It’s finally official now- the Oakland Raiders are truly “back.” At 11-3, with a postseason berth clinched, and now six Pro Bowlers, the Silver and Black, for the first time since the 2002 season, have once again “arrived.” Who better to announce the resurgence than the man who led that team to the AFC Championship that season, winning the league MVP honors that fateful season.
“They have been a legitimate contender for a while, said Rich Gannon on his weekly CBS Sports Network talk show this week.
“They have been pretty consistent throughout the course of the season…They’re playing terrific football. A lot of it has to do with the leadership of Jack Del Rio. The message to the football team in the locker room yesterday really hit home to me.”
“He talked about ‘the only thing we can control is our pride, our passion, our energy and our work ethic.’ That has really been the focus all season long out there in Oakland.”
Gannon has consistently praised Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr on his show this season, perhaps he sees some of himself in the young, emerging signal caller. Carr, along with wide receiver Amari Cooper, center Rodney Hudson, defensive end Khalil Mack, safety Reggie Nelson, guard Kelechi Osemele and tackle Donald Penn were all named to the Pro Bowl, and the team’s seven representatives mark a league high.
Oakland is a “scary team” right now according to broadcaster Phil Simms. Of course, maybe that’s not the greatest compliment the Raiders can receive, given just how off base Simms is on so many occasions. It’s hard to think of a NFL broadcasting figure, this side of Chris Berman, who’s more criticized.
Oh wait, I think I got one. Here’s another NFL talking head who’s prone to saying some less than insightful things, and quite often gets ripped apart for it.
“I really like em, I’m really fond of em—defense, a little shaky—but I like them in the future. Not this year. This year, they’re gonna tease us—next year, they’re gonna please us.” – Deion Sanders on the Oakland Raiders being a young team
In fairness, I think Neon Deion could be right in that maybe 2017 is truly the year, and I do appreciate his lyrical flow there. Sanders is at least way more intelligent opining on football than he is on social issues. However, don’t ever tell him, or anyone else to “stick to sports,” as that’s an awful cliche.
Also, public figures should express their highly disagreeable and quite often offensive social views- we need to know who we’re dealing with.
As for Simms, I’m not sure anyone will tell him to stick to sports, since no one seems to like his football punditry.
We’ll have to deal with though, as Indianapolis Colts at the first place in the AFC West, #2 in the AFC Oakland Raiders is the headliner national game on CBS this week; meaning they will be sending their A-team broadcast to the coliseum.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.