The NFL 2011 Thread

Mr_PeaCH · 2011-10-08T08:32:33.000Z

They say these things come in threes…

Steve Jobs
Al Davis

Who will be next?!

Lorini · 2011-10-08T08:53:38.000Z

Mr_PeaCH:

They say these things come in threes…

Steve Jobs
Al Davis

Who will be next?!

Superstitious people?

corsair · 2011-10-08T09:13:01.000Z

Davis: I’m moving to hell because I like it there better, but I reserve the right to go back to heaven when and if I want to.

God: Wait…no, can he do that?

Satan: I’m not sure I want him…he ignores everything I say and does only what he wants.

Alas that his football powers seem to fade over the last decade, but Al was always Al, come Hell or High Water. From putting players in the doghouse, to letting them out of other teams doghouses, to breaking any barriers on who he hired for the job, Al was a unique character.

AndrewMyers · 2011-10-08T09:15:57.000Z

Al made the NFL way more interesting. I’m gonna miss him.

Brandon_Clements · 2011-10-08T10:04:40.000Z

corsair:

From putting players in the doghouse, to letting them out of other teams doghouses, to breaking any barriers on who he hired for the job, Al was a unique character.

I talk a lot of shit about the guy, but that can’t be forgotten. The man did do a lot of the heavy lifting that was needed to get the game to the place it is today.

Eightball · 2011-10-08T10:40:27.000Z

Sarkus:

Manning is very good but I still think Montana was better. A bit more mobility and still a good enough arm in his prime to make the deep throws when needed. Chiefs Montana was limited, of course.

Ton of respect for Montana, but he played on some of the best teams in history. Great receivers (including the best receiver in history), great tight end in Brent Jones, great running backs (Roger Craig, Wendell Tyler before him, Tom Rathman), great o-line, and some of the best defenses in the game. From 1981-1990, the 49er defense was 1-4th in points allowed all but 2 years…one of those years they were 8th, the other was the bizarre strike shortened 1982 season. Those teams had basically zero holes on them.

Manning has never had that kind of team around him.

Sarkus · 2011-10-08T11:44:32.000Z

Sad to hear about Al Davis. Very much a mixed legacy from my perspective. On the one hand you have a guy that was hugely part of the AFL and the eventual merger (he was AFL commish when that was negotiated) and obviously his ability to put together winning teams for many years.

But on the other hand you have the purely greed driven, screw the fans move to LA, the battle with the league, and the fact that all of that made franchise relocation a more legally clarified reality.

Does anyone know what happens next with the Raiders ownership? I know Davis was the controlling partner but it has never seemed clear what would happen after his death. I’ve seen lots of speculation that once he passed the NFL wouldn’t be upset at all to see that team end up back in LA since two teams in the Bay area isn’t really the ideal scenario. And getting out of the lease is considered something that could happen fairly easily.

Interesting times ahead for Raiders fans either way.

Bill_Dungsroman · 2011-10-08T11:53:26.000Z

Sarkus:

Sad to hear about Al Davis. Very much a mixed legacy from my perspective. On the one hand you have a guy that was hugely part of the AFL and the eventual merger (he was AFL commish when that was negotiated) and obviously his ability to put together winning teams for many years.

But on the other hand you have the purely greed driven, screw the fans move to LA, the battle with the league, and the fact that all of that made franchise relocation a more legally clarified reality.

Does anyone know what happens next with the Raiders ownership? I know Davis was the controlling partner but it has never seemed clear what would happen after his death. I’ve seen lots of speculation that once he passed the NFL wouldn’t be upset at all to see that team end up back in LA since two teams in the Bay area isn’t really the ideal scenario. And getting out of the lease is considered something that could happen fairly easily.

Interesting times ahead for Raiders fans either way.

Pretyy sure his son (one of his sons?) was taking the lion’s share of those kinds of duties already.

Lorini · 2011-10-08T12:36:06.000Z

Tomorrow’s game will be 100% Hue Jackson’s game. No Al Davis looking over his shoulder and sending down a play he wants run. Should be interesting.

We’ll have to see what’s going to happen to the ownership of the team. Will his heirs keep the team or sell it?

Sarkus · 2011-10-08T12:38:37.000Z

Bill Dungsroman:

Pretyy sure his son (one of his sons?) was taking the lion’s share of those kinds of duties already.

Wikipedia says that his son and wife are his direct heirs, but it isn’t clear from an estate planning standpoint whether they can actually afford to inherit the team, something that has come up before when NFL owners pass. For example, Ralph Wilson has already said that his family will not be able to keep the Bills when he dies because of estate issues. Art Modell wanted to give the Browns/Ravens to his son but couldn’t make it work even after the move to Baltimore. And I don’t know that Davis has much wealth outside of the team. On top of that, 33% of the team is owned by someone else and its possible there are clauses that allow the minority owners to buy the team upon Davis’ death.

Edit: PFT had a story late today that seems to clarify the situation. According to Florio, the estate and succession planning should ensure that Davis’ son and wife can keep the team if they want to and that the minority ownership has no promised path to taking control under any circumstances. So it probably comes down to what Mark Davis, Al’s son, wants to do. And the thinking right now is that he wants to continue owning the team.

ckessel · 2011-10-09T10:11:39.000Z

Grr. The broadcast quality of the Raiders game (at least here in Portland via Verizon Fios) is so jerky it’s giving me motion sickness.

Lorini · 2011-10-09T10:20:34.000Z

Unless you’re a Texan’s fan you aren’t missing much, trust me. Usual undisciplined Raiders.

sluggo · 2011-10-09T10:37:29.000Z

And the Vikings take a 21-0 lead on the Cards.

Which leads to the question: How will they blow their lead this week?!

Edit: And now it’s 28-0, and still the first quarter. Wow.

Lorini · 2011-10-09T10:40:31.000Z

I would hate to be a Viking fan right now. You don’t know whether to be happy or frightened.

sluggo · 2011-10-09T10:55:16.000Z

The only thing missing from that long Texans TD was clown music.

sluggo · 2011-10-09T11:09:05.000Z

Holy crap, Bills!

This is serious emergency time for the Eagles. The Dream Team in danger of falling to 1-4? With the Phillies getting knocked out on Friday, this could be a nightmare weekend for Philly sports teams.

Lorini · 2011-10-09T11:10:12.000Z

Awful morning, isn’t it? Geez Vick, can we work out who is on our team and who isn’t? And Campbell, they are paying you to generate offense, remember?

robsam · 2011-10-09T11:15:50.000Z

sluggo:

Holy crap, Bills!

This is serious emergency time for the Eagles. The Dream Team in danger of falling to 1-4? With the Phillies getting knocked out on Friday, this could be a nightmare weekend for Philly sports teams.

Good times.

Contrai · 2011-10-09T11:23:37.000Z

Considering how bad the Raiders offense has been, it’s not too bad to be down only eight with the ball.

Lorini · 2011-10-09T11:29:38.000Z

2 now!! The defense for once is keeping the Raiders in it.