Raiders continue on a wayward course

By Douglas Sulenta  |   Wednesday, May 09, 2007  |  Comments( 220 )

Oakland Raiders
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The moves that have made the Oakland Raiders a perennial resident at the bottom of the AFC West since 2003 continued this offseason as the team made a series of decisions that should confound even the most serious fan.

The first move in a series of oddities was the firing of Art Shell and the subsequent hiring of Lane Kiffin as Oakland's head coach. After stridently denying early reports that the Raiders were going to cut ties with Shell at the end of 2006, they did just that, firing the Hall of Fame offensive lineman after only one season at the helm.

Although Shell may not have been the best fit for the Raiders last season, what the team did was give him a handful of coal and ask him to turn it into diamonds. The Raiders were a vastly under-talented team last season, and Shell was made the scapegoat for a year gone wrong.

Sure, you couldn't always tell by Shell's disposition if he was on the sidelines of a football game or at the opera, but a man shouldn't be blamed for stoicism.

So to compound the original mistake of hiring Shell last season, they followed it by hiring the youngest head coach in the NFL, the 31-year-old Kiffin.

It's hard to imagine a coach who is younger than many of the players on the team coming in and commanding respect.

Granted, the players are all giving the right answers to the media now. However, once the team faces adversity during the season those very same guys who spoke out in support of Kiffin will be the same ones making 'unidentified' comments to the media about the questionable decision-making process of such a young coach.

This is just a ticking time bomb waiting to blow.

Two other dumbfounding moves were the acquisition of quarterback Josh McCown and wide receiver Mike Williams from the Detroit Lions in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

Granted, the price tag for the two players was right, but what did the Raiders really receive in this trade?

In McCown, Oakland has acquired another mediocre quarterback to add to an already full stable of weak signal-callers. Since coming into the league, McCown has been given several chances to prove that he's more than a backup. But what he's done is post a career 72.1 passer rating with four more interceptions than touchdowns.

Mike Williams is another player who has failed to live up to expectations since coming into the league. In his two years with the Lions, the former first-rounder caught a total of 22 passes, only two of which were for touchdowns.

However, the one quality move that the Raiders have made this offseason was to dump Randy Moss. Not only did they unload a big contract and an even bigger ego, but they also got rid of a guy who was sure to challenge the authority of Kiffin sooner than later.

So if nothing else, getting rid of Moss may keep Kiffin in control of this tempestuous group of players for a little bit longer. But it may only be a matter of time before adversity turns the roster against Kiffin and plunges the team back into the chaos its fans have become accustomed to.
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