Al Davis: Scapegoat Or Culprit

  Every single Oakland Raiders fan is frustrated with where this team has gone since 2003.  We (Raiders fans) are looking for the problems so we can find a solution.  We have blamed Randy Moss for being a distraction, we have blamed coaches and watched them get fired after 2 seasons or less with the team, we have blamed a group of quarterbacks consisting of Aaron Brooks, Andrew Walter, Josh McCown, Kerry Collins and now JaMarcus Russell and some of us have pin-pointed the man who may be responsible while others stand up for him.  That man is Al Davis. 

  Some defend Al Davis because of what he has done in the history of this franchise: coach, GM and now owner.  He has put together 3 Super Bowl Champions, 1976, 1981, 1983. 

  Those who want Al Davis gone have wishful thinking.  The realists who are against Al Davis are asking, and demanding, that Davis hire a general manager.  We all know Al Davis' only way out of Raider Nation will be in a box.  That will be a sad day.  The anti-Al crowd has put the blame of the past 7 seasons on him.  They say he is now outdated and he is playing 1970s football.

  I have mixed feelings.

  Yes, Al Davis has done a great job of building the best franchise in professional sports.  Yes, Al Davis has given us 3 Super Bowl Rings in 5 trips to the Super Bowl.  But, he is the common man of the organization through the last 7 years.  He has made some bad decisions and has a trend of firing coaches before they can set up a foundation to start from. 

  The fans who say Davis is still living in the past have a valid point, Art Shell was re-hired in 2006 after he had 2 playoff teams in the early '90s.  That continued in 2007 with him hiring a 32 year old from USC hoping to find the next Jon Gruden. 

  One arguement against Al Davis is his roster decisions.  Many have said he is a terrible draft scout, but at the time, who didn't want to draft JaMarcus Russell and then Darren McFadden.  Heyward-Bey is definetly a reach, but we owe him a few years to adapt to the NFL.  We gave Russell 3 years and McFadden has had 2.  And in the 2008 spending spree that got us DeAngelo Hall, Javon Walker and Gibril Wilson who wasn't excited about these acquisitions.  How many people predicted that DeAngelo all would be a bust in the bump and run defense and be released after 8 games.  Who thought Javon Walker would end up as a practice squad-last string border player.  Gibril Wilson was our #2 tackler (statistically) behind Kirk Morrison and we released him. Why? I don't know but Tyvon Branch has helped ease the pain.  And who expected Randy Moss to be a little you-know-what and be traded for a 4th round pick.  And Richard Seymour is a good player, but a 2011 Round 1 pick?  I don't know.

  One problem I have with Davis is his role in defensive gameplans.  When Namdi Asomugha says the defense needs to change I find it hard to disagree with our best player. Davis needs to realize the simple days of bump and run only are over.

  I stand up for Davis when people say he has lost it.  It seems long ago, but at the begginning of the decade the Raiders had an AFC Wet 3-peat and a Super Bowl trip.  Who knows what the Tuck Rule stole from us.  He had Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Lincoln Kennedy, Mo Collins, Charllie Garner and Charles Woodson.

  Some days I wake up and think that Al Davis' is definetly the man to blame.  Other days I think he is a football genious and can't imagine the Raiders without him.  Is Al Davis the scapegoat that we blame because of our frustration or is Al Davis too old to run a football team.  Is Al Davis our problem or the solution.