I am a Raider Fan

I am a Raider fan. I am not a Raider fan because I lived in Oakland as a kid. I am not a Raider fan because my dad raised me as a Raider fan. I am not a Raider fan because I saw them succeed as a kid. I am a Raider fan because my best friend in third grade was a Raider fan, and it made me want to be a Raider fan, too. It may seem like a strange reason, but from that moment on my fandom took hold in me. My passion for the Raiders is, by definition, fanatical. It is fun caring about something so much, no matter the reason. I cried when they lost to the Patriots in the Tuck Rule game in 2001 and I cried again when they lost to the Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVII. These were not reasonable reactions.  I hardly knew what was going on during these games. 

So, it is this passion that causes the current state of the Raiders to frustrate me so much. I am losing hope. The stadium is old and lousy. There are rumors of the team moving to another city. And, there is a total lack of hope that the team will turn things around in the future. The NFL is a league full of parity. Every team should at least be competitive in this league. However, the Raiders have managed to embarrass themselves against the Jets, Texans, and Dolphins this year. That is an unimpressive list of opponents. And, after tonight's Monday Night Football game¹, the unreasonably close game the Raiders played against the Patriots is starting to make a little more sense. Even the weaker teams in the league – the Bucs, Jags, Vikings, and Browns – have found a way to be competitive this year.  Why can't the Raiders be competitive in the NFL as well?  

I try to view the Raiders’ successes and failures with a bit of objectivity, but I am at a loss. I miss Hue Jackson’s creative play calling. I miss the explosive Jacoby Ford. I miss the young Darren McFadden.  I miss playing in a division that didn’t include Peyton Manning. I miss Asomugha. These were all parts of the Raiders that I enjoyed, even though they were all parts of the Raiders' twelve year stretch without a winning season. Sometimes, it seems like there is no hope on this team. Is Derek Carr the answer? Who cares. He is lost in a void of a sad, pathetic franchise. For the first time in fifteen or so years of being a Raider fan, I feel the urge to just give up on this team. It just doesn’t seem worth it. The potential successes of the franchise are dwindling, getting to the point where I am questioning whether it is truly worth it to stick with this team through these tough times.  

I started writing this post before Dennis Allen was fired. He is no longer the coach in Oakland. I guess this is the right decision. Normally, I am a strong believer in consistency at the head coaching position. I think a team needs to build around a single coaching philosophy, but Dennis Allen drove me crazy. Now, I don’t know if this was more the fault of his offensive coordinator, but Allen ran an incredibly predictable offense. His schemes lacked creativity, and his “defensive mind” never seemed to be on display. Two years ago, Allen was given a clean slate to work with, a head coach's fantasy in the NFL. Instead of taking risks and trying to do something differently, he fell into a predictable pattern, failing to build a competitive football team. Would a better coach have succeeded? Maybe not. However, I find it hard to believe that there aren't many better options out there. He had two and half years to build a team (a historically long leash for such a futile Raider coach), and he failed miserably.

It would be harsh to blame Allen solely for the first two seasons, but after the incredibly disappointing start to his third year, there could be no more excuses. McKenzie's plan was designed for the team to take a step forward in 2014. At this point, I just hope they win a game this season. Should McKenzie have been fired as well? I'm not sure. McKenzie came in and blew up a playoff contender in 2012. The Raiders had just put together back-to-back 8-8 seasons. A few changes could have propelled them to success. Instead, McKenzie cut all the top players, expelling pricey contracts from their payroll. It was known at that moment that the next two years would be sacrificed, in order to succeed in the future. Well, it's year three now, and this may be the worst the Raiders have been since McKenzie took over. His plan has failed. However, cleaning house and starting over does no seem like the answer right now. It seems so unreasonable for a team to enter a rebuilding season every few years, but that is seemingly what the Raiders have been doing for twelve years now.

I didn't go into this season expecting great things. McKenzie brought in old, untalented players to save a flailing franchise. He wanted them to be led by an aging veteran quarterback who was coming off the worst season of his career. Instead, he was forced to hand the reigns over to the inexperienced Carr. He inexplicably brought in an old, injury-prone running back to aid his current old, injury-prone running back. Meanwhile, even a healthy Darren McFadden has been woefully ineffective, failing to shake the weakest of open field tackles. Additionally, McKenzie lost one of his best players, Jared Veldheer, during the off-season, right when his team was supposed to take a step in the right direction. Being overly optimistic about this team would have been silly; however, even I didn't think the Raiders would be this bad.  There is little to be optimistic about.  Things look bleak for the Silver and Black.

Anyways, sorry about the sad fan post. I figure most people don't really care about the plight of other fans, but this is my blog and I'll write WHATEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE.

But don't worry everyone, there is more good stuff to look forward to from Brosh Knows Football! I'll be writing up a First Quarter Season Review later this week. Maybe examining other struggling teams will make me feel better!

Go Raiders.

1) The Chiefs defeated the Patriots in Kansas City, 41-14.