My Two Cents 9-1-12
What’s up RaiderNation? It is time for another weekly edition of My Two Cents with your favorite old geezer, Old Timer. So yesterday the Raiders made 22 transactions to get their roster down to 53. In case you haven’t had a chance to see who was cut to get to 53, please take the time to read this article written by the boss-man himself, Aaron Morales: http://silverandblackdaily.com/2012/08/31/oakland-raiders-team-makes-moves-to-get-down-to-53-players/
As was written in this article, there weren’t too many surprises here. I think we all knew Roscoe Parrish was gone after miss-handling both punts that he had a chance to field. I too am surprised that Nathan Stupar was waived, especially with the way he performed Thursday night in our loss to the Seahawks, but at least he has been signed to the practice squad. And though the Raiders will never be the same organization it was before our beloved leader passed on from this life, some things never change. I am willing to bet that old Al is smiling at the way the Raiders managed to get Marquette King on IR so he couldn’t go elsewhere. While King is far from being a polished punter, he has the leg to be Shane Lechler’s replacement when the time for that comes.
But on to this week’s topic. Is this year’s Raiders the kind of team Al Davis would have been proud of? Is Al looking at what his team has become and shaking his head in disbelief? Or is he shaking his fist at the rest of the world and saying “this decade will belong to the Raiders”?
Let’s take a look at some of the changes since Al passed away last year. First of all, there was the draft. This year’s draft was definitely not a typical Raiders’ draft by any means. I’m not saying that Al wouldn’t have drafted any of the players we took, but it is kind of doubtful. Especially Juron Criner, who is a WR that is not known for his speed. At the same time, the picks we made this year are hardworking players, who are athletic, and have a love for football. Those are all qualities Al Davis looked for in a player.
But how about our new offense? How would Al feel about running a West Coast offense? For those of you who are new to RaiderNation, perhaps you don’t know that we used to run the WCO. In fact, the last time the Raiders were in the playoffs, the Raiders were running the WCO. It worked well with the personnel we had at the time, and it is a fit with our current personnel as well. And one thing is for sure, Al would love the fact that we have a big armed QB who is definitely going to take some shots deep when he has the opportunity to do so.
And what about the defense? Well, there is no doubt that Al would not agree with some of the changes being made. He was very much a believer in man coverage, and pressure from a 4 man front. While the Raiders are no longer going to just use the front 4 for pressure on the QB, and they will no longer sticking to man coverage only, there is one thing that Al Davis preached that they will be adhering to. One of Al Davis’ most famous quotes was “The other team’s quarterback must go down, and he must go down hard”. This is one principal that both Reggie McKinzie, and Dennis Allen believe in strongly. We have already seen the intense pressure that is going to be applied to the opposing quarterback, from anywhere, at anytime, and from anyone. And we have seen just a fraction of what our defense will look like this year. I expect to see more sacks this year than in the past 2 years combined.
So do you think Al Davis is rolling over in his grave at what his beloved Raiders have become? I don’t think so (this is my two cents after all). No, I think Al is smiling, and shaking his fist at all of the haters. He is saying, “I told you we would be back”. He is saying “the greatness of the Raiders, is in its future”. He is saying “this decade will belong to the Raiders”. And most of all, he is saying to his beloved team, “just win baby”!!
Hey, don’t forget that if you have a subject that you would like to hear Old Timer give his “two cents’ on, just shoot me an email (there is a link to send me an email below). Not only will you get your subject commented on, but you will also receive a personal shout-out from me in the article, and on Twitter. Be sure to check back next week for another edition of “My Two Cents”. Peace out RaiderNation!!
Old Timer
Questions? Comments? Email me at OldTimer@silverandblackdaily.com
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