The talented loser…

Do you want to know why Jerry Rice is a far greater WR than Randy Moss? Take a look at the Raiders’ 2006 season. I will acknowledge that Randy Moss is the more gifted of the two. Throw the ball up and Randy has the skill to get underneath it, fight for it, escape with it, and score with it. But will he? Sure – if he feels like it. If you keep Randy “happy” and constantly tell him that he’s the best there ever was, he’ll show up several times a game. I’ve leaned from Randy that his attitude is, “Keep making me look good so that my line of clothing and my other ventures do well, and I’ll help you win some games.”

There was never a “Jerry ratio.” Jerry Rice earned his respect on the field by learning how to get open, focusing on the catch, and moving the ball toward the goal line. Jerry’s talent wasn’t always God-given, very often he just worked hard to achieve it. I learned from Jerry that his attitude was, “I’ll do whatever it takes to give my team a chance to win.” Jerry didn’t complain because his team wasn’t making him look good. Jerry complained only when he was open but the ball went to others who weren’t. Jerry understood that as long as he was on the field, giving his best, that the ball would come to him because he was the QB’s best choice.

At the start of this season, my biggest fear was Randy Moss. That sounds odd when you say it, considering that Randy plays for my team. What I viewed as absolutely the worst case scenario has come to pass. Back then I worried that if the team did not start well because of the weakness of the offensive line (causing QBs to dump the ball early, and making the deep pass difficult), Randy would begin to pout and brood that he wasn’t getting the ball enough and the team wasn’t making him look good enough. I worried that the lack of leadership on this offensive unit would come home to roost, unable to battle the fact that the teams’ most talented player refused to show up. You think I’m wrong? Randy says I’m right. It comes right from the horse’s mouth.

Sunday afternoon, without the help of Randy Moss, the Raiders were on the cusp of winning a major victory (not for the season, but for the organization). The Raiders were seven yards from scoring the winning touchdown after leading most of the day. The heavy lifting by WRs on Sunday came from Curry and Whitted. But on what turned out to be the Raiders last offensive play of the day, Brooks looked to “the man” for the win. Running the ball was fairly out of the question because the Raiders had no time-outs and only a few seconds. Brooks made his one bad call of the day and fired the pass to Randy Moss strolling in the back of the end zone. A defender stepped in front, in full view of Randy, and intercepted while Randy watched with limited interest. One could almost hear Randy mutter under his breath, “If I’m not getting my touches all game long, don’t be lookin’ for me at the end of the game.”

And this, I maintain, is what’s been wrong with the Raiders this year. Based on what I’ve seen, I don’t believe this team was destined for the playoffs, but I do believe that they would have done better than last year had they not had the attitude problems on offense. The defense started this year on shaky ground. But they have come together as a unit with the on-field leadership of Sapp and the side-line energy of Rob Ryan. The offense has been burdened by Jerry Porter and Randy Moss, the two players most counted upon in the off season to provide life and spark. The Raider organization did these two players the honor of saying openly and publicly that the organization’s success this year would depend on these two talents. The organization has been rewarded for that public identification with blackmail and indifference. I hereby dedicate this Raiders’ season to the league’s two most talented losers.