After the Raiders were thrashed by Kansas City on Sunday, coach Hue Jackson started his postgame media session, as he always has after a loss, by saying, "This one is on me. The players didn’t lose this game. Coach Jackson did."
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A little of this and a lot of that, following Week 7 in the NFL ...
- Nothing can demoralize an NFL quarterback and his offense quite like giving up a pick six.
Unless, of course, your quarterback gives up six picks instead.
OK, neither of the Raiders’ quarterbacks threw all six of Sunday’s interceptions during an embarrassing 28-0 home loss to Kansas City, but when starter Kyle Boller combined forces with new guy Carson Palmer to toss a pair of 3s at the Chiefs, the end result was the same.
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In the wake of the death of Al Davis, I was asked by an interviewer why Oakland officials were so eager to persuade the Raiders to move back from Los Angeles. The answer was simple: The Raiders are the only major league franchise to start in Oakland.
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So much for Jason Campbell being the next Jim Plunkett. While Campbell was undergoing surgery for a broken collarbone Monday, the Raiders were plotting a future without the quarterback who won 11 of 18 starts in silver and black. No room for sentiment. No time to waiver.
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The man knew football. Also football coaches. Al Davis gave Jim Harbaugh his first pro coaching position. Al Davis gave Hue Jackson his first pro head coaching position.
Davis had his well-reported faults, but consider his virtues. Those two gentlemen always will.
“I don’t think there’s a day goes by I don’t try to implement something that I didn’t learn from Mr. Davis,” Harbaugh said.
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A Raider for life. So many who wore the Silver and Black came back. So many in the organization never left. Fueled by a ferocious passion and vision, Al Davis rightfully earned their loyalty.
Unfortunately, his trusted inner circle was often left with little sway or say. Now, at the risk of sounding like a heretic, it’s possible the Raiders will actually improve as they transition from dictator to democracy.
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Firing Tom Cable and promoting Hue Jackson to head coach was the smartest move Al Davis has made since he hired Jon Gruden, and the Raiders are reaping the benefits now.
Cable was a buffoon. At postgame media sessions after losses, he was at a complete loss to explain why the Raiders were still making mistakes, especially with penalties. He’d make promises to change the pattern, but they were meaningless because he had no real plan.
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There’s a segment on ESPN in which a former player, now employed by the network, tries to judge an NFL team’s immediate future. It’s labeled “Patience or Panic,” which is self-explanatory. In the Bay Area, it would be called “Panic or Doctor, can I get a prescription for sedatives?”
After two games, the 49ers and Raiders are 1-1. And people are giving up already. Maybe they have the NFL confused with the NL, where unfortunately, it’s time to give up on the Giants. Drat that Clayton Kershaw, anyhow.
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A little of this, and a lot of that ...
- Five second-half possessions. Five touchdowns. The defensive performance the Raiders turned in against the Bills on Sunday, allowing a 21-3 halftime lead to evaporate faster than an American job, was downright offensive.
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The NFL is back with a bang, which of course means it’s open season on coaches, quarterbacks and victories that don’t pass the beauty test.
Jim Harbaugh is already on the defensive about claims his play-calling was too conservative in Sunday’s win against the Seattle Seahawks. This after Harbaugh himself said the 49ers went into a “blue-collar” mode after building a 16-0 halftime lead.
“We’re attacking and I think we’re playing to win, that’s what I live by,” he said.
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