Sep 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders fans holding a sign of support to keep the franchise in Oakland during the game against the Baltimore Ravens as at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
5. Block Out Distractions
So far this season, Raiders players and coaches have managed to avoid a lot of media fervor regarding the potential that the Raiders might move to LA or elsewhere after the end of the season. However, since the Raiders last played, there have been a few significant developments or rumors of developments in the NFL’s plans for Los Angeles, including a pretty well verified rumor that Mark Davis is considering selling a large piece of the team to an unnamed Los Angeles-based investor in order to facilitate the move back to Southern California.
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The Raiders are also playing the Chargers this week, whom the Raiders are essentially in business with on a plan to build and share a stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. With the NFL having announced townhall meetings in each of the three cities that may potentially lose a team to Los Angeles – including Oakland – and rumors swirling about which teams are favored by which owners and news coming about a potential stadium plan in Saint Louis, the media attention regarding Los Angeles relocation may spill onto the players and coaches going into the game.
As distractions go, this is relatively minor compared to things like domestic violence or coaches being fired. But it is, nevertheless, a distraction and Jack Del Rio should prepare his players and his assistants to deal with these questions. The wrong comment by a player could ignite a deeper firestorm and potentially drive a wedge between the players and media or players and fans, something that can unravel a season easily. It’s best that the players focus right now on being Oakland Raiders.