Welcome Back, Randy, JaMarcus

This was going to be a strictly Randy Hanson post, with the theme song to "Welcome Back, Kotter."



I thought it would be appropriate because it's a cool song from a cool show, and because Al is from Brooklyn.

Anyway, Jerry Mac does a breakdown/speculation of why in the name of anything Randy Hanson could possibly be back working for the Raiders, concluding, rather pithily and quite brutally, "You want a successful business model, check with Fortune 500." To make the implication explicit, The Raiders do not have a successful business model as Al Davis has currently constructed it.

But while I was out picking my daughter up from school, JaMarcus addressed the media, so we give him a nice welcome back, kinda sorta. He promises that when he gets back on the field, we'll see a "Totally different JaMarcus." But he hasn't lost any weight or changed his work ethic. So there. And he's keeping his money.

Kawakami has a transcript. God doesn't make mistakes, and time will tell, and it's not the end of the world.

Finally, since we opened with Brooklyn, we can close with Brooklyn, too. Lowell Cohn talks to Ira Miller, who invents the verb "to Raider." Getting Raidered sounds an awful lot like getting debacled. Ira likes Gradkowski, at least in relation to JaMarcus. This exchange stood out to me, after Miller says that "Getting the No. 1 draft choice off the field certainly helped them:

Cohn: Which No. 1 draft choice?

Miller: Both of them - the quarterback and Heyward-Bey. I don't think Heyward-Bey has any chance. He's one of Al's fantasies -- he runs fast.

That's kind of the impression I get about DHB, too. I got into a discussion via twitter yesterday with the author of Raiders Blog, who is still optimistic that DHB will pan out once he learns to catch the ball, because he's a good kid, works hard, etc. And I agree that sure, he's a good kid, etc, and I feel bad about suggesting he jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. That was a joke in poor taste. But the point is, DHB is not a football player. He's a track star. We may as well have drafted Usain Bolt. And anyone who suggests the Randy Hanson issue is overblown, or is not a big deal, or not a red flag indicator that something is deeply, deeply diseased and rotten within the structure of the Raiders organization is deep, deep denial. They're like the wives who stayed with Tom Cable after he beat them.

Because at the very least, we should be able to enjoy the sweet taste of a rare victory for longer than two days before reminding everyone in the stupidest way possible of the dysfunction that is the team we love.

Bronco Bill names Gradkowski AFC West Player of the Week

Congratulations to Bruce Almighty for being the AFC West player of the week over at Bill Williamson's AFC West blog. He really did play a great game. Yes, he got some lucky breaks, but you know what they say about luck being created by hard work. Or something. Some guy named Thomas Jefferson said it. I think he was one of Al Davis's fellow Founding Fathers.

Anyway, Jerry Mac counts down the top five wins since the wheels came off in 2003. Feel free to insert your "Well, that couldn't have been hard, since they've only won five games since 2003" joke here. The one that catches my attention is the 2004 game against Tampa Bay, in Chucky's return to the Coliseum, and the rematch of Super Bowl Debacle XXXVIII. The Raiders were 1-1 under Norv Turner, and if I remember correctly, Rich Gannon was lighting it up, narrowly losing to Pittsburgh in the opener. The game against Tampa was the last game he ever played, because he broke his neck on Derrick Brooks' hit. I always thought that if Rich keeps playing well, that season turns out differently, and maybe what Norv has going on down in San Diego is happening here. Anyway, if "'If' was a fifth," as Sllaacs likes to say, "we'd all be drunk."

Herrera is embarrassing the fact that Rich Gannon doesn't know how to call a game.

Well, maybe it's not quite that bad.

But it's pretty bad. Per David White, here is what John Herrera said in "banning" Rich Gannon from Saturday's walk-through:

"Rich Gannon is not welcome here," Raiders executive John Herrera said Friday when asked about the ban. "We told CBS we did not want him in our building, we did not want him to be part of our production meeting, and that's where it sits."

Oh, and there's more. My personal favorite? After quoting Gannon as saying that the Raiders should "just blow up the building and start over," Herrera goes all Giuliani on his ass:

"We think in a post 9/11 world, that's not a very proper thing to say," Herrera said. "It's uncalled for. He seems to be a guy who can't get over the fact that he played the worst Super Bowl game in the history of the game and he wants to blame everybody but himself.

"I guess it's our fault he threw five interceptions."

Wow. Jerry McDonald says he is "speechless at the notion that if Gannon did say these things, that they were taken literally."

So, the Raiders are either literally the dumbest team in America, or Rich Gannon is a terrorist.

To think, this guy was the league MVP. Playing for us.Now I'm really bummed that the game is blacked out, because I want to hear what Gannon has to say.

Because not even the CLOAK can defend this.

Hater(s) of the Week: Kenny Albert and Tony Siragusay

After Jake Delhomme just threw his fifth interception of the game, Kenny Albert and Tony Siragusa had this exchange:

Kenny: The last quarterback to throw five interceptions in a playoff game was Rich Gannon in Super Bowl IIIVIII. You remember Gannon, right Goose?

Siragusa: Yep.

Gannon on JaMarcus

Per Jerry Mac's Transcript of Rich's appearance this morning on Murph and Mac:

– “The thing that concerns me about (JaMarcus Russell), well a couple of things. First, his growth has been retarded some from the fact that he’s had three different play-callers this year in Lane Kiffin, Greg Knapp and now Tom Cable. I think that was a mistake. I think you can see obviously he’s fallen off in terms of his production and consistency.

“The other thing that concerns me is when the coach comes out and says that the guy needs to . . . come to work every day and do the work it takes to be successful. To me, that’s mind-boggling, how, in this day and age, whether it be a coordinator or a position coach or a head coach, wouldn’t demand that the guy come in on Tuesdays and do the work.

“And then to make the comment a couple of weeks ago, now we’re going to make him learn how to be a pro, well, what were they doing the first year and a half they had him?”

– “If your quarterback is not the hardest working guy in the building, you have a problem. I don’t know that he’s quite there yet, and that’s not a shot at him. I think you learn to do that, you learn to be that type of guy. If you’re not the first one in and the last to leave, as an owner, or as a head coach or as a play-caller, I’d be very concerned.”

I don't remember the comments about Jammy needing to "come to work every day and do the work it takes to be successful. Unless he's talking about missing the meeting with Collinsworth and the NFL Network.

I remember before Norv was fired thinking Gannon might make a good head coach. Kerry Collins had his best games with Gannon talking into his headset. Or maybe he could be that "bridge" that was talked, that I thought T. Brown might be good at.

Draft Timmy.

I saw this first at Jason Jones' blog this morning--should we make Chris Rock Hater of the Week?--and now Jerry has more of Tim Brown's interview on KTHK in Sacramento yesterday.

I'm glad Jerry brought up the Matt Millen debacle in Detroit. Timmy wisely says he doesn't need to be involved in contract negotiations or anything. He could be that Bridge we talked about a couple of weeks ago. Al needs a loyal Raider. Timmy is a loyal Raider. Couldn't he smooth things out between the coaching staff and Al, no matter if it's Cable next year of someone else? Who would make a better spokesperson for the Raiders?

I'm biased, because Tim Brown is my favorite Raider of all time. The first jersey I bought when they moved back to Oakland was a Tim Brown #81. It wore out, so bought another one in 2002. I still wear it sometimes. It's now a throwback. He always represented the Raiders with class and poise, including sticking up for Gene Upshaw when Irvin was running his crack-head mouth the week Gene passed. That, to me, is the real difference between someone like Warren Sapp, who collected a fat pay check that nobody else in the league was willing to pay him. Once a Raider, always a Raider. Even the way Timmy goes after Gannon a little bit shows his loyalty the Raiders.

I like this idea because it manages to honor Al Davis contribution and legacy and his ubiquitousness in the organizatioin, while at the same recognizing that a change needs to be made. I hope that this weekend, Timmy gets a chance to talk to Al, and they can work something out. Even it's to fill the role that will eventually be left by the indestructable Jim Otto, as a confidant to Al, and someone who can go out and represent the Raiders without embarrassing himself in front of the whole world.

The George-Gannon Experience

All this Jeff George talk brings up an interesting point that might say a few things about the Raiders, but clearly points to what is important for a quarterback. Jeff George's practice sessions are the stuff of legend, but he put up gaudy stats on the field from time-to-time as well. In 1997, he threw 29 TDs vs. 9 INTs leading the Raiders to a 4-12 record. Soon after, they switched to Gannon and became part of the annual Super Bowl conversation.

Those "intangibles" of toughness, leadership, and decision-making obviously outweigh pinpoint passing. In the poisonous Raider atmosphere, it takes nearly superhuman leadership qualities to win regularly. Yes, we'll watch whether JaMarcus is just staring at Zach Miller now that Ben Troupe can stay in to block. Sure, we'll argue over how to normalize his stats against Curry's multiple drops and Javon's tender hammy. But will the offense be focused and scoring points in the 4th quarter? So far that is one of the only things they can do, and that's a good sign for JaMarcus.