12 Thoughts on Steelers-Raiders

On Friday, I wrote a column outlining why I worried about the Oakland Raiders game. By Sunday afternoon, I was looking rather foolish after the Steelers had their way with Al Davis' team, and very happy I was wrong.

Some thoughts on the Flag Fest disguised as NFL football on Sunday, with illustration courtesy of Shaun Suisham:

Meet Tony Corrente

Sunday's Steeler-Raider game featured 21 penalties, including 14 on the Steelers for a franchise-record 163 yards, nearly matching the total of the Raiders offense (182). Who was the official with the historically quick trigger? Tony Corrente, an NFL official since 1995 and the referee of Super Bowl XLI.

Video: Richard Seymour Slaps Ben Roethlisberger

In a ridiculously-officiated game that's already resulted in a Steeler franchise record for penalty yards, it was this action by Richard Seymour against Big Ben that sort of sums up the chaos that went down on Sunday afternoon. Can't wait to hear the fallout in the aftermath of this game, but expect it to be rather vocal, much like the fans in attendance.

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Anyone Else Concerned About the Raiders?

That title sounds funny to even say out loud, but I'd be lying if I said I had some genuine concerns about this weekend's Steeler opponent.

Youngwood's George Blanda Passes at 83

Former Oakland Raider QB George Blanda, a Youngwood native and first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, passed away today at the age of 83.

Former Raider Jack Tatum Passes at 61

Jack "The Assassin" Tatum, a former Oakland Raider defensive back who happened to be involved in one of the most memorable plays in Steeler history, has passed away at the age of 61 due to a heart attack.

Tatum, a ferocious hitter who once paralyzed New England's Darryl Stingley in 1978, collided with Frenchy Fuqua on a pass play in a 1972 AFC playoff game, with the deflected ball falling into the hands of Franco Harris. Harris scampered for a touchdown, the Steelers won the game, and the Immaculate Reception was born. The play was voted as the greatest of all time by NFL Film, and it also happened to be the first playoff win in Steeler history. Incidentally, it also kicked off the "Al Davis vs. the NFL" rivalry that continues on to this day, but that's another story for another time.

The Steelers would go on to lose to the undefeated Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship, but the Immaculate Reception game kicked off a fierce rivalry between the Raiders and Steelers that defined the anything-goes, 1970s-era NFL. The teams met in each of the next four postseasons, with the Steelers going past the Raiders twice in AFC Championships en route to the Super Bowl.

If you need a refresher on how tough Tatum was, take a look at the YouTube clip below. Tatum would more than likely be broke from paying so many fines had he played in today's NFL, which would probably be directly opposed to the "Assassin" style. 

Tatum was a very polarizing player, and while he was certainly disliked by many fans, he will certainly be missed by others.

FROM BAD TO WORSE

RAIDERS (4-8) 27
STEELERS (6-6) 24

ROETHLISBERGER 18/24, 278 YARDS, 2 TD, 1 INT
MENDENHALL 20 CARRIES, 103 YARDS, 1 TD
HOLMES 8 CATCHES, 149 YARDS, 1 TD

Last weekend was pretty hard to stomach for fans of Pittsburgh football, both of the pro and college variations. Pitt's last-second loss in the Backyard Brawl served as the appetizer to a Steeler overtime loss against Baltimore, putting the city in a collective bad mood as Monday rolled around. Well if that was bad, this will be much, much worse.

By now, everyone has heard about what happened to the Car Care Bowl-bound Panthers. Their misery has been well-documented on every sports network for the past 24 hours. Cincinnati is officially Pittsburgh's Daddy on all levels of football in 2009, as painful as that is to write. But the collapse of the world champs...now that is a script that continues to get authored each week (four weeks in a row, to be exact). Sunday's opponent, the Oakland Raiders, was thought of by many (myself included) to be the elixir that cured a franchise in a tailspin. As it turns out, all they did was downgrade the Steelers' playoff chances from "still likely" to "life support". A few thoughts:

1. The current four-game losing streak is totally new ground for Mike Tomlin. Prior to this season, Tomlin-coached Steeler teams had only lost back-to-back games once, in 2007, to New England and Jacksonville. That team went on to lose six games and find themselves out after one round of the playoffs (again at the hands of the Jaguars).

This streak, however, is virgin territory for the human soundbyte that doubles as a head coach. Tough talk about unleashing hell in December is great for whipping up the fans, but losing to Tom Cable and Bruce Gradkowski is losing to Tom Cable and Bruce Gradkowski. My apologies to all of Gradkowski's local fans and supporters, but that coach/QB combination is just a little less accomplished than the duo the Steelers trotted out on Sunday.

At least if this loss came in Oakland then maybe (and only maybe) could I possibly see a "tired from the flight/jet-lag" excuse pulled out of the excuse hat. But this loss was on their home turf. To a team that's considered a laughing stock. There is no excuse.

As I often say, most of our emotion as fans comes down to expectations. Few would've predicted a 6-6 record for the Steelers at this point in the season; not with a championship team returning the vast majority of their players. Sure, injuries to players like Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith hurt to some degree. But even missing those two and others, this team has much more talent than the Chiefs or Raiders. Fans had every right to have high expectations for the 2009 Steelers, and they absolutely have every right to be disappointed. And when fans are disappointed, the criticism usually gets directed to either the head coach, quarterback, or both. Given that Roethlisberger had a 123.3 rating and only 6 incompletions, I'm guessing he will get the benefit of the doubt for the time being. As for Tomlin, it's going to be a looooong week. I'm already seeing some radicals calling for his head just months after winning a Super Bowl. Gotta love football fans.

2. So much for the scary Steeler defense. Save the statistics or the rankings. When they need a stop, they've proven time and time and time again this year that they aren't up to the task. The secondary is in shambles. They just got carved up by a journeyman backup QB with a lifetime record of 3-9, a lifetime passer rating of 61, and a previous career high of 225 yards passing. Against the swiss cheese-style Steeler secondary, Gradkowski lit up the scoreboard for three touchdowns in the final eight minutes, a career-high 308 yards, and a QB rating of 121.8. I love Dick LeBeau, but will anyone ask him for an explanation of these numbers this week?

3. Loved this snippet from the ESPN recap (my emphasis):

Who does Gradkowski think he is, one-time Raiders comeback king George Blanda? Until Sunday, the Raiders had thrown only five touchdown passes all season.

Gradkowski, who completed only two passes and had a 1.0 passer rating during a 31-0 loss in Pittsburgh with Cleveland last December, finished 20-of-33 for 308 yards with a passer rating of 121.8.

And then there's this:

"That was so exciting, I can't even put into words how I feel," said Gradkowski, whose first two starts in Pittsburgh in 2006 and 2008 yielded three points, five interceptions and zero wins.

Excuse me, I have to go vomit.

Much better. On to #4.

4. Joe Burnett dropped what would've been a game-ending interception, Ryan Mundy committed a personal foul on the final drive to give the Raiders a 15- yard boost, and Ike Taylor got beat by something called a Louis Murphy for a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Much like I said about the Pitt game, numerous scapegoats are usually a telltale sign of a game you didn't deserve to win.

5. Once again, the Steelers committed the Cardinal Sin of what not to do when playing against a bad team: they let them hang around too long. When it's 10-6 after three quarters, you're technically still winning, but you've left yourself no room for an error. The game can change on one play - which it did. After the Steelers fell behind, they responded. But for every Steeler score, the Raiders had an answer, and they had the ball at the end of the game. You want to beat the Raiders? Score some of those 14 fourth-quarter points in the first half and watch them wilt away and die like a hot dog under a convenience store heat lamp.

6. The offense was in better balance this week, with 27 rushes and 24 passes. The only problem is that the vast majority of those 27 rushes went nowhere. The one big play they did have, Rashard Mendenhall's 60-yard-run, culminated in a drive that stalled on the Oakland 5 yard line and resulted in zero points. The other 26 carries resulted in just 49 yards.

The running game continues to get nothing out of Willie Parker (15 yards on three carries) and the line can't get one yard when they have multiple shots. It's a sad state of affairs. Somewhere, Jerome Bettis weeps (while sitting on a pile of money and eating a deep fried meatloaf hoagie).

7. On the good side, I don't see any special teamers players getting cut or coaches getting fired this week. And Stefan Logan actually provided a spark with an 83-yard kick return. On the other hand, if Gary Russell would've beaten the Steelers with a runback, I think there would've been even more mass hysteria in the streets than normal after a game like this.

8. This game certainly brought back memories from the last time these teams met, in 2006. Back then, the Steelers were also defending champs, they lost to a below-average QB (Andrew Walter), they were in the midst of a free-fall (a week away from 2-6), and the Raiders stunk (they would finish 2-14 under the classically clueless Art Shell).

9. Hines Ward showed no ill effects of a week spent discussing Ben Roethlisberger, with six catches for 77 yards and a TD. Santonio Holmes had his best game of the season, and found the end zone for just the third time in 2009. But Heath Miller was held to just one catch for the second consecutive week. He has been a non-factor through the air since his 95-yard effort at Kansas City.

10. Next up for the Steelers: Cleveland, and on Thursday night at that. I would normally expect a whitewash, but at this point, Brady Quinn could throw for 400 yards and I don't think I would bat an eye.

We've reached the point of no easy answers, and that's always a great place to fire up a good old-fashioned dissection of the Steelers' ailments. I've provided a few amateur theories, but as always, I'm more looking forward to hearing your two cents on the current state of football affairs.

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GARY RUSSELL NOW A RAIDER

The intriguing offseason of former Steeler RB Gary Russell has taken yet another turn. Following a strangely-timed release in April by the Super Bowl Champs, Russell was promptly signed and just-as-promptly released by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Today, he was signed by the NFL's Last Chance Saloon, the Oakland Raiders.

Russell will be fifth on a talented yet crowded Raider depth chart that includes Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush, and Louis Rankin. The Raiders also have four fullbacks, including four-time Pro Bowler Lorenzo Neal.

I'd say this was a surprising move by the Raiders, if for no other reason than the fact that Russell ran a 4.84 40 at the combine in 2007.

Gary Russell Resurfaces With Raiders [PFT]

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NAPOLEON HARRIS VISITS STEELERS

With some new-found cap space and a gaping hole on the linebacker depth chart, the Steelers are visiting with Celebrity car owner Napoleon "Hollywood" Harris, who spent time last year with Minnesota and Kansas City.

Harris, the valedictorian of his high school (where he teamed up with former Steeler Antwaan Randle-El), played football and a year of basketball at Northwestern University. He was a 2002 first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders, eventually being dealt to Minnesota as part of the package for Randy Moss. He signed a six-year deal with the Chiefs in 2007 that lasted one year, making that whole "six-year" language a bit of a farce.

He re-joined the Vikings last year, playing in 10 games and starting five. He had 32 tackles, one sack, and his first career touchdown in a week 12 game against Jacksonville.

Harris played under Mike Tomlin during 2006 in Minnesota, so there's a bit of history there. He would provide nice depth with the recent release of Larry Foote and he might earn enough cash to add to his Bentley collection in the process.

Napoleon Harris Visits The Steelers [PFT]

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ASHLEY LELIE, PITTSBURGH STEELER?

That's the reaction I had after reading the report that the journeyman WR met with the Steelers on Monday. The visit apparently went well enough for his agent to be optimistic about a deal being struck, and to be honest, I'm a little confused.

Frankly, Lelie's reputation has been nothing short of disappointing since entering the league as a first-round pick by Denver in 2002. What is a major red flag to me is the fact that he's played for four teams in four seasons, a one-and-done with the last three teams who've acquired him: Atlanta in 2006, San Francisco in 2007, and Oakland in 2008. And these were all bad teams. The '06 Falcons won seven games, the '07 49ers won five, and the '08 Raiders won five as well.

His receiving yardage has been in decline since 2004, from 1084 yards to 770 to 430 to 115, with a slight bump to 197 last season.

In addition to free-falling numbers, Lelie has exhibited a diva mentality at times, holding out after the Broncos had the nerve to attempt to upgrade their receiver position in 2006. After finally forcing a trade to Atlanta, Lelie gave up $982,000 as a result of holdout fines and prorated signing bonuses he was forced to repay.

I'll never forget the description John Clayton gave of Lelie at one of those ESPN 1250 Fantasy Football Camps in Pittsburgh a few years ago. He was quoting one of Lelie's coaches, and let's just say it wasn't a compliment. At all. In fact, it was enough to turn me off from Lelie all these years later.

Maybe one last change of scenery, and to a strong organization for once, will be what the doctor ordered for Lelie. Like incoming rookie Mike Wallace, he's got fantastic speed, which the Steelers are clearly prioritizing. And if it doesn't work, there's always the option of Gary Russell-ing him.

Steelers meet with free agent WR Lelie [Trib]

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LEFTWICH SITUATION EXPLAINED

ESPN's Seth Wickersham eloquently answers the question I wasn't able to yesterday, which is why Byron Leftwich somehow remains unsigned while lesser QBs are being scooped up around the NFL. His thought:

People wonder why Byron Leftwich doesn't have a job. They point to his solid résumé: a 24-22 starting record, terrific play last season for the Pittsburgh Steelers in relief of Ben Roethlisberger and the raw talent that made him the NFL draft's seventh overall pick in 2003.

The free-agent quarterback says money isn't an issue and all he wants is "a chance to compete," which is reasonable. So why can't former Jacksonville Jaguars starter Leftwich find work, especially when teams sign or trade for C-listers like Bruce Gradkowski and Chris Simms and Dan Orlovsky?

It's easy, really: Leftwich sees himself as a starter. And as long as that's the case, he'll be a terrible backup.

To expand upon what Wickersham says, I assume it's probably the same reason that an obviously talented guy like Jeff Garcia has bounced around from Cleveland to Detroit to Philly to Tampa Bay and now to Oakland since parting ways with San Francisco after the 2003 season. The guy is a four-time Pro Bowler yet can't stick with a team. It doesn't make sense. Why? Because he never sees himself as a true #2 guy, and teams never see him as a long-term solution.

Mark my word, the same thing will happen in Oakland. Jamarcus Russell will struggle, impatient fans will start the call for the backup QB, and in will step Garcia, who will win a few games, get some people excited, and cause Russell's progress to stall in neutral. Once the season concludes, will Oakland really be a better team with a short-term fix? Probably not.

Of course, I realize that the flip-side of this argument would be the situations in Arizona and Tennessee, but I would be quick to point out that both of those situations involved quarterbacks (Kurt Warner and Kerry Collins) who had Super Bowl experience. They both clearly a notch above Garcia in terms of their NFL accomplishments. But I might add, by doing what those teams have done, how have they affected the future of their QB position as it relates to their franchise? Would you feel confident with Vince Young or Matt Leinart at this stage of the game? They've effectively gone from a possible long-term fix to a year-by-year solution. And that's always dangerous in the NFL.

The Steelers don't want a quarterback controversy or competition. That's why they passed on a guy like Daunte Culpepper, who allegedly said he wanted a shot at starting, although he denied making that statement. Last year's situation with Leftwich was a win-win: they needed an arm and he needed a home. If his re-signing was a priority for the team, it would've been done long ago and he would be having no discussions with Washington. Would the Steelers like to have both back, as they have stated? Who knows. But at least their rationale to this point makes a little more sense to me, thanks to Wickersham's insight.

Backup QBs: Learn to rewire or retire [ESPN.com]

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CHRIS CARR TO VISIT THE STEELERS

No one will ever confuse the Steelers with the Redskins when it comes to free agency (or commercials), but the Black and Gold will be bringing in a second unrestricted free agent for a visit this week.

On Wednesday, Titans corner/return specialist Chris Carr will take in all things Pittsburgh as he visits with the team. Carr, a backup with the Titans last year, was third in the AFC in kick returns (28.1) and eighth in punt returns (10.1) last season. That's one area where the Steelers have perenially looked for help since the depature of Antwaan Randle-El in 2006.

Carr was signed as an undrafted free agent by Oakland in 2005 after playing collegiately on the Smurf Turf of Boise State. He signed with the Titans as a restricted free agent last year after the Raiders failed to match Tennessee's two-year, $2 million offer.

Perhaps the most unnerving bit of Chris Carr comes from Wikipedia, where an old wound gets instantly reopened:

His first touchdown came while playing as a cornerback, when he intercepted a pass by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown on October 29, 2006 at McAfee Coliseum. It was the second longest interception for a touchdown in Raiders history and helped seal an upset win over the defending Super Bowl champions.

That's right - Carr was one of the key components in what I would call one of the biggest regular-season upsets in NFL history: the would-be 2-14 Raiders beat the defending Super Bowl Champions, scoring 20 points without an offensive touchdown. I think Ben Roethlisberger's still having nightmares about that game.

So why would the Steelers be interested? Well, Carr would not only help on special teams, but he would provide some secondary depth that's needed due to the recent defection of one Bryant McFadden. Considering the Steelers ended up not doing a deal with Duquesne's Leigh Bodden (another veteran who just signed with New England), it appears that this is a position the Steelers are targeting in the offseason.

Titans cornerback to visit Steelers tomorrow [PG]

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FORMER STEELER MISSING AT SEA

Marquis Cooper, a linebacker who had three short stints with the Steelers between 2006 and 2007, was one of four men reported missing this morning off of Florida's Gulf Coast. Cooper, 26, was accompanied by 29-year-old Lions defensive end Corey Smith and two other men, one of which is rumored to possibly be a third NFL player.

Cooper, a 2004 third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs, originally came to the Steelers in October 2006 after his release from the Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers would later release him in December '06, then re-sign him in July 2007 after his release from Seattle. He was released in September 2007 and re-signed a third time in December 2007 following a week-long stay with Jacksonville in-between. He became a free agent for 2008 and signed with Oakland, where he appeared in eight games.

Smith and Cooper, 2004 teammates with the Bucs, were on Cooper's 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected.

More info will be passed along as it becomes available, and until then, let's keep our fingers crossed for the best.

Coast Guard: Former Steelers player Cooper missing at sea [Trib]
Marquis Cooper [Wikipedia]
Marquis Cooper [Steelers.com]

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Jerramy Stevens - Tyler Brayton Video

Via the wonders of the internet

Make sure you watch at the 35-second mark. Our old friend Jerramy Stevens starts everything, yet the Raider is the one who gets caught. Somewhere, Joey Porter is laughing.

A Recent History of Sports Hatred in Pittsburgh

READER SUBMISSION

By Worstavid

"A Recent History of Sports Hatred in Pittsburgh"

Okay, so let’s set some parameters on this list. My range of personal experience extends from about 1960 to present. I must first say that I wonder if there was less pure hatred in the old days or if I was just less aware of it because I was young?

My first real dose of hatred came in, I believe, 1968. If I’m not mistaken, this was the year that the Pittsburgh Penguins had their first major altercation with the St. Louis Blues. All I can say is, "WOW!"

I had the very great good fortune to be seated in the first row near the red line when former Pen and future Edmonton Oiler Coach Glen Sather got into a boxing match with Barclay Plager, one of the soon-to-be-reviled Plager brothers who populated the Blues rosters for several years. They had Barclay, Bill, Beano and Zeppo. I believe there were other, illegitimate ones too.

Anyway, Sather squares off with old Barclay who just LOVED fights. The just stood there juking and boxing, bare-fisted, for a few seconds, then Sather proceeded to beat the living hell out of him. Of course this was in the days of full goon hockey, so you know what happened next…mass mayhem, that's what. It was almost surreal. Players would square off, groups would get involved. The refs would get things under control and then…you guessed it, here goes another fight in another area of the ice. These fights were so out of control, that the refs sent the players to the locker rooms BEFORE THE END OF THE PERIOD! There was about a minute and a half left, so they came back, played a minute and a half, then had another brief stoppage before starting the next period.

When you get hit by Plager, are you Plagerized?

The pure hatred that this game spawned spilled over into the playoffs where the Penguins found themselves playing, you guessed it, the St. Louis Blues. What an exciting series this was if you loved pure goon hockey. The Pens lost in six, but it was still great. We had a rookie named Michele Briere who was phenomenal. I often wondered how the Pens’ future would have been different had he not been killed that off-season in an auto accident.

Hatred for the Flyers has been strong over the years too and still continues to this day. Evidence the emotion in the Pens’ opener against them. Can you imagine that the Pens will play them eight times this year out of 82 games? That’s 9.75% of their games against a hated rival! The possibilities for hatred that this could generate would be similar to that river of “ectoplasm” (pure hatred) running under New York City in “Ghostbusters”. In this case, the river would stretch the entire length of the Keystone State.

We're ready to believe you, Worstavid

My other major memories of sports hatred involve, of course, our beloved Steelers. I really have no hatred memories involving the Pirates, other than the Braves playoff losses. Sure, we hated losing to the Braves in the playoffs, but I never got to the same hatred levels involving this “non-contact sport”.

Boy, when you talk about sports hatred, there was no love lost between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. In those days football was a different game from the watered-down version we’re treated to today. The Raiders were famous for the techniques they employed with their secondary. In fact, one drill had them using a “forearm shiver” in repetition on their tackling dummies’ heads. They had some real mean dudes like Alonzo “Skip” Thomas (also known as “Doctor Death”), Jack Tatum and George Atkinson who Chuck Noll once called a “Part of the criminal element in the National Football League.” He wound up in court over that remark, that’s how bad things got. Al Davis was the man everyone hated. Today he’s the pathetic loser with a walker that Steeler fans still love to hate. John Madden was a big mouth back then too and he was always ranting and raving at the officials. He never shut up. Yes, we still hate him even today.

The stories about the dirty tricks are legendary. The Raiders greased their jerseys, their receivers used “stickum” on their hands. They supposedly had under-inflated balls that made it into the game for the Steeler’s punter, Bobby Walden. One of the best stories ever involved the Steelers grounds crew at Three Rivers supposedly spraying the Raiders sideline so that it was an ice-skating rink for a playoff game. Everybody was getting into the hatred act. Of course the Steeler fans had to get into it too and their contribution involved finding out where the Raiders were staying in town and making life totally miserable…all night long. Boy that series was REALLY full of hatred.

Of course the Browns have long been hated, but that hatred has waned as they have fallen into a complete state of incompetence as a rival. But they had some decent teams back in the 70s too and one play I’ll never forget that really enflamed things for years around here involved a lineman by the name of Joe “Turkey” Jones. I never did find out why he was nicknamed “Turkey”, but after he literally spiked Terry Bradshaw on his head/neck along the sideline in one of the most vicious tackles I’ve ever seen. He was called a lot worse things than “Turkey” after that.

A rare shining moment for the Browns

We used to hate the Houston Oilers pretty good around here too. They beat us a few times in regular season games, but we owned them in the playoffs. They had the most annoying fight song that they’d play in Houston when they scored a touchdown, it used to really get me riled up. “We’re the..Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers number one! We’re the …well you get it. It sucked, totally. I was glad when they moved from Houston just so that song would never be played again.

I used to love when Dan Pastorini, their quarterback, was coming to town. So did the Steelers, apparently. I never saw a man get maimed as repeatedly as Pastorini by the Steelers. He got legendary beatings from them. I’m surprised he survived them, or that he’s not a quadriplegic by now.

A really vivid memory I have from my newspaper days involved a Monday Night Football game against the Earl Campbell-led Oilers. Campbell was in his prime and I had the good fortune to have a sideline pass. I watched a collision at the goal line between Campbell and Steelers Safety Mike Wagner. Wagner made a tremendous hit, head-on and I swear that Campbell didn’t score. Believe me, I had the best vantage point in the stadium to make this call other than the back judge who was right there as well. Apparently, the 50,350 in attendance (the every week capacity back then at Three Rivers) didn’t agree with this call either. I heard a crash right behind me and spun around. Someone threw a whiskey bottle from the stands and it shattered into a million pieces on the rock hard astro turf surface. Had it hit me, I wouldn’t be writing this but would be sipping my dinner from a straw tonight.

So let’s recap: We seriously hated the Blues and still hate the Flyers in hockey, The Oilers, Browns and especially the Raiders conjured up strong feelings in football. Yes, admittedly we hated the Braves too, come to think of it. But in retrospect was it hatred for Sid Bream or Barry Bonds or more hatred knowing that our shot was lost at winning a World Series with that team and that it would be…forever…before we ever got another chance!

UPDATE:
Our friends at The Pensblog have decided to further rub salt in the wound that is the Pirates with the Youtube Video Clip of Sid Bream, Francisco Cabrera, and Barry Bonds. That was difficult to watch. I guess that further proves the point on hatred for a team. And thanks to Pensblog for the video link.

Tommy Maddox a Raider?

Turnover Tommy tried out with the Oakland Raiders, a true version of football's black hole, on Wednesday, just one day after showing off his arm for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots as the possible successor to Tom Brady. If the Raiders choose not to sign the former XFL employee, they will go with WR Ronald Curry as the 3rd stringer.

I heard at the tryout, Art Shell had Tommy run a one-on-11 drill in which he had no blocking or protection. They wanted to simulate actual game conditions for a future Raider QB. Maddox will be signed and immediately be out 2-4 weeks.