Oakland Raiders: Will Stephen A. Smith Man Up And Admit He Was Wrong?
By Kevin Saito
A sports media talking head maligning the Oakland Raiders is nothing new. Some of them seem to really revel in kicking the Raiders while they’re down. And given the state of the franchise over the last dozen years, the Raiders have made it really, really easy for some of these media types to kick them and keep kicking them.
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It’s no surprise then, that somebody like Stephen A. Smith would so gleefully line up to take his whacks. Guys like Stephen A. seem to spew whatever pops into their heads and believe that if they scream it loud enough, long enough, that it will somehow morph into fact and truth.
Guys like Stephen A. like to attack the low hanging fruit, because most of the time, they either don’t have the intellectual capacity to do anything else, or they just really want the attention. Stephen A. seems like a reasonably intelligent guy, so it’s probably a safe assumption that he’s acting out for the attention. He’s nothing if not a tireless self promoter.
What will be interesting to see – even though he’s as bombastic and aggressive as Rush Limbaugh at his crankiest – is whether he has the ability to man up and admit when he’s wrong about something.
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In a story that largely went unremarked upon in January, Stephen A. made some rather – unkind remarks about the Raiders. In particular, he was bemoaning the fact that the Raiders, holding the fourth overall pick at the time, were in a good position to select Alabama’s superstar wideout, Amari Cooper.
On ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. and Skip Bayless – now there’s a dynamic duo – were discussing the possibility that the Raiders would take Cooper. At the time, Stephen A. voiced his extreme displeasure with the possibility, saying that Oakland was the place “quality football people go to die.” He went on to say, in his even typically handed and measured tone:
"“This dude, as far as I’m concerned, is the best wideout in football. He does not deserve to be contaminated by being an Oakland Raider. I pray that he is not subjected to such a thing. I don’t want this to happen to Amari Cooper. I don’t wish this on him. There’s a black cat running around in a black hole and something ain’t right and I don’t want that to happen to Amari Cooper. Anywhere but to the Raiders. Please don’t subject this good kid to this. Not to the Raiders. Please, don’t touch him.”"
You know something is bad when Skip Bayless is the voice of reason. Responding to Stephen A., Bayless said that Oakland “deserved” to have Cooper pair up with Carr, and that together the two would “light up the night sky in Oakland.” Stephen A. remained unimpressed and steadfast in his belief that Cooper would be “contaminated” by being a Raider.
Fast forward to Thursday night and Cooper found himself fully infected as the Raiders did indeed select him at number four. One big spot of joy for Raider fans is that with the selection, not only did Oakland get themselves the best receiver in the draft, they also got to enjoy the knowledge that somewhere, Stephen A. was bothered and irritated beyond belief by the pick. And they can hope he developed a headache from all of the shouting he was surely doing. Small comforts, but you take them where you can.
Stephen A.’s inflammatory, and ultimately ignorant comments on First Take prove that he doesn’t know very much about the organization, hasn’t been keeping up with it over the last year or so, and likely did not watch any Raider games last season.
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In other words, in typical Stephen A. fashion, he’s simply shooting his mouth off without having any sort of clue what he’s talking about. It’s not all that surprising, actually. Stephen A. has always been more about himself – and drawing attention to himself – than anything. He’s always been a lot of bluster, and far more style than substance.
But he obviously knows nothing about the Raider organization under the leadership of Mark Davis, Reggie McKenzie, and Jack Del Rio. This is a franchise that is trending upward. Way upward. This is a team with a number of young superstars in the making, and a core of solid, steady, and explosive players. The results of what the front office is doing may not show up in the win-loss column – yet – but it will. It’s simply a matter of time.
Not that Stephen A. would know – or ever admit it, even if he did know – but Oakland showed a tremendous amount of progress over the last six games of the season in 2014. They played much better football, and delivered some knockout blows to the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Was 2014 a great season for the Raiders? Of course not. But a strong draft class, bolstered by some tremendous free agent signings this offseason, have this team pointed in the right direction. And adding Cooper is one more key piece to the puzzle.
Cooper helps take Oakland’s offense to another level, and gives them a vastly improved passing game. Given OC Bill Musgrave‘s stated intention of incorporating elements of Chip Kelly’s up-tempo, no-huddle, spread style offense, having Cooper teamed with Rod Streater, Michael Crabtree, James Jones, and Andre Holmes gives the Raiders a very, very potent passing attack.
And what’s even better is that Cooper will have the opportunity to grow and develop with second year QB Derek Carr. That is potentially, a very potent combination that could be wrecking opposing defenses for some years to come.
Cooper helps rejuvenate the offense. His presence will elevate the play of his teammates. And a passing game with some real teeth now, will open up the running game and give Oakland a balanced offensive attack. Oakland’s offense, loaded with running backs Latavius Murray, Roy Helu, Trent Richardson, and Marcel Reece paired with a legitimate and dangerous passing attack is going to be a nightmare for some opposing defenses and defensive coordinators.
Though it was a very, very bad, no good, horrible decade for Oakland, things are beginning to turn around. The arrow, as they say, is pointing up, and this is a franchise that is going to get back to winning ballgames again. The goal of McKenzie and Del Rio is to restore the luster and legacy to the franchise, and make the Raiders one of the NFL’s most feared, and respected, teams again.
It’s simply a matter of when and not if. Oakland is rapidly improving and will be back to relevance shortly, with prominence not too far behind that.
Far from being a place where careers go to die anymore, Oakland is being revitalized and rejuvenated. With new life, new energy, and new blood flowing through veins of the organization, this is a team on the rise.
And when Cooper and the rest of the offense have very solid, very productive years, we can only sit back and wonder if – after being proven wrong in his absolutely ignorant views and opinions – Stephen A. Smith will man up enough to rescind his remarks and apologize to the organization for being as uninformed and obnoxious as he is?
We tend to doubt it, but unlike Stephen A., we believe in a person’s – or an organization’s – ability to grow, evolve, and improve.