Losman Signs With Raiders, Opens the Door For Jim Fassel?

At one point in time, Jim Fassel wrote a letter to Al Davis expressing interest in being the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Ultimately, the Raiders stuck with Tom Cable.

Since then, Cable has kept the Raiders in contention for the a top five draft pick, punched one of his coaches in the face, and helped in the digression of the development of former first round draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

Fassel on the other hand lead the Las Vegas Locomotives to an improbable win in the UFL's inaugural championship game; arguably the most underrated football game of 2009. During the season and into the championship game, Fassel helped develop another former first round draft pick, J.P Losman. In the inaugural UFL season, Losman completed 62.1% of his passes for 1,386 yards, 9 touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Losman's development also earned him a one year contract with the Raiders. With Tom Cable heading out the door, and JaMarcus Russell certainly looking like a bust, one has to wonder whether or not the Losman signing opens the door for Al Davis accepting Jim Fassel's request to coach the Raiders.

Though his stint as Ravens offensive coordinator was atrocious, Fassel still has a pretty good resume as a head coach, and he helped Kerry Collins, a first round QB considered by many to be a bust when he signed with the Giants in 1999, develop into a star NFL QB. Now that Fassel has helped revitalize the career by winning a championship in the UFL and revitalizing the career of J.P Losman, one has to wonder whether or not he's earned the chance to help bring the Raiders back.

Let's face it, no top tier coaches are going to take this job, and a lot of prized coordinators will likely wait out the market rather than take on the "suicide" job of coaching the Raiders. Fassel works well with veterans, and who knows, maybe he can turn JaMarcus Russell into something other than the laughing stock of the NFL.

I don't think it's a long shot, I think this signing is the first step in bringing Jim Fassel to the Oakland Raiders for the 2010 season.

Oakland Raiders... Your Decade is Over

This season, whenever I believe a team is eliminated from the playoffs, thus making their season (and decade) over, I will write their obituary.

Today I present to you the Oakland Raiders of the 00's:

Perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, the Oakland Raiders finished the 00's differently than they began them.

Entering 2000 the Raiders had a head coach in Jon Gruden that they believed it, an owner in Al Davis who had gotten in done before, and a quarterback in Rich Gannon who they believed could help them win games. On top of those key names, the Raiders also had a pair of Heisman trophy winners in Charles Woodson and Tim Brown, both performing at an All Star level, and a roster that including loads of talent.

The 2000 season was a success for the Raiders as the franchise returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1993, and the first time since moving back to Oakland. At 12-4, not only did the Raiders end up in the playoffs, they picked up a first round bye as well. On top of that achievement, the Raiders QB, veteran Rich Gannon, was named an All Pro.

The Raiders would open the 2000 playoffs by crushing the Miami Dolphins, but would lose at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens the next week. Though the loss hurt Raider nation, with a young coach in Gruden, the team had high hopes for the future.

The 2001 Raiders continues the franchises winning ways for most of the regular season, but a bad three game stretch in the waning weeks of that season prevented the Raiders from getting a first round bye. The team would pounce the New York Jets out of the playoffs in their first game, but would have to travel to New England the next week.

We could go into depth on the New England game, but we shouldn't. To understand the Raiders demise though, it's important to note that the refs called the play correctly. Although we know that Tom Brady wasn't trying to throw the ball, and that Charles Woodson did indeed force a fumble, the refs called the play as the rule was written.

And so the Raiders 2001 ended with the "Tuck Rule."

That rule was changed in the offseason, and the Raiders made some changes of their own. Jon Gruden was "traded" to the Bucaneers, and the Raiders decided to move forward with Bill Callahan.

And this is where the Raiders decade went wrong. Al Davis had a great thing going. He had the coach and the mold to build the Raiders into a team, who along with the Steelers, Colts, and Patriots, would dominate the AFC for years to come. On paper, in theory, and in reality, everything was shaping up for the Raiders in 2001, and it only made sense that they'd be great for five more years.

Well 2002 was great. The Raiders went 11-5 and cruised all the way to the Super Bowl where they lost to; The Buccaneers.

That's right, the Raiders lost to the team coached by Jon Gruden.

I'm going to briefly sum up the rest of the Raiders decade before we get into what this article needs to really focus on.

2003: Gannon gets hurt. Callahan calls the Raiders the "dumbest team in the league," is fired one season after losing the Super Bowl.

2004: Team drafts Robert Gallery ahead of Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Sean Taylor, and Ben Roethlisberger. Gannon again hurt. Kerry Collins starts most of season. Warren Sapp comes to town. Norv Turner coaches team to 5-11 record.

2005: Turner year 2. Randy Moss comes to town, Charles Woodson leaves after season. Team goes 4-12. Turner fired.

2006: Art Shell (re)hired as head coach. Aaron Brooks hired as teams quarterback. Team loses first 5, final 9, to go 2-12. Shell fired.

2007: Team uses #1 overall pick on JaMarcus Russell. Lane Kiffin hired as head coch. Team (improves?) to 4-12.

2008: Javon Walker given obscene money. Team drafts RB Darren McFadden. Kiffin brought back, fired after four games, replaced by Tom Cable. Russell shows little signs of improvement. Cable goes 4-8, team goes 5-11. Cable brought back.

2009: Team drafts Dariuss Heyward-Bey. McFadden hurt. Russell benched. Cable punches assistant in the jaw, looks to be fired.

What do you notice from the "Tuck Rule" to 2009? That's right. You notice bad, sometimes really bad, a lot of the time awful general management. In the modern NFL it's hard to stay bad for that long. It's why the Lions are so impressive in missing the playoffs for an entire decade. It's hard to excel at being that bad for such a long time.

But as bad as the Lions were this decade, they were never expected to be great. The Raiders actually were, in fact, at one point very great this decade. And Davis destroyed them.

Personally, I always respect Al Davis. I mean, he's the one who gave Madden, Shannahan, Gruden, and Kiffin their shots. He won three Super Bowls and an AFL championship. He was a good coach, an adequate commisioner in the AFL, and as a general manager won three Super Bowls.

Qualificaitions like those give Davis, in many ways, the right to do whatever the heck he wants. Because he was a young hot shot coach himself, Davis always loved to hire young hot shot coaches, and often hit home runs with his hires. Even in the 00's.

So what went wrong for Davis? Is it his age? Did the game just pass him? Probably a little of both. The team Davis was winning with in the early 00's was comprised of some older names (Gannon, Rod Woodson, Jerry Rice), and the way to win in the NFL changed.

On top of that, Davis didn't always his home runs in the draft. JaMarcus Russell and Robert Gallery would be on a lot of peoples "top busts of the decade" list. But the draft was never Davis' strong point, free agency and trades were.

In the 2000's Davis struck out in those fields too. Misfiring on signing guys like Aaron Brooks, Randy Moss, and Warren Sapp, and then trading Randy Moss for beans.

When he was winning Davis always had good heads on his team. From 1967 to 1978 Davis had continuity with John Madden. When Davis thought Madden could no longer do the job he transitioned to Tom Flores who won him two Super Bowls.

After Flores he went to Shannahan. Shannahan couldn't do it for him so he went to Shell. From Shell to turmoil from turmoil to Gruden.

Davis knew a good coach when he saw one. Davis knew what he had in Gruden. Gruden helped build the Super Bowl team he'd beat with the Buccaneers. The question is, did Davis get too used to turmoil that he forgot why he won with Madden and Flores?

But that's irrational. The real question is, did Davis think that Flores, Madden, and now Gruden's successes were actually his own? That answer, is yes. More than any owner in the NFL Davis has a right to believe in his own genius. But more than any owner in the NFL, Davis has become an embarassment because of it.

I'd love to try to get into the logic of the 2000's Raiders, but it'll be impossible. There is no logic. Let's be honest with one another, the Raiders of the 2000's follow no form, which is why this article followed no format. The Raiders of the 2000's made a mockery of the NFL, so in turn I made a mockery of the Raiders. That's about the only logic you can sum from this team.

Personally, I don't like seeing the Raiders fail. Franchise wise, they're the most prominent and important franchise in their division, and one of the most important franchises in the league. In other words, the league is better when the Raiders are good, and that's thanks to Al Davis.

MVP of the Decade: Charles Woodson

Notable Players: Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Steve Wisniewski, Charles Woodson, JaMarcus Russell, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jerry Porter, Jerry Rice, Barrett Robbins, Sebastian Janikowski, Ronald Curry, LaMont Jordan, Tyrone Wheatly, Derrick Burgess, Shane Lechler, Roderick Coleman, Lincoln Kennedy

Throwback Jersey That Will Be Cool in 15 Years: Super Bowl XXXVII Jerry Rice

Other Decade Recaps: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills

Thanksgiving Game Recap

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving filled with fun and good memories, because the NFL games were pretty forgettable.

As expected the Packers and Cowboys dismissed the Raiders and Lions. The Lions looked good early, the Raiders never looked good, but as we all knew would be the case when we looked at the Thanksgiving day schedule back in August; the Cowboys the Packers dominated.

Fantasy football fans were left satisfied, as well. Calvin Johnson scored, Romo and Rodgers produced, Miles Austin produced, in leagues with IDP's Charles Woodson gave a lot of teams 40+ points.

But unless you were sitting in front of your team praying for Woodson tackles, Austin receptions, or Rodgers touchdowns, the early and middle games were pretty much useless.

That being said I don't believe in getting rid of Detroit and Dallas on Thanksgiving. It's tradition. The NFL needs to preserve it's tradition as we move towards a golden age, unless there will be nothing to keep it on top (Baseball and Basketball do a tremendous job reminding us of yesteryear).

The late game was a different story. People actually wanted to watch that game, but few were able to. Luckily, being in New York for the Thanksgiving extended weekend, I was able to catch the game.

First of all, don't bury the Giants yet. Though they didn't look good yesterday, they were close to looking great. A lot of mistakes by the young receiving and running back group made Eli look pretty bad. The real worrisome unit was the offensive line. Eli has been spoiled by having an elite offensive line since 2005, but that's not the case anymore. That's a unit that needs to enter 2010 looking to rebuild.

As does the Giants defense. The Giants defense isn't what it was in 2007. Osi looks soft, and Tuck is still hurt after Flo-Adams cheap shot in week 1. Luckily for the Giants they host Philly and Dallas, and Romo still has a really tough December in front of him.

If the Giants want to make the playoffs Eli is going to have to carry that team and prove that he belonged on my Hall of Fame list (because I know Eli thinks about Funk Football every time he enters the huddle).

As for the Broncos? Well they shut people like me up for at least another week. At 7-4 they're in pretty good shape in an AFC that's really top heavy. They have also reawakened their division hopes, but that may be a pipe dream. They still have Kansas City twice and Oakland once, but road trips to Indianapolis and Philadelphia may be the cripple in their division push.

On the plus side, the Chargers still have Cincinnati, Dallas, and Tennessee on their schedule, as well as a pesky Redskins team. Game for game the Broncos have the more favorable schedule.

But the 6 seed in the AFC seems more likely for the team that started 6-0. What will the 6 seed get Broncos? Probably a road game against San Diego or New England.

In other words, they want the division.

JaMarcus Russell Benched in Favor of Bruce Gradkowski: What This Means For Oakland

So the Raiders have (finally?) made the decision to bench JaMarcus Russell.

Now, many of us saw this coming when the Raiders signed Jeff Garcia, but after Garcia's departure, it's hard to believe that the Raiders are actually making this decision, and mark my words; it is the wrong one.

I hate it when hopeless teams bench developing players in favor of players with no chance at ever developing. I know that Russell has been bad, really bad. But why start Gradkowski? Why not give Russell the job for the rest of the year and let the guy actually start and finish a season for the first time in his three year career? Why start a QB with a career rating of 58.7 instead of the player your drafted #1 overall in 2007?

A lot of people think that the 2009 Raiders are a mess, but to be honest they're really not. This is a team that is talented enough to make a run at the playoffs in 2010. They just need a quarterback. Gradkowski won't be that guy, JaMarcus could have been that guy, but now he probably won't be, not as a Raider.

So what now for Oakland? Draft a QB in 2010? Great, now you're set back another year as a franchise.

This is why the Raiders have been a mess since 2002, not because of a lack of talent, but because of a constant turnover in identity. I understand benching Russell in week three if you think this team has a shot to go to the playoffs and make a run, but week 11?

Russell's numbers for 2009 include a 2 to 9 TD to INT ratio and 47.7 QB rating, but honestly can you blame him? In his short three year career he's had a different coach every season. That's a recipe for QB development disaster.

And a disaster is what JaMarcus Russell's career has been thus far, and that career with the Raiders looks to be over.

Congratulations Raider fans, your team is going to be bad well into the 2010's now.

Keep The NFL Out of Los Angeles

You've probably heard by now that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (yeah, he's still the Governor and Californians are still paying the price for something people thought would be cool and funny five years ago) has pushed forth the proposed $800,000,000 football stadium to be built in Los Angeles.

Before we talk football let me first say that it's pretty much a common fact that no stadium ever built with taxpayer money ever turned profit for it's taxpayers. It's simply there for entertainment, and creating a few jobs; mostly entertainment though. Although in this economy every job is important, (construction, stadium vendors, maintenance), using taxpayer money to create a football stadium when the state of California is financially collapsing seems like a bogus idea.

Next, the city of Los Angeles failed to support professional football before. It's well know that these fans will only hop on a train when it's already full, or never at all (which may explain the cities awful public transportation). The Rams and Raiders didn't leave LA because they had great attendance, they left because the teams hit hard times and they couldn't attract more than 35,000 on average.

The decline of football in LA had nothing to do with outdated facilities either. Currently the Jets and Giants share the same "old" stadium in New Jersey and both teams sell out every game, every season; in much worse weather, often with bad teams. This isn't east coast bias, these are just facts. California fans are not east coast fans, their passion for sports doesn't match their passion for leisure.

Los Angeles is also a melting pot of transplants. You walk around downtown on any given day and you'll see Steelers, Packers, Colts, and 49ers fans everywhere; not to mention a ton of Giants, Cowboys, Chargers, Rams, and Raiders fans. Unless one of those teams moves to LA, there just won't be a market for it. This would mean the Rams, Raiders, and Chargers are at the top of the list for moving to LA.

Vikings fans, you can now breath a sigh of relief.

I don't see Al Davis moving the team back to LA considering the divorce from the market was pretty messy. But a shiny new stadium in LA might be tempting, and the Raiders are still the most popular team in the region; Not to mention the Oakland Coliseum is way past it's prime and nothing new is set to be built. Still, I just don't see it. The Raiders just belong in Oakland.

The Rams would fit perfectly back in Los Angeles. St. Louis needs a new stadium and plans to get one done are sketchy. The team is up for sale as well, making it easier to make the move back to LA. However, if the Checketts group wins the bid for the team, NFL rules will likely keep the team in St. Louis.

The Chargers make the most sense. There's really no plan to build a new stadium, the team desperately needs a new stadium, and the franchise has already acquired territorial rights for Orange County. Moving the team up north would likely hurt the Charger fans in San Diego, but the team would remain San Diego's market team. I like the odds of this happening the most. San Diego has had financial problems lately, the city recently build the Padres a state of the art ball park, and historically, both the Chargers and Padres have drawn poor attendance numbers in down years.

Still, moving any of these three franchises to Los Angeles would not end any of their franchises question marks outside of stadium issues. Attendance in Los Angeles will always be iffy. When the team in 11-5 it'll be bustling. When the team is 14-2 it'll be a mad house. When the team is 8-8 it'll be quiet. When the team is 5-11 it'll be empty. This is a guarantee. Whichever franchise moves to LA may get a shiny new stadium, but it won't find itself off of the "black out" lists anytime soon.

Also, there hasn't been a rapid desire from the people of LA for a professional team. This is a USC city right now. The fans of Los Angeles care a lot more about College football than they do for pro football and it's not because they don't have a pro team. USC has captured the sports fans of this region the same way the Lakers have. If a pro team comes to LA, they'll be second fiddle to a college powerhouse; much like in Jacksonville.

So before you make a bigger mess than you already have Governor, put this to rest. It's a mess in the making. Things have been just fine without a pro football team in LA. In fact, since football left LA, the league has exploded. I'm not saying they're relative statements, but it proves that the league is fine the way it is.

What Does Oakland Need to Do to Be Good?

Antonio Pierce recently wrote the latest page in the ongoing chapter of Oakland Raider futility. The chapter that began with Super Bowl XXXVII and has only gotten worse since.

Pierce said playing the Raiders had the feeling of a "scrimmage," and unfortunately the Raiders things won't get much easier as the team hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in what most people will consider the "lock of the week."

But instead of jumping on the "Raiders-Suck" bandwagon and flinging around absurd comments like the team would lose to the Florida Gators; let's be constructive and attempt to answer the question, "what do the Oakland Raiders need to do to turn this ship around?"

The offense in Oakland is obviously the problem. The team is currently 1-4, yet through five games they've scored only 49 points;By comparison this past week the Giants put up 44 on the Raiders with a gimpy Eli Manning.

The root of the offensive problem lies within the play of their quarterback, JaMarcus Russell. I know in the past I've defended Russell, but this season he hasn't done much to justify my pleas for patience. He's currently 51 for 121, with 606 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions. In case you're wondering that's a 42.1% completion percentage, and a 5.0 YPA. And if you need to know he's been sacked 15 times, on pace to break David Carr's single season record of 76.

I'd love to say that JaMarcus isn't the root of the problem and that the offense has so many other issues that it's hard for Russell to develop in this system, but I can't. Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, and Matt Ryan were all drafted into equally toxic situations, neither has ever looked this bad. Ryan actually helped eliminate the toxicity that surrounded the Atlanta franchise, something Matthew Stafford is trying to do right now in Detroit, while Carson Palmer has established himself as a leader in Cincinnati, where he spoke out against his teammates off the field legal issues. All JaMarcus seems to do is waffle around, never showing the passion that Palmer, Ryan, and Stafford have shown.

Is JaMarcus Russell hopeless? Even if he finishes this season with the 1 to 4 TD to INT ratio he has now, the same completion percentage, and breaks Carr's sack record, I'd still give him a shot heading in to 2010. Russell has a great arm, and the franchise has a lot invested in him. Hiring Jim Fassel probably would have been the right move for the Raiders in retrospect, as Russell probably needs a head coach with an eye for developing lazy, out of shape, underachieving, big armed QB's (yes, I'm referring to Kerry Collins.)

The next thing the Raiders need to do is keep this defense in tact. It looks really bad right now, but that's likely because the offense can't stay on the field. Against San Diego in week 1 this until looked great. There are some bright spots in Kirk Morrison, Tvon Branch, Thomas Howard, and Michael Huff, none of whom will be turning 30 anytime soon. The defense also has two built in leaders in Richard Seymour and Nnamdi Asomugha. Give this until a real chance and I think they have potential to be elite in 2010.

As for the offensive line? It probably needs to be entirely retooled. The way it sits now the group is a pasted together bunch of players comprised of no "big time" talent, rather it's mostly journeymen or late round draft picks. Ever think that missing on a first round draft pick doesn't set a franchise back? In 2004 the Raiders drafted T Robert Gallery over Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Jonathan Vilma, Steven Jackson, and the late Sean Taylor. All of the above players developed into Pro Bowl talent, Robert Gallery developed into a bust. Gallery never developed into the offensive line anchor he was supposed to, and the Raiders running game is paying for.

Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, and Justin Fargas combine to be the offensive bright spot for the Raiders. If the team can ever scare defenses with a passing game, these guys will explode. Until that happens though, they'll continue to struggle, line up against eight men in the box, and get hurt in the process.

The Oakland Raiders were once one of the marquee franchises in the NFL. They still have a large fan base and sell a ton of merchandise. Whether Raider haters want to admit it or not, when the Raiders are good, the NFL is better. In order to get there they need to revamp the offense, starting with the offensive line.

In the offseason a lot of QB's will hit the free agent market. Jason Campbell, Kellen Clemens, and David Carr, Brodie Croyle and Tavaris Jackson will give the Raiders something to think about in finding someone young to compete with Russell as the long term answer. More important for the Raiders future is to sign at least two of the following offensive linemen: Jahri Evans, Marcus McNeil, Mike Gandy, Daryn Colledge, and Jared Gaither.

It all starts up front, and that's where it will begin for the Oakland Raiders.