Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

For better or worse this is a brand new era of Raiders football. Whether or not the Mark Davis-Reggie McKenzie-Dennis Allen era is for the better remains to be seen. One way to help that process would be addition by subtraction. Namely by removing one incompetent offensive coordinator from the equation.

But I’m not going to let this turn into another rant about what the hell has happened to a once explosive offense.

This is about Mark Davis doing something that his father should have done a long time ago.

Walking in his father’s footsteps is no doubt daunting. However Mark Davis is proving himself unafraid to do things his father would have never considered. From hiring a GM to opening practice to the fans Mark Davis is making bold moves to reinvent the Raiders.

Now comes perhaps his boldest move of all.

CSN Bay Area reports that this Sunday Marcus Allen will light the Al Davis flame prior to the Raiders taking on the Steelers.

Yeah. You read that.

Marcus Allen, the same Marcus Allen that Al Davis would sooner watch burn than help put out the flames even if he had a gut full of Budweiser, will honor the memory of Davis this Sunday.

I’m getting goose bumps thinking of the moment. For me the Allen-Davis feud was personal. I grew up as an L.A. Raider fan so Allen was a big part of why I fell in love with the Silver and Black. Watching his career as a Raider fall apart was painful and perplexing.

No matter what Allen did off the field (there is no shortage of theories) that so angered Davis it was a shame that it boiled over to the field.

But we’re not going to talk about the past. This is about moving forward which is exactly what Mark Davis is doing by inviting Allen to honor Al. Forgiveness if among the most important humanistic traits. We all have someone or something in our live that is unresolved, hovering over our heads like JaMarcus Russell’s contract, weighing us down like…well…JaMarcus Russell.

Sometimes forgiving and forgetting is the best remedy there is for what ails us.

Much props to Mark Davis for having the Wilsons to even dare to offer Allen the opportunity. Same for Allen and his willingness to pay tribute to a man that no doubt caused so much angst in his life.

This is a great lesson for everyone, not just Raider Nation. Even in death we have the power to forgive those that have wronged us or that we carry a grudge against.

Now if only the Raiders can pay proper respect to the moment by digging deep and beating the Steelers. Better yet, if only I could find it in my heart to forgive JaMarcus Russell. Something tells me that’s one man Mark Davis won’t be inviting to the Coliseum anytime soon. Another thing about forgiveness is that time heals all wounds. The Russell wound is still pretty fresh. Let’s give that one another decade or two.

Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

I don’t get NFL Network. Thanks to being in that most perfect storm of Time Warner’s Adelphia acquisition and the on-going feud with the league I only see NFL Network at the gym and sports bars. However after today I’m glad that I don’t get the league’s propaganda station at home.

Normally NFL Films is among the most professional, creative and respectful producers of programming. But after today that too is something I’m changing my stance on.

As I said, I don’t get NFL Network so I’m basing this on USA Today’s report of the new NFL Films program that ranks the top 10 Heisman winners to play pro ball.

Now you can dispute the rankings. That’s natural and expected anytime there’s a top 10 of any kind. What you can’t argue against is a Hall of Fame career. Unless, of course, you’re so willing to attract attention that you’ll overlook football greatness for the ratings bonanza of Tebowmania.

On the NFL Films list they’ve got Timmy Tebow, the current backup to Mark Sanchez, ranked 7^th ahead of Canton members Marcus Allen and Earl Campbell.

But it doesn’t stop there. Cam Newton, he of one year in the game, is ranked 10^th leaving a man like Tim Brown completely off the list. Not to mention a former Heisman winner who just so happened to win two Super Bowls…some guy named Jim Plunkett.

Now I fully realize this is just for entertainment and means absolutely nothing. Problem is NFL Films has always taken the mature approach to sports programming. Just the name alone says it all. Shooting sports programming on film in this day and age is unheard of yet it speaks to their continued dedication to preserving the art.

All that being said, to rank both Tebow and Newton ahead of anybody that has accomplished as much as Allen, Campbell and Brown is just insulting. Tebow’s got one playoff win, I’m pretty sure Allen’s record setting Super Bowl performance trumps that not to mention his HOF credentials. Newton had one record setting rookie season. Brown had one record setting career. If Tebow is on this list cause he’s a “winner” then kiss Plunkett’s rings and tell me how they taste.

What am I missing?

In the big picture it means nothing. But what it does illustrate is just how far standards have fallen. Once upon a time a list like this would have come from some deranged fan that would have been belittled on local sports talk radio. Now, it’s a primetime program made by people who know better yet see only ratings. Look, they’ve got me talking about it and I won’t even see the program. I’ll also never subscribe to NFL Network as well. So if their goal was to gain new consumers they’ve failed with at least one person.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Whenever Marcus Allen talks about the Raiders it is an awkward situation like anytime Dwight Howard is in the same room as Jeff Van Gundy. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with Allen talking Raiders. He is, after all, among the most accomplished men to ever wear silver and black. It’s just tough to ignore all the bad blood that has been spilled over the years.

No matter your ultimate opinion of the situation between Allen and the late Al Davis if you’re a member of Raider Nation then seeing Marcus sporting those hideous Chiefs colors had to make your skin crawl. I know I’ll never forget the feeling seeing him as a Chief for the first time. Aside from that whole debacle there is also the issue of what Allen represents to the Raiders franchise.

You see Marcus Allen was an L.A. Raider. He never once suited up for the silver and black in Oakland. Now he’s not the only player to ever make that distinction. Far from it. Bo Jackson was an L.A. Raider too. That might not mean much to some but given Allen’s history he also represents a sore subject for Bay Area Raider lovers who had to watch their team leave the area they were synonymous with.

But time heals all wounds…I guess…

These days Raider fans from L.A. to the Bay get together on Sundays to celebrate their shared love of the franchise that Al built. And, yes, it is perfectly fine for Allen to share his opinion of that very franchise.

Doug Williams of ESPN (not the one that pwned John Elway in the Super Bowl) recently picked Allen’s brain on everything from the best running back to ever come out of San Diego to his golf battles with Eric Dickerson. Naturally between those two topics there was also some talk of the Raiders.

Allen played with current Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie and openly admits he never thought the former linebacker had a future in the front office.

No, I didn’t see the general manager in him. When he was done playing, obviously he had an idea of what he wanted to do. I always was impressed by that guy. I thought he was a student of the game. It wasn’t just X’s and O’s for him. It was much more than that.

Allen might not have seen the general manager in McKenzie but he certainly has seen his approach as a professional and believes he’ll bring that same mentality to the Raiders. In fact, Allen is convinced McKenzie will be a great addition to Oakland.

I have great faith in Reggie McKenzie. I think he’ll do a great job.

Like the entire world knows the Raiders have lacked consistency over the years. Part of what plagued Davis in his final years on the job was impatience. Davis never saw his franchise as rebuilding which is precisely why coaches changed as often as soap opera plotlines and quarterbacks rotated more often than tires in the Indy 500. Allen also believes that is all going to change under McKenzie’s watch.

I just think they need some consistency. They need some discipline and consistency. Changing coaches every other year is not a good thing. They need stability. They need to be stable and consistent at the head coach position and quarterback and they need discipline, and I think they’ll be fine.

Naturally only results will justify anything McKenzie has done thus far. If you believe in any of Marcus Allen’s assessments and buy into the book on Dennis Allen then things should be much different for the Raiders. Then again, depending on where your politics lie with regards to Marcus Allen, you might not have even gotten this far into these writings. That’s more than understandable. Not everything changes over the years.