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Of all the crazy terms and topics that have flooded the football world this year be it the always funny butt-fumble or the inconceivable fake girlfriend hoax who would have thought deer antler spray would be the scandal of the Super Bowl?

So just when you thought maybe we’ve heard enough of Ray Lewis and his supposed used of a banned substance along comes Hue Jackson (yes, as in former Raiders head coach Hue Jackson) issuing an apology for making an introduction that might have led to this whole fiasco.

Back in ’08 when Jackson was a coach on the Baltimore Ravens’ staff he met Mitch Ross the owner of SWATS, the supposed supplier of the deer antler extract spray Lewis is linked to. Jackson claims he would later introduce Ross to Lewis and the rest is…well…who knows?

Jackson issued an apology last night.

“You hate to ever put an organization in that kind of situation. I never knew the young man [Ross] could be that way. I apologize for the whole organization. It should be about the Super Bowl. I met the guy at the combine in 2008.”

So…Jackson is apologizing for making an introduction that according to Lewis never happened since Ray Ray is denying everything about this situation.

OK…

Jackson went on to apologize to Lewis as well which only furthers this already surreal situation.

“Ray is one of the greatest football players to ever play the game. This kind of thing should never happen to him. He doesn’t deserve it. It’s not fair. This is not about talking about a relationship that he met a guy a few years back. It should be about him trying to win the most important game of all this season. Ray means the world to me. Ray has spoken his peace and I stand behind him 100 percent.”

Whatever…this situation is sloppier than the hotel suite the Gronkowski brothers are sharing in New Orleans this week.

Lewis denies everything about this supposed fabrication while Jackson acknowledges it being his fault…but it never happened…right?

To be sure neither man has helped this situation. Lewis just needs to get down to specifics instead of talking in clichéd circles while Jackson just needs to be quiet. Either way it looks like deer antler spray is here to stay as I’m sure this will be a topic discussed even after Sunday’s game.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

If anybody out there has the right to say whatever he wants to about the pathetic performance of the Oakland Raiders’ offense this year its Hue Jackson. Under Jackson the Raiders became a top 10 NFL offense that featured a burgeoning MVP candidate in Darren McFadden and a trio of young playmakers out wide.

Under Greg Knapp…I can’t talk about it anymore. You know…

So when Jackson was asked about the Raiders becoming so dependent on throwing the ball (you know because they couldn’t run with a healthy McFadden all of a sudden) he avoided the question like McFadden used to do tacklers when he was  in the open field.

“Honestly I don’t want to comment because I’m not there. I don’t know exactly what’s going on. I know they have some very good players, I know the quarterback is playing extremely well. They’re rallying around him. Carson’s there to throw the ball because he knows how to throw the ball, and they have some weapons there. I’m not surprised. That’s a really good football team. They have some talent there and they’re throwing it all over the yard.”

Of course you’d expect Jackson to keep singing the praises of  Palmer. Whatever Raider legacy Jackson will ultimately have is as much tied to the success of McFadden as it is the failure of Palmer. No surprise he’d keep beating the how-great-is-Palmer drum.

What is revealing is that he didn’t even want to address anything about the Raiders struggles in running the rock when McFadden was healthy. Almost as if it’s painfully obvious to him what went wrong…cough, cough, Knapp, cough, cough…

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Greg Knapp is no Hue Jackson. Not by a longshot. Jackson turned Oakland’s inept offense into a budding juggernaut. Knapp has taken that same sleeping giant and given it Valium.

Why we expected anything different from Knapp’s return to the Raiders is beyond me. Chalk that up to a combination of offseason excitement and pure boredom. Just because dude was calling plays for an offense in Houston that featured an elite level running back and receiver plus a capable QB doesn’t mean he was some kind of offensive wiz. Last time around Tom Cable replaced Knapp as Oakland’s play caller and things improved. That about says it all.

There are Korean soap operas that are more exciting to watch than Knapp’s offense. His play calling is as creative as Kim Kardashian and as predictable as the outcome of a Jennifer Lopez marriage.

Now I fully realize that Jackson was not head coach material. He more than proved that by throwing his entire team under the bus as soon as last season ended. But as an offensive mind and a play caller Jackson was crafty, creative and cocky. Yes, a little swagger can go a long way.

Through the design of Jackson and the guidance of Al Saunders Oakland’s offense became explosive over night. Jackson helped turn Darren McFadden into a potential MVP candidate. Thus far Knapp is on a mission to turn Run DMC into the new Crash Test Dummy aka Justin Fargas. Lane Kiffin ran Fargas into the ground. Leave it to Knapp and he’ll do the same to McFadden be it on the ground, through the air if not both.

Between Al Saunders and Jackson the Raiders had an offense that was well on its way to the upper echelon of the NFL. Under Knapp the Oakland O is on its way back down to the level he left it out on his way out of The Bay. We’re all preaching patience with this new regime but Knapp has worn thin on Raider Nation no thanks to his first stint and now he’s not helping his cause at all. Never thought I’d say this but the Raiders really do miss Hue Jackson the coordinator. Jackson the head coach? Not so much.