Rope a Dope

By MikeBullock  |   Wednesday, January 27, 2010  |  Comments( 2 )

Oakland Raiders
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
In a rather un-Raider-like manner, Oakland has officially announced the hiring of Hue Jackson as the new offensive coordinator and Mike Waufle as the defensive line coach. For a team as usually tight lipped as the Raiders, this is a landmark week.

Jackson, the quarterbacks’ coach of the Baltimore Ravens for the last two years, has been credited with the amazing development of Raven signal caller Joe Flacco, arguably the best quarterback in Raven’s history. While the Ravens have had a few good men take snaps in their brief history, none have moved the offense the way Flacco has been able to in his two seasons. Flacco’s poise and ball security have brought multiple accolades his way. With that in mind, expectations are high for Jackson to duplicate that success with Jamarcus Russell.

Unfortunately, the major difference in the two young men is motivation. Flacco is overflowing with it and Russell appears to have none at all, unless trips to Las Vegas and the buffet line count. But, a large portion of a coach’s job is to motivate his players. If Jackson can do that with Russell, he may become the most celebrated OC in Raider history. Depending on the half full or half empty perception, however, he may also be the next patsy to get buried under the blame Davis should shoulder for questionable personnel decisions over the last three years.

Waufle has proven he can succeed in the Oakland system, having coached the defensive linemen from 1998-’03. If Davis can bring him the type of talent the team used to have on the line, Waufle should be able to plug the sieve like run game and help return the Raider defense to some semblance of respectability.

While the Raiders are foot lose and fancy free with press releases regarding new coaches, they remain noncommittal on the fate of head coach Tom Cable. Reading between the lines of the announcements for the new hires would indicate Cable is staying, as his experience working with Jackson and Waufle was pointed out in both of the aforementioned PR statements.

If Oakland can now address the needs of better offensive lineman, better defensive lineman and Jackson and Waufle can get one hundred percent effort from everyone under their watch, Oakland should be able to snap the most horrid seven year span in team history. This also hinges on the Raiders not wasting another first round draft pick on a second round player and repeating that through the first several rounds.

If nothing changes and Oakland is holding another top ten pick this time next year, expect Davis to blame it all on these new coaches. They’ve both stepped into the fire, they can either get hot or burn to the ground.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (2)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report