Flores on Al

What Tom Flores had to say about Al's passing is about exactly what I felt when I heard the news this morning:

"The fact that he passed was not surprising but the fact that he passed was shocking."

The rest of his comments are here.

I'm not in any way demeaning the unbeautiful women.

Tim Kawakami relays one of the greatest Al Davis quotes I've ever read: 

"I want to win. Obviously in life, I like certain things. I like beautiful women more than unbeautiful women. I'm not in any way demeaning the unbeautiful women."

Others....

Monte Poole:

Never was there a more iconic and enduring symbol of a business. Not Jack LaLanne, not Don King, not Miles Davis, not Oprah Winfrey, not Steve Jobs. Not George Halas or Bill Walsh or Bob Knight. Not even Davis' good friend, George Steinbrenner.

For Al not only represented his team but dressed the part. He wore his suits and sweatsuits like a shield, never deviating from black or white and silver — the colors of his team. It was a matter of mutual identity, Al and the Raiders, the Raiders and Al. He spoke as a Raider, gestured as a Raider and fought every battle with the ferocity of a Raider.

Chuck Klosterman:

Someday (unless America becomes a dystopia), it will be hundreds of years old. Someday, it will be ancient. And when that moment is reached, the so-called “modern era” will be defined as starting today. It will begin with the death of Al Davis. He was the final survivor of pro football’s seminal period; he designed the way aggressive teams play, he was the heart of the AFL, and he was the last man to carry the total burden of a team for his entire adult life. He was the Raiders. That’s a cliché, but it’s absolutely true. There was no one else. In his final years, Davis looked strange. He looked like a skeleton. He looked a little like the logo on the Raiders' helmets (all he needed was the eye patch and the knife). He physically became what he emotionally was. And that will never happen again. From here on out, it’s just football.

Gary Peterson:

Davis, who died Saturday, wasn't an only-in-America success story. He was an especially-in-America success story, with his abiding appreciation of hard work, wealth, confrontation and litigation. He loved victory, mystery and standing on the outside looking in.
He inspired awe, disdain, blind loyalty, blind rage, imitators, sycophants, friends and enemies. He was so much to so many for so long that he defies a complete and fitting eulogy.
He would have liked that.

Gwen Knapp:

Yet Saturday's news of his death at age 82 defied a persistent core belief: that somehow, Al Davis would outlive us all. He was too irascible, stubborn and confounding to yield his place on Earth.

One might even say that he was too mean to die, if we weren't forbidden to malign the recently departed, or if the statement were entirely true.

The taboo doesn't matter here. Davis stomped on convention and decorum in every way possible, including some that made the NFL and this country an infinitely better place.

Reactions

Richard Seymour:

Hue Jackson:

Shane Lechler:

Al Davis: 1929-2011

We'll update this with reactions and obituaries as the come in.

Whew

I managed to lose my voice watching a game at home, but that was a lot of fun. Seemed like a game dominated by the Raiders but that was agonizingly always within reach for the Broncos. Some observations:

• Passing game - yeesh, Campbell needs to get the ball down the field to the WRs. Although I must say it was "funny" to see DHB emerge as the go-to guy. He's improving.
• Pass defense - iffy, but not too bad. It's nice to be picking on the pass defense instead of the run defense (which was terrific) for once.
• Right tackle - whether it was Barnes or Heyer, seemed like the RT was the guy getting the flag more times than not. Improved by the end, though.
• Penalties - once again!
  
• DMC - this guy is the real deal. How fun is it to watch him get to the corner?
  
• D-line - didn't get to the QB as often as I'd like to see, but at times they were dominant, and whether it was Seymour or Kelly or Houston or Shaughnessy, these guys were making the big plays.
• Lechler - 77 yard punt. Pretty good, but...
• Sea Bass - record tying 63 yarder. We've been waiting for this day since he was drafted, and it ended up being the difference in an opening night win vs. the Broncos. Beautiful.

Apparently the Raiders had lost their last 8 season openers, the longest streak in football. So yeah, this is a big win. 1-0.

Tebow

This game is driving me crazy. But whatever happens, I want Bronco fans to remember that they were chanting "TEBOW" throughout this last clutch drive that Orton delivered to give the Broncos a chance they barely deserve on this night.

Now let's drive

Ok Raiders, that was a nice gift. Great recognition by Houston to put on some pressure. Now we need a real drive. The Broncos are stacking the box and it should open up some things down field. I like this first play to DHB, let's keep it going...

Ha - couldn't even get it posted before DMC ripped off a beauty. How was that not a TD?