Oakland Raiders: The Joy of a Last Minute Victory over the New York Jets

If history repeats itself, then let's expect a repetition in the Raiders-Jet game today.

In 1980, a guy who had bad hands caught a ball and that helped push the Oakland Raiders in the direction of a playoff and a Super Bowl. In a documentary by NFL titled "America's Game," Gene Upshaw, Jim Plunkett and others talked about attitude and behaviors the historical team had in 1980.

One thing that was learned from "America's Game" is that those who you do not expect to perform well sometimes do so and turn the game around.

Guys with interesting behaviors like Ted Hendricks would make blunt decisions to help fellow players do what it would take to make a difference in the game. Matt Millen talked about how Hendricks asked him about a mouthpiece and when Millen's showed it to him, Hendricks threw it across the field. The lesson learned is Hendricks and the others could not understand Millen in the huddle when he used the mouthpiece.

In order to get the job done, Hendricks made an on the spot decision.

Experts did not think that the Oakland Raiders would win the 1980 Super Bowl. They did.

So experts may think that the Oakland Raiders in 2011 cannot get the job done. They will.

Gene Upshaw mentioned in the NFL video that the players had empathy for the battles of Al Davis during that era.

The current team needs a similar type of empathy and they must give Al Davis, the winner, what he wants: victory.

It takes a lot of heart to perform above your own expectation and to reach those of a visionary like Al Davis.

Davis has hired a talented team including Jason Campbell, Jacoby Ford, Marcel Reece and many others.

Now, all it takes is for all of the team members to adopt a philosophy of "just get the job done, just win."

Before a capacity-filled stadium, it would be a wonderful experience to see the Oakland Raiders defeat the New York Jets, even if it is in the last eight seconds.

Why that time frame? Well, it was done in the last eight seconds in Shea stadium on Dec. 6, 1970 when the trio of Daryle Lamonica, Warren Wells and George Blanda found a way to get a 14-13 victory to defeat the Jets.

How do I know? I was there.

Just win, baby!