Aaron Brooks: Exile Island

On the past few seasons of the reality show Survivor, they have implemented a new twist called Exile Island, in which a contestant is banished to a barren little island for a night. If the Oakland Raiders were playing Survivor (hey, wait, maybe they are!), then I think Exile Island might be populated by a guy named Aaron Brooks.

I don’t mean that the team has intentionally exiled Aaron Brooks, but rather that circumstances have conspired to isolate him, adding yet another layer of drama and uncertainty to our offense as we close out the season and look forward to next year.

Here’s what I wrote on December 4, after the Texans game: Aaron Brooks was really pissed off about something late in the second quarter. He gestured repeatedly toward the sideline after plays, raising his arms in apparent bewilderment or anger. What was up with that? Was he angry with the playcalling, or upset with his teammates? When the drive failed, he roamed the sideline alone. I am convinced that we have serious relationship issues on our offense. I see very little communication or togetherness on the sideline. I see a unit divided. It explains what we’re seeing on the field, which is an absence of timing and chemistry, along with inexcusable confusion and lack of execution unrelated to talent.

Now, here’s a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, filed this week: Signed in the off-season to a two-year contract, Brooks doesn't know whether the Raiders will pick up his $5 million option for next year. From the sounds of it, Brooks will be just fine walking away…"What's really going on?" Brooks said. "You see issues across the board, as far as offensively is concerned, that make you think like, 'What the f--- have I got into?' It's been tough, man. A lot of time I've been biting that fist of mine. F--- it, I gotta do it, good or bad."…He saved the nasty stuff for wide receivers Jerry Porter and Randy Moss, saying he's talked to them about their complaining ways to no use. He gave a brutally honest assessment of the offensive line's protection problems and the three-step pocket that collapses quicker than he can release the ball.

I guess I was right. When your quarterback has no respect for, or chemistry with, your top two receivers, then you’re in trouble. When, on top of that, your pocket frequently collapses around this quarterback faster than it takes John Madden to say, “Boom!” then you’re really in trouble. And, when the quarterback in question is prone to ill-timed mistakes, then you’ve got a perfect storm of trouble. Welcome to your 2006 Raiders offense.

It’s clear that Aaron Brooks never gelled, personally or professionally, with Randy Moss or Jerry Porter. A brutal opening game, followed by an injury, further disrupted Brooks’ integration into the offensive fabric. Upon his return, he brought an immediate spark to our offense, and continued to maintain an upbeat attitude, at least in the press (until Monday, of course), but the spark has since been snuffed.

Now it looks like Brooks' tenure as our starting quarterback might end just as it began: ugly. Is Brooks part of the offensive problem, or a victim of it? At this point, it’s really hard to say. I think he’s a good man. I think he has legitimate gripes about Moss, Porter and the offensive line. I think he can be effective under the right circumstances. But I doubt that he is going to find these circumstances in Oakland, even if Moss and Porter hit the road.

In other words, Aaron Brooks may have a future, but he isn’t our future. But if he isn’t our future at quarterback, who is? It's a question we'll have to ask very soon.

P.S. This take is dedicated to Tim Mo, who gave me a little hell about having a take.