FanPost

Rich vs Jon - what a difference down the stretch!

Rich B just accomplished something that Gruden NEVER did even just 1 time in any of his 15 seasons as a HC. Rich has a 3 game winning streak starting after mid November. Teams responding positively to their HC start winning football games down the stretch - an unusual sight for us Raider fans over these last few yrs as we became accustomed to seeing the polar opposite.

More than likely the Raiders season would have been over by now if Gruden was still HC. We all know way too well how Gruden-led teams stopped playing for him and crumbled to close seasons out. Young Chucky or old Chucky....didn’t really matter. Jon’s last 6 full seasons (3 with us and his last 3 in TB) his teams went 10-25 from week 12 on to finish the year.

It’s inconceivable IMO that any Raider fan would think Rich B shouldn’t receive at least 1 more yr as the Raiders HC if he finishes on a 4 game winning streak to get this team into the playoffs. The last time the Raider organization finished a regular season on a 4 game win streak was 1990!

Some Raider fans (you know the ones clamoring for continuity and wanting to get back to winning) say they’d want to get rid of a guy who accomplishes something that hasn’t been done in the past 31 seasons for this organization if he wins next Sunday but gets bounced in 1st rd of the playoffs?!

Look at the way this team has responded to Rich B and compare it to his predecessor - night and day! The Raiders players would have been booking vacation plans for the offseason last week if Chucky was still around. If the Raiders win next week, Mark should announce Rich B’s new contract that night as that would be one hell of an accomplishment considering what this team has been through.

How quickly our fans grading system has changed in evaluating a HC. Just one yr ago: "We’re improving...went from 4 wins to 7 and now 8 wins. That’s real improvement. Can’t change now - we’re on the right track"

To now: "8 wins to 10 wins and a playoff berth.....nah - that’s not good enough. You must win at least 1 playoff game or he’s out!".

Jekyll and Hyde had more in common than some of these Raider fan’s take on evaluating the HC position.