Showing posts with label Oakland Raiders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oakland Raiders. Show all posts

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Got to Love the Little Things in Life (and Sometimes the BIG Things too!)

I found this picture on the Internet at http://deadspin.com/5120562/does-this-guy-look-drunk-and-belligerent-to-you. It tells the tale of a shafted Raiders fan being thrown out of Raymond James Stadium during the Buccaneers / Raiders game. This picture initially caught my attention because I am a hardcore Oakland Raiders fan (got the tattoo on my arm to prove it), and my wife is a Bucs fan from Tampa Bay.

According to the man in this picture, he was minding his own business, enjoying the game, when he was tossed from the stadium for cheering his team. The stadium's spokesperson commented that the man was belligerent, was picking fights, and was incredibly intoxicated. This picture was the man's proof that he was getting along with the Bucs fan and was not picking fights at all.

Now all of this aside, let's examine the picture. It depicts a festive moment of a Raiders fan getting along with a Bucs fan. Never mind the fact that it is a scantily clad, hard bodied young female Bucs fan who is wrapping her leg around him. I'm sure he would have let any other Buc fan take the picture with him in the same manner.

The ringer of the picture for me, though, is not the combination of Raiders and Bucs fans colliding. It's not the sexy chick in her little shorts showing off her leg. It's the ass of the fat guy bending over right behind the chick. That sight brings out the true beauty in this picture. I just hope he wasn't responding to the cameraman yelling, "Say cheese!"

Monday, April 6, 2009

Jeff Garcia was the Right Choice for the Raiders...Five Years Ago



Jeff Garcia officially signed a one year contract with the Oakland Raiders today. In his five year tour around the NFL and spending time as both starter and backup on four other teams, Jeff Garcia has seen a lot of ups and downs. Had he just been signed to the Oakland Raiders five years ago after he was released from San Francisco, both his and the Raider's last half of a decade would have been more lucrative to say the least.

Over the past five years, the Raiders have accumulated an abysmal 20 - 60 record. They have seen their fair share (and many other teams' fair shares) of starting quarterbacks from Kerry Collins to Andrew Walter. Five years ago, Marques Tuiasosopo was heir apparent to the throne of Rich Gannon. Why? Every time Tui got in the game, he would throw a couple of picks before inevitably getting injured. When Jeff Garcia was available and the Raiders needed him, they didn't take advantage. How is signing Jeff Garcia going to help them now?

They have permanently coined JaMarcus Russell as the starter since he's costing them that first overall draft pick money. JaMarcus could have benefited from a pro like Garcia on the roster two years ago, but now? Russell has started to find his own way through a mist of poor coaching and even poorer role models. Jeff Garcia would have been the perfect mentor to the young Russell, but time has already dug in wounds that signing a consistent quarterback at the end of his career for a one year contract cannot fix.

On that horrible day that Rich Gannon made his final curtain call, strives should have been made to get Garcia in the driver's seat. Five years later, Jeff Garcia is destined to be a decent backup rather than one of the great Oakland Raider quarterbacks of history.