FanPost

While Honoring Al Davis' Legacy, Oakland Raiders Taking the Identity of New Regime

Earlier in the week I made a post questioning Reggie McKenzie's hiring of Dennis Allen as well as some of Allen's own choices to fill his coaching staff. Someone even went as far as to dismiss it as mere negativity. While some reserve the right to take my words and construe them into whatever conclusion that they may, I sustain my undying allegiance to this team and organization. I am so passionate about the Raiders I will never apologize for sharing my opinions about whatever shortcomings I believe need to be addressed. With that said, some recent coaching hires along with a player cut has forced me to show the patience a new GM and coaching staff deserve.

I would like to start off by acknowledging a huge oversight by dismissing the hiring of Ted Gilmore as wide receivers' coach. For years I've been calling for Sanjay Lal's firing only to be met with cricket-chirping disregard by all. In one season Gilmore helped mentor Robert Woods into an All-American and even more impressively help lead Marquise Lee into a Freshman All-American. What makes this feat even more fascinating is the fact he had to report to that visor-wearing chode Lane Kiffin on a daily basis. I'm not surprised he accepted the opportunity to work with a football mind the caliber of Dennis Allen as soon as it was presented to him. Another big hire that many presume is the return of the dark ages is Frank Pollack as O-line coach. There are several factors that are being overlooked. One is Frank Pollack is not a wife-beating, Curly Howard look-alike that will ever get his hands on running the franchise into the ground. Another is while many Raiders fanatics consider the one-two punch of Dmac and Bush as the best in the league, where Pollack just came from in Houston boasts a higher yardage per game and per carry average combo with Foster and Tate. Also by retaining Al Saunders and Steve Wisniewski, Pollack and newly-hired Greg Knapp can do nothing but recognize what the offense did best and instill that into this new-look Raiders offensive jugernaut. Finally, Knapp and Pollack will be inheriting a huge upgrade in the passing game going from the seemingly, always injured Matt Schaub and T.J. Yates to a motivated and criticism-driven Carson Palmer. This makes for must-see TV as soon as training camp unfolds.

Lastly with a new defensive-minded personnel-department and coaching staff comes the dual acquisitions of Jason Tarver as DC and former Packer-player and Houston Texans' LB coach Johnny Holland as new Raiders LB coach. I agree with the rest of the mob by saying the firing of Yes-man Bresnahan automatically improves the team's overall defensive ranking in points and yardage allowed from 29th to somewhere in the 25-27 range alone. Now while the hiring of Stanford coach Tarver and the release of league leader in penalties, Stanford Routt may not improve the defensive ranking beyond 25th; it will most definitely force this team into being much more disciplined and no longer among the league's worst in penalties. In what I believe is the best addition to the coaching staff, Johnny Holland as linebackers coach will finally allow the likes of Kam Wimbley, Rolando McClain, and Aaron Curry to truly realize their potential they were expected, coming out of FSU, Alabama, and Wake Forest. This man has helped develop the likes of Demeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, and Brooks Reed into one of the league's best units. As for the players already on the roster, while I never can see Carson Palmer as a Super Bowl MVP, I can truly visualize Darren McFadden running into the night ala Marcus Allen in Super Bowl 18. Now, it's your turn, Nation! Which move do you believe is the best of the off-season so far? Also in the comments section, I want to know why you think so.