ESPN Crew Opines On The Sad State Of Raiders Organization

With the Raiders appearing on “MNF” last night against the Seahawks, an ever-present theme of the broadcast was the state of Al Davis’ franchise, which has compiled a 15-41 record since losing Super Bowl XXXVII to the Buccaneers three-and-a-half years ago. In his opening monologue, ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said, “Once upon a time, the Raiders were the best team in the NFL. They were outlaws and misfits gathered together under the anti-authority of the maverick genius, Al Davis. ...‘Just win, baby’ is Al Davis’ anthem, ‘Just win.’ He wore his sweat suits and his pompadour like a crown. For years, Al was the bad boy of the NFL and they couldn’t do a thing to him. He beat ‘em on the field and he beat ‘em in the courts. But he’s older now, 77. A lion in winter, not as robust as he once was. People describe Al as an apparition: you know he’s there, you can even smell the scent of his cologne in the hallway, but you rarely see him, and his Raiders have fallen off the map. Mostly, they ‘Just lose, baby.’ They have reached the sorriest state of all in sports: irrelevance” (ESPN, 11/6).

PILING ON: During ESPN’s pregame show, Steve Young said the Raiders organization “always had one thing: ultimate accountability on their football (side), and they took it very, very seriously. ... That accountability has been lost.” ESPN’s Michael Irvin added Davis “would roam the sidelines and he made all the decisions; and you see he’s not on the sideline, he’s not watching practice anymore, and everything is just falling off” (“Monday Night Countdown,” ESPN, 11/6).

THE OUTLAWS: With less than two minutes to go in last night’s game, a scuffle between Raiders DE Tyler Brayton and Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens resulted in Brayton kneeing Stevens in the groin. The incident prompted several comments from the game’s announcers. Kornheiser: “That knee is going to be shown on every sports talk show in America tomorrow 15 times, and people are going to clamor for a suspension.” ESPN’s Mike Tirico: “Not just from a football and a suspension standpoint, but from a manhood standpoint, that was lame.” ESPN’s Joe Theismann said the Raiders have “turned into a classless operation” (“MNF,” ESPN, 11/6).