Lost in all of the pseudo deadlines and splashy headlines are the logistics of this whole fiasco.

DeMaurice Smith and the devil himself Roger Goodell could emerge from meetings arm in arm and there would still be padlocks on every NFL facility in this great country of ours. There is still much work to be done before the lockout officially ends.

Therein lies the problem.

All the owners care about is preserving their income. So long as the Hall of Fame game goes off without a hitch they’ll feel as if they’ve done a great job. Never mind all the players and coaches out there that will be left to scramble to prepare an entire football team, cramming four months into two weeks. Forget about the training staff and their injury assessments that will be rushed to conclusion. Who cares about the employees that lost their dream jobs and have had to find work elsewhere?
(more…)

Eight wins will never mean much unless Hue Jackson can improve upon them, that’s why he got promoted.

There is an overwhelming feeling of optimism in the East Bay even amid a lockout. With the Raiders back into the football conscious of America it would appear the times are changing.

After a perfect romp through the AFC West it is impossible for the Raiders to improve on last season’s accomplishment. Still there is reason for optimism as the division is wide open. Where the Raiders stand to improve is how they perform outside of the meetings with their rivals. This is where the playoff hopes were lost. It was in San Francisco, Arizona and Jacksonville where Oakland’s playoff potential went bust in 2010.

With all the high hopes it is easy to get caught up in the promise of what could be. Based on that theory alone there is some concern that the team won’t be as hungry having gotten rid of the 11-loss albatross hanging around the neck of Al Davis.

Many will cite Oakland’s “tough” schedule as a reason to temper expectations. With games against playoff teams such as the Jets, Patriots and Bears, not to mention a date with the defending Super Bowl champs in Green Bay, plus the AFC West rivalries some have pegged the Raiders as a team destined for a downfall.
(more…)

Did Seymour deserve a more harsh punishment? (Photo: YardBarker.com)

We’re just two days removed from the slap heard round the NFL and the noise is only getting louder. For laying out Ben Roethlisberger with a Romanowksi special, Richard Seymour was hit with a $25,000 fine by the league office.

Fans in Pittsburgh are outraged, crying double standard as loudly as women within a 5-mile radius of Big Ben cry…well…you get the point. Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin is choosing to take the high road as the Raiders remain all but silent.

It was a given Seymour would be fined once he took the walk of shame back to the locker room in the second quarter. Many were expecting a suspension including the oft-fined James Harrison who has made many headlines of his own this season. Others quickly came to Seymour’s defense which makes about as much sense as Tiger Woods saying he made one mistake several hundred times. There really is no defending Seymour. No matter your take on the occurrence you can’t argue for a guy that put his agenda ahead of the team.

Welcome to the modern era of sports journalism where opinions are like family recipes – everybody’s got one and everyone thinks theirs is better than yours.   
(more…)