Why JaMarcus Russell Hasn’t Been Benched

Ja-think JaMarcus should be benched?

Can you say Ja-BUST?

Until JaMarcus decides to put forth the effort necessary to be a successful NFL starting quarterback he will continue to stink.  At this point it wouldn’t matter if his wide receivers were Jerry Rice & Tim Brown, he would still over or under throw them.  Like a pitcher who has lost his release point, Russell needs to go back to basics, improve his techniques, be coached properly.  You can lead JaMarcus to the coach but will he listen?

We know he’s not as bad as he has played this season.  We also know he will never be great.  He could be an average QB if he put in the work. At this point being average would be a HUGE improvement!

His lack of production is killing the team’s moral.  Sunday against the NY Giants the Raiders trailed by a huge margin early in the game.  Most NFL teams go into “catch-up mode” which means abandoning the run, opting for all passes.  Because of JaMarcus’s inept passing the Raiders only passed the ball 13 TIMES in the entire game!  Basically they were forced to give up, kill the clock, and warm up the airplane for the long ride home.

Why haven’t they benched JaMarcus?

When Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin he announced during that press conference that Kiffin was critical of Russell.  Al stated publically that the Raiders could win with Russell, and that Kiffin was wrong.  Out of stubbornness, wanting to show up Kiffin, and to not admit he was wrong Al will force Tom Cable to play JaMarcus until he gets injured.  Al will die with his diamond encrusted JaMarcus boots on.

Tony Dungy Advised Michael Vick Not To Play For The Oakland Raiders

NBC analyst Tony Dungy said he advised Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick against signing with the Oakland Raiders during training camp.

“I advised Michael Vick not to go there,” Dungy said Sunday. ”I said, ‘Mike, you might be able to start there but that is not a good place for you.’ ”

What someone forgot to tell Dungy was that the Raiders had no interest in Vick.

While the Raiders have had there own issues at quarterback, Vick’s 39.6 passer rating this season still lower than JaMarcus Russell’s 47.1.

If Dungy is going to hitch his wagon to the Vick gravy train, his legacy may be as the man who brought back the troubled Vick. Or, Dungy could just be trying to deflect attention from the fact that every team he has left immediately improves.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl the year after he was fired, with former Raiders coach Jon Gruden making the calls, and the Indianapolis Colts are undefeated since he stepped down at the end of last year.

By Paul Wexler, RaiderBeat.com Staff Writer

Week 5 Warning To The Sports Gambler

Beware of the big numbers!

Of the 14 NFL games scheduled for this weekend there is an abnormal number of large pointspreads.  If you are one of the millions who occasionally puts a wager on a game this article is a must read for you.  Risk takers beware, Las Vegas has set some traps for you, traps that are sure to benefit the house.

There are 14 games scheduled but only 13 lines exist.  Due to the unknown QB status in Seattle there is no line on the Jaguars at Seahawks game as of this moment.  Of the 13 games:

-      2 games have lines of more than 14 points

-      4 games have lines of 10 pts. or more

-      6 games have lines of more than 7 points

-      6 games have road favorites

Might it just be a coincidence that all the good teams are playing all the bad teams?  Perhaps, but still there are too many road teams favored, and too many big spreads.

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the Raiders could compete with the Giants in New York.  The great equalized is the 16 points you would be getting should you take Oakland.

Popular teams like Dallas & Pittsburgh are traveling this week, yet still they are expected to win their games by a large margin.  Experience tells us winning on the road in the NFL isn’t that simple.

Then there’s the scenario that the Minnesota Vikings are facing.  After their emotional victory Monday night vs. the Packers the Purple Gang will have to deal with a short practice week, traveling to another city, & the obvious letdown factor.  Granted they are playing arguable the NFL’s worst team in the St. Louis Rams, but I still wouldn’t be comfortable laying more than 10 pts on this game.  It reeks of a trap.

An undefeated Broncos team is playing in the thin air at home on Sunday and yet they aren’t favored.  Why?  They are hosting the popular New England Patriots & Tom Brady.  Recent history has shown that the referees tend to help out the Pats, but again I wouldn’t be too confident putting my chips down on the favored Patriots.

In both Sunday & Monday night games the home team is getting the points.  Coincidentally both home underdogs were playoff teams last season.  Beware of the traps set in Tennessee & Miami.

Over the years I have learned that beating the point spread is not as easy as it appears.  I don’t condone gambling on sports, no matter how much fun it is when you win.  The only rule I have about betting on the NFL is: There is a reason those casinos in Las Vegas are so spectacular, they are paid for with the gambler’s money.

With that disclaimer out of the way I know that many of you will plunk down your hard earned green hoping to make some quick ca-ching.  Be careful, this might not be the weekend to go hog wild!

NFL Week 4 Observations

4 weeks into the season & I’m already looking ahead to the Draft!

I guess I’ve been forced to adopt the 49ers as my backup rooting interest to go along with Gang Green (the Eagles).  The Raiders are truly horrible, I’m finally realizing that until Al croaks it will always be this way (I know I’m probably the last person on earth to admit this).  More bad news, McFadden is out 4-5 weeks with a knee injury, & coach Cable says he’s still sticking with JaMarcus.

I’m telling all my friends that my NFL loyalties are now up for bid, will sell my rooting to the highest bidder (so long as it isn’t the Denver Donkeys).  I accept Paypal!

Notes-

- Gotta love the Saints.  Two playoff wins in the team’s entire history.  I hope they do well this season.

- End of game play calling & clock management by Dallas was terrible.  The coach should get more heat than Romo.

- The “Man-Genius” has his Browns playing as well as I predicted (0 for 4).  Until he gets fired he will continue to be the worst coach in the NFL (by a huge margin).

- Will the St. Louis Rams win a game this year?  Only if Cleveland is on their schedule.

On a lighter note…

- We witnessed two possible playoff previews last Sunday in the Pitts-SD & Balt-New England games.  High octane quality football is what makes watching the NFL so great.

The San Francisco Giants Magic Summer

Renteria Slams Rockies

One week to the day after the 14 inning meltdown that had even the most loyal Giants fan contemplating alternative plans for October, and look at the standings now.  Our national pastime, the great game of baseball is serving up something special this summer in the city by the bay.

What was thought to be a season of low expectations is instead providing more highs & lows than a roller coaster ride.  We’ve witnessed the emergence of a power hitting Panda, a pitcher being carried off the field after being hit in the head by a line drive, the tragic death of team owner Sue Burns, and a grand slam by an unknown catcher named Eli Whiteside.  The uniform #22 was previously worn by Giants royalty Will & Jack Clark, and now it’s worn by a guy who until this year had only 12 at bats in the majors (and that was 4 years ago!).  It could only happen in the summer of magic.

Like a journeyman boxer with a strong chin the ’09 Giants have proven they can take a punch.  When all looks lost they keep getting up off the canvas to throw more punches.  Is this the allure?  Or is it their lineup of relative no-names being able to contend in a sport ruled by superstars?  The answer could just be the unexpected result that occurs when a round ball is met by a round bat.

The summer of magic has already seen great moments, Randy Johnson winning #300, a no-hitter thrown by the starter least likely to succeed, and a Renteria slam to win a game that looked lost.  We should have known that something special was in the offering when on the same day the Giants honored it’s black sheep Jeff Kent, they also gave much maligned Barry Zito a curtain call.

Whatever the future holds for this scrappy bunch they have already exceeded far beyond anything we could have imagined.  At this moment on this day the San Francisco Giants are tied for the Wild Card spot, nobody would have believed it back in April..  If it all falls apart tomorrow one would still have to call it a season of success, yet somehow I suspect that the grand game of baseball has much more in store for the 2009 San Francisco Giants in their summer of magic.

An Insider’s View of the Oakland Raiders Summer Camp

With the Raiders first preseason game being Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys I figured it was time to give all of you an update on what’s been going on at training camp so far this year.  As expected there are several intriguing battles for starting positions & unfortunately there have also been some injuries as well.

Until recently the weather has been too cool for my liking, the guys need the heat to be properly prepared for the long season that awaits them.  Also interesting is the lack of the “two-a-day” practice sessions that have been a long standing tradition for the Raiders summer camp.  For the last few days there has only been one practice session per day, all full pads practices with hitting, but still only one per day.

OFFENSE

QB JaMarcus Russell in only his 2^nd training camp has looked sharp at times and he is displaying signs of leadership.  His weight is a bit large but that will come off quickly, and consistent passing accuracy is an area needing improvement.  Many forget he wasn’t a 4 year starter at LSU and he is still in the development stages of his career.  Overall the young QB has been impressive and his future looks bright.

Many considered former 49ers QB Jeff Garcia to be the automatic #2 QB, which may be true, however the 39 yr. old Garcia has been unable to practice for a week due to a chronic calf strain.  It is unlikely he will play vs. Dallas.

The only perceived competition at QB is for the #3 spot between Charlie Frye & Bruce Gradkowski.  So far the battle seems to be one-sided.  With Garcia out of the mix this week both Charlie & Brad have been getting more than their usual number of reps.  While Frye has displayed sharp passes & consistent accuracy on deep throws, Gradkowski has been just average.  Expect to see much of both men on Thursday night.

At RB there appears to be too many good players for just one football.  Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, & Michael Bush will all be a part of the Raiders ’09 ground attack, the only question is who will start and who will come off the bench.  Based up early signs I don’t see how they can keep Bush out of the lineup, he has looked like a beast so far.  In a blocking drill he laid out a LB in perhaps the best hit of the camp so far.

Often forgotten in the role a RB plays is the ability to block a blitzing LB, just ask Napolean Kaufman why he was never a 3 down RB, or why Jeff George was always sitting on his ass.  This appears to be a huge area of improvement this year as both Bush & McFadden have displayed crunching blocking power early on.  Quietly the Raiders signed veteran FB Lorenzo Neal who brings leadership, playoff experience, and a history of blocking for some of the NFL’s best ground attacks (his value is extremely underrated).

McFadden still has speed to burn & in my opinion he is one of the league’s best open field runners.  His turf toe is healed, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him gain more than 1500 combined yards from scrimmage.  His hands have been consistently reliable, he will be a star in the NFL.

Last season the Raiders offense was hampered by a weak crop of WR’s.  No deep threat, inconsistent hands, lack of big play potential.  In game #15 last year they let the young guys play and JaMarcus & the Raiders offense was the beneficiary.  The clear #1 WR this summer has been Chaz Schilens who has dominated against the Raiders solid secondary.  At San Diego St. Schilens did everything to be a top pick in the NFL Draft until an injury caused his stock to fall.  Not healthy until late last year he never really had the opportunity to show his stuff, but he sure did in game #16.  Now he is not only healthy but wiser & better from professional coaching.  Chaz has consistently made the top catch of the day all summer.

Quietly Johnnie Lee Higgins (who I always liked & promoted from the start) has had an extremely good camp to date.  He just makes every catch, improved his blocking, and has established himself as the clear #2 WR in the Raiders’ offense.  Unfortunately because of his diminutive stature he may end up being the #1 slot WR.  I am probably safe in saying that he has finally outgrown his days of kickoff & punt coverage, he has become too valuable at WR & as one of the league’s top punt returner.

So where does that leave the bum that is Javon Walker?  The former Denver Donkey gone bad is actually surprising people with his work ethic.  Let’s not get carried away, while he does seem to have a new & improved attitude he has yet to practice with the team due to a “mysterious” knee operation this offseason.  If hope springs eternal he has to be better than he was last year.

Another big surprise this summer has been the Raiders draft pick from the National Champion Florida Gators Louis Murphy.  He has shown nice hands, tremendous route running, and a toughness that made him the #1 WR for the Gators in their championship game.  Yes the NFL is littered with former Florida WR’s who never made it, but the difference could very well be toughness.  Murphy just this week went fist to fist with fellow rookie safety “tough guy” Mike Mitchell.  Perhaps most importantly is that Louis has looked sharp catching passes consistently over the middle demonstrating an ability to get open.

At Tight End it is clear that Zach Miller is the solid starter, the only question appears to be the progress of draft pick Brandon Myers out of Iowa.  The Raiders traded up to select Myers in the 6^th round to be a compliment for Miller, which means they want a TE that can run block.  So far Myers has done that, but he still needs to demonstrate an occasional ability to catch the ball during the preseason.

The O-Line suffered a huge blow when free agent potential starter Khalif Barnes was injured last week.  The man who was the starting tackle for Jacksonville will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken ankle when someone fell on the back of his leg.  He was fortunate it was only the ankle because his knee was also severely twisted on the play.  As a result it virtually hands the starting LT job to the young uprising Mario Henderson.  He has looked solid so far.

Gone is often injured center Jay Grove to a huge free agent contract in Miami.  Ironically the Raiders then traded for Miami’s former center Samson Satele.  The complaint against Satele was that he was sometimes outplayed by some of the larger nose tackles, but he is only 24 yrs. old and he started every game for the last two seasons for the Dolphins.  He still has an upside unlike Grove, and he cost a hell of a lot less.

Judging the O-line’s summer progress is always difficult, perhaps the proof will be in the rushing total during the next few preseason games.

The only other note re: the line is that RG Robert Gallery just returned to practice yesterday due to an unplanned appendectomy just a few weeks before summer camp began.

We would like to see the Raiders young offensive line get as many reps together as possible.  The Barnes injury is a tough blow, let’s just hope Henderson continues to improve.

The pace of summer camp has been a bit slower than I would like to see.  Much will be determined by the preseason games, it should be fun to watch.  Let’s just hope positions are decided by ability and not injury.

It all begins Thursday night in Oakland vs. the Cowboys.

(I will post a Defensive & Special Teams Update later)

Friday Night NHRA Qualifying in Sonoma

Just got home from a chilly evening at Infineon, but it was well worth it. Side by side 300 m.p.h. fiery beasts that generate enough power to rotate the earth. The ground shakes under your feet, it truly tantalizes all of your senses.

Perhaps the best part was that I finally got my Dad to go with me to the drags for the first time since 1996.  You know that old saying that racers make the worst spectators, well my old man is a true racer and it’s been hard for him to go back as just a fan instead of wrenching on a Funny Car.

Plenty of highlights…

(I’m a bit tired so I will keep it brief)

At the start of the first qualifying session the adjusted altitude was 1412 ft. (which is outstanding) but by the time the final round of Top Fuel qualifying came up it had dropped to perhaps the lowest we may see all year 714 feet!

I thought we might see a few runs into the 3.7 range but perhaps the track temp was just a bit too cold (81 degrees).

J.R. Todd surprised everyone by going to the top of the ladder with a stellar 3.81 at 312 mph.  Most consistent was Spencer Massey who was near the top of both sessions.

Top speed was set when Dixon faced off with Schumacher.  Dixon blasted a 313 mph run at 3.818 making him #2.  The Army car ran a respectable 3.88 which for the moment put him at #6 (he would end up #8).

The best side by side pass was saved for last when Morgan Lucas faced off with Cory Mac.  It was a flaming power sensation as Cory ran a 3.83 (now #3) & Lucas ran a 3.86 (now #7).

T/F Top 5

1. J.R. Todd   3.811  312.06

2. Larry Dixon   3.816  313.44

3. Cory McClenathan   3.831  314.68

4. Antron Brown   3.844  311.05

5. Spencer Massey   3.850  303.57

Funny Car Notes:

The first session was mildly disappointing given the rich conditions.  Perhaps the boys were a bit conservative trying to gain a base line tune-up.  Hight was #1 with a solid 4.18 but #2 thru #10 were all in the 4.2 range.

By the time the fuel coupes came up for round 2 of qualifying it was almost 8 p.m.,, just about dark, the temperature was about 60 degrees and the adjusted altitude was an incredibly low 708 feet.

The second pair out was Tolliver & Neff.  “Zippy” stunned the verbose track announcer Bob Frye into speechlessness with a 4.069 monster pass.  John Medlin had just put his driver well over a tenth ahead of the field.

The next eight cars all ran in the teens, including Tasca & Beckman who ran side by side identical 4.133’s.

Then up stepped Matt Hagan who blasted a 4.068 moving to #1.  With the top 4 cars left one could only wonder what was in store for us.  Capps couldn’t get his engine to fire so Ashley Force ran a solid 4.09 to move into the #3 spot.

The last pair lost traction in the now very cold temperatures and we finished the evening with some outstanding qualifying numbers.  Take a look at these Top 10:

1. Matt Hagan   4.068  307.51

2. Mike Neff   4.069  305.42

3. Ashley Force Hood   4.099  304.67

4. Tim Wilkerson   4.129  300.00

5. Bob Tasca III   4.133  300.13

6. Jack Beckman   4.133  292.33

7. Del Worsham   4.136  302.48

8. John Force   4.138  298.40

9. Gary Densham   4.164  293.41

10. Robert Hight   4.184  290.38

Pro Stock Review:

All I really have to say is. Final pair Jason Line vs. Mike Edwards side by side 6.574’s each.  Edwards gets the nod because his 209.82 is faster than Line’s 209.52.

They both finish second to Ron Krishers’s 6.573

One could say it was just another day in drag racing but it wasn’t, it was faster & quicker than most.

(please forgive any spelling or punctuation errors my eyes are tired)

Hot Rods Arrive In Sonoma

The big rigs started arriving Tuesday and by today the pits will be jammed with high priced vehicles of every shape and size.  Yes the NHRA’s traveling circus has arrived in Sonoma.

Old timers like me refer to it as Sears Point but now it is officially called Infineon Raceway.  Much has changed over the years from the racetrack I first visited on July 4^th, 1976.  The tower back then consisted of a rickety two story building that had less square footage than John Force’s new motor home.  Now when you arrive at Infineon you see many new building housing a multitude of racing related businesses, most notably the Jim Russell Driving School.

The first official NHRA national event held here was in August of 1988, the race was known as the California Nationals.  Back then it was stop number two of the “western swing” between the Mile High’s in Denver & the Sea Fair Nationals in Seattle.  In the early ‘90’s the name was changed to the Autolite Nations, which morphed into its current title the Fram Autolite Nationals.

In the old days they used to have a bridge that would allow spectators to walk back & forth from the pits side to the spectator side of the track.  The bridge is long gone, now there is a tunnel that runs directly under the drag strip at about 800 feet.  Two years ago I stood in that tunnel as John Force thundered over me at 300 miles an hour.  Now that was an experience!

The close proximity to sea level combined with the air conditions have created an environment for some extremely fast times.  Unfortunately in the early years the racing surface often fell far short of matching the air quality.  Once Bruton Smith took over ownership of Sears Pt. he upgraded the drag strip to its current state.

With good air & low altitude comes big horsepower, which can sometimes lead to big explosions.  The Sonoma event has seen its share of big crashes.  Eddie Hill destroyed his “nuclear banana”, Gene Snow took an ambulance ride, & it was here that Whit Bazemore became forever known as “Blazemore” while driving Dave Benjamin’s funny car.  One of the scariest crashes however was when Shelley Anderson folded up her top fuel dragster and she was trapped alongside the burning engine.  Long before the NHRA tour came here I witnessed Paula Murphy’s rocket powered dragster not shut off and she was severely injured when her car careened out of control.  Let’s hope this year’s event is a safe one.

My favorite memories of this race have nothing to do with crashes.  In ’96 I saw Blaine Johnson win Top Fuel.  It seems like only yesterday when I saw Don Prudhomme’s purple Skoal funny car run the first four second pass at Sonoma.  Hard to forget the day when Bob Glidden almost ran over me in the pits or meeting Darrell Gwynn as he signed my buddy’s cap.  Perhaps the best experience came when we were taking a break from the races while sitting in my friend Roy’s new Vette having a sandwich.  I was in the passenger seat as I heard Roy talking to someone.  The man asked Roy if this was the new Corvette and wanted to sit in it because he had just ordered the same model.  Next thing I know I’m sitting next to Connie Kalitta as he & Roy discussed the sports handling package available on that year’s Vette.  He was extremely nice, just a regular guy, and meeting the Bounty Hunter in this unusual way was very special.

This year I will be attending two of the three days of racing, only missing Saturday to celebrate my 30 year class reunion.  Yes I’m getting old.

If you are in the neighborhood stop by and see what it’s like to go from zero to 300 m.p.h. in less than 4 seconds.

Steve “Air” McNair

Steve McNair

2-14-1973  -  7-4-2009

“Air McNair” was the toughest QB I’ve ever seen.

Better strength to avoid the rush than Bradshaw, Grogan, or Culpepper.

An arm to match Elway, more moxy than Moon, could carry a team like Sttaubach, but what really made him great was that he had a heart of a lion.

Al Davis Interview – Part 1

Raiders managing general partner Al Davis doesn’t prefer to be interviewed much these days. His public speaking in recent years have been limited to special occasions, such as when former 49ers coach and close friend Bill Walsh passed away or a coach is hired or fired. However, Davis agreed to a one-on-one interview with Raiders play-by-play man Greg Papa on the eve of Davis’ 80th birthday, which is today. Here is a transcript of the first segment of the two-hour interview that aired on Comcast SportsNet (the rest of the interview will be aired later):

Greg Papa: Let me be one of the first to wish you a happy birthday, sir.
Al Davis: Well, it’ll be happy when we win. But it’s a milestone, obviously, 80. Usually at this time of the year, or every fifth, from 75, 80, I’ve held a nice party in Las Vegas. But I felt this year, predicated on the economy and all, we would just whittle it down to a few friends for dinner and hold off, because we didn’t want to flaunt it whenever everyone else is having trouble financially. I thought it was best to do it that way. In any event, thank you very much.

Papa: My wife and I were thrilled to be at your 75th. It was a tremendous function. You showed a lot of generosity to us and the people close to you. Let’s start at the beginning. We’re going to tell the story of one of the most fascinating lives in the history of not just pro football, but all of American sports. July 4, 1929, Brockton, Mass., the home of Rocky Marciano, the great champion, and you, sir. How old were you when you left Brockton to move to Brooklyn?
Davis: We came to Brooklyn, New York when I was 5 years old. My dad was a manufacturer. He was an entrepreneur. He manufactured rain coats and he was in real estate. He was moving the raincoat business in those days to the south, because of the cost of labor and things like that. Some of the factories stopped in Baltimore, some stopped in North Carolina. But my mother felt we ought to stop a little bit further north, so we chose Brooklyn, N.Y. The memories are great. I lived there until I was about 16. My dad had a home in Long Beach, Long Island. We were moving from Brooklyn to Long Beach to Brooklyn to Long Beach. At the time I was ready to go to college, which was about 17 years old, they had already committed to moving to Long Beach, so I went on to college.

Papa: Tell me about Brooklyn and those days. You’ve mentioned some of the names to me; the great Don McMahon, who went on to pitch in the major leagues with the Braves, was a childhood friend of yours. The Torre family, and I think you were closer to Frank (Torre) than Joe. Some of the people, before you got to Erasmus Hall even, that you knew just growing up in Brooklyn.
Davis: Let me make the point to you, Brooklyn was a very diverse place. We had all the ethnic groups you could possibly think of. It was great street learning. Right next to my house was a park called Lincoln Terrace park. It was a tough park. It really was. Whoever played in that park, you had to be a survivor. I can only tell you this story. I did the eulogy for Sugar Ray Robinson when he died in Los Angeles. One of the other eulogists who spoke was Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson and Don King were there. We were talking, and I told Mike, who was about 20 years younger than I was, ‘Mike, I played in Lincoln Terrace Park and I tell you what, it was tough.’ He said, ‘What do you mean you played there?’ I said, ‘I played there every day, day and night, unless I went to practice, baseball, basketball and football.’ And I said, ‘I owned that park, Mike.’ He turned to Don King and said, ‘This guy is an S.O.B. He’s a tough S.O.B. If he can come out alive of that park, he must be a tough S.O.B.’ I remember it so vividly — my public school, my junior high school was called Winthrop Junior High School. We had to march when we were in school to our classes. We had to wear a white shirt and a red tie. Anyone who went to Winthrop will remember that. And then we were being recruited to go to high schools. I went to Erasmus Hall High School with the idea of playing basketball. That was the dream, to play for Al Badain at Erasmus Hall High School. The memories are great. I made a lot of friends. Yes, as you mentioned, Don McMahon was on the baseball team. I wish he were alive today. We’d laugh like all heck. The Torre brothers were big. They played for Madison. Joe played for, I think, Brooklyn Prep. There are so many great ones that went to Erasmus. Let me start with Bob Tisch, who owned the Giants; Jerry Reinsdorf, who owns the White Sox and Chicago Bulls; Sam Rutigliano, who coached the Cleveland Browns; Sid Luckman, a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Chicago Bears; Barbra Streisand, you have to throw Barbra in because she probably is the No. 1 celebrity from that school; Lainie Kazan. We just had a litany of great performers, great people.

Papa: You mentioned you played for the great Al Badain and played all the sports. But football was the one. You stated when you were 18 you had a deep understanding of football. Why do you feel, Al, that you saw football better than the other sports?
Davis: Well, I don’t know that I saw it better, but it interested me more. When I was 18, I was already in college. I went to college when I was 17 years old. At Erasmus, we ran a single wing. At Syracuse, we ran a single wing, and then Ben Schwartzwalder came, and we ran the wing-T, an unbalanced line. I just understood there was more to it than just running the football. There was a passing game. I saw it. I believed it. A lot of people, a lot of people, Luke LaPorte was one of our teammates, we were taking a class in football in the summer, Luke came over to me after the class and looked at some passes I had put on the blackboard for coach Schwartzwalder’s assistant coaches, who were teaching the classes, to see. He said to me, ‘Can you run that in high school?’ I said, ‘High school? You can run this in pro football!’

(*Source: Raider Beat.com)