Oakland Raiders Ready To Silence Critics And Protect Legacy Of Al Davis.

Terrell White – Jul 20, 2012

Holla At Me Raider Nation!

Well, it must finally be time to play some football! Why do I say this? Simple, the Raider hating "talking heads" have awoken from their winter slumber, and have commenced to begin speaking out of their anuses; a sure sign that football season is upon us.

In case you weren't aware, or haven't read fellow Raider Nation Times writer Jerry Rump's article, Collin Cowherd, a so called - I guess you would say "analyst" suggested some nonsense about retracting the Oakland Raiders from the NFL.

Now, Collin Cowherd hasn't been alone in speaking out negatively about our beloved Raiders. I'm sure that Raider Nation is aware of the fact that media members like Ron Jaworski, Mark Schlereth, Chris Berman and Shannon Sharpe, (to name a few) have all had negative things to say about OUR team; I always listen to what the critics have to say—this way I can laugh at them when their wrong.

In all fairness I do have to say that I've personally heard Jaworski and Berman on different occasions say positive things about the Raiders, only to have the team disappoint everyone with a loss. However, as I told you when the so called experts start talking crap, it's time to play some football. This season things are just a bit different.

This year, the Raiders are missing Al Davis.

What is going on right now is very simple. The Raiders and their fans are being tested. Think of it in these terms: The Raiders are a "Family" (think mafia). The God-Father of the family has just passed away, and a new God-Father is now at the head of the family.  Now, the Raiders are a family with enemies; numerous enemies. Some powerful, some under the impression that they're powerful. With the God-Father passing it's only natural that our enemies test the resolve of the rest of the family.

After all - the saying is that if you cut off the head of a snake you kill the body. I guess they didn't know that a Raider is more like a hydra; you cut off one head and two rise to take its place.

Now I know that many of the Oakland Raider supporters have been writing about how it's "a new day in Oakland". In many ways that is a true statement, however what's going on right now has nothing to do with these gentlemen. Al Davis may be gone, but his spirit and his essence lives on.

The Oakland Raiders are the physical, living embodiment of Al Davis. Say what you want about the man; feel how you want to feel about the man. Two things are true no matter what side of the fence you sit on when it comes to Al Davis. 1) Al Davis LOVED the Oakland Raiders 2) There would be no NFL as we know it without Al Davis.

These two things are undisputable FACTS!

With the passing of Al Davis, Raider Nation should not be surprised to see and hear their haters out in force. After all, if you diminish the Raiders, you diminish the Al Davis legacy. Raider Nation knows all to well that the NFL "powers that be" would love nothing more than for the legacy of Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders to fade into the NFL abyss. 

However, Raider Nation also knows that Al Davis gave us many memorable quotes; One being "The greatness of the Raiders lies in their future." That brothers and sisters is a future that the NFL fears. Why? The answer is simple. All future Raider greatness gets traced back to one source. A man who is more intimately linked with his team than any other. A man with an NFL resume like no other. Simply put, a man like no other - Al Davis.

Now, I didn't leave you with Al's quote about the greatness of the Raiders lying in their future as some sort of sign of him being egotistical. This wasn't about Al, it was about the Raiders. Al knew he would not live forever. He also knew that the Raiders already had the blue prints they would need for future success.

The Raiders formula really is simple. The defense can bend, but should never be broken. The defense must also punish (I didn't say injury, I didn't say hurt) their opponent. The offense should be explosive. Moreover, you need to be aggressive with your off the field dealings.

Now I know that this all sounds like common sense however, 30 years ago no one was thinking about the things that were in the mind of Al Davis, the man was ahead of his time.

Al could not control the fact that Bo Jackson got hurt in that playoff game against the Bengals, and Buffalo went on to lose one of their four straight super bowl appearances as a result. Nor could he control the debacle that transpired that snowy day in New England. I also highly doubt that he was hoping that the Eagles would lose yet another NFC title game; forcing our beloved Raiders to play against the teams former coach in the super bowl.

Now I don't need to be greedy. Buffalo you can keep your for straight super bowl losses. However, NO WAY should we have lost that game in New England; WE WERE ROBBED, plain and simple. Moreover, NO WAY  do the Eagles beat that Raider team in the super bowl! Unlike Tampa Bay they wouldn't have known all of our plays!

But, I digress.

That would give the Raiders a total of five Vince Lombardi trophies. Now, Al Davis doesn't need super bowl trophies. The fact is as I stated, Al Davis is one of the pillars upon which the foundation of the NFL itself is based. However, nobody in their right mind would ever suggest retracting a team that had won five Vince Lombardi trophies; no disrespect to the three we already possess.

What I believe Al meant when he said "The greatness of the Raiders lies in their future." is this: The formula is in place. The people are in place. The only things left to do are to pass down the foundations of the formula, educate the next generation of people and aggressively follow another one of Al's famous quotes "Take what we want".

So, sure the people who are associated with the Raiders now are new, however, the formula is not. The Raiders WILL get back to fundamentals. The team WILL be smarter, but still aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. The Raiders WILL be explosive on offense (the likes of which we haven't seen in a few seasons). Off the field the Raiders WILL still be the Raiders. What that means is don't be surprised to see a move like one that would have Mr. Owens visit our neighborhood (and be productive) some time this season.

I mentioned some memorable losses. Now I think it's time to mention some memorable wins!

For example how, after their "deception" we got to stick it to the Steelers in that AFC title game! I mentioned a snow game. I'll give you a snow game. It took place on a very cold day in Cleveland and was won by Oakland aggressively coming up with an end zone interception on "Red-Right-88." I also gave you a super bowl loss. Well how about a super bowl win! Take the one Oakland had against the Redskins. Jack Squirek with that interception touchdown! Moreover, I still defy anyone to show me a more beautiful touchdown run (in a super bowl) then the one Marcus Allen had in that game.

Allen wasn't just "Running with the night." He was running away with the Eagles hopes of winning!

Now, I'm not saying that the Raiders are going to win every game. This is Oakland and we will always have to endure tough losses. However, losses can't stop the autumn wind! I fully expect the Raiders to play at a high level, not only this season but in the future as well.

The men that Al Davis has entrusted the Raiders to (his son Mark, Ron Wolfe, John Madden, and company) have nothing but LOVE for our franchise. They believe that they've hired the men who can best pass down The Fundamentals to this generation of Oakland Raiders. Now as I said, I don't expect the Raiders to win every game. However, I do expect the team to have a lot more wins than losses.

Winning has may functions. One of which is to silence critics. Raider Nation also needs to continue to do its part! Keep wearing your silver and black! (And not just on game day, or after a win.) When these so called experts start talking out of their rectums, make sure we attack them using our BRAINS! Let's remind them that Raider Nation does have intelligence. Moreover, if you have season tickets make sure you go to the games and support our team, all four quarters.

It's a three pronged attack.

The teams performance combined with support from Raider Nation along with aggressive off the field moves will send the hates a clear message. The God-Father may be gone but his name and legacy will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN! The Raider Nation "Family" is still very strong, Moreover, we may even be more dangerous then ever before.

Raider From Birth.

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