Elvis, Howard Hughes,and Al Davis: Erratic and Isolated

In 1956 a young singer out of Memphis, Tennessee captured the hearts and minds of young americans and went on to become an american icon.

That artist was Elvis Presley.

As Presley's fame grew he was forced to surround himself with advisers and bodyguards in an all-out effort to protect himself and his family.

The isolation from fans and the outside world brought on increasingly erratic behaviour, massive weight gain, and ultimately probably led to his death.

Howard Hughes, the famous aviator, engineer, and movie director, became increasingly reclusive with age and was unable to continue as a functioning memory of society. Ultimately dying on the airplane that was flying the sick man from a hotel in Mexico to a hospital in Texas.

Al Davis, a pioneer of football, is an owner from the people and was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. What's more his early AFL and NFL teams were a reflection of their owner. They cared more about results than their image.

The bottom line was winning - nothing else mattered.

Al Davis, like Elvis and Hughes, may have become a victim of his own success - increasingly isolating himself from the rest of the world and thereby losing touch with the game as it evolved. Consider:

• Defensive approach - Man to man with little blitzing. This worked well in the 70s when wide receivers were smaller (Lynn Swann was 5-11, John Stallworth 6-2, Cliff Branch 5-11), but receivers today are usually 6-2 or taller.
  
• The players are different - Oakland is no longer a place where veterans go because the want to 'win' the big one. That was lost in the 80s, regained briefly with Gruden, and departed again when the coach was 'traded' to Tampa.
• Coaching - Al believes that players matter - coaches don't, although his two most successful coaches are both in the hall of fame. 

With the retiring of Willie Brown from the Raiders coaching staff, we have to wonder if Al has become so insulated, that the reality of his current situation hasn't dawned on him because no one in the inner circle wants to be honest.

Like Elvis and Hughes, the people that surround Davis ultimately rely on him for their paycheck. Ultimately the people that surround Al keep him shielded from reality, and that may be the thing that keeps him from winning one more championship.