Huff: Al Davis had role in defense

[ThomasTomasz]

For years, there were rumors and talk that Al Davis' fingerprints were still on the game-day preparations and plans for the Oakland Raiders.

Now, safety Michael Huff has confirmed to the Contra Costa Times that that was indeed the case with the defense and the long-time Raiders' owner who died last year.

"Nothing personal, but obviously, before with Al, rest in peace, he had his hands in all the defense," Huff said. "He had all his little things he liked to do. Now with D.A. (Dennis Allen) out there, we've got all kinds of blitzes, we've got 3-4, 4-3 fronts, just a lot of variety and different things going on. So I'm going to love it."

Huff said opponents often knew what the Raiders were going to do when they lined up, as there were very few disguises or adjustments.

"Everybody knew," Huff said. "I'm in the middle of the field. I'm in the post, we're pretty much man-to-man on the outside. It was pretty simple. We really didn't blitz much. We let our front four get after them. That's how it was, so we dealt with it."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/huff-al-davis-had-role-202205454--nfl.html

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

People will say meddlesome.....but who the fuck on this board would own an NFL team and not at least attempt to draw up plays ,coach a player ,or decide which cheerleaders can cheer ?
Id be the most meddlesome 0-16 owner in league history.

 

[July 4 1776]

People will say meddlesome.....but who the fuck on this board would own an NFL team and not at least attempt to draw up plays ,coach a player ,or decide which cheerleaders can cheer ?
Id be the most meddlesome 0-16 owner in league history.

I think I would be more of a kraft type owner, just employee the best and hope for the best. Problem with me would be is I couldnt stand losing and might be firing a head coach a season lol

 

[Maynard]

i would be involved, but i wouldnt tell the coaches how to scheme or coach. its one thing to be in the meeting and toss a suggestion or 2, but its another to tell your coaches how to coach and scheme. al davis was living in the wrong century. his ideas died in the 80ies.

 

[Tailback U]

i would be involved, but i wouldnt tell the coaches how to scheme or coach. its one thing to be in the meeting and toss a suggestion or 2, but its another to tell your coaches how to coach and scheme. al davis was living in the wrong century. his ideas died in the 80ies.

Bullshit. The Raiders were one of the best teams in the league in the early 2000's.

Freaking Rich Gannon threw for over 4,600 yards in 2002. He had over 300 passing yards in 10 games that season.

Al Davis' ideas didn't die, the Raiders had a good run but couldn't win it all and Davis screwed up by just drafting busts, firing coaches too quickly, hiring bad ones, and trading away draft picks. The scheme and ideas weren't the problem. He was just too impatient, always looking for a quick fix and to win immediately instead of rebuild.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I think I would be more of a kraft type owner, just employee the best and hope for the best. Problem with me would be is I couldnt stand losing and might be firing a head coach a season lol

Same here, I probably wouldn't be the most patient with losing but I certainly wouldn't be getting involved at the coaches level like Al Davis seemed to be. That is just a recipe for disaster, and that was how Oakland was ran.

 

[Tailback U]

Same here, I probably wouldn't be the most patient with losing but I certainly wouldn't be getting involved at the coaches level like Al Davis seemed to be. That is just a recipe for disaster, and that was how Oakland was ran.

He knew football as much as anyone. He was just impatient, greedy, and an asshole. But I agree, if I was an owner I would try to separate myself from the coaching level but I would be heavily involved in management and decision-making, obviously.

 

[ram29jackson]

i would be involved, but i wouldnt tell the coaches how to scheme or coach. its one thing to be in the meeting and toss a suggestion or 2, but its another to tell your coaches how to coach and scheme. al davis was living in the wrong century. his ideas died in the 80ies.

no, his ideas did not die in the 80s.

Just his comprehension of said ideas. He was a football mastermind, but also an aging man...and a bitter man

 

[Senser81]

Al Davis' ideas didn't die, the Raiders had a good run but couldn't win it all and Davis screwed up by just drafting busts, firing coaches too quickly, hiring bad ones, and trading away draft picks. The scheme and ideas weren't the problem. He was just too impatient, always looking for a quick fix and to win immediately instead of rebuild.

To me, the biggest fault with Al Davis is that he couldn't handle having a strong-minded coach. He had to have a guy with whom he was comfortable with. Even at their peak when they were winning Super Bowls, he had coaches like John Madden and Tom Flores. Madden had been a Raiders assistant and Flores had played QB for Davis when Davis coached the team. Whenever Davis got a coach with his own ideas, they would be gone in short order. Thats why good coaches like Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden didn't last in Oakland, and they ended up winning Super Bowls in other places. Its kinda like how Jerry Jones is now.

 

[Tailback U]

To me, the biggest fault with Al Davis is that he couldn't handle having a strong-minded coach. He had to have a guy with whom he was comfortable with. Even at their peak when they were winning Super Bowls, he had coaches like John Madden and Tom Flores. Madden had been a Raiders assistant and Flores had played QB for Davis when Davis coached the team. Whenever Davis got a coach with his own ideas, they would be gone in short order. Thats why good coaches like Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden didn't last in Oakland, and they ended up winning Super Bowls in other places. Its kinda like how Jerry Jones is now.

Definitely. He was power hungry and too selfish to give anyone else any kind of decision making power or credit. His biggest fault was never hiring a GM, he tried to take on too much because he didn't trust anyone and it led to a ton of mistakes.

He also had no problem getting rid of anyone at the drop of a hat. It was his way or the highway and that was it. That's not how a good business operates.