Warren Sapp in Lane Kiffin' corner RIPS on Al Davis

[Kerberos]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3622637

I looked for this on the first few pages but didn't see it. If I missed it OH WELL.



Sapp says Kiffin treated unfairly, blames Davis for Raiders' mess
ESPN.com news services

Updated: October 3, 2008, 9:26 AM ET
How dysfunctional are the Oakland Raiders? So dysfunctional that Warren Sapp warns anybody who asks him about signing there to stay far away.

One key part of Warren Sapp's comments about the Raiders: How Al Davis meddled in the Raiders' defensive plans. Story
"Nobody tells you how bad it is," the former defensive tackle said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." " ... any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland."

Sapp, who retired after the 2007 season -- his fourth with the Raiders -- said that Lane Kiffin, fired this week by owner Al Davis, never got a fair chance in Oakland.

"He came in there with a change of mentality. The whole system," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "He changed how the locker room looked because it was going to take that kind of overhaul for Oakland to become the proud franchise we all knew it was."

Sapp said Oakland won't change for the better until Davis doesn't own the team anymore.

"[Davis] is the common equation," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing -- you have a functioning football organization. But once he comes over the top, he goes and starts moving it around.

"Al Davis knows football -- it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what it is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field -- deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."

Sapp even said that Davis would call in plays when Sapp was playing for the Raiders.

"I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game. Somebody came up one time and said, 'We're going deep right here, dog.' I said, how do you know? He said, 'The phone just rang.'

"All the preparation that goes into a week of work is there, the practicing that you have to put in order to do these things, sometimes [Al Davis] messed with that part of it and that's what kills you," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL."

[Phobia]

Uh-oh, there went the "once a raider, always a raider" creedo - out the window. Now see if Greasy Al ever sticks his neck out for you, Warren....

[Mr. Arrowhead]

poor poor Al, nobody on his side these days

[Kerberos]

Uh-oh, there went the "once a raider, always a raider" creedo - out the window. Now see if Greasy Al ever sticks his neck out for you, Warren....



I could see this if Sapp had spent most of his career in Silver and Black. He is and always will be a "BUC".

I think this gives Kiffin some ammo when going to the league to get his money from the Grease King.

Below is another exerpt from ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3623117



If you follow the three-day trail Sept. 10-12 that led to the firing of Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin this week, Warren Sapp's words on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" could support Kiffin's anticipated grievance against Raiders owner Al Davis.

"Al Davis is the total bottom line, buck stops right there," said Sapp, who played for the Raiders 2004-2007. "I remember one time we had a defensive game plan because we were struggling against the run. We were going to get our safeties and put them up in the box and almost have a nine-man front. We practiced this thing 80 percent of the time on Wednesday and Thursday. We showed up that Friday morning, [defensive coordinator] Rob Ryan came in and he looked like someone had just shot his dog. He said he [Davis] pulled it on us. ... He snatched the teeth out of our defense."


In the Sept. 12 letter Davis shared with the media Tuesday to explain his firing of Kiffin without pay, he referred to a "fabrication" the coach made over Davis' input into the defense.

On Sept. 10, following Oakland's 41-14 season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos, Kiffin was asked by the media why the Raiders didn't blitz more often on defense.

"Well, we talked about it early in the week," Kiffin said. "Rob [Ryan, the defensive coordinator] and the owner are always in communication. For the most part, I let Rob do his thing over there. He has a belief in certain things and he has a conversation with the owner about that. So, that wasn't the way the game plan ended up the other night."

The next day, Sept. 11, Ryan unexpectedly had his own news conference, claiming that what Kiffin said "is just wrong and I want to make sure you got it right. I meet with the owner in the offseason. He's the boss, he's the man that hired me, and that's been well-documented. I don't meet with him on game plans or come up with all this. It's amazing when things like this come out when we have a bad week. Put it on me, that's where it belongs. I'm the man that runs the defense."

A team source said Davis ordered Ryan to refute Kiffin's claims.

One day later, Sept. 12, the letter Davis gave Kiffin included the following content:

"In regards to your recent fabrications about the defense, during the final cuts you made every cut on offense and every cut on defense except for [Fred] Wakefield on defense and [Seth] Wand on offense. Furthermore, during the game Monday night [defensive coordinator] Rob [Ryan] played your Cover-2 defense and we got killed on an approximately 50-yard touchdown pass and an approximately 70-yard gain that led to a field goal.

"You meet every week with the defensive coaches to go over both the past game and to get a general feel for what will happen during the week in practice. You have the ability and authority to provide your input during those meetings and the preparation of the game plan. I do not have weekly meetings with Rob -- you do.

"During the week no one has ever told you what to do on either offense or defense. In addition, no one has ever told you during a game what to do on either offense or defense and you call every play on offense. During a game if you want to blitz more, all you have to do is let Rob know what blitz you want and he will do it."

In firing Kiffin "for cause," Davis terminated the coach without pay with a balance on a contract reportedly between $2.6 million and $3.5 million.

Kiffin's attorneys are expected to file a grievance with the NFL on whether Davis is obligated to honor financial terms of the contract.

A voicemail was left for a Raiders' spokesman seeking a response to Sapp's comments that Davis indeed is involved with the defense. As of Thursday evening, the Raiders had not returned the phone call.

[Redrum_69]

al davis and carl peterson need to run a franchise together.

satan and hussein...

how bout an expansion team, in..oh i dont know...south dakota.

call it.. "The Golddiggers"

better yet...call them "Fools Gold"

even better...call them "Indian Givers"

[Kerberos]

poor poor Al, nobody on his side these days


Al-Davis is on Al-Davis' side. Greasy old codger that he is he may be his OWN best friend.

[StcChief]

the Bang Cartoon is the best.... Al Davis is lost to Al'sHeimers