Rest In Peace; Al Davis

So my plans for Saturday Night (Sunday Morning) didn't involve a post. But things changed when I woke up and checked out the general footballing news.

At first I couldn't believe it. The news was so out of the blue that I assumed it was some sort of double meaning headline, maybe suggesting that the man had been pushed out of the ownership or something and had 'died a little inside' or some other cliche phrase. I'm afraid not though. The headline was exactly what it said on the tin;

"Al Davis has died."

At 82 years old Al Davis, the owner and managing general partner of the Oakland Raiders, had passed away. One of the key figures in shaping the NFL of today had been lost. Across the country, and I like to think the world, many people paused for a moment to spare a though for Al and his surviving family.

For although many people, myself included, have been very critical of Al's decision making in the last few years, mostly with regard to player personnel and coaching, the legacy he leaves behind and how he impacted the game is undeniable, and worth recapping, if only briefly.

Al Davis, like most pro coaches of those days, started his career in college, filling various roles as a position coach, Head Coach and recruiter at a number of different universities. Then in 1960 he got his big break into the professional leagues, recruited onto Sid Gillmans staff at San Diego. He spent a few years there as the offensive ends coach, before finally coming into contact with the Raiders for the first time when he was recruited as their Head Coach and general manager in 1963 at the age of 33, which at the time made him the youngest man to hold said positions.

Davis would go on to win the AFL coach of the year award in his first season, as he installed his version of Gillmans high power, vertical passing offense. His first stint with the Raiders would last three years, in which the team did moderately well on field, while off it he began to forge the identity of the Raiders that would last until this day.

But in April 1966 he had other matters to attend to, as he was elected commissioner of the AFL. At first things were fine. The AFL and the NFL may have been involved in bidding wars for college prospects, but at least they had agreed not to poach each others players who were under contract. That came to an end when the New York Giants signed kicker Pete Gogolak from the Bills. The war had started and Al Davis got stuck right in, helping to bring a swathe of big names from the NFL to the AFL.

Behind his back though, a deal was being brokered. NFL owners, worried about the long term damage to their league, approached various AFL owners with talks of a merger between the two organisations. In June a deal was announced that would eventually see the two rival leagues come together, with the AFL disappearing and the NFL taking the center stage.

Davis, embittered at the penalty payments that the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders would have to pay to the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers respectively, as well as his belief that the AFL had capitulated when it could have gone on to be the superior league, stepped down in disgust. He had been commissioner of the AFL for just four months.

With plenty of time on his hands again, Davis bought a share of the Raiders and set in motion the events that would lead to his hall of fame selection. Named as the director of football operations, Davis oversaw a Raiders team that would go first to Super Bowl II where they lost to the Vince Lombardi lead Green Bay Packers, then won another two division titles, though in both cases were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual Super Bowl champions.

In 1969 another name well known to modern readers was brought into the organisation, when Davis hired John Madden to be the Raiders head coach. The Raiders became part of the new AFC Western division when the AFL and NFL finally merged, and Madden and Davis began building a future Super Bowl winning team. Controversy was still close at hand though, as it always seemed to be with Davis.

In 1972, Wayne Valley, one of the three Raiders owners (with Davis and Ed McGah being the others), went to Munich, Germany, to see the 1972 Summer Olympiad. He returned to find that Davis and McGah had signed a new and legally binding partnership agreement that significantly expanded the amount of control that Davis possessed over the team. This was really the true start of Al's effective control over almost every day to day operation.

Under this tenure, the Raiders went on to appear in another four Super Bowl's, winning three. In 1982 the Raiders moved to Los Angeles. In 1992 Davis was inducted into the Pro Football hall of fame by his old head coach, John Madden. In 1995 the Raiders returned to Oakland after having failed to secure the modern stadium that Davis so desired.

But it's not just the success on the field that will mark out Al Davis in footballing history. Off the field, Davis will be remembered for hiring the first Hispanic coach in NFL history, Tom Flores. He'll be remembered for hiring the first black head coach, Art Shell, way back in 1989 - almost 15 years before the much lauded Rooney ruling came into effect. And he'll be remembered for hiring Amy Trask as the Raiders chief executive officer, a rarity in a sport dominated by the male half of the species.

And yeah, he'll also be remembered for moves like trading his head coach Jon Gruden to the Buccaneers, for the famous over head projector press conference after firing Lane Kiffen, and for drafting JaMarcus Russell. For now though we should put the bad things to one side and acknowledge the good, safely knowing that when people look back in the future, the good that Al Davis did for football will out weigh the bad.

Rest In Peace; Al Davis.

AFC West, 2011 prospects

So with the labor dispute still rolling on, that means free agency seems a long way off still. Which is lucky in a way because it gives me a chance to finish doing my preview series. We've reached the AFC West now, with just the AFC North to go. So starting with; Denver Broncos: What a 2010 the Broncos had. After what seemed on the face of it like a season to build on in '09, the Broncos traded away Brandon Marshall and went out and spent a first round pick in the 2010 draft on Tim Tebow. Then everything fell apart. Finishing the season 4-12 and minus a Head Coach, Broncos fans are looking on bleakly at 2011. The hiring of Broncos legend John Elway as "Executive Vice President of Football Operations" did little to quell those fears, not least because while Elway may have been a great QB and is co-owner of an arena league team, he has no experience of high level football operations in the NFL. The only thing left for fans to concern themselves with was who would be hired as the teams next Head Coach. There were plenty of names out there, including some very talented coordinator level candidates. The choices were pretty open. The Broncos decided to go with John Fox, of 2-14 Carolina Panthers fame, and my arch Nemesis when it comes to picking winners. Hearts across Colorado sunk. But they mustn't be so hasty. For start, the Broncos look set to come out of free agency probably better off than any other team in the league. They have just five players on the unrestricted list; Defensive Tackles Marcus Thomas and Ronald Fields, OT Ryan Harris, RB Laurence Maroney and FB Kyle Eckel. That's literally it. That means that Denver is likely to head into 2011 with almost its entire team intact. Even though they have a new Head Coach and coordinator line up, the fact that everyone on the team knows each other should help to make the transition easier. It doesn't hurt either that they have the 2nd overall pick in this years draft. There is much speculation as to where they might go with this, but given Fox is a defensive minded coach, I can't see that pick going anywhere other than the defensive side of the ball. The most likely choice will either be a D-tackle or a linebacker, two positions which will probably consume most of the teams attention in the draft, possibly along with offensive line and tight end. So for 2011, the Broncos actually look in pretty good shape. They get OT Ryan Clady back from injury for a start. The lingering question is who will line up under center; Kyle Orton or Tim Tebow? I'll hedge my bets and say that it's not going to be Brady Quinn. Orton will stake a claim based on his performance in recent seasons. Tebow also showed promise, but he's still young and his playing time was limited. To be honest I don't envy John Fox having to make the choice. I still hate Fox though. So there. Either way, expect the Broncos to make a surprise challenge for AFC West glory. I'm tellin' ya! Kansas City Chiefs: Most Kansas City fans looked on glumly as the 2010 season rolled around. Then a surprise upset of San Diego set the tone for what would become a 10-6 season that stunned everyone and saw the Chiefs roll into the playoffs. Of course it all fell apart from there, but it's the thought that counts. The start of the 2011 season will, however, return most Chiefs fans back to their almost ingrained state of pessimism. You only have to look at their list of potential free agents. Thankfully they tied up Tamba Hali with the franchise tag, but the rest of the list makes for ominous reading. And no, I'm not talking about QB Brodie Croyle. Charlie Anderson, Corey Mays and Mike Vrabel are the linebackers potentially on the way out. There's wide receivers Terrence Cooper and Kevin Curtis. There's CB Travis Daniels and FS Jon McGraw. NT Ron Edwards. DE Shaun Smith. TE Leonard Pope. OT Ryan O'Callaghan. FB Tim Castille. And finally Centers Rudy Niswanger and Casey Wiegmann. I probably missed someone out amongst all that, but you get the idea. The Chiefs will potentially have no trained center for 2011, along with only just enough linemen to field the required 5. They'll be left with about 4 D-linemen as well by the look of it. In the draft, Kansas doesn't pick till number 21 which doesn't exactly leave them with much room to play when it comes to drafting down. That's a problem, because the Chiefs need players. They're probably gonna end up fishing in free agency to make up the difference. They have only two quarterbacks, none of which people should really trust too much (Matt Cassel is not a Pro Bowl quarterback). They have two great backs, but absolutely no true depth at the position. At wide out they're relying on Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers to stay healthy, because if either of those two go then their next best receiver is Dexter McCluster, who is good, but is also more of a slot receiver type as opposed to a down field beast. Their O-line has a strong core (Albert, Lilja, Asamoah), it just doesn't have anything else. They have no D-line anymore. Glenn Dorsey can only fit one spot at a time. The linebacking corps is ok, and if they can keep restricted free agent Brandon Carr then they won't be too bad at corner or safety. They could use some more depth, but at least the starting lineup should repeat the strong showing from last year, providing the Chiefs shore up that D-line, possibly with the aid of a first round pick. For 2011 then? A lot is riding on the offense, including the ability of Todd Haley and Offensive Coordinator Bill Muir to finally mold that unit into something useful. Last year they absolutely thrived off the back of running backs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, only to consistently shoot themselves in the foot by turning their back completely on the running game (see the playoff game versus Baltimore for a prime example). On that note, 2011 is anybodies guess. It might be another 10-6 year in the making. Maybe more? But I'm afraid I'm going to be a little more restrained and say that the Chiefs will probably slump again in 2011, especially if they don't get their respective lines sorted. Oakland Raiders: Just think, without Al Davis and the Raiders who would we all laugh at? That's true, the Redskins. But it's not as much fun as the annual saga that is the Oakland Raiders. This time they fooled us all by having their best season in a while and going 8-8, playing some half decent football along the way. Then right on cue, Al Davis fired the coach who had made it all happen, Tom Cable. Now the Raiders are back to square one. Hue Jackson will be the latest person to step up and take on the challenge of being the Head Coach at possibly one of the worst run teams in the NFL. Good luck with that Hue. Judging by your free agent list, you're gonna need it. Nnamdi Asomugha is the most obvious name. As yet the Raiders haven't used their franchise tag, if that tag even exists when free agency resumes. The deadline for applying it is passed, so unless there is some new provision for putting it in, then the Raiders appear to be happy to let Asomugha walk. That's surprising to say the least, given the Raiders usual lack of qualms when it comes to splashing big dollar amounts on players. Also on the unrestricted list is QB Bruce Gradkowski, Offensive Tackles Khalif Barnes, Mario Henderson and Langston Walker, Center Samson Satele, TE Zach Miller, FS Michael Huff and a few other names. The net result is a Raiders team looking suspect in 2011. The draft is going to be interesting, not least because the Raiders traded away their first round pick to the Patriots (part of the Richard Seymour deal). They could really use another tight end, especially if Miller is snapped up, a decent wide receiver to play opposite Jacoby Ford, a new offensive tackle (or two. Or three), a center, another linebacker and one or two decent corners. In short, a hell of a lot. So what does 2011 hold for the Raider nation? Jesus, I dread to think. Much is obviously riding on Hue Jackson, who we know little about in this kind of lead role. Personally the Raiders currently strike me as one of those teams that consists of a collection of talented names (to a degree), but is a long way from being a team. A long way. If they finish bottom of the AFC West I wouldn't be surprised. San Diego Chargers: In the end, the Chargers finished 2010 at 9-7. But few people would doubt that it was not what the Chargers had hoped for from the season. Special teams mishaps in particular killed more than just the one game. Phillip Rivers was good in general, as was the defense. Statistically the Chargers clocked up yards on one side of the ball and almost refused to give them up on the other. But points mean prizes in the NFL, not yards. And in points the Chargers were found wanting. If free agency finally happens in 2011, it's not going to go well for the Chargers. WR Vincent Jackson is locked up with the franchise tag. But Legedu Naanee is on the way out, along with Malcom Floyd and Kelly Washington. Linebackers Antwan Barnes, Kevin Burnett, Stephen Cooper, Brandon Moore and Brandon Siler are off. DE Jacques Cesaire and Travis Johnson might be joining them. So will TE Randy McMichael. RB Darren Sproles is on the list. Safeties Tyrone Carter, Paul Oliver, Pat Watkins and Eric Weddle will probably go as well. That's a lot of talent being dropped off the cart right there. In the draft the Chargers pick at number 18 overall. They could use a young QB, if only to serve as a backup to Phillips Rivers. They need a half decent receiver for depth. The offensive line has been a perpetual weakness. The D-line looks gutted. They'll be short at defensive back if they can't bring back some of their free agents. And they really, really need to find someone to captain that special teams unit! Other than that, all is well. No really, all is well. The defense might take a bit of a pounding in 2011, but they still have Phillip Rivers throwing the ball, with Vincent Jackson, Patrick Crayton and Antonio Gates playing catch. Jacob Hester is still one of the best Fullbacks in the league right now, and Ryan Matthews is a promising young running back. It's more a question then of whether the Chargers can avoid a) shooting themselves in the foot on special teams and b) avoid giving up large blocks of points on defense. If they can handle those two things, you have to think the Chargers have yet another great shot at winning the division. ---- In other news, just briefly, I've heard that the NFLPA is prodding an old horse again, looking for congress to bust the NFL's anti-trust exemption when it comes to negotiating TV rights. The result would be that each team would then be able to sell the rights to it's home games individually. That would, frankly, be the worst possible news for the players. It would mean teams like the Cowboys, Steelers, Giants and Jets could rake in huge sums for their home games, which wouldn't be shared with the likes of Detroit and Buffalo. While in many ways a full free market system would help the teams, that depends highly on them continuing to share TV money. Honestly, sometimes I just despair at the complete lack of brains that the players and their representatives seem to display.