A View from The Dark Side
Murphy’s Law is alive and well here at Raider Take. I go out of my way to play pessimist with my recent Glass Half Empty Week, and suddenly the true pessimists go mute. Then, as soon I return to regularly scheduled optimism, they're back baring their fangs again.
For example, on Sunday I noticed that my happy take of last Friday had recorded a new comment from a true disbeliever. Thus ensued a brief cosmic tangle between the forces of optimism and pessimism. In the end, we agreed to disagree, and made an appointment to serve each other crow come late December. Along the way, my gloomy foe forcefully stated his case, which I reprint here as a rather eloquent view from the dark side, just in case you missed it:
"Anyone been following camp stories? The offense has looked abysmal. It's not the players fault, it's the antiquated 70's system. It simply doesn't work anymore. You need the best running back in the league to make it work. It relys on brute strength, no gimmicks. That's fine if you have Don Mosebar, Wisniewski and Bo Jackson. Not so good with Langston Walker, Sims and Jordon. If Jordan goes down, the season could end worse than last year, no matter how pumped all us silver and blackers get.
It's about the time every year when all we Raider fans get in a fevered, psyched pitch, but I ain't buying it. Walsh sux and Al's system looks like bell bottoms and a big Elvis belt buckle at a formal dinner. Just doesn't work anymore. I wish it did. If it does work this year it'll be because Brooks is improvising his way through the archaic script. I hopes he does.
Fargas as the back up RB, and everyone starting to throw the rah-rah, half-full treatment around that is making me absolutely sick. He ain't worth doo doo and will not do squat. PLEASE, GOD TRADE PORTER FOR A RB!!!!! The defense might not be half bad if the offense could manage a few scores and a 1st down here and there, but that's looking bleak while running a circa '73 offense. I just can't believe we brought Tom Walsh in. Can't believe it. I have read multiple accounts from Tim Brown, to Jeff Hostetler, to several sporting mags that have said ad nauseum that this system doesn't work. Maybe it doesn't fellows. I mean could all these people have really been poor coaches, players etc: Shroeder, Beurlein, George, Marinovich, Hoss, Collins, Callahan, White, Turner, Bugel...
Maybe it's the "AL" system guys! Gruden ignored it and our talent was able to beat 98% of the league. Since he left it's back to bunker city and Al's 1976 approach. Depressing."
Now that’s a glass half empty!
For example, on Sunday I noticed that my happy take of last Friday had recorded a new comment from a true disbeliever. Thus ensued a brief cosmic tangle between the forces of optimism and pessimism. In the end, we agreed to disagree, and made an appointment to serve each other crow come late December. Along the way, my gloomy foe forcefully stated his case, which I reprint here as a rather eloquent view from the dark side, just in case you missed it:
"Anyone been following camp stories? The offense has looked abysmal. It's not the players fault, it's the antiquated 70's system. It simply doesn't work anymore. You need the best running back in the league to make it work. It relys on brute strength, no gimmicks. That's fine if you have Don Mosebar, Wisniewski and Bo Jackson. Not so good with Langston Walker, Sims and Jordon. If Jordan goes down, the season could end worse than last year, no matter how pumped all us silver and blackers get.
It's about the time every year when all we Raider fans get in a fevered, psyched pitch, but I ain't buying it. Walsh sux and Al's system looks like bell bottoms and a big Elvis belt buckle at a formal dinner. Just doesn't work anymore. I wish it did. If it does work this year it'll be because Brooks is improvising his way through the archaic script. I hopes he does.
Fargas as the back up RB, and everyone starting to throw the rah-rah, half-full treatment around that is making me absolutely sick. He ain't worth doo doo and will not do squat. PLEASE, GOD TRADE PORTER FOR A RB!!!!! The defense might not be half bad if the offense could manage a few scores and a 1st down here and there, but that's looking bleak while running a circa '73 offense. I just can't believe we brought Tom Walsh in. Can't believe it. I have read multiple accounts from Tim Brown, to Jeff Hostetler, to several sporting mags that have said ad nauseum that this system doesn't work. Maybe it doesn't fellows. I mean could all these people have really been poor coaches, players etc: Shroeder, Beurlein, George, Marinovich, Hoss, Collins, Callahan, White, Turner, Bugel...
Maybe it's the "AL" system guys! Gruden ignored it and our talent was able to beat 98% of the league. Since he left it's back to bunker city and Al's 1976 approach. Depressing."
Now that’s a glass half empty!
posted by Raider Take at 1:14 AM
16 Comments:
FUCK that guy he sucks!...All HATERS to the back of the wagon!...Either your with us or against us. Any system works as long as you put forth the effort. GO RAIDERS!!!
What "reports" is this guy reading? What interviews (other than Porter) is this guy listening to? Did you hear the interview with Sapp on Porter? You can check it out on Inside Bay Area Sports! Porter is the only player I hear from Raiders camp who isn't buying into the system Shell is putting together.
Brooks has been pumping short, and throwing long, and improvising. Something he said he couldn't do under Haslett. He said that he had to play by the playbook, and that is not how it's going to work here. Also, another story on IBA.
Has he gone to the Raiders sight, and looked at pics from training camp last week? Did he see that nasty pic of McNasty? Dude, it gave me the heebie-jeebies (it's picture 23 on July 25th's photo gallery).
Has he looked into to the rumors that we may be trading Porter for Thomas Jones of the Bears (a decent 1-2 punch at RB with Jordan)? Did he read about the "Pit Drill?" How Shell is bringing back the Nasty? This is coming from PLAYERS, not reporters.
I've said it before, and I say it again, you have to listen to what the majority of players are saying, and how they are saying it. This is the first time since the Raiders went to the Bowl, that they are in camp, and excited about it. Porter doesn't like Shell. Porter has an ego problem, and is complaining. Sapp said it best in his interview on Sirius Radio with Jerry Rice, "People talk about football being a family. It's not a family. It's a brotherhood of men. Because in a family, if the baby is lagging behind, everybody stops and waits for the baby to catch up. We can't wait for the baby to catch up. We've got to go ... if he's not going to be a part of what we got going some kind of way we've got to find a way to make him happy. Trade him or whatever he wants because you can't have a malcontent on a team where on Sunday we're going to be looking for you to make plays." (as seen here, with other comments: http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_4106803).
It sounds to me like the Raiders' players like the system. Which tells me, that they are going to play hard, and to their potential, because they are finally being coached by someone with vision and direction. Unlike Callahan and Turner. This tells me that the Raiders are going out there with a chip on their shoulders, and going to make some people look stupid.
The only way I can describe the negative press I read about them is summed up in one word.....FEAR!
Fact of the matter is, anytime you install a new offense in training camp and pit it against a defense that has been under the same coordinator for three years, things won't be pretty for the "O" in the early going. If it were Gruden's offense I guess you'd assume that it's too complicated. Since it's Walsh's offense you're willing to say it sucks after 4 days of double sessions.
And what about the last two days of reports showing that the offense is coming around?...
I think this is going to be a strong defensive team. Offensively, Shell will be smart enough to keep his playmakers on the field. You can have a simple running game approach and be successful with a strong o-line. What you can't do is line up with two wides and a TE in third and long [or even third and short]. If Shell/Walsh use three and four wides liberally, everything will be fine. We'll know in about six weeks....
Ok, this is the crap that ruins my day and gets me ticked for 24 hours. "Can these guys all really be bad football players and coaches? Shroeder, Beurlein, George, Marinovich, Hoss, Collins, Callahan, White, Turner, Bugel..."
Well........Yeah. After they left the Raiders did you see any of them succeed. They go along with the 90% of players and coaches that wind up being less than servicable in their NFL careers. Dude if you are going to pick someone to make a point with, atleast be reasonable. Shroeder had a gun and nothing else, Beurlein was a career backup with all the teams he went to. George and Pot Head and Collins never stood a chance in the NFL. They are all mental cases with no guts. Hoss had heart but limited talent. As far as the coaches go, what did white or bugel ever do in the NFL. Nothing. They are just like Norv. Coooooooordinators. Callahan, gutless wimp. I live in Nebraska. Can you imagine, I have been a Raider since I knew what football was. Then after Callahan destroys the Raiders he comes to my state where football is kind of a big thing. We used to line up and punch people in the face and run them over for 400 rushing yards a game. People used to hate to play us because you knew even if you won you were going to take more punishment than anyone else was going to dish out all year long. Offensive line was merciless. Fullback up the middle just to bust the middle linebackers chops. Hard nosed, no 6 count 4 guys in motion crap. Now we get Callahan. Even when we do win it is with weak football. No heart, no guts, no balls. You can make things as complicated as you want as a coach but you ask anyone that knows football, When the time comes if you can't line up and bust your opponent in the face and make him wonder for the rest of the game how many more times it is going to hurt that bad, you just as well hand over the game because you are going to be weak, not just physically, but also mentally. If there was a coach like Parcells or Bellichek that handled the Porter situation the way Art did they would be getting praise. Have you not been listening. He told him to F off and either get with the team or sit on the bench. Don't think Art won't T.O. his butt and just get him away from the team because Art does not care how talented you are. If you can't play his way you will not play. And last, if you don't like his way you need to go find your 5th team in the last 10 years to cheer for because that is the Raider way. Band Wagon Fans not needed. It always was the Raider way and it is about time we get back to it.
At the end of the day, our pessimist's problem is that he's also a progressivist. It’s not his fault. I would wager that 8 out of 10 westerners are. It’s a birth defect from the Enlightenment. At the end of the day, the average western thinker truly believes that new is better than old. Personally, I’m a student of the classical. Give me the “old”.
i will not go into details since it has already been covered. When Dick Vermil came back after 14 years it was not going to work. (Superbowl in 3 years) Seems just yesterday Joe Gibbs was just too old, now Washington is being picked by some to win it all. Tell that hater to go to a 49ers page and get the hell out of the dark side. Raiders for life.
"At the end of the day, our pessimist's problem is that he's also a progressivist. It’s not his fault. I would wager that 8 out of 10 westerners are. It’s a birth defect from the Enlightenment. At the end of the day, the average western thinker truly believes that new is better than old. Personally, I’m a student of"
--I used to wonder who the hell still thinks George Bush is a good president and supports following him blindindly
now i know who the hell is still giving him an approval rating more than 0
Shell's record was as good as Gruden's, and he had a less talented team, imho.
Did anyone make sense of the George Bush rebuttal?
he lost me at "hello"
o and if ur gonna sound like a retard and say being progressive in thought is a bad thing, it should read "hes a progressive"
where'd u come up with the word progressivist???? lol
thats like a goerge bush word....lol
do u also enjoy saying strategerie?
I didn't know that Jacques Chirac frequents Raider Take.
As long as Bush allows me to keep a higher % of my income (and not allow it to end up in some first-of-the-month check that ends up in some dude's mail box who doesn't feel like working or feeding his kids, but has plenty of time and resource to pay for high speed internet and rip the President on a football blog), then he'll get a rating of higher than 0 from me.
I must confess to being quite amused by this politcal banter, it's resulting in some rather colorful takes. It's a definitely challenging Raider Take's motto of "Pigskin Not Politics."
Main Entry: pro·gres·siv·ism
Pronunciation: pr&-'gre-si-"vi-z&m
Function: noun
1 : the principles, beliefs, or practices of progressives
2 capitalized : the political and economic doctrines advocated by the Progressives
3 : the theories of progressive education
- pro·gres·siv·ist /-vist/ noun or adjective
- pro·gres·siv·is·tic /-"gre-si-'vis-tik/ adjective
Now, back to the topic at hand.
Has anyone caught the special the NFL channel is running on the '76 Season. It is an impressive display of toughness over flashy play. Well worth "TiVoing".
NFL chan is also running an "In their own words" featuring all the HOF electees and there is alot featuring Madden and the 70's Raidahs
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