The Notebook

Jerry McDonald over at the IBA's Raiders Blog makes reference to the Notebook Art Shelll was writing in during the game yesterday and offers some suggestions for other things he might want to write down.

Of course, I have thoughts of my own.

Art Shell is taking notes. He said so at his weekly press briefing Monday. When asked about Raiders running backs not being involved in the passing
game, Shell said he made note of it.

“That’s one of the things I wrote down,'’ Shell said. “We need to get the ball to our backs out of the backfield. We need to do that. We need to put
more pressure on the defense by doing that.''

OCC: This is something that never should've had to be written down. That's a sign of bad coaching right there, this is inexcusable. The whole offense is a mess, and nothing's going to fix it anytime soon if the coaching staff needs to be reminded that passes to running backs might be a good thing. No fucking shit, I say.

A few things that ought to be in Shell’s notebook:

— Find a receiving back.

News flash _ despite the 70 catches last season, Jordan is not an exceptional receiver. He’ll catch the dumpoffs and little else. His 10 drops last
season were more than any receiver in the NFL, according to STATS, Inc. And he wasn’t handling tough chances.

Remember Charlie Garner and Terry Kirby? Heck, remember Rod Smart? Look closely at the unemployed. If any of them can circle out of the backfield and
make a catch in stride, sign one.

OCC: Yes, I knew they should've kept Rod Smart for just this sort of reason. I also know, speaking of the running game that the Raiders did not get Justin Fargas his 6 touches per game that they planned for during training camp. There's a lot of things that they didn't do and I blame that on the pissest of poor offensive coordinators in the league and bad play.
Tom Walsh needs to be fired. Maybe there was a reason he hadn't been in the league in 12 years. Maybe there's a reason he was running a bed and breakfast in Idaho before being called by Shell to coordinate te offense. This guy can't coach and maybe Jeff Hostetler and Tim Brown should've hurt him when they had the chance back in 1994.

— Break out the 2002 tape of Rich Gannon leading the Raiders against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.

The tempo was blistering. Make the Raiders offense watch closely, then try and duplicate the time that team took to get in and out of a huddle and
up to the line of scrimmage. Tom Walsh ought to be timing it and then going out to practice with a stopwatch around his neck.

OCC: Here's the problem. That 2002 offense was a super bowl caliber offense and this one is not. Nobody is a Rich Gannon on this team and nobody has the experience of a Tim Brown or Jerry Rice either. Plus, Tom Walsh flat out sucks and I have no doubt part of the reason it takes so long for him to call the play is he's too busy trying to figure out which one worked the best on Techmo Bowl

— Listen to the locker room.

The most team-oriented guy Shell has just called for him to resolve his differences with Jerry Porter. Of course Porter is not the difference, but
if he’s going to be around, figure out a way to get him on the field. Otherwise, dump him. The cap rises every year. Accept the $6.45 million hit in 2007
and move on.

OCC: I couldn't agree more. You've got guys like Jarrod Cooper and Warren Sapp saying that Porter should play. Either try and mend fenses or cut him and move on. He's good enough to play and this team is not good enough to sit a guy out just to prove a point. Yes, Porter is a class A-1 turd and a pain in the butt to deal with but this is a distraction that is too big. Quit being a Macho Man and suck it up and do what's right for the team by playing him or getting rid of him.

— Push the envelope on special teams.

Look how well the Raiders held up defensively against Baltimore on a short field. Try a surprise onsides kick. Let Shane Lechler show off that throwing
arm. Snap one to the up back. Al Davis hates this stuff, so it had better work.

But if ever a team needed a spark, this is it.

OCC: I am all for more cuteness from this team. Vanilla is ok but I prefer something more adventurous. Fake punts, onside kicks, anything to throw the other team off. The offense is so predictable might as well keep them guessing on defense and special teams.

— Have it leak that Robert Gallery is moving to guard.

What a great idea. The rumor surfaces Gallery is moving to guard, then it can be categorically denied. It gets Gallery’s attention without ever having
to question his performance.

OCC: PFT has nicknamed Robert Gallery "Tony Manderich" after one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history. They also have wondered if Gallery isn't Ryan Leaf. Neither of these comparisons is a good thing. If Gallery's attention hasn't been gotten yet he's too stupid to ever get the attention of, and so floating out a rumor about him moving to guard ain't gonna do it. I never thought I'd say that I want Barry Sims back at left tackle, but I want Barry Sims back at left tackle.

— Ease off on Randy Moss.

To listen to Moss on his appearances on Fox Sports Radio, you’d think the guy was going through Marine Corps boot camp each week. Let practice squad
sprinter Leo Bookman run some of those deep routes in practice to keep Moss fresh. Maybe he’ll even chase after a ball that appears out of his reach on
Sundays.

OCC: The first 2 weeks of the season should prove that Randy Moss knows a danger sign when he sees it. I think they should listen to Randy more, and I'm not joking. The players can tell when something has disaster written all over it and Moss knew it and said so 3 days before the first game. I can't fault the guy for being right. Oh, and if Randy wanted to choke out Tom Walsh I'd turn the other way I swear.

— Check Warren Sapp’s diet.

Whatever Sapp was eating the week leading into the Ravens game, have him eat it continuously for the next 15 weeks.

OCC: Sapp played a good game yesterday. I don't think this guy is done, its just too bad the offense is so far behind what is actually a defense that is playing pretty well. I'd give $1,000,000 to sit in a room with Warren and find out what he really thinks.

— Make no radical changes on the offensive line.

These guys had it rough against San Diego and Baltimore. If healthy _ and that’s a big if considering the health of Gallery and Barry Sims _ let them
see what they can do against Cleveland and San Francisco.

Maybe they’ll dominate the Raiders, just as San Diego and Baltimore did. But odds are they’d at least have some success. In terms of brutal, physical
front sevens, the Raiders have put the worst behind them.

OCC: Bullshit, I want this line to play well against good teams not wait and hope for a team just as bad to come to town. Ok, so they beat up on Cleveland and San Francisco (and I'm not so sure they can even do that much) that isn't going to turn you in to a winning team. This team is far away from being a winning team but gearing them up for crappy teams is not the way to turn things around. Find out who plays best where and line them up at that spot and keep them there. I agree that you don't change anything, but when you've given up 15 sacks in 2 games that means something isn't working and if its broke, fix it!

— Show some emotion on the sidelines.

Oops. That one didn’t work. Shell could be seen getting into his offensive line at one point against Baltimore, and it did nothing to stem the tide
of Ravens rushing unimpeded at Andrew Walter.

Another news flash _ it’s not working for Jon Gruden lately, either. When Gruden was winning, it had nothing to do with his funny faces, it was about
having his team prepared. Same goes for Shell and his blank stare.

OCC: You can only be who you are. If you try to be a ra-ra guy when your not, the players will know its fake and they won't buy into it. Being emotional doesn't work for every team and being calm and collected isn't always going to work or not work either. How about instead of worrying about being 1 or the other or somewhere in the middle, fix the play calling the game plan and worry about upgrading the talent in the offseason? Novel concept!

– Make sure Aaron Brooks misses at least one game due to injury.

Let’s see what Walter’s got. This way, there isn’t that whole Collins-to-Tui-to-Collins mess that was so embarassing for Norv Turner. If Walter doesn’t
seize the job, the company line is it was never his anyway.

OCC: Hey, Aaron Brooks is out 2-4 weeks with a shoulder injury according to ESPN News and so for the time being its Walter's team. Let him see how he does against the bottom of the league and see if he can gain some confidence against the top of the league, it just might work. If it doesn't, well Brady Quinn will be available when the Raiders pick first in the 2007 NFL draft.

I think that sums up my thoughts for now.