I've been a pretty stalwart defender of Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie since he took over as the man in charge of making the football decisions at Raiders headquarters.
Over the course of his tenure, however, it's started to feel like those of us who believe in what McKenzie is doing in Oakland are the last, sad survivors of a once robust civilization that has been forgotten, living in an outpost that was abandoned by all hope and promise long, long ago.
Too much? Maybe. But being a McKenzie defender is a lonely business these days.
What exactly has McKenzie done to cause so many of the Silver and Black faithful to jump ship?
Well, obviously many of them read and share the sentiments of those who thought the previous regime got a raw deal and have never gotten over Hue Jackson's ouster. These folks tend to lead the anti-McKenzie charge.
Then there are fans and observers who started with open minds but have watched while the team has gone out and won exactly eight games the last 32 times they've taken the field. It's hard to fault these folks for feeling uneasy and not exactly trusting McKenzie when he starts talking about how the Raiders actually did improve in 2013 despite not notching even one win more than they did in 2012. (Maybe McKeznie was referring to point differential, where the Raiders improved from -153 in '12 to -131 in '13?)
One reason media and fans tend to have a hard time with McKenzie's stewardship of the Raiders is that he has presided over a pretty hefty exodus of names. Not exactly talent, mind you, but names.
Richard Seymour, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Michael Huff, Tommy Kelly, Philip Wheeler, Desmond Bryant, Rolando McClain. On and on. The names have gone out the door, but have any of those names gone on to prove they were worth what McKenzie and the Raiders would have been paying th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
