11/05/24
October 16, 2009
Opponent: Playing Raiders Was Like a Scrimmage: In an interview on Sirius XM radio, New York Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said that the team's recent 31-7 win over the Oakland Raiders was more like a scrimmage than a game. "There was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint against their offense," Pierce said. "We're getting three-and-outs. You don't hear nobody (saying), 'Hey, let's go!' trying to pick the guys up, rallying them, getting guys fired up. There was nothing."
Gives me hope for this Sunday (Eagles at Oakland).
posted by jjzucal at 01:33 PM on October 16, 2009
The final in that game was actually 44-7.
Not to make things worse, although in the case of the Raiders, I'm not sure that's possible.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:46 PM on October 16, 2009
Does Al davis have family that could have him declared incompetent? Somebody needs to.
posted by kerrycindy at 01:46 PM on October 16, 2009
Jamarcus Russell stinks and is never going to be a pro caliber QB. That said the biggest problem is ownership. After all Al Davis is running the show and is the one who wanted this guy. Until Al goes or they get a new coach and give him the authority to make decisions, nothing will change for the raiders.
posted by Atheist at 01:47 PM on October 16, 2009
The Raiders are enduring everyone's worst case scenario of life under an absolute monarchy. The edicts handed out from the throne of King Al make the madness of George III appear like a minor depression in comparison.
Players are traded or benched, coaches fired or demoted on a whim, with no thought to standard and accepted business practices. We all have a degree of uncertainty in our jobs, but few organizations have it to this degree.
I've watched all of the Raiders games so far this season, and Pierce is right- the level of effort is minimal and mechanical. I know that there are some that would say you play your best for yourself and the game no matter what the circumstances are. However, I think that becomes increasingly difficult to do when its apparent that not even the coaches are making an effort any more but just going through the motions.
I would have an extremely hard time putting myself out there and risking injury for a coach that I know might not be there tomorrow, and for an owner whose mindless random decisions are legendary. I would want to get myself out of there as quickly as possible and in one piece.
The Raiders organization has all the stability of a Chernobyl nuclear reactor, and is equally poisonous to careers. I can't imagine even a decent player or coach desperate enough to go there.
posted by irunfromclones at 02:04 PM on October 16, 2009
Anyone want to compare the Raiders to the trainwrecks in Buffalo, SF and Cinncinnati that went on for a while.
I know Al Davis is a horrible owner (or if you are a fan of their AFC West opponents, the best owner in the world) but I wonder how his decisions stack up to other teams that are or were chronically bad over an extended amount of time (like the Detroit Lions since Wayne Fontes and Barry left)
I would love to see a track record of coaching tenure, draft records, and also management structures.
Also, did anything structurally change after Jon Gruden left town?
posted by jc at 02:14 PM on October 16, 2009
I could make a good case that Hugh Culverhouse, first owner of the Bucs, is the worst owner ever. Steve Young, Bo Jackson, Doug Williams - so many catastrophes. The team started having success only after his death.
posted by bperk at 03:14 PM on October 16, 2009
Opponent: Playing Raiders Was Like a Scrimmage
TV Viewer: Watching Raiders Was Like a Root Canal.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:12 PM on October 16, 2009
By no means am I trying to support Al Davis, but how much of this is bad luck? Yeah, I know Jamarcus Russel sucks, but was it such a stretch to pick him when they did? It's not like he was a projected third rounder who Davis thought should go first. Same thing with Gallery, wasn't he picked right about where expected? My point is that sometimes players just fool everyone (as a Bengals fan, Klingler, Akili, Carter, etc. come to mind.) It's kind of just bad luck to be in the spot to pick them.
Now of course, Larry Brown, Desmond Howard, and the rest of the free-agent bums the Raiders have signed are a completely different look into the twisted mind of Al.
posted by tahoemoj at 05:37 PM on October 16, 2009
My point is that sometimes players just fool everyone
Yeah, but you have to then stop playing them.
posted by opel70 at 11:03 PM on October 16, 2009
It's pretty tough to sit that kind of money on the bench; I think you have to give him at least half of a season to try to work things through.
posted by tahoemoj at 11:14 PM on October 16, 2009
Well, at least Pierce had a real game this week.
I wonder if he would find it classy if the Saints said that playing the Giant's D was like a scrimmage for them.
posted by brainofdtrain at 01:29 PM on October 19, 2009
The NFL ought to be able to put the Raiders in receivership. Clearly, Al Davis is not able to successfully run this franchise anymore. I don't even know if Jamarcus Russell is really terrible or if he is just in a terrible situation or both. This is probably the worst place to play in the NFL (maybe not, at least their players don't get staph infections).