MVN: Most Valuable Network

Last offseason, I declared in a post that the Raiders had reached Rock Bottom, but with this latest episode, I have come to believe that statement was premature. With the continuous rumors emanating from Alameda regarding Lane Kiffin, Rob Ryan, Al Davis, and about everyone else involved with the Oakland Raiders the team has become the punchline of the NFL. As a lifetime citizen of the Raider Nation, this is unconscionable, the Raiders are supposed to be one of the elite teams in the NFL.

At this point there has been horrendous damage done to the Raiders' image around the league, regardless of whether or not any actual changes take place in the coaching staff. There is a case where perception can do more damage than reality. Al and Lane could be on a beach in the Bahamas sipping mai tais and checking out the girls in grass skirts laughing at the stories the media has been running with, but the image that the Raiders' front office is in a state of chaos resembling Iraq is already implanted in the minds of potential free agents and draftees.

It has gotten so bad that that Glenn Dickey, of the San Francisco Chronicle suggested that the NFL needs to step in to save the Raiders from Davis:

Goodell should step in and put Davis’ son, Mark, in control, and then give him the name of a competent football man who could help him make decisions.

That’s a move that would certainly be supported by other owners, as Kuhn’s moves against Finley were supported by other baseball owners. NFL owners know that, though they’re competitive, they also have to work together for the common good. That’s a concept that has never been accepted by Davis, who testified for the USFL in its antitrust suit against the NFL.

It’s also a move that would be supported by most Raiders fans, who have realized that Davis’ actions, especially the latest, the attempt to force out Lane Kiffin, have become increasingly irrational.

These are harsh words for a man who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and built the winningest NFL franchise for the first half of the Super Bowl era. ESPN.com went even further in exposing the abyss into which the Raiders have fallen by attempting to justify Randy Moss quitting on the Oakland Raiders:

"I'm a football player," Moss said. "That's what I do. Things really weren't going like I expected them to go. Not as an individual, but as a team. We had Derrick Burgess, Warren Sapp, a lot of guys that have names throughout this league. Expectations were high. Football wasn't a main priority around there."

How Moss handled things certainly was immature. But can anyone honestly blame him for feeling the way he did? People who hate their jobs don't give their all -- that's a simple reality. And usually the biggest reason people hate their jobs is because they aren't being inspired or developed.

Looking at the debacle the Raiders franchise has become -- and the wheels were in motion before Moss arrived -- is it unreasonable Moss wouldn't put it all on the line for that dysfunctional franchise? Just look at the problems the Raiders are having now with head coach Lane Kiffin, who seems to be lashing out the same way Moss did.

This article is pure drivel, because the 2006 Oakland Raiders would have been a better team had Randy Moss actually played football rather than spent the season pouting. The problem is that it reinforces the perception that the Raiders organization is poison to be avoided at all cost.

Even my colleague here at MVN, Ryan Brown of The Home of the Chiefs has gotten in on the Al bashing act:

But what I really want to talk about is how your decision-making and “ahem” leadership have managed to not only make your team a laughingstock across the NFL, but you have also insured that in the near future, the Raiders are not going to be successful, which is more than any Chiefs fan should hope for.

You hired Art Shell - twice! That was outstanding. It was always a highlight of any Raiders-Chiefs tilt when the cameras would cut to a shot of Art on the sidelines, and he had a look on his face like he had just walked in on his parents having sex. Then he would scribble some more of his seemingly endless pages of notes, while his team was called for their third holding penalty on the drive.

You keep running through coach after coach after coach - and now there’s the rumor that “the Nutty Professor” Denny Green will be replacing Lane Kiffin as your coach!

Each of these articles in their own way show how widespread the perception that the Raiders' organization has fallen into complete dysfunction. If these thoughts are occurring to sportswriters, including writers dedicated to rival teams, one can only imagine what kind of thoughts are going through the heads of the players who would be perspective employees of the Oakland Raiders. It wouldn't be surprising if perspective free agents have been on the phone with their agents saying, "keep me away from that mess. Yes, show me the money as long as it doesn't involve that disaster area in Oakland."

With this disaster coming to light during the week of the Senior Bowl, one has to wonder what kind of perception it left with the prospects that worked with Lane Kiffin and the Raiders' staff. It would not be a surprise to find that they spend their time whilst the Raiders are on the clock praying they don't hear their name called.

Certainly, the players drafted will suck it up and sign with the Raiders, but there are several big name free agents that the Raider Nation would like to see appear in Oakland. The question becomes whether or not they will even want to talk to Al Davis, Lane Kiffin, or whomever ends up becoming the coach if some of these rumors come to fruition. Certainly the lower tier free agents will listen, and likely ask to be overpaid to come into this perception of dysfunction.

With all that has been happening within the Raider organization, including the 19-61 record over the last five years and compare Al Davis to another Al. Al Bundy of the "I once scored four touchdowns in a single game for Polk High." fame. It would seem to compare directly to Al "The Raiders have won three Super Bowls, and the NFL was wrong saying that the '83 team was only the 20th best. They could have beaten any of these other teams." Davis. Comparing Al Davis to a stereotypical sitcom buffoon would be alpha-male is a false comparison.

Unlike Bundy, who was a legend only in his own mind, Davis is a historical icon for the greatness that he once achieved. A better comparison, whilst still imperfect, it captures the tragic nature of Davis's slow decline from greatness. Wily Loman of Arthur Miller's classic drama Death of a Salesman is much more of a tragic figure whose slow destruction comes from holding onto his ideal from the past. Even though his life had passed him by, he still believed that he could succeed by holding on to his ideal that he was "well liked" and he would knock them dead in (place city here). Al Davis has continued holding on to his ideal that "Its better to be feared than liked" and the greatness of the Raiders is in the future. The problem is that Al, like Wily has tried to recapture past success rather than looking towards the future and new ways to succeed. Wily Loman's decline ended with his decision to take his own life. Hopefully, it does not come to that for Al Davis, although it seems that his stubbornness is choking the life out of his life's work the Oakland Raiders.

Al Davis could have nipped all of this in the bud with a simple statement supporting Lane Kiffin when these rumors first started. The spark had become a wildfire before John Herrera finally issued a statement supporting Kiffin. That late in the game it was like taking a kitchen fire extinguisher to a firestorm. This needs to be addressed directly by Al Davis himself, or the perception of Al as the Wily Loman of the NFL will persist and ultimately outshine the brilliant legacy he created though his life.