Dr. Z on Howie and Al

[crizpynutz]

Where's the jerking off emoticon when you need one....

[raiderjohn622]

Regardless of who was what, the Raiders coaches at the time put the best players at their best positions to help the team win ball games. There were seasons that Howie was our starting DT, others the starting DE, his command of getting double teams consistently helped the Raiders in structuring a defense around him year after year. So if Townsend was a beast at rushing from the outside, great, it was the staff who put him out there to succeed, is there any way you limit his speed by putting him in Howie's role? The players played the role and the D-Line was always the Raiders strength, as long as Howie was there. Whether or not there was a beef between Al and Howie, who knows. Howie still calls the man, so that should be case closed. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, Howie has his, and Al his. Howie did what was best for him and his family. Contracts back then aren't as they are now, you signed the contract, you showed up, they paid you, you don't, they don't pay you. If there was a bonus, I'm sure Howie would have happily sent back the prorated portion.

[disposeablehero]

Originally Posted by stork44

Thanks Dr. Phil.....

What i said is true, this happened ages ago, and was howie's right, amazing how petty people can be.

[pure_raider]

I remember hearing a story from aHowie Long about Al trying to bring him out of retirement when Howie had been retired for 5 or so years. Al was trying to convince Howie by telling him that he would be the only active hall of famer to still be playing.

[madstork]

Originally Posted by jgrilldss

I agree with you on that. We're in different era's now, I always wonder how Howie would do in today's game (because Chris is very similar). I may get flamed here, but I see Justin Smith 2.0 in Chris Long.

Howie usually played around 275. Michael Strahan has been arguably the best all around DE in the NFL for a number of years and he plays at 265. And Strahan has never had to play strongside end in a 3-4 or nose tackle or under tackle like Howie did.

Howie in his prime would still tear it up today, without a doubt. I'll be rooting for Chris to do the same, especially when he plays the Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Jets, etc.!

[thundrwagn]

My two cents:

Howie is in the HOF. It doesn't matter what he could have done, he's already done it and that's why he is in the HOF. If we want to think about what "coulda been", talk about Bo Jackson. *Grin*

I have not heard anything regarding the relationship between the two (Al and Howie). Unless something comes out from one of their mouths, there is nothing to talk about.


Nuff.