Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Game of Death
























I view the Raider fan experience partly through the lens of goals being met and the corresponding level of satisfaction from the team achieving these goals.

Think of it as "The Game of Death". Upon entering the house (or ground level) you fight your way to the top floor of the building with the ultimate goal to kick Kareem Abdul Jabbar's butt. As you advance each floor, the goal becomes increasingly more diffiuclt to achieve.

What has been troubling and disappointing these past 7 seasons is that we are not even taking baby steps towards reaching these goals/levels of satisfaction. We are still at the ground level.

Goal 1: Build a competitive team. I would argue that a competitive team is 8-8 or better.

Goal 2: Build a legitimate playoff contender. If you are still in the hunt for a playoff berth in the month of December, you have met this criteria.

Goal 3: Earn a playoff berth.

Goal 4: Advance in the playoffs.

Goal 5: Go to the Super Bowl

Goal 6: Win the Super Bowl

If you look at the past Raider teams who have met goals 3-6, there are a few common denominators;

-> Good to above average QB
-> Good to above average HC
-> A GM on board working in partnership with Davis

How are we doing on the above 3 fronts? Poorly. Currently we have a QB who is more committed to visiting his jeweler than the gym. Cable is having a difficult time establishing himself worthy of a leadership position let alone hold on to his job. The GM role has been vacant since Bruce Allen departed and is being mismanaged by our 80 year old owner.

There is a HUGE difference between REAL hope and FAKE optimism. When you have a solid QB, HC, GM, and Owner working in partnership and stability, then you've got a franchise on the cusp of greatness.

I like to look at it as a building a sturdy, 4 legged table. The 4 legs represent leadership; QB, HC, GM, Owner. The table itself represents the franchise itself. The table top is built to support and showcase the SB trophy.

The owner needs to pick the GM and give the GM and HC the necessary authority and trust to do their jobs. The GM needs to identify his HC to execute the game plan and maximize the personnel. The HC needs to identify his QB to build a championship caliber team. The QB needs to lead his team on the field, in the huddle, on the practice field, and in the locker room.

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow this is ground breaking stuff

4:49 AM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

And your opinion is original and insightful

1:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How do you know I was being sarcastic? It seems you are little insecure or thin skinned.

If you are goign to have a blog and put something out there for the general public consumption you have to be albel to take some crituqes. If you write the same boring article you have written dozens of times expect some heat.

4:55 AM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Insecure and thin skinned? Nope.

Tired of cryptic drive by comments from spineless anonymous posters? Yup.

Bottom Line:

This is my blog. I have been giving my opinion about the state of the Raiders for over 4 years and 227 posts. You don't like it and find it boring ... then don't visit it. It is called 'free will'.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I enjoy a healthy debate. What's your opinion on the state of the Raiders? Oh yeah, that's right, you don't have one or don't want to share it.

12:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It sounds like you're creating problems yourself by trying to solve this issue instead of looking at why their is a problem in the first place.

5:29 AM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Anon 5:25 -

#1 - I'm not creating problems but merely offering my observations.

#2 - I'm not trying to solve this issue. I'm just a fan not a paid Raider employee. Opinions don't solve issues.

#3 - I gave my reasons for the problems. Did you even read the post?

6:22 PM  
Anonymous Tooz 72 said...

Here's the problem:
Pendergast leaves Raiders after 11 days for Cal

--Actual headline from SacBee.com

8:36 PM  
Anonymous Tooz 72 said...

Huggy Jr. gone. Understandable from a $ standpoint, but very disappointing from a heart standpoint. He'll probably shine in the 2nd half of his career with an actual NFL team. Hope so anyway. Onward we slog.

9:51 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Tough to see Huggy Bear go. I always admired his fearless passion for the game.

6:59 PM  

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