The Raider Way? Not As Far As I'm Concerned

Whatever that was on Sunday, it wasn't a commitment to excellence. It was the low point of the season.  One would think that the Giants game was the low point. No, this was.

It seems to me that the people in the front office, especially Al Davis, should be reminded what the Raiders mean to us, the fans.  We all know the slogans, we expect the team to know them as well.  We can, at this point, throw "Just win, baby" under the bus, because this iteration of the Raiders has no idea how to do that. 

Where does " Commitment to excellence" fit in? JaMarcus Russell is not interested in putting the time in. The WR's aren't catching anything.  The people who can excel in their positions are not playing them.  There isn't a commitment to anything but a paycheque in Oakland these days.

I follow Kirk Morrison on Twitter, and he is a decent player.  It seems he was depressed after the loss, so he asked for inspirational quotes by other sports figures to inspire him to do better, or something. Go punch a wall, have a stiff drink and channel that anger at being humiliated by the Jets into the next game.

That brings us to now, and a reminder as to what the Raider Way is.  It isn't moping about, wishing you had done better.  It isn't showing up and doing nothing to warrant your cheque.  It isn't throwing the ball deep on offense and hoping for a coverage sack on defense.

Here is the best definition of what the Raider Way is, and it is timeless.  The Raiders, up until recently, were the last chance for players of all stripes.  Lyle Alzado? Last chance. Jim Plunkett? Last chance. Rich Gannon? Last chance.

The Raiders picked up Marcus Allen because everyone else thought he wasn't NFL calibre. The Raiders have been known to draft kickers in the first round.  They did these things because of something that was innate in the players themselves. These players had something to prove.

The key to the Raider Way is acquiring talented players who have been shafted by other organizations or who are diamonds in the rough.  Keep that in mind when you see Russell blaming others, DHB not catching the ball, or even McFadden falling down after first contact.  These aren't players with something to prove, they are pampered athletes who have done nothing that warrants their pay-grade.

I haven't seen an upside.  I've barely seen the promise that they apparently hold. These are not diamonds, they are lumps of coal. Toss them aside, because we don't have a few million years for them to transform into something useful.  

In short, the Raider Way is not exemplified in this supposed Raider version of the famous Dallas Cowboy Triplets. They are everything that is wrong with the organization.