Good Offseason

The Raiders' approach to this offseason has thus far been a pleasant surprise, as noted here and here, and measured by the generally upbeat tone of the blog given that the Raiders lost 11 games (again) last season.

Another pleasant offseason surprise has been the blogging of the Chronicle's David White (noted here, here, and here). Back from a week in his hometown of Selma, CA, today he achieves permanent "That guy's ok with me" status after explaining that he spent a significant portion of his vacation dining at Sal's Mexican Restaurant. My parents are from Kingsburg, a mere couple of miles down the road from Selma, and Unk lives there today. Every time we visit Unk, we make a trip to Sal's.

If you are ever in Selma, eat here.

Khalif Barnes Gets Me Pumped

David White catches up with new tackle Khalif Barnes and asks him five questions. My favorite question and answer:

Q: Tom Cable said you'll compete at left tackle, but some think you'll be on the right side. Your plans?

A: "I'm so determined to be this franchise's left tackle for the next nine years. I know that's a big challenge but that's my goal. What better place to be a dominant left tackle than with the Raiders? I get a chance to come in here and start I'm not going to let it go."

The next nine years? That's a nice commitment, seeing as he only signed a one-year deal. And showing his grasp of Raiders history by alluding to this guy (no, not that guy) shows he's doing his homework.

Garcia Signing Reactions

There seems to be a consensus among the local writers who have chimed in that Goldmember will, at the very minimum, set a good example for JaMarcus in terms of preparation, training, and attitude. There is also the sense that Garcia will push JaMarcus, both in practice, and I haven't read this anywhere yet, but I get the feeling that if JaMarcus struggles, the fans will start chanting for Jeff. A little pressure and competetion never hurt anybody. Or if it did, you didn't want them on your team.

Jerry Mac breaks down the history between Garcia and the Raiders, and then writes,

I floated the idea of signing Michael Vick under certain conditions the other day, something the Raiders probably never considered. They’ve been playing it safe and smart, having been burned by being too bold last year.

Garcia is the safe, smart choice.

You really only need to think about it for split second.

Should Russell be injured, do you want Jeff Garcia, Andrew Walter or Bruce Gradkowski?

Thought so.

By the way, I hated that Michael Vick column. Anyway.

Lowell Cohn says Good for the Raiders.

Kawakami writes,

I like the Garcia signing as a sign that Al Davis isn’t babying Russell, while at the same time still expecting the most out of him. Alex Smith could’ve used something like that a few years ago, and he never got it.

David White is on vacation or something, but the Sporting Green staff is asking readers to answer a stupid question by writing the answer in the comments section.

Nationally, Denver Broncos spokesperson Bill Williamson writes that at the very least it means Garcia won't be a Bronco this year, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. It's not like his being a Bucaneer helped Tampa last season when we played them. Then he gets Scouts, Inc.'s Matt Williamson to say that he's never liked Garcia, and that, contrary to what Kawakami and McDonald say, it's a bad fit because the playbook will have to be re-written if JaMarcus gets hurt, and they'd have been better off signing Leftwich. Personally, I'm with the locals in that a change of pace is a good thing to have in a back-up.

Aloha

Checking in from the beach in Maui while taking advantage of the Marriott's property-wide wi-fi. Approximately half of the CLOAK's readership is here enjoying a cup of coffee alongside me: Unk and Mikey. The whales are jumping, the sun is out.

And the Broncos have turned into a soap opera.

Despite Gwen Knapp's extremely backhanded compliments in that article, even SFGate has become a joy to read during this offseason thanks to David White's steady blogging. And on Monday he staked out the Raider facility to scoop a number of additional re-signings, including kick returner Justin Miller, a former Pro Bowler who returned two for TDs in about half a season last year.

With the Khalif Barnes signing, one would have to say this offseason has been a success. The Raiders played that one right, getting their guy at their price. And ESPN's article on the signing shows that Al can still talk a guy into playing for the Raiders.

There are plenty of holes yet to fill, but we have a draft coming and lots of time to plug in just a few more free agents. The big question is going to be the defense. How much of the problem against the run is personnel, and how much was scheme? Will Marshall change the scheme much or is it preordained by Al himself? Regardless, the Raiders should probably plug in a safety and pass rusher as free agency continues, then focus on drafting a WR and Tackle to play with JaMarcus for a long time to come.

But so far, so good. Kind of like my vacation.

No T.O., Continued

David White continues his impressive signing-season blogging with a post I missed yesterday morning quoting a Raiders source who says, "There is no way T.O. is coming here."

I love it.

So don't apologize that there's no news to report, Dave. That was the best news I could have heard concerning the Raiders yesterday, other than maybe "Stimulus Bill contains $1 Billion for Stadium Construction in Oakland."

Hey, why not? Someone call Rep. Barbara Lee and ask her to get on this.

Holding Their Own

David White's blog has been impressive during signing season, and now he's reporting that Special Teams Pro Bowl alternate Ike Ekejiuba has re-signed with the Raiders. Good news.

Hopefully we'll see the Raiders get a Tackle or two, a Safety, maybe a Wide Receiver out of the free agent pool, but hanging onto our best players is a pretty good strategy so far.

Cable Press Conference Live Blog

1:16 P.M. Waiting for someone to wheel Al out to the microphone, so Solomon Wilcots, with a new goatee, is talking about what a "hard nosed" coach Cable is. "Solly" has some nice things to say about JaMarcus, and mentions how shitty our WRs are. We're waiting on Herrera, Cable, and Al.

I really, really hope that Herrera says something mean about Kawakami and/or Lowell Cohn. In a post from this morning, Jerry seemed to take a shot at Lowell for his "Howdy Doody" column:

As much as people want to lump Cable in with Joe Bugel as a well-meaning but overmatched line coach beholden to the boss, the comparison falls apart because of eight quarters of football in Weeks 16 and 17.

I happen to agree with Jerry on this one. The Bugel comparison seems a bit of a cheap shot.

1:22: Al is there, black leather jacket, smiling. Two Raiders helmets, but sadly no overhead projector. Cable is in a black suit, white shirt, pinkish tie. We'll take that as a sign of his indepence. Herrera intoduces Al to make a speech. He looks like a goddamn funeral director, which is appropriate.

1:25: Al opens with a shot at Lance. Nobody Hates like Al Davis. Even if he's a feeb now.

1:26: The Raiders are one of Three teams who have played in the Super Bowl since 2002 in the AFC. So that makes the Raiders one of the best three teams, out of 16 in the AFC.

1:27: Shut the Fuck up Donnie! Cable is in full on Walter Sobchak mode. "Listen Raider Nation, it's time to make you proud." I hear you, buddy.

1:29: "It's all about the team, blah blah." Cable's talking championships. He says that HE picked the staff, himself. Interesting.

1:30 Question and Answer time. Phil Barber gets first crack. Why did it take so long? Al breaks out the force chokes and Barber is now dead. Just kidding. Tom competed with....Al doesn't say. But it was one other guy. But Cable said he could deliver a staff, and Cable did. The other guy did could not deliver the staff. Also, Cable's dad passed away, so Al gave him a hiatus. And finally, Al didn't want to distract from the Super Bowl.

That's white of him.

Al is in full on lecture mode. Higgins and Schillens had five touchdowns in 4 games, Al's off the hook. Al says Cable hired every assistant coach. His hands are looking palsied.

1:34: Scott Ostler is confused. I kind of am, too. Al Davis is shocked that Ostler asked the question, which is, "How do you hire assistant coaches if you're not already the coach?" Al basically says Ostler's an idiot. "They were in competition for a long while."

1:38: Purdy: What makes you so confident this time compared to the last couple hires? Al thought Norv would be good, but he let Tim Brown go and Jerry Rice got into a fight with Rich Gannon. At least this time he gets "Bobby" and "Lane" right. I kinda miss "Lance" and "Bernard."

1:40: Are there only three reporters here?

1:41: Cable talks about checking out coaches at the Senior Bowl. They won't say who the other guy is. NFLN gets bored, so I switch it over to CSN. Al is no longer in HD, which is nice.

1:43: "This is my dream. This was my team growing up." Shit yes.

1:44: Vern Glen is alive.

1:45: Tom Cable is passionate. Al is right about that. "If you have that 'it,' if you will." He's talking about the passion and love for each other.

1:47: "The other fella." Al is not tricked by David White's question on the timeline. It's up to Tom whether or not Tom wants to call plays.

1:49: "I'm gonna call the plays." Atta boy.

1:51: The Oakland Raiders are Back. Tom is not afraid to say it. "There are three great teams in Sports: The New York Yankees, The Boston Celtics, and the Oakland Raiders."

1:53: Lowell Cohn! Al: "Brooklyn, New York." Lowell: "Brooklyn." Al: "Midwood High School." Love it when Al talks Brooklyn. Lowell reminds Tom and Al: We're reporters, not fans. I understand you're fired up, but do you think this team is any good?

Of course, Tom thinks they're that good.

1:56: Al is not saying who the local guy is to help with the football operations. Al goes back to his formula of Higgins and Schillens getting two touchdowns every two games.

1:58: Jason Jones has kind of a lisp.

2:02: Cable: I need Al's leadership, I need his wisdom, I need his musk. When this is over, me and him are gonna get an apartment together.

2:05: Al just blamed DeAngelo for the Denver loss. Can't really fault his logic; as Al says, when they tried to pick on his replacement, the Raiders won.

2:07: Corkran brings up Nmamdi and Lechler.

2:08: Ostler asks Al about the Stadium. Al says that there's no problem between the Raiders and the 49ers. Says all the problem between them were Carmen Policy's fault, for being a hater. Says he'd look at a joint stadium with the 49ers. Of course he would. He says Amy Trask is on it. But he needs to know the economics.

2:13: Al is breaking Ostler's balls again.

2:14: Jerry Mac! He wants to know about JaMarcus, is he staying in shape? Tom says yes, he's here now, working out, embracing his responsibilities. Al jumps in with an ominous comment about Jammy's "physical" problems.

2:15: Al thought the process of JaMarcus' development was "too slow."

And we're done.

I'm not sure what it is we just saw.

David White Gets Bloggy

David White has a nice take on the "Raiders are for Sale" controversy. I have to say, his line of thinking makes a lot of sense to me. And this seems like a different than the coaching hiring/firing issues. As long as Al Davis is alive, he will run the Raiders. Into the ground, yes, but he's running them. No negotiated controlling interest in three-to-five. And since Al doesn't need to walk to live forever, that means he's not thinking about what happens if he dies. Maybe his kid will take the team, sell it, and walk away. But I'm thinking David's correct. Amy Trask doesn't just talk about things like this. They have Herrera to call people liars.

I Said Brad, Not Britney.

Jerry and David White both say that after the conference call with Dick Jauron and Trent Edwards, Raiders PR people provided the writers in attendance with a printout of Mark Kreidler's latest ESPN.com column ripping Kiffin. This is by far the weirdest, stupidest thing I've ever heard.

On the one hand, we've got a sassy-mouth, petulant coach who won't just shut up and coach. It's the Raiders you work for. We know you don't have any power over personnel or your coaching staff. We especially know it now, because you say it every time you get in front of a microphone. Maybe it's time to give it a rest.

On the other hand, when is the last time you saw an organization pass out a copy of a column that was critical of its head coach to the media that cover the organization? Has that ever happened in the history of any organization? Did the chairman of the board of Lehman Bros. pass out an article from Forbes saying that the CEO was doing a bad job?

For fuck's sake, just fire him.

Jason Jones has the quote of the day, though, courtesy of Kiffin:

On waking up Wednesday and not knowing if he's going to be the coach:

"How about when you go for a jog yesterday and you fell like it's paparazzi because the TV cameras are following you and they're asking you if you're still the coach of the Raiders. I felt like Brad Pitt. "

Ever think you'd be treated like Britney Spears:

"I said Brad, not Britney."

The problem is, this whole thing is starting to look just as ridiculous as Britney Spears.

Kiff Vs. Ryan: Credit Where it's Due

While I first read it here on Jason Jones' blog, he points out that David White got the scoop. So here's a link to White's Silver&Black blog at SFGate, which we here at CLOAK OF IMMORTALITY call the "SFGate Hater Blog." I've also questioned his committment in the past, comparing him negatively with Jerry McDonald.

But then here comes Jones with a recap of Adam Schefter's "Kiffin Wants Out" story.

A point on Jones: His blog is excellent. As Jerry winds down after the season ended, Jones comes out with a near-daily question/answer column. It's great stuff.

Good Job, Fellas.

A tale of Two Blogs

I list a couple of blogs in the Links section over to the right of this column. One is the Oakland Tribune's Jerry McDonald's "Inside the Oakland Raiders" blog. The other one, which I call the "SFGate Hater Blog," is the San Francisco Chronicle's "Silver&Black" blog.

Jerry's blog is updated daily; on days the practices he might post two or three entries.

SFGate's blog is updated sporadically, mostly by David White.

You can tell by the comments section which blog is read and respected by the Nation. Jerry's blog is filled with passionate comments by passionate fans.

Maybe three people leave comments on the SFGate blog.

A perfect illustration of why Jerry rules and that other blog sucks is today's non-story about Lane Kiffin going to Arkansas.

First read Jerry's.

Then David's.

Tell me, which one is more informative? Which one is more illuminating?

I'm tempted to ask why SFGate even has a Raiders blog. But I guess it doesn't matter as long as the Trib keeps Jerry McDonald employed.

He's my hero.