Comments on BlandaRocked: A little perspective on Art Shell…

BR: great post!I've stood behind a rebuilding sinc...

2006-11-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

BR: great post!

I've stood behind a rebuilding since the post-superbowl collapse. Now, I'm excited that a solid foundation is being placed. Can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Here's a comment that explains a lot about Art She...

2006-10-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a comment that explains a lot about Art Shell's coaching philosophy. He made this statement regarding Aaron Brooks:

"Right now, Andrew is the quarterback. Aaron has to do a lot to show me he's ready to play. It's not that you come out, 'OK, I'm ready to go.' I have to see it."

And so it is with every aspect of Shell's philosophy. You want to run a screen? Show me that you can run a screen. A poorly run screen leads to disaster. We saw exactly what kind of disaster in, what was it?, the Cleveland game, when Jordan failed to pull in a bad pass, the ball was ruled a fumble and returned by the defense.

There is no question the defense is well ahead of the offense. We didn't realize how much ahead until this last weekend. If the Raiders manage to eek their way into the playoffs with an overly simplistic offense, Shell and Ryan will deserve Coach of the Year honors.

Horsecollar:Finally, at the end of the season, it ...

2006-10-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Horsecollar:

Finally, at the end of the season, it may come about that Walsh isn't the man for the job. But, you're right, I dont' think he's the major problem. The fact that every member of the OL is playing in another position than they played previously cannot be dismissed. The most important job with any OL is to get familiar with each other. With this OL, they have to first get comfortable with themselves.

While the job of an OLineman is not considered a "skill position," it is. As Sims and Gallery keep explaining, those skills become ingrained. They say they intellectually understand what they are supposed to be doing right now, but during the speed and pressure of the game they instictively fall back on what they did before (attempting to block the wrong man or block him in the wrong way). I believe that both Shell and Walsh are attempting to keep things as simple as possible until they feel comfortable with the progress of the OL.

I think that primarily Walsh was brought here to teach (and he is reportedly and outstanding teacher). He's teaching the other coaches the intricacies of the Gilman offense, and he's teaching Brooks and Walter. As I've said before, Walter isn't only given one play going into the huddle - he's given two. He's also free to check to another play should he deem it necessary. While I haven't heard anybody say it directly, all indications are that the Raiders are attempting to design a system to be run by the QB on the field. Clearly this makes Walter's job learning that much more complex. And I think that's why Shell has not been hard on Walter. So, a lot of the time where it looks like Walsh called a bad play, it was an option provided by Walsh, but Walter chose the wrong play among the choices he was given.

BR - I'm so glad that your blog is back up and run...

2006-10-31T12:47:00.000-08:00

BR -

I'm so glad that your blog is back up and running. I really enjoy reading your posts.

I agree with your assessment and perspective on HC Shell. Shell's voice, plan, and message has been consistent and unwavering since February.

His steady hand during our darkest hour (0-5) is the reason that the players are continuing to believe in each other and work hard. His strong leadership is the reason the team has stayed unified and have abstained from the finger pointing.

In today's world of instant gratification, the internet, and information overload, the mediots seem to change their views on a dime. Or as Warren Sapp said the other day, 1 day you are in the penthouse, the next day the outhouse.

This is another reason I sincerely believe Shell was the right choice for the LONG TERM future of the Raiders. I think the plan is for him to clean up the mess from the last 3 years and build a solid foundation for the future. When you look at our team position by position, unit by unit, we are predominately a VERY young team. This bodes well for our long term future.

Hey BR...So, the flagellation of Tom Walsh continu...

2006-10-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hey BR...

So, the flagellation of Tom Walsh continued this week with both Rich Gannon & Lincoln Kennedy ripping on the "antiquated" and "vanilla" scheming of our OC.

You've complained in the past that Tom Walsh is not the problem. Given the woeful performance of our O as a whole, what reasons would you give for not canning Walsh at the end of the year?

I'm eager to hear your opinion, given both your experience with the Walsh-led offense of the 90s (which got Hoss and Tim Brown all in a tizzy that time around) and the Gilman system...

BlandaRocked:::Beautiful assesment of CoachShell!!...

2006-10-30T22:39:00.000-08:00

BlandaRocked:::
Beautiful assesment of CoachShell!!!

I got to meet the man in "93" when I was selected by the "SD County Riaders Boosters" to serve as Security for the Raiders Family Day at the Oxnard Trainning-Camp. He is a "BIG" man and not just by size but by his pressance, which many writers ignor or refuse to write about....He has no need to be loud and angry, his eyes and expressions say it all....as he continues to apear emotionless to the media...they are as blind as they want to be....He is a man I would love to spend time around, I would no doubt learn alot from him as the players are doing now....He is not just a talker, he lives what he says and he lived it as a player at a high pro-bowl level and Hall-o-Famer too!!!

I was so happy when Mr Davis hired him back and look forward to his leadership for a long time to come...."LongLiveTheCoach" and "LongLiveTheGodFather" I hate to think of the day when we are without Mr Davis as our leader and owner, he has been a "Tower" on the "DarkSide" against the Haters-Rebellion and it is good to see hope in CoachShell as a man who will lead us on into the future....and a glorious future it will be....The "Greatness-o-the-Raiders" is yet to come, have faith Bro's, the future is ours!!!!

PantyRaider.....JustBelevenBaby!!!!