Raiders And New GM McKenzie Pick Where They're Supposed To

Photo Lee Kirby / US Presswire

I know that Raider fans wants to make a tremendous
amount of Reggie McKenzie's eye for talent and how
upset they were that they didn't have a 1st or 2nd
round pick in this years draft, but I contend that
drafting their first pick in the 3rd round is right
where they and their new GM belong.

For starters, their 1st round pick is Carson Palmer,
and love him or hate him, I'll take an established
player over a potential one in the draft any day of
the week. With Palmer. good, bad, or otherwise you
know what you have, and since he's your starting QB,
that's has to be pretty good. I won't list the
number of picks that have gone in the top 10 of past
drafts that have failed to produce anything, but if
I did, you could fill a nobody's nobody list of no-
stars that would require much more writing than you
may be willing to read or even recognize.

Secondly, as a life long Raider fan, and even more
so, a life long Al Davis fan I feel comfortable in
saying that his shoes will not only be hard to fill,
but even harder to try on. Davis won FOUR titles in
fifty years (1 AFL Championship, and 3 Super Bowls),
though it wouldn't be fair to McKenzie to hold him
up to those standards, he has won nothing as a head
man. You wanna make the case that he has TWO rings
as a member of the Packers front office, great.
He wasn't the GM for the first(Ron Wolfe), and was
not for the second(Ted Thompson) either. Yes it's
a team, but it's like giving Dan Pastorini credit
for the Super XV title, a bit of an exaggeration, I
know, but you get the idea.

Reggie McKenzie should make a fine GM, but he has
never truly been one before, so it remains to be
seen. Any Raider fan reading this article knows
that winning in the NFL isn't easy, that's why the
Raiders haven't done it for a while. More teams,
more competition, more cheating (See the Saints &
Patriots), and a constantly changing landscape to
any system you think figured it out for you.
The case was always made that Al meddled too much,
well if he had the last time they went to the Super
Bowl, they might have won, but Bill Callahan didn't
have the luxury of Al's meddling or he would have
realized that the former head coach was on the other
sideline with the opponent for that title game.

There are very, very few that can stand shoulder to
shoulder with AL Davis career wise, and Reggie will
be hard pressed to do that. Starting his draft off
in the 3rd round this year, and the 2nd next year,
is probably the best way to gently walk in the shoes
of a man who not only wore them, but designed, and
made them. If Reggie McKenzie truly has an eye for
talent, then he can find it anywhere, NFL history is
littered with late round draft choices from rounds
that don't even exist anymore. So why should today
be any different? Any Raider fan who has a long
history with Al Davis will want to see him earn his
stripes, I do.

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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 10-24-11

Last weeks show gets posted early in case you
missed it. Email the show to have your question
or comment read on the air at rizzo@wdisam.com
Enjoy the show!




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No McFadden & A Rusty Palmer Make For Disaster

Robert Beck/SI

The Raiders lost this game to the Chiefs way before
they realized it. Darren McFadden played just one
series before he sat out the rest of the game with
a sprained foot, and though many Raider fans could
and will blame Kyle Boller for this disastrous
result Sunday, the truth is, Hugh Jackson is right,
Jackson lost this game. Too much trickery, not
enough defense, and too much Kyle Boller. Boller's
only job Sunday once Jackson realized that Carson
Palmer just wasn't going to have enough time to be
ready for live action against a real NFL, should
have been to simply manage this game to a victory.
Boller and Palmer combined for 6 picks, 3 a piece,
but at least Palmer had an excuse. Down 14-0 the
Raiders showed how much Jackson was pressing by going
for it on 4th and goal on the one inch line, without
a QB on the field and failing to make it from that
same spot on 3rd down. I think that play is going
to do for Jackson the same thing going for it on 4th
down at the end of last weeks game did for him last
week, keep him up all night, and it should, but as
long as he learns fro it, the Raiders will be fine,
because Jackson is the right guy for this job, and
KC can expect a little payback if the chilly handshake
between Hugh Jackson and Todd Haley is any indication.
Last weeks end of game hand shake between Jim Harbaugh
and Jim Schwartz made plenty of headlines over how
over the top and loud it was, but this one was eerily
quiet and frigid, it spoke volumes. The Raiders
meet the Chiefs again on Christmas eve, and I cab
guarantee that the holiday spirit will definitely not
be in the air.

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Carson Palmer & The Raiders Stir It Up

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

I wrote a piece a few months back stating how I felt
that Carson Palmer should not be rewarded for his
stance on demanding a trade, and that when a player
like Palmer signs a contract he should realize just
what that signature really means. I still feel that
way, probably always will. Unfortunately today his
demands were met, sort of. Yes he was traded, and
yes that's what he wanted, but perhaps since he
wasn't the only one rewarded, it doesn't seem like
giving in. You see, in this case Mike Brown, owner
of the Bengals, the man who didn't want to give in
to Palmer was also rewarded, and even though it's not
what he may have been angling for, at least he got
something for his aggravation, a 1st round pick in
the 2012 NFL draft, and at least a 2nd round pick
in the 2013 draft (It becomes a 1st rounder as well
if the Raiders win one playoff game). This is a
bonanza of a reward, especially since 1st round
draft picks going forward will be more affordable
according to the new CBA, and Brown is one frugal
SOB. The Bengals are 4-2, so they are no worse
off without Palmer, and he's now the Raiders to
deal with.

The Raiders get rewarded as well. Their QB just
got knocked out for a minimum of 6 weeks, and at
4-2 they don't want to waste any chance they might
have of going to the playoffs for the first time in
8 years. They did nothing wrong here, so no reason
they can't be rewarded, especially if they are
paying such a high price to get him. The Raiders
also did former boss AL Davis proud by pulling off
a deal that has "Just Win" written all over it,
and why not, isn't that the name of the game?

Getting back to Carson though, it's a shame that
he gains anything here. Players should not be
in any way rewarded for this type of behavior.
Lead by example, be a man of your word, you sign
a contract, honor it. Teach our youth a little
something, your word is everything in life,
with out it you have nothing. Don't get me wrong
as a lifelong Raiders fan, this is a good day for
me, I just don't think it's a good day morally
speaking, and that should mean something too.



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Taking Sides

I've been seen in the past as taking the
side of the players, but I've also been known
to side with the owners on many occasions as
well, and after following the Carson Palmer
story in Cincinnati for a little while, I knew
it was time to pick a side once again.

A few weeks back on my radio show "Ranting
with Rizzo" on WDIS, I defended the New York
Knicks acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, even
though like many Prima Donna type athletes he
said that he would play for no other team other
than his hometown NY Knicks, and in many ways
demanded a trade to NY. To me, that is where
the similarities end. You see, I had said that
Carmelo went about it the right way in many ways;
he was playing hard, he wasn't whining, and just
as important, he was in the final year of his
contract, so he was under no obligation to re sign
with the Nuggets. Though that type of stance hurts
loyal fans, it's really not too different than when
you change jobs that you've been at for a long time
and the customers that depend on you and love your
work are sorry to see you leave. The other thing
I want to add to the Carmelo Anthony situation which
is something I think holds weight as well, is that
New York is his hometown, and had LeBron left Miami
for Cleveland instead of the other way around, I can
assure you that he would have received much more
support than he does now, and unlike when a player
chooses to go to a team like say the Yankees because
of their deep NY pockets, the contract Anthony got
was no bigger with the NY Knicks than it was with
the Denver Nuggets.

Clark Judge of CBS Sports.com in his column the
other day mentioned that two sources he was very
confident in said that Carson Palmer "will never, ever,
ever play for the team again." That is unfortunate,
and certainly something Carson should have considered
before signing such a long term deal. Money is not a
question here, he's not looking for a better deal, he
just, for his own reasons does not want to play for
the Bengals ever again, but the fact of the matter is
that he has FOUR more years remaining on his contract,
and unless team owner Mike Brown trades him to another
team, Carson has promised, NOT Threatened, but promised
to retire. He also won't win over many fans nor myself
by saying that he's "got 80 million in the bank" so
he doesn't need to play again. Carson Palmer is 31
years old, and he might make sure he asks a guy like
Tiki Barber who this week announced that at the age of
36 is coming out of retirement, what it's like when time
has passed you by. He may want to ask Tiki why NO ONE
CARES ! Carson will soon find out that unless he's as
serious as Jake Plummer was, (and we still don't know
whether Jake really doesn't miss the game like he says
or not), there is NO turning back.

We have all at one time or another taken hard line
stances in our lives, whether it was against our parents,
bosses, children, or even society, but not all of them
are the type that there is the "NO TURNING BACK" sign
attached to them. To an athlete, age is one, if not
the most valuable commodity. I think Mike Brown not
only knows this, but is more than willing to make sure
that his Quarterback understands it as well. I for one
have chosen the side of ownership on this. I think that
if Carson Palmer is going to pout, moan and groan, cause
he doesn't get his way. If he is going to take his ball
and go home, then Mike Brown should let him. If this was
the last year of his deal, or even the next to last year,
I could see myself siding with the fact that he might say,
"hey you know what, this isn't working out", but in this
case I say take your $80 million and get lost. Disagree?
Put yourself in the position that you own team X and
this is what's going on. I can assure you that you will
change your tune rather quickly.