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.

Jim Fassel, Las Vegas Locos, Win 1st UFL Championship

Many people in charge of the UFL, owners, investors, coaches, players, and marketers, considered the UFL's first season a "dress rehearsal." That's their excuse for the lack of attendance, visibility, and quality of game for the first season.

In the UFL's defense, I did see a sign for their product hanging near Angels Stadium in Anaheim during the ALDS and (I believe) ALCS.

I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't pulling for the UFL. I'd also be a liar if I said I watched a game after the opener.

But I did watch today's UFL Championship Game between the undefeated Florida Tuskers (lead by Michael Pittman, Brooks Bollinger, and head coach Jim Haslett) and the Las Vegas Locomotives (lead by J.P Losman and head coach Jim Fassel). And let me be completely honest, unbiased, and straight forward; it was the best football game that no one saw in 2009.

That doesn't mean it was better than Colts vs Patriots, Lions vs Brown (though that game was blacked out so I don't think anyone saw it), or Tennessee vs Alabama, but it was a very, very good game.

Well played too. And let's be fair to the UFL, they didn't exactly get a preseason, offseason, or a chance to build team chemistry before the opening game; which is probably why the UFL looked so awful the first week.

The teams I watched today had more chemistry than most college teams, and college teams usually have better chemistry than most pro teams, so fill in the blanks. The receivers and QB's were in rhythm, the defenses played pretty good man to man coverage, and the offensive lines were adequate. The kickers made the kicks they'd make in the NFL, the punters had average hang times, and overall, the game liked like a middle-end NFL game. It wasn't the Colts vs Pats, it wasn't even the Lions vs Browns, but it was an entertaining game.

At the end of the day, it was J.P Losman who got retribution, not Brooks Bollinger. It was DeDe Dorsey who won the MVP of the Championship, not Michael Pittman or Tatum Bell. It was also Jim Fassel, finally winning a championship in a decade that saw no coach fall from top to bottom harder.

So now there's a league of four teams worth of NFL free agents ready to be signed, loose, and available to play immediately. That's the point of the UFL, not to compete with the NFL, but to complement it. It's why the AFL and XFL failed, and why NFL Europe should have played in the Fall. The UFL is smart; it's not try to be the NFL, it's not trying to beat the NFL, it's trying to capitalize on a football hungry market by creating a league where free agents, known and unknown, young and old, can build or rebuild their careers.

The UFL will succeed. I hope it does at least. It should make the game more intimate. Go to smaller venues. Instead of Giants Stadium, play at Columbia or Hofstra. Instead of the Home Depot Center, play at some SCIAC school or Fresno (if you want to keep the Redwoods North). Minor league baseball is successful in some markets because of it's intimacy, the UFL needs to do the same.

I turst the league though. They're doing well, and they're smart. The best thing that can happen to the UFL is to have it's players head to the NFL and make an impact come playoff time.

Don't you have a feeling that's going to happen.

Why You Should Give the UFL a Chance

Tonight at 9 P.M eastern the United Football League will kickoff it's inaugural season. The idea of the league is usually met with chuckles from resonated thoughts pertaining to the XFL, however, this league is different.

Unlike the XFL and USFL, the UFL is not meant to compete with the NFL, it's here to compliment it. All four teams; the California Redwoods, Las Vegas Locomotives, New York Sentinels, and Flordia Tuskers, will run pro style schemes, and are lead by former NFL head coaches Denny Green, Jim Haslett, Ted Cottrell, and Jim Fassel.

Unlike the USFL which stole NFL prospects and talent such as Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Reggie White, Doug Flutie, and Doug Williams; the UFL will be comprised mostly of players who lost their jobs in the now defunct Arena Football League, undrafted rookies, aging veterans, and players most of us will consider scrubs.

Some players currently on UFL rosters that you may recognize include QB Mike McMahon, RB Obafemi Ayanbadejo, RB Tatum Bell, P Todd Sauerbrun, TE Jermaine Wiggins, WR Craphonso Thorpe, DE Simeon Rice, QB Quinn Gray, RB DD Dorsey, and the current Starchild of the league, former first round QB from the Buffalo Bills: none other than J.P Losman.

Okay, I get it, that list of players wouldn't make you watch an NFL playoff game, let alone a non NFL professional football game.

So here's the number one reason why you should give the UFL a chance... the stadiums in which they're playing their games offer a unique opportunity to watch football at a high level!

October 17, NY Sentinels vs California Redwoods in AT&T Park in San Francisco.
October 30, Las Vegas Locos vs Florida Tuskers at Tropicana Field in Tampa.
November 4, Las Vegas Locos vs NY Sentinels at Citi Field in Queens.
November 12, Florida vs NY in Hartford.
Nov 20, NY vs LV in Los Angeles.

Maybe it's just me but seeing a high level football game in those places sounds cool. Especially AT&T Park and Citi Field. I say if you live in those areas give the league a chance.

My second reason to follow this league is that the overwhelming odds are some of these players will end up on your NFL team. After the lowly XFL's one season in the spring of 2001, the league MVP Tommy Maddox landed a spot on the Steelers roster, eventually leading the team to the playoffs. Rod Smart, better known as "He Hate Me," landed a gig with the Carolina Panthers, eventually starting on special teams in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Like Maddox, WR Yo Murphy immediately caught fire in the NFL, helping the St. Louis Rams to Super Bowl XXXVI. Seahawk fans may remember DB Kelly Herndon for his "pick six" in Super Bowl XL, but before he lined up in the biggest game of his life, he sported a Las Vegas Outlaws uniform.

Other notable XFL'ers included Jet Kevin Swayne, Lion Mike Furrey, and Corey Ivy.

To sum it up, some of these players are going to end up as impact players in the NFL, and odds are strong that some of these players are going to make an impact in the NFL this season!

The NFL has always lacked an in season minor league system where pro level talent can develop into pro level players. I honestly feel as though the UFL will develop into this. The NFL needs this, for the past four to five years their minor league system have been our federal prisons.

So I'm not asking you to skip tonight's Angels vs Red Sox game to catch a sneak peak of the next Kevin Swayne, but I am saying give the league a chance. If anything it may help you find a sleeper in your Fantasy Football league just in time for league championships.

edit: you can catch most of the games on Versus. Home of the NHL which the UFL should pretty much be equal to in ratings (sorry Hockey fans).