Has Reggie MacKenzie helped or hurt the Raiders?

**rayderguy** · 06-30-2012, 10:23 AM

I'm in the middle of a heated discussion with a guy on another forum who is convinced that Reggie and Mark are sabotaging the franchise and that we were better off under AL's and Hue's control. Does anyone else want to weigh in on this? give me some pros and cons. TIA.

**game94501** · 06-30-2012, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by rayderguy

I'm in the middle of a heated discussion with a guy on another forum who is convinced that Reggie and Mark are sabotaging the franchise and that we wer? e better off under AL's and Hue's control. Does anyone else want to weigh in on this? give me some pros and cons. TIA.

How can any conclusion be drawn, for or against? We've yet to see the product Reggie and Mark plan to put on the field. Personally, I don't believe that this year will be a fair assessment of either of them given the limitations and circumstance of the 2012 offseason (draft picks, salary cap, etc)

That being said, I like the direction of the organization and believe the future of the franchise is much brighter than its recent past.

**prolific** · 06-30-2012, 10:41 AM

We haven't played one game yet but I, for one, absolutely love the direction we're headed in; McKenzie's resume alone should get you excited as a Raider fan.

**regret** · 06-30-2012, 10:42 AM

Al is gone. There is no sabotaging an organization that had to retool itself to conform to normal NFL practices. Mark doesn't have the breadth of knowledge to command the sort of respect a man like Al could, period.

**Raider17** · 06-30-2012, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by rayderguy

I'm in the middle of a heated discussion with a guy on another forum who is convinced that Reggie and Mark are sabotaging the franchise and that we were better off under AL's and Hue's control. Does anyone else want to weigh in on this? give me some pros and cons. TIA.

This is gonna be a tough sale for you sir since no games have been played under the new regime. The only way you'll change their mind is if we win under Reggie. Even then you're competing with Al Davis. Yes he slipped in his later years, but its still Al Davis. On the other hand He's never gonna convince you Javon Walker was a good move. State your opinion, listen to their's and move on!

Al Davis Forever!!!
Jus Win Baby!!!

**One** · 06-30-2012, 10:59 AM

That guy on the other board is on crystal meth.

Just move on and don't give him any pocket change.

**Raider Ran** · 06-30-2012, 11:09 AM

Way to early to tell if RM has had any success but he is starting to run this organization like other successful NFL Organizations. I have been a Raider fan for 47 years and I have the utmost respect for Al and what he accomplished but in the last years of his life he hamstrung the organization more than he helped it by bad personnel decisions and failure to adjust to the current NFL. We will see what RM does in his tenure as GM. He inherited a huge mess with salaries that were out of whack and is in the process of changing the culture. The results may come in a year or so but it looks like we are starting to implement a system and are bringing in players that fit that system. Whoever your talking to on that other board is some homeristic idiot. I would just ignore him and move on.

**MileHighRaider** · 06-30-2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by One

That guy on the other board is on crystal meth.

Just move on and don't give him any pocket change.

Everybody else has captured my thoughts pretty well... it's too early to say conclusively, the direction seems to be sound, but it'll take a couple/few years to prove out. You can't sabotage something that doesn't exist anymore. You just move on... we'll soon see if it's the right way.

But this post here is probably the best advice.

**B. anthracis** · 06-30-2012, 11:23 AM

Since "We can't know that yet" has already been covered, the only thing we can do right now is speculate. The following advantages that we have under RM seem to be:

1. Ushering us into the modern day NFL

2. The ability to compete for hiring the best coaches in the NFL

3. The ability to draft in a more reasonable fashion. This is because our scouting department will no longer be the most anemic in the league

4. The ability to attract free agent talent without paying top dollar

5. The ability to attract top free agent talent, period.

6. Accountability for coaches and players. For example, the gameplanning, schemes, and player acquisitions will be the responsibility of a certain person. There's no more having to wonder if Al was meddling or if the coach or player in question is just doing a good or bad job. If we run a single-high safety defense against San Diego it'll be because the DC deemed it the best scheme against that team, not because he didn't have any choice. There won't be any mystery as to who to blame or give credit to.

7. Fan and media accessibility. We're no longer the North Korea of the NFL. If RM runs it like I think he will, we'll have open practices that the fans and media can come to. It also seems likely that RM won't be some reclusive Howard Huges-like figure pulling all the strings from the shadows.

8. No more distraction from ownership: Let's face it, Al ruled over everything. Not only did the coaching staff have to worry about winning the game, they also had to worry about how to win the game as well as suffering Al's wrath if they didn't win his way and especially if they lost. IOW, they can do their job without having someone looking over their shoulder and second guessing them at every step. They also don't have to worry about scholarship players. If a guy doesn't cut it, he's gone; even if he does have 3.5 speed. Conversely, they can keep a guy who might not be lightning fast but fits the scheme and plays well within it.

That's just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more in depth, me and a lot other people here could write a 600 page book about what's been wrong with this team for the last 20 years.

**signal** · 06-30-2012, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by rayderguy

I'm in the middle of a heated discussion with a guy on another forum who is convinced that Reggie and Mark are sabotaging the franchise and that we were better off under AL's and Hue's control. Does anyone else want to weigh in on this? give me some pros and cons. TIA.

Well, personally I think the use of the term 'sabotaging' is ridiculous. It connotes that they are harming the franchise on purpose. Now, is the new direction a good one? I believe so. That said, like others have said, | guess we will have to wait and see.

But in God's name, what have they done to deserve the tag, 'sabotaging'? It appears to me all Reggie has done is try to get the salary cap under control and he hired a coach that would have a chance to fix what was most broken about this team - its defense.

**prolific** · 06-30-2012, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by B. anthracis

Since "We can't know that yet" has already been covered, the only thing we can do right now is speculate. The following advantages that we have under RM seem to be:

1. Ushering us into the modern day NFL

2. The ability to compete for hiring the best coaches in the NFL

3. The ability to draft in a more reasonable fashion. This is because our scouting department will no longer be the most anemic in the league

4. The ability to attract free agent talent without paying top dollar

5. The ability to attract top free agent talent, period.

6. Accountability for coaches and players. For example, the gameplanning, schemes, and player acquisitions will be the responsibility of a certain person. There's no more having to wonder if Al was meddling or if the coach or player in question is just doing a good or bad job. If we run a single-high safety defense against San Diego it'll be because the DC deemed it the best scheme against that team, not because he didn't have any choice. There won't be any mystery as to who to blame or give credit to.

7. Fan and media accessibility. We're no longer the North Korea of the NFL. If RM runs it like I think he will, we'll have open practices that the fans and media can come to. It also seems likely that RM won't be some reclusive Howard Huges-like figure pulling all the strings from the shadows.

8. No more distraction from ownership: Let's face it, Al ruled over everything. Not only did the coaching staff have to worry about winning the game, they also had to worry about how to win the game as well as suffering Al's wrath if they didn't win his way and especially if they lost. IOW, they can do their job without having someone looking over their shoulder and second guessing them at every step. They also don't have to worry about scholarship players. If a guy doesn't cut it, he's gone; even if he does have 3.5 speed. Conversely, they can keep a guy who might not be lightning fast but fits the scheme and plays well within it.

That's just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more in depth, me and a lot other people here could write a 600 page book about what's been wrong with this team for the last 20 years.

Nicely done.

**MadBomber24** · 06-30-2012, 12:18 PM

While I love the changes we are seeing and feel very good about the direction of the team, there is no way for anyone to know whether the changes will turn out good or bad. Honestly we won't know how RM is doing until he's had 4 or 5 years as the GM. Right now all anyone can go on is their gut feeling. We have no real evidence for or against RM right now.

**SLVR and Black** · 06-30-2012, 12:33 PM

I have it on good authority that, under Reggie, the Raiders will not only win multiple SB's, but they'll also cure cancer, end the AIDs epidemic, bring peace to the Middle East and fix the US debt crisis. True story.

**101proofRdrFan** · 06-30-2012, 12:37 PM

As Cheapshot would say "Time will tell."

**Raidermofojeff** · 06-30-2012, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Raider Ran

Way to early to tell if RM has had any success but he is starting to run this organization like other successful NFL Organizations. I have been a Raider fan for 47 years and I have the utmost respect for Al and what he accomplished but in the last years of his life he hamstrung the organization more than he helped it by bad personnel decisions and failure to adjust to the current NFL. We will see what RM does in his tenure as GM. He inherited a huge mess with salaries that were out of whack and is in the process of changing the culture. The results may come in a year or so but it looks like we are starting to implement a system and are bringing in players that fit that system. Whoever your talking to on that other board is some homeristic idiot. I would just ignore him and move on.

My first thought was why even entertain conversation with such an idiot......