Recently in Raiders Category

NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell interviewed on ESPN Radio this morning covered a wide range of topics including Pacman's problems, Crazy Al's feud with Lane Kiffin, and the economy. He wasn't asked about Majestic's promise to bring a team to LA by next season. Here's some excerpts from a transcript provided by the NFL:

On the latest with Adam Jones and if the league has started an investigation:

 

The answer is yes.  We're trying to determine all the facts.  It's clear there was some type of incident.  We want to understand all the facts. At this point right now, it's about making sure we understand exactly what did happen.

 

On the Raiders' press conference last week:

 

I watched the press conference like everyone else.  It was unfortunate that the circumstances had gotten to that point.  Both parties have moved on.  Hopefully, the Raiders can focus on winning football games going forward, and coach Kiffin can pursue whatever he decides to do.

 

I have not interjected myself.  There has been a lot of misinformation about a letter that I supposedly sent to the Raiders threatening them.  That is not the case.  During the press conference, Mr. Davis had made a point of a potential tampering case involving Randy Moss.  I take that seriously.  I asked if there were any facts that I should be made aware so we can pursue it as we do with any charge that's in violation of our rules.  That was the extent of my letter.  There's really no further statement from our standpoint at this juncture.

 

On any possible changes made by the NFL immediately due to the economy:

 

I have put it on three different levels.  How can we be impacted directly by the lack of credit in the market place, and does it affect instruments like stadium financing?  Secondly, does it affect our business partners that are so important to us like ESPN?  Thirdly, how does it affect our consumers? They are being impacted directly with this.  How will it impact their relationship with the NFL, whether it's in ticket buying or merchandise? There are so many ways our fans interact with us, and we want to see how the economy is affecting our fans.

 

 

Frank Nevarez at the Fourth Down thinks Al Davis should have his own reality show.

If it happens, I'm going to call it Crazy re-Al-ity. Here's 

some of Nevarez's thoughts:

In the vein of ABC's "The Bachelor" prospective head coaches will vie for Al's attention and hope to land the head coaching job for the Oakland franchise. The first set of contestants will be a special all-star cast meant to kick off the series with a big bang. Past Raider coaches Mike Shanahan, Bill Callahan and Art Shell will all be on the premiere episode trying to get their old job back! Apparently, feeling very magnanimous Al Davis is even allowing just-fired Kiffin to fight for the job he just got canned from. Davis explained himself, "I'm willing to do anything to entice viewers. I think this action provides intriguing possibilities."

Future competitors are said to include has-beens, also-rans, and retreads. Untested leaders are also high on the most-wanted list.

One of the first competitions will involve being able to take Al Davis' play-calling instructions while on the sideline during an actual game. Who can be quicker in breaking away from a well thought out game plan to institute a play on the whim of Davis?

This piece appeared in Newsday Sunday morning. It's a sort of follow up on the bizarre press conference Al Davis held denouncing coach Lane Kifin and proclaiming he won't pay the balance of Kifin's contract:

On Jan. 22, 2009, Al Davis will celebrate a dubious anniversary, one that says all you need to know about how out of touch the Raiders' managing general partner has become.

On that day, it will have been 25 years since the Raiders last won the Super Bowl. On Jan. 22, 1984, Davis' Raiders routed the Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.

Since then, Davis' franchise has wallowed mostly in misery, with the owner himself the root cause of all that has afflicted the team he affectionately refers to as the Raiduhs.

There is little hope of a turnaround anytime soon. In fact, Davis, 79, sunk to a new low Tuesday when he held a news conference announcing the firing of yet another head coach - Lane Kiffin - after only 20 games. 

This from ESPN. It's a review of Warren Sapp's appearance on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." Here's the opener:

"Nobody tells you how bad it is," the former defensive tackle said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." " ... any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland."

Sapp, who retired after the 2007 season -- his fourth with the Raiders -- said that Lane Kiffin, fired this week by owner Al Davis, never got a fair chance in Oakland.

"He came in there with a change of mentality. The whole system," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "He changed how the locker room looked because it was going to take that kind of overhaul for Oakland to become the proud franchise we all knew it was."

The Raiders fired Lane Kiffin by telephone Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

Here's a segment of the story:

Lane Kiffin's brief odyssey into the bizarre world of the Oakland Raiders ended -- finally -- when his long-rumored firing finally came Tuesday. By telephone.

Kiffin, 33, was the youngest head coach in the N.F.L.'s modern era when maverick owner Al Davis hired him last year. But he fell out of favor before his first season was over and he was fired four games into his second season.

Kiffin's firing has been anticipated since the off-season, but it became clear that Kiffin would not survive the Raiders bye week when Davis began interviewing possible replacements Monday evening -- before Kiffin was let go. The next coach will be the eighth in 13 years. Kiffin is the second NFL coach fired in as many days -- Scott Linehan got the ax in St. Louis on Monday. And last week, the Detroit Lions dumped team president Matt Millen. And the season is just four weeks old.

Now that Walnut has expressed its strong opposition to an NFL stadium in its backyard, the commenters on Topix are looking for an explanation. CJ Peters of Los Angeles blames the Raiders for causing all the animosity. Here's his comment:

Lets face it what everyone is afraid of is the Raiders and their sorry team and fans running amuck in Industry,Walnut and Diamond Bar.

Granny Al Davis Still claims Los Angeles to be a fan base of his Raiders since he once had his team here.

Al Davis will move back and then all cities surrounding this new stadium will have a ghetto forming all around them.

Your lawns are green now but wait til those Raiders fans pee all over them and kill people on them. Keep the Pro Football out of LA we have done great without it and USC is the top dog here. who needs the NFL.