Raiders' Allen won't play what-if game

[NavajoRaiderfan]

By Vic Tafur, SF Gate 01/08/13

Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is playing a game of dominoes in his down time after finishing a 4-12 rookie season. He needs a new offensive coordinator, and he and general manager Reggie McKenzie are trying to sort out how the tiles around the league are going to fall.
Which assistants are really available is murky business, as head coaches and their staffs were fired last week and head coaches are being hired this week.
One game Allen - who fired offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and three other assistants - does not want to play is "What if?'
Like what if he left alone an offense in which Darren McFadden ran for 5.4 yards per carry, rather than bring in Knapp and change to a zone-blocking scheme ...
"I'm not going to look back and try to say what could have, would have, or should have been," Allen said. "I'm looking forward to what we need to do to try to get this team better in the future."
McFadden's 3.3 yards per carry was the lowest average ever for a Raiders running back with at least 150 carries. (Harvey Williams put up a 3.5 in 1994.)
The running problems bogged down the offense, taking away play-action possibilities and putting quarterback Carson Palmer in bad spots. Oakland faced 2nd-and-7 or longer on a league-worst 71.1 percent of second downs, and when it did get in scoring position, defenses were pretty confident the Raiders had to throw the ball.
They averaged 1.74 yards per carry in the red zone, 31st in the NFL.
Regardless of what one thinks of the talent level on the Raiders, the system was a bad fit and a big reason they went from back-to-back 8-8 seasons to 4-12.
"Listen, at the end of the day, you are who you are," Allen said. "You are what your record says you are. Do I think we can play better and have enough talent on this team to be better than we were? Yeah. We fell short in that area."
One of the few bright spots was that Allen was able to instill some discipline, even in the absence of proven leaders in the locker room. A year after Oakland set an NFL record with 163 penalties in 2011 under Hue Jackson , it had 108 - the fewest for the franchise since it had 107 in 2001 in the final season under head coach Jon Gruden.
Allen said he is developing a trust with his players, one that goes both ways, and that will continue as McKenzie continues to reshape the roster.
"This is a players' game," Allen said. "Players make plays and the best teams are able to, at some point in time, hand the keys to the car over to the players and they're able to run the program the way it needs to be run. We're not at that point yet, but we're developing that every day."
The defense, which improved the last four games, will have to replace Richard Seymour and likely Tommy Kelly up front, as well as arrested-again linebacker Rolando McClain.
The offense will continue to revolve around Palmer and McFadden.
Palmer, who missed the final game with cracked ribs, is due to make $13 million next season and normally, on a rebuilding team, might be in danger of being cut. But he restructured his deal for the team last season and the Raiders would face a $17 million salary cap hit if they were to let him go.
Palmer, who played very well in the first half of the season before slipping a little, might even have some input on the new coordinator.
"I think Carson can fit in any system you want to run," Allen said.
McFadden is due to make $5.6 million in the last year of his contract, and though teams might be interested - and McKenzie might listen - the trade offers probably wouldn't be that big for an oft-injured back coming off his worst season.
And that's fine by Allen.
"I like Darren. I think he's a good running back," Allen said. "He's an explosive player, and I think he can continue to produce in the future."

[BoKnowsRaiders]

By Vic Tafur, SF Gate 01/08/13
The offense will continue to revolve around Palmer and McFadden.
Palmer, who missed the final game with cracked ribs, is due to make $13 million next season and normally, on a rebuilding team, might be in danger of being cut. But he restructured his deal for the team last season and the Raiders would face a $17 million salary cap hit if they were to let him go.
Palmer, who played very well in the first half of the season before slipping a little, might even have some input on the new coordinator.

Theirs the answer. Palmer will for sure be on the roster next year.

Nice find Navajo

[NC_RaiderFan5]

He'll be playing the what-if game for a long time after next season if he doesn't stop trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The fact is, he screwed up and killed the offense.

[AirForceRaider]

He has to get the right OC and get the right players to fix the defense or he won't be around this time next year.

[slvr&blck760]

He's a first year head coach. He's going to make mistakes. How he reacts to them will seal his fate. "What if" he didn't try to change culture and instill discipline. Take the good with the bad, and don't be so quick to pull the trigger on our head coach.

[Maxfly]

He's a first year head coach. He's going to make mistakes. How he reacts to them will seal his fate. "What if" he didn't try to change culture and instill discipline. Take the good with the bad, and don't be so quick to pull the trigger on our head coach.

Quick to pull the trigger on our head coach was an Al Davis move that got us 10+ double digit losing seasons and bad draft picks and free agent signings............let McKennzie and Allen do their job,they deserve it after all the crap we've had to deal with .

[LAOwnsAll15]

I got a "lets just forget Knapp was ever here" feeling LOL

But seriously, I love ditching the whole "what if" stance, to me its the same meaning as the word "potential". We know where that has gotten us.

This year we found a couple decent players that are going to be sticking around going forward. While that was a good step, we need more standouts and we need them quickly. So yea, its good that Allen wont play the "what if" game, now he needs to get RM to cut all these players that don't contribute and are here on pure "potential".

[BlackWidow]

I got a "lets just forget Knapp was ever here" feeling LOL

But seriously, I love ditching the whole "what if" stance, to me its the same meaning as the word "potential". We know where that has gotten us.

This year we found a couple decent players that are going to be sticking around going forward. While that was a good step, we need more standouts and we need them quickly. So yea, its good that Allen wont play the "what if" game, now he needs to get RM to cut all these players that don't contribute and are here on pure "potential".

yep I'm pretty sure everyone on the staff wants to forget Knapp haha


(PS sorry bigs )

[the_firm_09]

Dennis Allen can blame 2nd and 7, he can blame Knapp and he can blame the one arm man until he`s blue in the face. 2013 the list of excuses will be launched in other directions, the offensive coordinator is new and it will take time to mold. The Colts made the Playoffs with 6 or 7 rookies starting on offense. If you live with excuses, you won`t be let down because they will be activated due to the expectations. The Oakland mindset is our mistakes are continuous but they`ll fix themselves in 3 years, suddenly 9 years have gone by with no improvement.

Year 1 excuse: Knapp
Year 2 excuse: Palmer
Year 3 excuse: Not available at this time, new head coach.

Allen saves himself if Palmer restructures and benches him without notice, otherwise they both leave together. Thats a no brainer

"I think Carson can fit in any system you want to run," Allen said. Dennis how did the last system work out for you? Does that not fall under the any system category? Allen is setting himself up for a head rolling and nothing more, he`s out of his mind lol.

[ReBirthofNumber81]

Dude i wouldnt want to play the what if game if i ruined an explosive offense either by changing EVERYTHING except the players running it. lol.

Sometimes i think D.A forgets his broncos from the year before had the SAME record as as us when they won the division.

He came into Oakland like he was such a beast in denver and that we are SO bad in Oakland that he needed to change EVERYTHING. When in actuality one or two plays in the detroit game and a differenet game is all that seperated us from finishing better than they were.

So we came in changed a great Offense and now we are back to pre tom cable days in our record. I think DA can be a good coach, but i think he regressed us with his stupid knapp decision and now wont eat crow. He just avoids the question

[RAIDERLIFE]

Dennis Allen can blame 2nd and 7, he can blame Knapp and he can blame the one arm man until he`s blue in the face. 2013 the list of excuses will be launched in other directions, the offensive coordinator is new and it will take time to mold. The Colts made the Playoffs with 6 or 7 rookies starting on offense. If you live with excuses, you won`t be let down because they will be activated due to the expectations. The Oakland mindset is our mistakes are continuous but they`ll fix themselves in 3 years, suddenly 9 years have gone by with no improvement.

Year 1 excuse: Knapp
Year 2 excuse: Palmer
Year 3 excuse: Not available at this time, new head coach.

Allen saves himself if Palmer restructures and benches him without notice, otherwise they both leave together. Thats a no brainer

"I think Carson can fit in any system you want to run," Allen said. Dennis how did the last system work out for you? Does that not fall under the any system category? Allen is setting himself up for a head rolling and nothing more, he`s out of his mind lol.

Palmer restructured last year, thats not an option for this year

[dbacknick]

What ifs don't win games. DA was standing on the sidelines and in the game prep room while all of this happened. Regardless of who made the decisions, he had to approve those decisions, so he's still responsible. He gets a pass because it's the first time around. If this offense doesn't produce next year, he might not be around to talk about it. I think that they are going to be real careful on who they select this time.

[Maxfly]

Dennis Allen can blame 2nd and 7, he can blame Knapp and he can blame the one arm man until he`s blue in the face. 2013 the list of excuses will be launched in other directions, the offensive coordinator is new and it will take time to mold. The Colts made the Playoffs with 6 or 7 rookies starting on offense. If you live with excuses, you won`t be let down because they will be activated due to the expectations. The Oakland mindset is our mistakes are continuous but they`ll fix themselves in 3 years, suddenly 9 years have gone by with no improvement.

Year 1 excuse: Knapp
Year 2 excuse: Palmer
Year 3 excuse: Not available at this time, new head coach.

Allen saves himself if Palmer restructures and benches him without notice, otherwise they both leave together. Thats a no brainer

"I think Carson can fit in any system you want to run," Allen said. Dennis how did the last system work out for you? Does that not fall under the any system category? Allen is setting himself up for a head rolling and nothing more, he`s out of his mind lol.

There is no way you can compare the Colts and the Raiders ,the Colts had made the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010 and the Raiders were............yeah. The rest isn't worth discussing because as you see it one and done is your motto if this team doesn't have a winning record.

[RaiderLakersA's]

There is no way you can compare the Colts and the Raiders ,the Colts had made the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010 and the Raiders were............yeah. The rest isn't worth discussing because as you see it one and done is your motto if this team doesn't have a winning record.

Good points.

DA alluded to it in his response. Players make the squad playoff worthy. The Raiders haven't had the talent in over a decade that you could simply give the keys to and let them drive. The last time that we did, Gannon, Brown, Rice, etc., were in charge and their work ethic permeated most of the team. Even Porter got in line.

[raiderdave]

yep I'm pretty sure everyone on the staff wants to forget Knapp haha


(PS sorry bigs )

problem is ,I guess everybody forgot how bad Knapp was,when he was here the first time. Worse raider oc's of all time...1.Tom Walsh(the b & b guy) 2. Greg Knapp