THREAD CLOSED

[ThePeoplesChamp_]

I only came back to NT for this thread and GSW thread. Most of S&T hates me with a passion

 

[HNL HI]

need, someone to ask Mark about how the A's not wanting to give up the coliseum site was big factor in the move

 

[HNL HI]

 

[raider5]

My boy got Usain Bolt like speed to post the latest news.

 

[HNL HI]

My boy got Usain Bolt like speed to post the latest news.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

need, someone to ask Mark about how the A's not wanting to give up the coliseum site was big factor in the move

I wrote in the A's thread that he was vocal about wanting to build on the Coliseum site but that sharing the site complicated everything. I frankly don't know how it would have happened even with the A's out of the way. The Davis family has simply been cash-strapped for a long while now. Do you guys remember when Al had to sell a portion of the team for cash flow?

 

[ThePeoplesChamp_]

They are poor by NFL owners standards. Wish he could sell the team and stay.

 

[dontsteponmyshoes]

GT doing his best to brush that Jawalrus funk off that #2

 

[sohi 23]

can anyone publish the interview Vic did with Reggie?

 

[HNL HI]

can anyone publish the interview Vic did with Reggie?

Johnny_Cakes supposed to be the plug

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Johnny_Cakes supposed to be the plug

I got you guys. Give me two minutes.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

A conversation with Reggie McKenzie — on Beast Mode, linebackers, Mack and Penn contracts … and Aldon Smith

Vic Tafur 1 hour ago
For all the fans who lost their minds when Marshawn Lynch steamrolled Titans' 305-pounder Jurrell Casey last week, or when rookie defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes drove Jack Conklin up and off his feet on Sunday, picture Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie.

McKenzie used to play the game before he worked in the scouting department and then became a general manager. The fire burns bright when the normally laid-back linebacker reacts to a big play with a smile and fist pump, and strides through the locker room congratulating players: “That’s what I’m talking about!”

The Raiders are 1-0 after a fairly easy 26-16 win at Tennessee. The win came after a training camp and preseason full of distractions and critics thinking McKenzie was crazy for ignoring the linebacker position.

On Wednesday afternoon, McKenzie sat down for an exclusive conversation with The Athletic Bay Area and touched on building a bully, how Lynch reminds him of Brett Favre and Reggie White, his favorite player on the team, being a destination organization, Donald Penn's holdout and whatever happened to Aldon Smith.

Vic Tafur: You guys were a physical team last year. And now you add a guy named Beast Mode and a couple of young guys on defense who aren’t playing around …

McKenzie: That was the plan in the offseason, to continue that physicality, even more so on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, I felt like the O-line established themselves last year. We needed some dogs on the other side of the ball. And the young guys are taking to that, accepting the challenge.

The young linebackers are running and hitting, and the more they play the better they’re going to be. We are physical. Marquel (Lee). Eddie. Mario (Edwards). I thought Karl (Joseph) tackled very well and we handled a pretty good run game on Sunday. Hopefully, we can build on that.

VT: You mentioned the linebackers. It’s a good thing you aren’t on Twitter, because you were getting killed for your handling of that position. Were you ever concerned with what you had on the roster there after losing two starters last year?

McKenzie: I never thought it was as dire a situation as some of you guys did. (Smiles). The problem is the lack of experience. You can’t say that these guys aren’t physical or that they can’t run. There are no can’ts. There just aren’t a lot of cans, yes, because they have no resume. Outside of Cory James, none of those inside linebackers had made an NFL tackle … Cory is our best linebacker, he is versatile and can do some things. He is going to take off.

So, guys like Tyrell Adams, Marquel, (Nicholas) Morrow and even Cory — who was able to come back from that knee ‘scope — they’re all talented. We just don’t know how good they can be yet. They’ll watch the tape and get better Week 2, because they’re all smart and work hard. But I was excited to see that they didn’t back down from the challenge in Tennessee.

VT: Were you ever close to bringing a veteran in at that spot?

McKenzie: Nothing tells me today that we have to sit one of those young guys down, that we’re not good enough. We’re going to let these young guys develop and help us be dominant.

VT: I always thought that Jelani Jenkins was the fall-back plan if you didn’t see enough from Lee at the middle spot …

McKenzie: Yeah, he was definitely a guy that could have helped us. Lee is a run-down guy right now, and TA can cover. Jenkins had some knee and groin issues, and if he isn’t starting, it was hard for me to justify keeping him. He may have flashed more than Lee did in the preseason, but have to study the little things.

VT: So if Jenkins didn’t work out, you have to be thrilled with the guys you brought in on offense. Has Lynch fit in better than even in your wildest dreams?

McKenzie: I am really glad he is on our team. He’s been a blessing. He’s really a good teammate. The guys, from all walks, really like him. They like being around him and he keeps everybody loose. Trust me, in my many years of football life, those are the kind of guys that are the glue to the team.

Brett Favre and Reggie White were the two biggest clowns that we had up there in Green Bay, but they were the best players too. There is something to keeping things loose and still being focused, saying the right things and challenging your teammates and then showing it’s done on the field. When a leader can show that side of him, and people laugh at or with you, they gravitate toward you. And guys gravitate toward Marshawn.

VT: You’re looking for talent and potential. But is a big part of your job making sure the personalities click in the locker room?

McKenzie: No question, no question. When you get the right kind of guys — and we do have the right kind of guys — the sky is the limit. When they can doggone be excited to come to work and see their buddies … the worst thing is going to work and thinking, ‘Shoot, I have to deal with this joker.’ That’s no fun.

VT: Does Lynch remind you of Michael Crabtree? There were a lot of whispers about him before you signed him, and now he is one of your and Raiders fans’ favorites.

McKenzie: He is a football player. Man, he is just … a football … player. He makes plays and he knows how to do it. He’s a natural. I love Crab … I think with him and Marshawn, it comes down to the environment. First, the locker room. Then the coaches getting their hands on them and making them feel like they are a part of something. Then the organization treating them well. It all goes hand in hand. It’s cool …

Crab was the complete opposite of what was said about him in San Francisco.

VT: Crabtree wasn’t one of your original targets in free agency that year. Kind of like Jared Cook this year. How cool is it when that happens, and you add a playmaker?

McKenzie: We saw an opportunity to do it. You know how free agency is … when it starts, you never know. Everybody is reaching for the skyyyyyyyy(stretches out his arms). You can’t pay a lot of those prices. But then things settle down, the communication stays good and it works out.

The key is that guys want to be here now. They like what we’re doing and they want to be a part of it. That’s half the battle. Players are asking their agents to see what’s going on with the Raiders. When that part kicks in, it makes it easier for us. At least to get our foot in the door and present.

We were extremely excited to hear that Jared was interested. He is going to help us a lot …

VT: Your offense is pretty friggin’ good …

McKenzie: Yeah, we’ve got some horses. If everybody does their job and we protect the ball we can score some points. And don’t forget Cordarrelle Patterson. We’ve got some weapons … and the biggest one is Derek (Carr).

VT: Carr and Mack have to be a big part of why you guys have become a destination organization. Besides that, what excites you about your two foundation pieces?

McKenzie: They’re still in the growth part of their careers. They’re just scratching the surface. And the more they continue to be around the same group, like Derek’s had the same receivers for a while now and the same scheme, that works together with that. You can see Derek getting rid of the ball and trusting in his receivers even more … We have two impact players who are getting better.

VT: I forgot to mention one of those receivers, Amari Cooper, when we were talking about the team’s physicality earlier. He’s gotten bigger and he carried a bunch of defenders into the end zone Sunday …

McKenzie: It’s in his mind to not only start strong but finish strong this year. I feel great about Coop. After the last two years, he is really driven to show that he is just as good at the end of the season as he is at the start. He takes a lot of pride in his craft, and he is competitive, and you’re going to see an even better player this season. Throughout.

VT: Cooper is a couple years away from a big payday. Carr and Gabe Jackson got theirs this offseason. Has the financial side of things gone according how you mapped it out?

McKenzie: For the most part, Some things come up that you don’t account for. And you only have so much money to spend. But when guys like Cook and Marshawn become possibilities, you have to squeeze some money here and squeeze some money there. Because you gotta figure out a way to get those guys. That’s my job.

And we got our quarterback locked up. Now we gotta get our stud defensive end locked up.

VT: Pretty obvious that Mack's patience will be rewarded, right?

McKenzie: We communicated to Khalil’s agent that there is only so much cash we can do this year. But he’ll definitely have stuff presented to him in the near future. We want to do a long-term deal with him. Khalil is not only a great player, but he is a great leader, a great person and a great Raider. In my book, he is a lifer.

VT: I know you and Donald Penn are closing in on a contract extension. Where you ever worried about his holdout in training camp being a distraction or having repercussions?

McKenzie: I felt good about Donald. He just wanted some more money. The bottom line is I said I would like to have my left tackle under contract for the following year, and you know that he will always compete. Donald always competes hard. So, let’s give him a chance to compete for a spot in 2018.

We have a lot of young players that we want to keep, and it’s not easy to keep everybody happy. But it never got messy, and I commend Donald for that.

VT: There is name at the bottom corner of the roster that fans are always asking me about. Listed under suspended. Aldon Smith. Is he even still on the radar?

McKenzie: Mark Davis and I still talk about him. We just want to make sure he is doing fine, getting his life on track. Whether Aldon comes back or not really doesn’t matter at this point. We just want him to be the best Aldon Smith he can be.

VT: Has it been dead quiet with him as far as the league goes?

McKenzie: Yeah, it’s been quiet. Aldon is just taking the right steps and is going to worry about football later.

VT: So, in your mind, you’re not paying him so there is no reason to cut him?

McKenzie: I know deep down he wants to play football. We’re going to be with him until he gets his life in order … or until he doesn’t. If he tells me that he is not going to try anymore, then we’ll move on. As long as he is trying, he will stay on the roster.

VT: You clearly enjoy scouting players, getting to know them, planning a roster. The wins … You even enjoy the contract stuff. Is being a general manager your dream job?

McKenzie: Yeah. I love my job, love what I am doing. I am a football guy … but I enjoy the business side of it too. Our negotiators, our salary cap people, I think they appreciate me because I can give them great negotiating tools. How they can attack it. Because I present what I want, what I am looking for and have a plan for where guys should fall as far as the big picture goes.

We have to keep this team in Super Bowl contention every year. It’s a fun deal.

 

[Deleted member 185039]

Crab was the complete opposite of what was said about him in San Francisco.

 

[raider5]

Ike's got a Marshawn Lynch sandwich

 

[raider5]

 

[sohi 23]

Thompson: Marshawn Lynch coming home is much bigger than just football
Theater No. 9 at the AMC Bay Street was all but full, and a line of people waiting to get in partially blocked the entrance to the women's bathroom. The free screening of “War for the Planet of the Apes” — part of the Fam 1st Family Foundation's week of activities — wouldn't start until the host said a few words. But Marshawn Lynch wasn't in the theater.

He was in the building, walking around like a regular customer in a red shirt and red shorts. But he wasn't in the theater because he was busy fellowshipping. In a nook by the bar, he was helping a youngster, who looked to be about 7, count some money. The kid messed up and Lynch, hovering over him, made him start over.

Finally, Lynch came into the theater and stood along the wall, laughing and joking with friends. He gave his good friend Kevin Parker, director of player development with Cal football, a hard time for struggling through the introductions. And then Lynch took the microphone. The crowd of mostly children and parents roared. In his thanks, as he's known to do, he let a curse word slip out.

Everyone laughed. They know Marshawn. He's family. Their hilarious uncle, or protective brother, their cousin who made it, or the friend who is around so much he becomes a cousin.

That's why his signing with the Raiders is so much bigger than getting a quality running back who can help them win. This is a homecoming. Unbeknownst to the Raiders, this is a statement reverberating through the streets.

This might go down as one of the greatest PR moves in the history of modern sports. This epic spin job should end up in collegiate textbooks.

Marlon Monroe, 40, a defense attorney who has Oakland coursing through his veins, is still furious at Mark Davis for moving the Raiders again. The news about the A's planning to build a stadium on the Peralta site — which would free up the Raiders to have the entire Coliseum complex, as Davis demanded — re-stoked Monroe's anger.

He has the right mind to be done with the Raiders, sell his season tickets. He settled on dumping his Week 2 tickets in protest, missing his first home opener since 2008.

Why couldn't he go all the way with his divorce of his believed Raiders? Because they got Beast Mode.

“It's a dream come true,” Monroe said of the Lynch signing. “Everybody in Oakland has always wished Marshawn was a Raider. Everything he does represents The Town.”

The Raiders should be hated in these parts. The bitterness of the fanbase should make their remaining stay about as comfortable as sleeping in the basement on a blowup mattress under an itchy blanket. For the second time, they are bailing on Oakland, leaving behind the debt from their 1995 return.

On top of that, they want to be supported for three years before they leave? The audacity.

Yet, the Oakland Coliseum will be busting at the seams, with bodies and energy, when the Raiders play their home opener on Sunday against the New York Jets. Part of that is because they are good. But a major part of it, at least for the East Bay diehards, will be No. 24.

The Raiders signing Lynch, Oakland's most popular son, has made this season an exciting push towards the Super Bowl. But it's also a celebration. It is rare that a superstar gets to ply his craft for his hometown team. The last star from Oakland was Rickey Henderson leading off for the A's a generation ago.

Oakland has produced its fair share of talent, including current stars Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Marcus Peters of the Kansas City Chiefs. But few have come home with the status and resume Lynch has. And in Oakland's current state, Lynch's presence has a special meaning.

Lynch is the anti-gentrification. He embodies the spirit of Oakland that many residents and natives see dying. The rising popularity of Oakland is connected to its influx of non-Oaklanders. The city has become cool with its plethora of restaurants and indy coffee houses and boutique fashion shops.

Even Oakland Tech, the high school where Beast Mode was born, looks like a mini-Portland on weekends with babies and dogs playing in the grass.

Of course, all this newfound favor surrounding Oakland is a back hand to the pre-gentrification era — or Real Oakland, as natives call it. If you're from here, you know about some of the guidelines to being considered Real Oakland.

He is the face of that contingent. He embodies that spirit: grimy, rough-around-the-edges, compassionate even if a little crazy.

Marshawn is gold teeth, locks and gangsta rap. Tricked out cars, trunk-rattling hip-hop and hype clubs. Burrito trucks, liquor store candy and turf pride. These elements of Oakland, it feels, are getting pushed out for the taste of young urban professionals. This sentiment is underscored by the three professional teams leaving — the Warriors and Raiders are leaving the city altogether, and the A's are leaving East Oakland, a maligned part of the city.

That's one of the reasons Lynch has said he put his Beast Mode shop downtown, and can regularly be seen in or near it. He wants to make sure there is representation from the incumbent Oakland in this sweeping city renaissance.

Lynch playing with the Raiders, already a brand centered on rebellion, is the statement that this part of Oakland won't fade without a fight. That this part of Oakland is just as valuable. And that message is critical to people who are responsible for the young people of Real Oakland.

“It's so important because he is visible and accessible,” said Karega Hart, head coach of the Oakland Tech boys basketball team. “We spend so much time trying to help these young people understand their worth. And here he is, a superstar who identifies with them and the culture they come from. They can watch him play on television and then see him around the community. The Oakland stars in the '80s and '90s, they did their work behind the scenes, but you couldn't touch them and be with them. Marshawn, and even Damian Lillard, they do a good job of always being around. You can get to them.”

Lynch's whole bent is to violate the status quo. He has become a pied piper for the anti-establishment at heart. And he has rampant support because of it.

The Raiders are good again. They are fun to watch, with their explosive offense and defensive monster in Khalil Mack. It's been the better part of two decades since they were among the NFL relevant, since they were the sexy team.

Considering the circumstances, that should feel like such a slight. Just when the Raiders become worthy, they leave? Ouch.

But having Lynch makes the Raiders worth investing in again. Not for all. The departure for Las Vegas was a final straw for some that not even Lynch can mend. But if anyone gives the city a reason to get behind the Silver & Black, it's Lynch. And many are taking that reprieve. They want to love the Raiders. They want to be part of the resurgence. And pulling for Oakland's own is license.

Can you imagine if and when he scores a touchdown in Oakland? Can you picture the hype when MC Hammer's “Oaktown” is blasting and Lynch is dancing on the field?

In those moments, many Oaklanders can't be upset about the Raiders betraying the city. They will be too juiced that Marshawn is home.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

That second to last Thompson paragraph made my heart hurt. I love hearing "Oaktown" after a score and watching the Coliseum erupt. I can't imagine home games without it.

 

[njavier03]

damn, i can't wait until the 24th

 

[Deleted member 185039]

New Oakland sucks.

 

[sohi 23]

I just wanna hear the crowd chanting Oakland again. Only 2 days. Can't wait for the tailgate because the season opener is always the best one.

Getting up early for Chelsea/Arsenal then straight to Oakland. I can't wait for Sunday.

 

[raider5]

Bout to be extra lit since we know the days are numbered in Oakland now.

 

[D StaXX]

If the Cowboys don't win it all, I'm really rooting for you guys. Esp before the move.
Oakland Raiders are a staple and should remain that way.

 

[njavier03]

my goal is to fly back to the bay for the home opener next season. either the opener or the last home game.

 

[HNL HI]

seen this wallpaper schedule on reddit, pretty dope

https://i.imgur.com/aK4zt51.jpg

 

[mr jordan04]

Anybody got plugs for tix vs the broncos in Denver?