Skip to main content

DC Announcement is Missed Opportunity

Chuck Bresnahan isn't going to make the Raider Nation do back flips. With every passing day it seems as though Bresnahan will be named to lead the defense. When that announcement is made is a mystery.

Winston Moss, Darren Perry, almost anyone would have invigorated a weary fan base. Bresnahan, unfortunately, isn't that guy. It will be tough for him to be that guy, no matter how the Raiders had announced his hire.

Still, the Raiders are doing Bresnahan no favors in stringing out the announcement. With every passing hour it seems as though Bresnahan is the default choice.

Moss and Perry spurned the Raiders, or simply wouldn't roll over for Al Davis' stringent demands on scheme and player usage.

After a decent season, the fans are still looking for the Raiders to rise. Every possible positive story should be promoted like crazy by the Raiders public relations and marketing departments.

There was an opportunity for the Raiders to sell Bresnahan. He was the man who led the Raiders defense the last time they went to the Super Bowl. Put Bresnahan on CSN, have him use all the typical coachisms.

The Raiders could have Rod Woodson and Hue Jackson talk up Bresnahan. Pull up every favorable stat and make sure the fans know about them.

Feed Bresnahan a few good quotes for his appearances.

"We want to become a bully."
"We want to be an attacking defense"
"Creating turnovers is our number one focus."
"We are going to pressure the Quarterback, no matter what it takes."

They will do it, but coming late it will come across even worse than it already does. It isn't something the Raiders aren't especially good at doing in the first place.

Raiders operate in a mysterious manner, but they also often telegraph their own feelings about a particular hire or move.

The Richard Seymour contract came early. Do you think Al Davis wanted to get that deal done?
The Raiders waited a long time to hire a coach, and ended up hiring Art Shell for a second time. The following year the Raiders hastily hired Lane Kiffin. Two years later the Raiders waited a long time to name Tom Cable. Two years later the Raiders more quickly announced Hue Jackson.

Do you see a pattern?

The more time we wait after the Super Bowl, the greater chance there will be a letdown.

The Raiders missed a huge opportunity to instill confidence in Bresnahan. Now, every defensive mistake the fans will be blame on Bresnahan.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Oakland Raiders Swing for the Fences in 2016 NFL Draft

[embed align="center"]http://gty.im/153039819[/embed] These aren't your daddy's Oakland Raiders or even your younger self's Raiders. If anything, these are your newborn's Raiders or your puppy's Raiders. These are the Raiders we've never seen before. Indicative of the freshness of the franchise was their 2016 NFL Draft. No longer slave to a high draft pick and desperate needs, the theme of the draft for the Raiders was upside. It's as if general manager Reggie McKenzie got so used to hitting his draft picks out of the park that he started swinging for the fences. We'll have to wait a couple of years before we know if he struck out or if he'll continue his Ruthian ways. First, McKenzie boldly went with a safety at No. 14 overall. Kyle Joseph is coming off a torn ACL and fills a major need, but safety isn't a premium position. Only a handful of safeties have been drafted in the first 14 picks in the last 15 years and include names like Ea

2012 NFL Strength of Schedule

  Disclaimer Some strength of schedule models calculate strength of schedule based on the opponents the team has faced to date.  My model calculates strength of schedule based on all the opponents on a team's schedule.  The reason for this is because it reduces weekly fluctuations. For example, when a team plays their Week 17 game, in the traditional model their strength of schedule would change by 31 games...their Week 17 opponent's 16 games plus the additional game played by each of their prior 15 opponents.  In my model, when a team plays their Week 17 game their strength of schedule will only change by 15 games...one additional game for each of the opponents on their schedule.

The Raiders aren't who we thought they were....they're better

The Oakland Raiders are tired of being the team that will be good in a year or two. The team expects to win now and it is winning now. We thought the Raiders needed more talent. We thought that being in the playoff hunt was a year away for this team, but we were wrong. This isn't the team we thought they were, they're better. On Sunday, they moved to 3-3 on Sunday with a 37-29 win over the San Diego Chargers that wasn't close until the final minute. It was also the Raiders second road win of the season. The last time the Raiders had two road wins by their sixth game was 2011. Before that, a five-year streak from 1998-2002. The Raiders went 8-8 in 1998, 1999 and 2011 and narrowly missed the playoffs each year.  They made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They didn't have a losing record in any of those seasons because teams that can win on the road are usually pretty good. As the season matures, there is more and more evidence that some of the "best-case scenario