Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

I’ll always be a Lester Hayes fan. Dude would have to be convicted of smuggling children in zip lock bags for sale on the black market for me to stop being a Hayes fan. It’s one of those childhood things. He was one of my first football heroes and it was for one simple reason – Hayes kept it real.

Yeah, it’s a clichéd statement but with Hayes it is, has and always will be 100% true.

I was fortunate enough to attend a football camp in my youth that featured local pros from the Raiders and Rams back when both teams called the L.A. area home. Guys like former Rams QB Jim Everett and one-time Raiders running back Greg Bell were counselors at the camp and their general message was that football is a lot of fun. It was the other counselors, Hayes and Ronnie Lott that kept it real.

Lott looked every one of us dead in the eyes with a serious look on his mug and told us all, “football is war”. Hayes, who always addressed us as “gentlemen”, reiterated what Lott had to say about the game. He constantly reminded us that in this game you “sacrifice your body for the team”.

I can only imagine what the fallout would be in this day and age if a parent sent their kid to a camp with pros to be told to “sacrifice their body”. But that’s the game. No matter how the opinions of football may change the essence of the game remains the same.

I always admired Hayes for telling it like it was. He didn’t pull punches. Hayes wasn’t trying to trick us kids into thinking we were playing a game that was all touchdowns and postgame pizza parties. This game is a test of your manhood. Straight up.

So I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that Hayes is the “lone voice of dissention” in the current climate on concussion sensitivity.

Hayes did an interview with CNN giving his strong opinion on the multitude of law suits the NFL is facing and painted an all-too-real picture of what old school football was like.

To Hayes it’s the players, not the league, that are ultimately responsible for their own health.

“It’s all on the players, not anybody else, because the players have the same gladiator genes that existed in Rome over 2,000 years ago. They have a love of football to the 10th power. So the players make the final call. Trust me. No matter what they are told by doctors or anybody else, they will fight to play.”

That’s Hayes for you. He’s not going to shy away from telling it the way he sees it and could care less if it’s not a popular opinion. He’s also quick to remind you that his era was nothing like the era these players currently play in.

“Lord, have mercy. It’s so much safer to play in the NFL these days than during my time. We didn’t have any guidelines. You could actually lead with your face mask — putting your face mask on an opposing player’s face mask, without a $15,000 fine. You could throw a forearm shiver to the throat. People played with broken bones. Guys would carry smelling salt in their socks, so if you got a little woozy on the field, you’d reach into your sock for help.”

Most would argue that the Hayes mentality is that of a bygone era when there was no knowledge on the effects of concussions. Many will dismiss Hayes a dinosaur stuck in the past. Now to be fair there is plenty of merit to the current law suits. A league that has turned a blind eye to player safety has suddenly made it a priority largely because of the fear of legal action. The league does have some explaining to do.

But I still flashback to my encounter with Hayes who laid it out in plain English for a group of kids just learning the game. He didn’t pull any punches. He kept it real with us. If we were going to play this game then we had better be ready for everything that comes with it. Not a popular message but a real one, a message I still hold onto and apply to everything I engage in.

Tom Cable has a problem on his hands. He’s got three very talented running backs with three very different skill sets and just one pigskin to go around.

On paper, the Oakland Raiders have weapons on offense that might have caused former president George W. Bush to declare anyone wearing silver and black as a domestic terrorist.

From the WMD attached to JaMarcus Russell’s right arm to the Lester Hayes stickum hands of Zach Miller, the 2009 Raiders could be an offensive juggernaut.

The truth is that the road to offensive dominance will be paved by the likes of Samson Satele and Mario Henderson while Justin Fargas, Michael Bush and Darren McFadden will be responsible for a smooth ride to the end zone.

The question is how will Coach Cable’s play calling be able to utilize three backs capable of joining the thousand yard club?

Young Hugg in action

To begin, one must start with the last member of the Raider 1,000-yard rushing club, Justin Fargas. Any Raider fan who doesn’t appreciate Fargas is either a closet Chief fan or just knows nothing about football. Justin plays with a reckless abandon every time he touches the rock. When Cable tells Fargas to run through a wall, you feel bad for the bricks he’s about to destroy. With the emergence of Bush and the addition of McFadden it would seem that Young Hugg is on the outside looking in. While he won’t get 25 touches unless there are injuries, he’s still a great guy to either start a series with or to spell tired legs. As far as I’m concerned, it is still his job to lose.

The Louisville Slugger

Next we have the Michael Bush dilemma. He finished last season with that 177-yard effort that took an NFL check out of the hands of Chucky. This guy could honestly crank out a 1,000-yard season with only 15 touches a game.  He’s got that kind of talent and he just might be the best of the three runners. The best example of how he should be utilized with the other runners was the game in Kansas City last year. After Fargas left the game with a groin injury, McFadden got the bulk of the carries while Bush ended the game. Whenever McFadden would break for a good gain, Bush would come in and punish the winded defense until the 4^th quarter came around and Bush finally took the air out of Arrowhead with a 32-yard scamper to the end zone. He’s the hammer. The guy who makes the defense roll their eyes as they’re bent over gasping for breath. As I see it, he should get a few touches in the first half but Cable should keep him fresh for the 4^th quarter. Imagine having a lead and a ready-to-go Michael Bush late in a game.

Run-DMC

Among the many problems that the 2008 edition of the Raiders suffered from was a red zone offense that produced results only the 2006 Raiders would envy. Enter Darren McFadden. If he’s healthy in 2009, McFadden could be the best red zone weapon in the NFL. Yeah, I just said that. See his two touchdown performance in Denver last year. Both TDs were just from one yard out and it was against the lowly Donkey D, but his presence from 20 yards and in is undeniable. McFadden’s talents open up the entire playbook for Cable and help him in solving his issues with finding carries for three runners. DMC can be used as a wide receiver, he can take snaps under center and he can tote the pill out of the back field. He can share field time with both Bush and Fargas while making their lives easier when used as a decoy. To me, the offense must be built around McFadden. I’m not saying that he should get the majority of the carries. I’m just saying that he’s the one guy you can’t afford to not find creative ways to get the ball in his hands.

Fargas is best utilized on early downs just to help establish the run, McFadden is the all-purpose talent who must be involved heavily in order to keep the defense honest and Bush is the closer.

Seems simple enough, right?

It is foolish to anticipate these running backs remaining healthy for the entire season. Expect an ever changing playbook depending on both health and match ups.

Having three talented backs is a problem only if they don’t believe in the system in place or if there are no results to justify sharing the ball.

Tom Cable might have a problem, but it’s a welcome one when you’re still brining along a young quarterback and are trying to reverse a losing culture.  

Now, we just need a nickname for this trio. Any suggestions?

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