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Teams Las Vegas Raiders - The Black Hole

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Where would the A's go?. They make the threat to leave but don't say where.

Meanwhile Goodall suggests we may move to share with 9er's.
 
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GG said:
One of the most ardent & staunch fans of the Raiders; James Garner; has died @ the age of 86.
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R.i.P. J Garner..

I recall watching Rockford Files

 

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Q&A with Raiders owner Mark Davis

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

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Had a chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with Raiders owner Mark Davis Monday at an East Bay restaurant discuss training camp and his expectations for the coming season after an active off-season. A transcript follows:

Q: Commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea of the Raiders playing in Santa Clara as a possible solution while you’re working towards a stadium. What is your reaction?

Mark Davis: If you want to know what I think about the stadium issue, all you have to do is go back and read what I said. I’ve been consistent. I feel the same way still.

Q: When you hired general manager Reggie McKenzie and met the press for the first time, you said, “I know what I don’t know.’’ You’re in your third year as managing general partner and presumably have learned a few things. Has your level of involvement changed over time?

Mark Davis: No. I think when I said, `I know what I don’t now is a very truthful statement. When I said that, I said I’d hire people that know more than I know. A lot of people might have taken that to think I don’t know anything about this. But I’ve been in this 50 years, and the Raiders have been my life for 50 years. I know a lot about football. But I hired somebody that knows football personnel and I put him in a position to give the Raiders a chance to grow. I think letting him do his job is a real important thing. Do I know more than I knew then? I can’t say that I do. I suppose over the last few years I’ve learned a lot but at the same time I’ve been letting Reggie do the job.

Q: You went to combine this year, sat in interviews with players and participated in the process, that would suggest more of a hands-on approach, wouldn’t it?

Mark Davis: Again, I don’t know if you’re aware, but I was scouting for the Raiders back in the 80s. I was doing the Japan Bowl every year. I’d go to Japan every year with the college all-stars. One year it was Bo Jackson’s group. I’ve been in scouting and all that stuff before. I’ve never been that interested in the combine. I don’t get enough out of it. I like watching people play football. I think guys that are scouts, that are true scouts, they know what they’re looking for in players. I prefer to see football more so than running track and the 40. The interviews were interesting, but it was so fast, and these kids are so schooled in what they’re going to say, you don’t really get to know them. It’s the follow-up interviews and things of that nature that mean a lot. But it is good to see the kids, how they interact with others, but they’re so schooled now. And the agents are all there. It’s part of the process. The scouts get something out of it, the general managers, they get what they want out of it.

Q: In terms of free agency, did you at any point this year talk to any prospective free agents, or did Reggie take care of all that?

Mark Davis: No. Reggie took care of all that.

Q: Never a point where the owner steps in and talks to a free agent . . .

Mark Davis: It’s all the G.M.

Q: The one blip in free agency is when the Rodger Saffold situation came down, and you were clear in that you advised against signing him because of a shoulder injury. Did Reggie make the call on that or did you make the call? Or was it your advice that swayed Reggie?

Mark Davis: My advice to Reggie _ Reggie had the final say on it _ but I was pretty strong in the fact that if it was me, I wouldn’t do it. Reggie had the final say on it, but I would think I might have had a lot to do with his thought process. I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. I got a call in the morning from the trainer, and Rod Martin says I’ve got some bad news. And he said Rodger Saffold failed his physical. I said what do you mean he failed? He said in a report from St. Louis, he had a torn labrum. I had no ideal what a labrum was. He said it’s a shoulder muscle. They took him and did some pictures of him. I asked what does that mean? He said he could play with it, have pain, and play with it, but at some point it’s going to tear. We either let him play with it or we do the surgery now, fix it now, and he should be ready by training camp. I said what do you mean, should be ready? After last year, with DJ (Hayden) and the injuries and things like that and how things kept coming up, I got scared. There’s a lot of money on the line for this season with him. So I talked with Reggie, and said, he failed his physical and you’ve got to make that decision, but I wouldn’t go ahead and do it. And he decided not to do it. It’s one of those things you’ve got to make a decision on.

Q: But the decision was his?

Mark Davis; The decision was his. Every decision is his, because that’s his job. But at some point in time, I’ve got to have something to say, or at least be a sounding board for him. I would think more so than utilizing the power to say, `sign this guy, sign that guy,’ I would think that if anything I have the ability to veto something versus make him go ahead and do something. I haven’t utilized that.

Q: The Saffold situation aside, how did you feel about the offseason?

Mark Davis: I thought he did a phenomenal job. I’m real excited about the way the team looks. I think we had a good offseason. I really do. I think at the first rookie three-day camp, on the third day, No. 52 (Khalil Mack) made a play that made me go, `wow.’ So I saw a little bit of what Reggie saw in this guy. Now whether that’s going to translate into pads and into the game, I don’t know, but he showed he could be something special. When they had the mandatory camp with everyone in town, I saw a guy wearing no. 91, Justin Tuck. Certain football players, to me, I can see if they look like a pro. You know, a pro’s pro? And I can see that in him. So I was really excited about that.

Q: Tim Brown is of the opinion that bringing in all the veterans reminds him of 1998 through 2002, when veterans were brought in _ William Thomas, Jerry Rice, John Parella, Bill Romanwoski, etc. _and this is getting back to a Raider way of doing things. Do you agree with that assessment?

Mark Davis: Yes, but there was a good base here to put those guys on top of. We had that home grown base that those guys came in and did a pretty damn good job. And Jon (Gruden) also did a great job.

Q: This current team is more of a complete rebuild . . .

Mark Davis: There isn’t as much of a veteran base to put these guys on top of. You bring in Jerry Rice, but Tim Brown was already here. All those guys. Charlie Garner. Fantastic. They were guys that filled holes. This could more like the ’80 team maybe, that filled a lot of holes. Burgess Owens, Dwayne O’Steen, guys like that. This year we’re still bringing in a quarterback.

Q: Did it bother you when two organizational developed players _ Jared Veldheer and lamarr Houston – left in free agency _ you sat back and let Reggie do his job and it just happened that way?

Mark Davis: Absolutely.

Q: Was that disappointing?

Mark Davis: It’s part of the game. I was close with Veldheer’s family. His mom, his dad, his sister, his brother. I got along great with them. I guess it became a business _ which it is _ and they had to make a business decision. And that’s what they did. They made a business decision in Jared’s interests as far as they were concerned.

Q: You’ve been clear about the chain of command _ you hired Reggie, Reggie hired Dennis Allen as his coach. What’s your assessment of your head coacha through two years?

Mark Davis: I’ll let Reggie answer that, as I always have. I hired Reggie, and gave him the ability to build the football side of the organization, and results speak. That’s where it’s at.

Q: There was some optimism early on last year, but it ended with a six-game losing streak and there were debacles against Philadelphia and Kansas City. There was speculation as there always is that there would be some organizational changes. Yet you stayed the course. How come?

Mark Davis: Talking it over with Reggie and the game plan we had when I hired him, I believed we still had to give it time. Obviously nobody’s happy with the way that season ended. We’ll se what happens this year. This year is the year, there are no more excuses. We’ve done a great job of getting the cap in order, getting the financial thing in order, getting the whole roster in order so to speak. There are no upside-down contracts. And they got the coaching staff Dennis wanted this year. He got all the coaches he wanted to hire.

Q: Would you describe yourself as patient?

Mark Davis: (laughs). With my hands tied to the chair . . . I try to look ahead to the longterm. I truthfully didn’t feel we were going to win the Super Bowl last year before the season started, and that is the goal. But progress is a thing I would like to see. I haven’t seen it yet. And this year is the time to see it. It really is.

Q: Do you think the fortunes of the Raiders in terms of a stadium is at all tied to the won-loss record? Can a good season jump-start that process?

Mark Davis: No. Two separate issues.

Q: The coaching staff thinks Matt Schaub is a top 10 NFL quarterback, how did you feel about that acquisition?

Mark Davis: I don’t know. I don’t know. He’s been a very effective quarterback. The key thing, is do we trade for him, give up the sixth round pick? If they believe in him as much as they did, then it was a smart move to trade for him and get him in here early instead of going through free agency and losing that time. I think that was an effective move. I’m all for it. If it works, it’s great. You’ve got to have a quarterback. That’s why I went after Carson Palmer. I still think you need a quarterback.

Q: You mentioned Khalil Mack, everyone comes out of a draft optimistic, but do you have a sense that this year’s draft could be immediate contributors.

Mark Davis: I do.

Q: Based on feedback or what you’ve seen?

Mark Davis: On what I’ve seen. I use my own judgment. Like with Matt, I’ve got great hopes for him, but I want to see it. The draft choices, I saw something in that three-day minicamp. I think Derek (Carr) has got a chance to be a player in this league. Gabe Jackson looks like a monster. The corners (Keith McGill and TJ Carrie), big size guys. Jelly (Justin Ellis). I think we’ve got some football players. At that last mandatory camp, it looked like we had a team.

Q: You’ve always had a close tie to players, some of your best friends are former Raiders. Your dad once said he didn’t know if you could run a team because you were too close to the players and you couldn’t cut people. Although that’s Reggie’s job, you’re still in charge . . . have you changed your interaction with players?

Mark Davis: No, I haven’t. But I don’t know if I’m as close to the players as I was back then because I’m in a different era. It’s not the same as when I was a kid coming through the ranks. But I’m always going to be close to the players, that’s what it’s all about. My dad was probably right (laughs).

Q: The schedule is extremely difficult _ five games against last year’s final four teams _ opener on the road against the Jets, Week 4 in London after going to New England _ taking that into account, plus all the turnover again, is it realistic to think the Raiders could get to double-digit wins and be a playoff team?

Mark Davis: Right now, we’re undefeated. We’ll see. Have to take them one at a time. We always play the Broncos twice a year, we always play the Chargers twice a year, we always play the Chiefs twice a year. That’s nothing new. Playing the NFC West, they’re all strong right now. I think all four are strong to be honest. We’ve got the AFC East. New England and the Jets, two East Coast games. It’s going to be tough.

Q: The Super bowl is the goal . .

Mark Davis: Every year. But it’s been 30 years since we won one.

Q: But considering where the franchise has been the last 11 years, since the last Super Bowl appearance . .

Mark Davis: I don’t count that Super Bowl because we didn’t win it.

Q: But was a division champ and a conference champ . .

Mark Davis: OK . . . (Losing) the Super bowl is worse than what happened last year. It sticks in your craw. We got our ass kicked.

Q: But there was success . . ..

Mark Davis: Yeah, but you’ve got to finish. That’s what it’s all about.

Q: So you want to see progress. What would constitute progress in your mind with this team?

Mark Davis: You can feel progress. You can see it in games. Are we finishing games? Are we starting off games well and not finishing them? There were games last year where we didn’t show up. The Kansas City game. One play four times? The same guy (Jamal Charles) scoring four touchdowns? Philadelphia, seven touchdown passes? It wasn’t there. That can’t happen anymore.

Q: Fans are constantly coming up to you with encouragement, support, suggestions, do you sense an increased level of optimism based on fans that you’ve talked to because of the offseason?

Mark Davis: I don’t see anything different this year in fans. I think Raider fans are realistic. Pretty smart bunch of people, really.
 
NFL: The Raiders Could Leave Oakland for LA as Early as January
Matt Reevy Google+ Twitter | More Articles
July 22, 2014
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Al Bello/Getty Images

The NFL is actively trying to move back into the Los Angeles market, which has been vacant since 1995, and the Oakland Raiders are among the teams that could be slotted back into the area, fifteen years after they left. The league is so invested in the idea that they’re considering financing a new stadium themselves, something that, quite simply, is not done under normal operating circumstances. As for Oakland, which seems perpetually stuck in limbo regarding NFL necessary updates to the O.Co Coliseum and the passionate support of their Bay Area fanbase, this is just the second most offensive idea — the worst being the idea that the team would move in with the San Francisco 49ers in their new arena in Santa Clara.

“Whatever gets us a team in L.A., that would be awesome,” Robert Craft, the owner of the New England Patriots, told The Los Angeles Times. “Whatever it takes, I know I’d be willing to support.” The paper went on to detail a relatively tight timeline for how the whole process would play out should a team be moved, the crux of the matter falling on how to avoid a dead season while still having time to sell season tickets to fans in the new market. The result? The last two weeks in January. If anything goes down at all, it won’t be revealed until then.

While the NFL has already had two and a half teams crash and burn in Los Angeles already, the presence of a professional football team playing in the country’s second largest city has an unmistakable allure for the league office, an allure that usually manifests itself right now as a convenient bit of extortion when it comes time to ask communities for more money to build new stadiums. If the Raiders move to L.A., they will not be forced to cohabitate with another team — one of the main reasons they moved back to Oakland in ’95.

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George Rose/Getty Images

Comparing two situations that took place nearly two decades apart will have inevitable problems, and the Raiders ownership has, at least publicly, never considered leaving Oakland for another destination. That said, it’s hard to envision another team that’s so suited to a quick move, especially given the quagmire that has developed between the Oakland Athletics, the Raiders, and the city itself.

The ongoing legal battle that’s developed over the A’s new lease, which is set to be for ten years at the current O.Co Coliseum, is labyrinthine, but essentially this is what’s happening: The MLB wants to move the A’s to San Jose, the NFL wants to knock down the O.Co and build a football-only stadium on the site, and the city of Oakland wants the A’s to build a new, separate stadium in their city — something they contend has never been in the baseball team’s plans. To further complicate matters, there are fears that a long-term lease signed by the A’s could “force out the Raiders without securing a commitment from [A's co-owner Lew] Wolff to build in Oakland,” per the San Jose Mercury News.

This time last year Victor Matheson, a Holy Cross economics professor, was asked about the likelihood of an LA move for the silver and black and concluded that the team’s chances of staying in Oakland were were bleak. “It sucks to be an Oakland Raiders fan—not a Raiders fan, but an Oakland Raiders fan,” Matheson said. One year later, and not much has changed.
 
Picking up on the last line above I gotta say I am feeling a lot better after this off season. Still not sure about left tackle, corners and WR. Apart from Streater. I can see us running the ball a lot this season.
 
Notes, quotes and anecdotes from Raiders training camp — Day 1

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Steve Corkran

The Raiders kicked off training camp with an up-tempo, pass-happy practice that pleased the hundreds of fans in attendance, the players and, most important, coach Dennis Allen.

“For the first day of practice, it was a pretty clean practice,” Allen said. “We worked well. We’ve still got a lot of improvement that we’ve got to make. It’s step one of a long journey. … We took a step forward.”

Allen’s assessment seemed spot-on, at least to the naked eye. Then again, it’s tough to get a great gauge for things when players aren’t banging into each other, tackling or going all out.

That comes Sunday, when the Raiders are permitted to practice in pads for the first time this season. Allen doesn’t need to wait until Sunday to know what he expects from his team this season.

“You have to push the chips all in every year,” Allen said. “Nothing is promised in the NFL. We’re here for one reason, and one reason only, and that’s to win games. We understand that what we’ve done around here in the past has not been good enough. We understand the task ahead of us and we’re fully committed to getting that done.”

That process kicked into high gear Friday, with the start of training camp. Things crank up even more Sunday, when the players don pads and get after each other.

If Friday is a harbinger of any kind, the Raiders are going to come out firing, working hard to get better and making strides toward improving upon last season’s 4-12 finish.

– The offensive line looked the same as it did throughout all the offseason workouts and three-day minicamp: From left to right, Donald Penn, Khalif Barnes, Stefen Wisniewski, Austin Howard and Menelik Watson. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon, either, unless a player gets injured.

– Five players fielded punts, including returners Denarius Moore and Greg Jenkins and veteran running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

Taking a look at Jones-Drew isn’t some camp novelty, either, Allen said.

“That position has not been settled yet,” Allen said. “He’s a guy that when he came into the league, he’s done that some and he’s done it at a high level. He’s a guy that I wanna take a look at down there. I think we wanna go into this training camp with an open mind and really open up to all possibilities of guys.”

– The temperature soared past 100 degrees Friday. None of the players complained, passed out or complained. Allen welcomed the kind of hot day that the Raiders avoided in recent years during training camp.

“That’s what training camp is all about,” Allen said. “If you want to be a mentally tough team and you want to be able to win in the fourth quarter, you have to go through experiences like this where you have to push yourself through the heat, don’t give into it and you’re able to still go out and execute your job at a high level.

“One hundred degree heat is no comparison to what it will be like the pressure of opening day. Our guys handled it pretty well.”

– Miles Burris worked alongside rookie Khalil Mack and Nick Roach as part of the linebacking corps with the first-team defense. Sio Moore worked with the second-team.

Moore supplanted Burris as the starter last season when Burris’ surgically repaired knee took longer than expected to heal. Moore retained the job even when Burris was cleared to play.

Burris spent most of his time on special teams. Now he is back to full strength and giving Moore all he can handle in terms of competing for the starting spot.
“It’s going to be a great competition there at the ‘Will’ linebacker spot, to see who can step out and take that role over,” Allen said.

Based on how well Burris looks so far, Allen said, it’s not a stretch to envision Burris in the starting lineup in the regular-season opener.

“My expectation is that he’s going to compete to be a starting linebacker for us,” Allen said. “Now that will be determined by how we go through training camp and the preseason. There’s a lot of time between now and the time we open up against the New York Jets. But I like where he’s at right now.”

– Every player on the 90-man roster that is deemed healthy was on the field and taking part in drills today. That included defensive lineman Antonio Smith, who missed most of the offseason with an undisclosed injury.

– Veteran wide receiver Greg Little arrived in Oakland with a well-earned reputation for dropping too many catchable passes.

On Friday, Little dropped one such pass. However, he caught everything else thrown his way and looked the part of a receiver that can not only make the Raiders 53-man roster but make a contribution.

“Since he’s been here, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Allen said. “He’s been a real pro about the way he has gone about his job. His job, just like everybody else out here, is going to be to focus in and continue to work to get better on a day in and day out basis.”

He averaged 52 receptions for 607 yards in his three seasons with the Browns. That far exceeds the production the Raiders got from the likes of Juron Criner, Brice Butler and Andre Holmes last season.
 

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Raiders training camp wrap: Day 3

By Levi Damien on Jul 27 2014, 9:39pm

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports


It was pads day! Well, it wasn't quite as exciting as all that. There were a few drills you wouldn't normally see but otherwise, it was all conditions normal.

First up is the absences. Newly out was tight end Jake Murphy who suffered a concussion in yesterday's practice in a collision with linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu. He will have to go through the concussion protocol before he can return. Kaluka Maiava is still out with his hamstring injury.

Returning to action was rookie fourth rounder, Keith McGill who was on the PUP list the first two practices with an ankle injury he sustained in the training camp conditioning test.

Linebacker Marshall McFadden didn't finish practice with what Dennis Allen believes is a hip flexor injury. Allen also had this to say about Rod Streater following practice:

"Rod Streater came down pretty hard out there and didn't return. I'm not sure exactly what that is. It might be a head, but I'll have to get with [head athletic trainer] Rod [Martin] and find out exactly what that was."

I didn't witness him get injured so I am not sure how it happened or how bad it may or may not be. We'll know more tomorrow.

The first new drill we saw were the receivers versus the corners in a jam drill. The corners try to jam the receivers at the line and the receivers try to break it. This was an interesting drill, actually.

The star of the drill was Andre Holmes. The corners couldn't hardly touch him at the line. First it was TJ Carrie who went for the jam only to grasp at Holmes' shadow. Then it was Taiwan Jones who was left in the lurch. The best jam came from newly returning, Keith McGill who locked up Juron Criner pretty good. That could just as likely be Criner's problems in that area as it is McGill's prowess. Criner has struggled with shaking corners and getting open over his two seasons in the NFL.

Another drill we saw for the first time this camp was rushing drills. These in particular were blitz pick-up drills where running backs were blocking linebackers and defensive backs. Sio Moore started it off with a nice swim move around the edge to easily get around Latavius Murray.

The best block was by Jamize Olawale who you could hear his pads clap with those of linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu and he stood him up.

The worst blocking performance came from George Atkinson III who twice was knocked on his back - first by linebacker Carlos Fields and then by linebacker Nick Roach. Blocking was something Atkinson struggled with in college as well. That won't get it done.

Matt Schaub looked better today than he had the previous two days of camp. He still doesn't throw lasers like Carr but that makes Schaub's passes easier for the receiver to handle.

Schaub was dealing today. His worst pass that I saw was still a completion, it just was a missed touchdown because Brice Butler had to slow down to get it. Just a few passes before that, he led Butler for the touchdown.

While Schaub was on point, James Jones was having his way today. He was unguardable and Schaub found him time and time again. Jones beat Chimdi Chekwa, then had a back shoulder grab over Tarell Brown twice. Then he finished things off by going up high and pulling down a pass from Derek Carr between Brandian Ross and TJ Carrie.

With the talk of Schaub's day, the pass of the day comes from Derek Carr who threw an perfect long ball to Denarius Moore who got behind Chance Casey. Moore cradled the pass in just inside the endzone. They don't get much prettier than that.

Matt McGloin struggled today. His favorite receiver seemed to be Mike Davis and yet he rarely made the connection. He threw one for Davis that was intercepted by Jonathan Dowling. Later he threw behind Davis and incomplete. Then late in practice he has a good throw to Davis only to have Neiko Thorpe punched the ball out of his arms.

That Dowling interception was the only pick of the day and the defensive play of the day.

Much to our disappointment, and therefore yours, is as far as pass rushing, there was nothing to see. Everyone wants to know how Khalil Mack looked and I can't comment because there were no pass rushing drills. He was looking forward to putting on pads but it all seemed rather anticlimactic. It will have to wait until the next padded practice.

Back again tomorrow. No telling when they'll be back in pads from here on out. We'll just have to open that surprise when the team hits the field each day. As usual, clack that there button below to follow along on Twitter. I am, like, crazy exciting. Don't miss a minute!
 
Late Night twitter chat in the wee hours of the morning with Chris Hansen talking Raiders. I am too lazy to edit it but here's the gist of it.

Christopher
Hansen@ChrisHansenNFL · 4h

With guys like Tuck and Woodson I tend not to get too worried if they aren't dominating camp. Saving the juice for games.

I'd like to see more from Tuck and Woodson. Still early. RT @og_gin: has there been anyone in camp who has been disappointing so far?

I see positive signs. RT @beto_42: @ChrisHansenNFL will @CelReece45 finally be prominently featured in the passing game?

When did I say that? No, I don't. RT @laker_r8erfan: @ChrisHansenNFL you really
think raiders move out of state?

Tough to say because OL is so much better. RT @obiJuan__: @ChrisHansenNFL how much improved is the D line looking?

Has looked like worst of bunch so far. RT @EmilioCruz35: @ChrisHansenNFL what about Chance Casey?

Might be true that Raiders haven't signed a CB because they expect Hayden back, but young corners playing well is another reason.

Neiko Thorpe has impressed me so far. Raiders young DBs are looking so much better than last year.

No. He's done. RT @gramcraccr: @ChrisHansenNFL U think Asante Samuel has enough left to warrant a look?couldn't hurt IMO

No major concerns at the moment. RT @marklubienski: @ChrisHansenNFL Still
feeling good about Penn and Watson? Any concerns there?

James Jones. RT @TotallyTaran: @ChrisHansenNFL Best WR in camp so far?

Keep eye on Erle Ladson. RT @JV_Raider: @ChrisHansenNFL Which UDFA
player/players you think can make the 53 man roster?

Guess is as good as mine. RT @AP_sports1: @ChrisHansenNFL How's my
man Janokowski doing?

His routes are ugly and he's dropping too many balls. RT @Stanto68: @ChrisHansenNFL Is Holmes not doing much?

Doesn't look like it at this point, but possible. RT @vagrantkaw: You have Moore 4th on the depth chart? Is he a possible preseason cut?

Around 10 is realistic. RT @Kam_IsTheMan: @ChrisHansenNFL how many
sacks do you think Mack will get this season?

If they keep 6 he has great odds. RT @3170d8abfb20416: @ChrisHansenNFL thoughts on Brice butler making the roster?

Not to that extreme. RT @clankfu: Any truth the report that Rogers looks out of shape and getting burnt left and right?

Ate up Atkinson in pass rush drill the other day, but so did everyone. RT @JV_Raider: @ChrisHansenNFL how carlos fields #44 looking?

Ausberry, but both mix in. RT @Steve_Naranjo: @ChrisHansenNFL who wins
TE battle, ausberry or rivera?
 
Reece has dropped weight and looking impressive.
Mack been pancaking a few TE's.
Carr has been throwing but only with the backups.
 
May be why he went after a TE.
 
For Oakland Raiders, Ray Guy was no slam-dunk pick

By Jerry McDonald jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted: 07/31/2014 06:29:30 PM PDT

If the Raiders hadn't been stacked at other positions, the first pure punter to have his bust bronzed in Canton, Ohio, might never have worn silver and black.

Ron Wolf, one of Al Davis' chief personnel men at the time, recalls the selection of Ray Guy with the 23rd pick of the 1973 NFL draft as difficult, mainly because guard Joe DeLamielleure of Michigan State had the look of a future Hall of Famer.


"There was a long discussion, and I'm not sure what swung it. I think more than anything else, it was about field position," said Wolf.


That discourse with Davis led to a selection of a punter out of Southern Mississippi that defied convention and, with this enshrinement class, became historic. When Guy goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame via the veterans committee on Saturday, he will become the 22nd player in franchise history to be so honored -- and finally the league's first punter.


DeLamielleure, who went to the Buffalo Bills three picks later, first heard two years after the draft the story of being passed over for a punter (the Raiders had a future Hall of Famer at guard in Gene Upshaw). In New Orleans for the Pro Bowl, DeLamielleure and his wife entered a packed restaurant and saw Davis, who was dining with his wife, Carole.


Davis motioned for DeLamielleure to stop by the table, and told him how he almost became a Raider.


If Davis was hoping to get a rise out of DeLamielleure, he instead got validation.


"I said, 'Mr. Davis, you made the right choice,' " DeLamielleure said when contacted by phone this week. "I said, 'You'll never see a right guard win a game, but I saw Ray Guy win a lot of games for you. Good pick.' "
Former Raiders coach John Madden remembers Guy's selection as a slam dunk.

"That was our opportunity to get the best player at his position, and not only that, but the best player ever at his position," Madden said. "We didn't have one person against that."

The draft selection came as a shock to Guy, who was recovering from a foot injury and hadn't heard anything from the Raiders until the club dispatched scout Ken LaRue to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a visit three days before the draft.

"That was the first time I knew the Raiders were interested in me," said Guy, who was also a standout free safety and hoped to continue playing defense in the NFL.

At his first training camp in Santa Rosa, Guy got off several punts before Madden tried to shut him down in order to keep him fresh. Guy replied he was only warming up. Then the real show began.

"I had never heard anything like the sound and never seen anything like the height and distance," Madden said. "It's like when a guy hits a golf ball and it sounds different than yours. His ball sounded different."

The first time Guy stepped on the field in the defensive backfield at a Raiders practice, Madden ordered him to the sidelines, unwilling to risk such an explosive right leg when he already had Jack Tatum, George Atkinson and Charles Phillips at safety.

Having handled all the punting and kicking duties at Southern Miss in addition to intercepting 18 passes in three years as a safety, Guy conceded in a conference call that being a specialist was a difficult adjustment.

"I had to get that mentality of being a starting safety and hitting people out of my mind and then focus on being a punter," Guy said.

Guy desperately wanted teammates to know he was a football player in every sense.

"I know a lot of them were thinking, 'What is Al doing? He drafted a punter as the No. 1 draft choice? How is that going to help?' " Guy said. "After the first day, it was obvious I was more than a punter. I was a team player in every sense."

When Guy was selected, Atkinson said, "We're like, 'What's with that pick?' First-round draft picks were skill position guys, pass rushers or linemen."

Then Atkinson dropped back for the first time to field a Guy punt, and felt different.

"I'd caught all the best punters in the NFL, and his were harder to handle because they fell harder and with more force," Atkinson said.

Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown assumed Guy was selected as a safety who would also do the punting.

"But once I saw him punt, I thought, 'Oh, boy, we've got another weapon,' " Brown said. "We knew the opponent would always be on the other side of the 50-yard line, and there was a good chance they'd be back at the 10 or 15."

Despite being a finalist seven times as a modern era candidate for the Hall of Fame, Guy was never elected. Last August, he was a seniors nominee, and he was elected Feb. 1.

DeLamielleure, voted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, spoke on Guy's behalf last August to the seniors committee.

"I didn't have a vote, but I talked to the voters about why he should be in," DeLamielleure said. "He got picked before me, and he should have been in the Hall of Fame before me."
 

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He has also been impressed with the Raiders rookies, particularly first-round selection LB Khalil Mack. “Khalil Mack is a quick study. He’s practicing with the starters,” said Mariucci. “They’re asking him to play the outside linebacker spot in their base defense and they’re asking him to play in different spots in their nickel package, but he’s very active. He’s very quick. He’s a big guy that can move. Jason Tarver, the defensive coordinator, told me that he’s made only four mental mistakes the whole training camp so far. He can handle where there’s a lot of new stuff coming at him. He’s capable of learning it quickly and I think they’re expecting huge things from Khalil Mack

from raiders.com after day 8 practice
 
Raiders tight end Mychal Rivera, after strong rookie season, hopes for a big leap in both wins and stats in 2014
Posted on August 2, 2014 by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Filed for print plus extra notes . . .
After finishing fifth among all NFL rookie tight ends in receptions, the last thing on the mind of Mychal Rivera was to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

“I really looked in the mirror at myself,’’ Rivera said Saturday after the Raiders completed a controlled scrimmage. “I knew I could do a lot better than I did last year, even though people were surprised at what I did. I have high expectations of myself.’’
 
Doesn't sound like he has much of a shot of beating out Ausberry if Aus stays healthy.
 
Could play 2 TE's. Rivera is more of a run/catch guy than a blocker. We are still short on WR anyway.
 
First depth chart is out.

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Notes:
Greg Little is above Denarius Moore. Not sure if that is Little playing well or Moore playing terribly.

I would assume Boothe would move over to RG if Howard got hurt, but this team is best if Bergstrom doesn't step on the field.

Jack Crawford is terrible.

Sio claimed first string Will, which Burris had coming into camp. Sio lost the Sam spot when Mack was drafted, and he had to adapt to playing on the weakside for the first time in the pros. Looks like he's done that.

Carrie looks to be the best CB out of this draft class at these early stages. Interesting.

Might be trying Taiwan Jones returning kicks again. He wasn't very good the last time that was the plan.
 
Some good depth at second. Must be a good season.
 

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