1. Al Davis is no longer with us, physically.
2. The Al Davis that so many wished would be replaced has been—and so many now wish he was back. At least Al had a superb 35 year legacy before he was considered confusing.
3. The Raiders went 8-8 and missed the playoffs by one game, or a tiebreaker, however you want to look at it. In Raiders fashion, Hue Jackson was fired after one season and replaced by the defensive coordinator from Denver Dennis Allen. New GM Reggie McKenzie must have been impressed by the aggressive Broncos defense which allowed under 20 points in seven games last year (the Raiders had three). Reggie chose to ignore the five games Denver allowed over 40 points last year (the Raiders had none). It's a big reward, big punishment style.
4. Speaking of punishment, the NFL came down really hard on the New Orleans Saints for the bounty program they used to reward defensive players during the 2009-2011 seasons. Head Coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year. Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended six games. Defensive Back coach in 2009 and 2010 Dennis Allen is the new coach of the Oakland Raiders. It's amazing that probably without even knowing it, the Raiders picked the perfect coach for their culture.
5. Don't forget about those compensatory picks.
Thursday Night is the NFL draft and the Raiders will be on the clock. Okay, maybe not on the clock, more like a Day Planner. In the original draft preview, I had the Raiders picking Dre Kirkpatrick. Plans have changed (although the Fox mock draft does ha...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
