The Draft Bias is Obvious

It is clear the so-called "draft experts" - especially ESPN - have a bias against the Raiders. Now that we've had a few days to absorb the draft picks, several things jump out at me as being unequal treatment...

Nobody slammed the Chiefs for reaching for DE Tyson Jackson, yet the "experts" universally slammed the Raiders for taking DHB.

If you look at all the pre-draft info out there, I challenge you to find anyone who had Tyson Jackson rated as the #3 overall player. Most sources had Brian Orakpo rated higher amongst DEs. Most sources had Tyson Jackson rated as a midround talent ~ around #15 or so.

This situation is similar to the Raiders reaching for DHB. Most sources had another WR rated higher than DHB and most had him as a midround talent too. Yet no one bagged on the Chiefs selection... why?

Several things come to mind:

First, everyone said what a great fit Jackson is for Chief's GM Scott Pioli and their 3-4 Defensive scheme. He was probably the best 3-4 DE in the draft. But this doesn't explain the difference in the way the picks were treated.

Darrius Heyward-Bey (DHB) is certainly a great fit for the Raiders' vertical game Offense. DHB is probably the best home run threat at WR. But the Raiders weren't congratulated as finding the player who best fits their scheme, the Chiefs were...

Second, everyone gave Scott Pioli the benefit of the doubt because he comes from the *Patriots organization. They also bashed Al Davis because he comes from the Raiders.

Having ties to Bill Belichick is great and all, but look at the "prodigies" that have come from Belichick's system: Charlie Weiss, offensive "genius" has blown monkey chunks at Notre Dame. Romeo Crenel has done nothing with the Browns - they don't even know if Charlie Weiss' QB is their starter. Eric Mangini already got fired in his first HC gig with the Jets and is now trying to mop up Crennel's mess.

If you look at it objectively, Bill Belichick looks like a genius, but his coaches and staff don't look like much on their own. They've failed. Why would Pioli be any different? Al Davis has been a scout, HC, GM, and owner in this league for 45 years. Wouldn't he deserve the benefit of the doubt over Pioli, who is running a draft without Belichick for the first time - a rookie?

Third, many of the experts had Tyson Jackson penciled in as the Chiefs pick (some had Aaron Curry). When Jackson was indeed picked, he made the "experts" look smart because they had predicted this outcome.

Few of the "experts" besides Lombardi had the Raiders taking DHB. When DHB was the pick, he made the experts look "stoopid" because they hadn't predicted this scenario.

We all know that ESPN is in Bristol, Connecticut and that they hype the local teams incessantly. The Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics all receive a lot more hype on that station than other teams.

But the truth is, if you rearrange things, and had Scott Pioli or Bill Belichick making the same picks the Raiders did, they would have treated the same picks differently.

Ask yourself, if the Raiders drafted all high-character players this time for a change, why aren't the "experts" applauding Tom Cable for changing the environment in Oakland and getting Al Davis to sign off on these types of players?

Ask yourself, if the Raiders traded back to get Mike Mitchell, scoring 4th and 6th round picks in the process, why all the hang ups about "value" for the pick?

With the 4th round pick, we got Louis Murphy. Murphy was a WR generally predicted to go somewhere in the 2nd-3rd round... With the 6th round pick, we got Stryker Sulak, a DE-OLB hybrid guy with character, the kind of player the *Patriots pick all the time as a LB. So if we got three picks for our #2, why all the negativity about "value"?



Ask yourself, if the *Patriots made our picks, how would they have been treated?

Some of the criticism is warranted. The Raiders haven't been good since the SB of '02 and many of our draft picks haven't turned out as expected. But the assumption that just because its the Raiders it has to be crazy, stoopid, insert derogatory comment here is just ridiculous.

People like Chris Carter turning DHB into the running joke of the day with his "honorable mention" comment over and over and over is just plain mean. DHB didn't pick himself. Why would it be acceptable for a TV analyst to insult the kid when it is the biggest day of his life being drafted?



The kid has never gotten into any trouble, yet when prompted, Chris Carter says the Raiders shoulda picked Percy Harvin over DHB because Harvin had college production and DHB didn't. You can't be serious! PERCY HARVIN? That's who Carter thinks shoulda been the Raiders pick? The player with reportedly the worst character in the draft? You thought DHB brought criticism, imagine if we actually HAD drafted Harvin...

It is what it is. The Haterade is flowing. I hope Mitchell and DHB light it up, so "experts" like Chris Carter and Mel Kiper are exposed for what they are, mediots

Moratorium

Greeting my Raider brothers and sisters!

Unfortunately unforeseen circumstances in my personal life (yes, I do have one) leave me unable to devote enough time my usual rabid Raider obsession to pen coherent articles on this site and as a Raidernews columnist. Hence, The Raider Way and Under the Black Flag will not be updated regularly this season. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause any of you.

Until I can be back in action consistently, remember to get your Raider fix at Raidernews, RaiderTake, Silver'n'Black Forever, and Fans In Black. I highly recommend all these sites as relieable places to get your Raider on.

Until then, keep the faith and remember to drink your Stickum, boys and girls! It will help you grow up to have strong bones and teeth and stick to the opponent like Gorilla Glue. And don't worry, I stll brush my teeth with the stuff every morning...

Remembering Coach Walsh

Today is a sad day for Raiders everywhere. One of our own has died.

Though he is better known as Head Coach of the team across the Bay, many do not realize Bill Walsh began his NFL coaching career in 1966 as Offensive Backs Coach under then Head Coach, Al Davis. As you know, once a Raider, always a Raider. Coach Walsh remained a friend of Al Davis and the Raiders until his untimely demise today from symptoms related to leukemia.

While in Oakland, Davis taught Walsh the Sid Gillman offense he had learned in San Diego. The premise of the Gillman offense is stretch the field vertically. Walsh took this premise and modified it to stretch the field horizontally.

This offense is what is commonly referred to as the "West Coast Offense" nowadays, and a version of it is currently being installed in Oakland by Lane Kiffin. To put it plainly, Walsh's system revolutionized the way the game of football is played today. Verily, most of the teams in the NFL currently run or have run a version of Walsh's offense. The term 'genius' is often found in sentences with Walsh's name in them for a reason.

To get some input into this system, Kiffin called upon Al Davis to contact his friend and invite him to Raider practice. Walsh was at Raider practice just a month ago. You can see pictures of Walsh in Raider gear with JaMarus Russell and Coach Kiffin here (June 14, minicamp day 3, images 8 and 9).

Kiffin had this to say about Walsh's visit just a month ago:

"It was important for me to get him over here to practice. It's one thing to ask a question. It's another thing to have him watch practice and get some thoughts from him on what he's seeing out there. I've spent some time preparing for him.

What can't you get out of that? To have him over here was great."
~ Lane Kiffin

Bill Walsh once said of Al Davis:

"He was one of the great coaches I have ever observed ... a truly great coach. Had he chosen to remain in coaching, he would be considered one of the great coaches of all time."
~ Bill Walsh

The same can be said of Walsh, for there is no question Bill Walsh is one of the great coaches of all time. Our condolences to his family and friends - our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Read more about Walsh's life here.

See Al Davis' press conference regarding Bill Walsh in two parts, here (part 1) and here (part 2).

Much thanks to Ben in NJ for the tip on the interview!

The Treuth

About this time every year players get cut. It is one of the worst aspects of football as only 53 players can make the roster. We sure remember Pete Banaszak getting nervous and jerky. As Pete said, "I was always worried that I was going to be cut as sure as God made green apples. Funny that I ended up being a Raider as long as anybody."

Like Banaszak, Adam Treu made his living as a Raider by being a role player. Treu made certain the snaps to Janikowski and Lechler were always spot on. While we worried about everything else last season - including and especially the Center --> QB exchange - we never worried about having one of those Tony Romo moments with a snap on a kick.

The reason? Treu got it done for a decade. The longest tenured player on the team, Treu made it through countless changes to the coaching staff. Treu started out with the great Joe Bugel as his Head Coach back in the day. His longevity in the face of having to ingratiate himself to a new head coach regularly speaks to Treu's ability to be a team player.

That said, one writer decided to speculate on the cause of Treu being cut this week. The speculation can be found here. It says:

"I wonder if the Raiders' late-minute release of center Adam Treu was because of his 11 years in the league, diminishing skills or just maybe because he was the guy who blew the whistle on the new coaches for practicing too intensely this spring. At least one player suggested the last reason was the one that ended his Raiders career. As he said, 'Anyone holding to the old ways we worked is going to be gone.' "

As you know, the Raider coaching staff lost a week of practices because they were reportedly too hard on the players, as described here.

While Pat Kirwan is a friend of Lane Kiffin and his reports on the Raiders are generally pretty unbiased and accurate, Kirwan's rumor that Treu might be the one who snitched on the Raider coaching staff to the NFLPA for practicing too hard seems pretty far fetched to Raider fans who follow the team closely. Treu just isn't that kind of guy.

So here is a reply to the rumors from the family:

"Shame on any of you who would think that about Adam. Rumors just kill me and this one has the potential to stick. Comments about his ability or his speed or his snaps are fine . . . but this?? No way.

Of all the things Adam could've called in over 10 seasons, this is the one they're going with? He was in the training room the entire offseason since his quad tendon snapped off of his kneecap and had to be surgically reattached with cables and screws.

This past week has been difficult enough so to have his name attached to something like this has been rough.

Pat Kirwan needs a spanking and not the kind of spanking he's probably into.

It's simply NOT true. Please spread the word.

Thanks so much!"

~ Tracy Treu

So we see, the unfortunate truth is Adam Treu was cut due to the lingering effects of a torn quadriceps tendon. For the first time in his ten-year career, last season Treu was unable to play. This week, Adam was unable to pass a physical; the years of wear and tear on his knees finally caught up.

The Raiders do not typically make a statement at the release of one of their players (e.g., you will not find statements at the release of Courtney Anderson, Jarrod Cooper, etc.). The fact they did for Treu tells you something about the esteem the organization holds him in. This statement can be found here.

It says:

“In the excellence of The Oakland Raiders over the last 10 years, Adam certainly made an indelible contribution.”
~ Al Davis

We wish Adam and the Treu family all the best in the future and thank him for his service and are happy to know the treuth.

Draft Wrap Up

For a good analysis of all the Raiders picks, check out my man Ed's job here.

The Tatum Lie

Here is a lie Paul Zimmerman (a.k.a., Dr. Z) from Sports Illustrated made up recently regarding the Stingley-Tatum play:

"I saw the Patriots-Raiders game live. I saw replays of the play countless times. I don't believe that the tackle that took Stingley down was the hit that did the damage.

I think it came when he was on the ground, or just about to hit it. That's when Tatum drilled him and he was paralyzed."

This is where Zimmerman fabricated the lie that Tatum "drilled Stingley while he was on the ground and he was paralyzed."

And as you know, this is the actual hit, not Dr. Z's made up account of it.

What I see is:

Stingley stretches out to reach a Grogan pass that is thrown way off target and is uncatchable.

Stingley sees Tatum coming.

Stingley ducks his head expecting an impact with Tatum

Tatum rams the top of Stingley's head with his shoulder.

Please, anyone correct me if I have pulled a Mr. Magoo here. This looks like an accident to me.

Dr. Z has intentionally fabricated a story, saying he was himself an eyewitness to Jack Tatum hitting Darryl Stingley "while he was down."

I'm no lawyer, but written accounts accusing someone of a crime that are made up to defame a person sound like slander or libel to me.

Dr. Z has also stated "Jack Tatum will never make the Hall of Fame as long as I am alive."

This is where he made that statement.