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Al Davis (1963- )
In 1963, at the age of 33, Al Davis took over as head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders. |
The team had lost 25 of its last 28 games. At that time, the team played at Frank Youell Field, a high school stadium named after an undertaker, and had a capacity of only 23,000 people.
Except for linemen Jim Otto and Wayne Hawkins, running back Clemon Daniels and quarterbacks Tom Flores and Cotton Davidson, Al Davis inherited little else. Davis was making changes. He searched and signed free agent end Art Powell. He then traded three rejects to Buffalo for middle linebacker, Archie Matsos. He then signed Frank Youso, who was just waived by Minnesota one week before the opening game. This after cutting two ineffective candidates for offensive tackle. With that one move, Al Davis strengthened the line; it also sent the message... produce or leave.
After the first six games and a record of 2-4, the Raiders were starting slowly. However, they won the last eight games, with the final three having wild finishes. They ended their season with a 10-4 record, in second place by a game behind the champion San Diego Chargers. It was no surprise when Al Davis was named NFL Coach of the Year.
Davis started rebuilding the Raider organization in his own image. He rented headquarters without windows and banned the use of clocks; (he himself never wears a watch). He wanted the Raiders to operate like a Las Vegas casino... open 24 hours a day and committed to a single goal... winning.
Davis is colorblind. It is often said that he chose the colors of silver and black for the team because that's how he sees the world anyway. He wanted colors that sent a chill in the air by themselves, colors that frightened a team just by looking at them. But it went deeper than uniform colors. Davis wanted opponents to fear his team on the field as well.
He always loved the passing game; cradled as he was in Sid Gillman's wide open attacks with the Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers. Utilizing a Gillman idea, he set five receivers into a pattern that would stretch the defense horizontally, and then he customized it for Oakland. Not only did he want to stretch the defense horizontally; he wanted to stretch them vertically as well. This allowed for a strong-arm quarterback eager to trade a high percentage of completions for an abundance of bombs.
In 1967 he traded for Daryle Lamonica for this very reason. It is also one reason why Ken Stabler didn't play until he had lifted weights and strengthened his upper body. And in turn, it is why he acquired Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini and Marc Wilson. They all could throw deep.
This also meant high speed receivers on the weak side (Art Powell, Warren Wells, Cliff Branch and Willie Gault) and halfbacks that could split the deep zones up the middle and catch like a receiver. A Raider back from 1968-74, Charlie Smith was the prototype, and perhaps even better was Marcus Allen.
Davis' offensive ideas meant two other things: First, he needed tight ends that could catch, such as running back Billy Cannon. Acquired in 1964, Cannon objected to being converted to tight end. It is also why Davis signed free agent Todd Christensen in 1979 after being cut by Dallas as a running back. Second, Davis needed blockers that could protect the passer for as long as required, whether it be for the duration of a pattern, a handoff to a back or as long as it took for his quarterbacks to spot the open man or cut loose themselves. To accomplish this, he acquired big men with first round talent and paid them star wages. Linemen like Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Jim Otto, George Beuhler, Bob Brown and John Vella are just a few on that list.
Now Davis started to tinker with his defense. He was fascinated by John Wooden's success in basketball with UCLA, beginning in1963. He particularly liked Wooden's idea of the 1-3-1 zone press; the way it started with the inbound pass and tied up the other team's offense before it could get going. The "bump-and-run" was Davis' adaptation of the press. He would have the corners confront and attack the wide receivers at the line, forcing the receivers to expend their energy avoiding contact, rather than using it for downfield run patterns. In Davis' system, the cornerbacks would slow down the receivers long enough for the pass rush to reach the quarterback. This defensive scheme differed greatly from other defensive systems in professional football.
Naturally, this type of experimentation wouldn't succeed without talented players. Al didn't particularly care what the Raiders did as long as they were talented. It didn't matter who or what you were; what mattered was whether you produced come Sunday. Because of this idea, the Raiders became a "halfway house," a place where off-center players could find refuge. This in turn developed an allegiance that a pit bull might have for its keeper. With good pay and their talents respected, the rewards were victories and playoff money. The best part was that there was no one suggesting that they sing in the church choir to be accepted.
Renegades prized the freedom from personal judgement that went along with being a Raider. A few would even jeopardize this with action that crossed the irregular grain that had been established by their peers.
Succeeding coaches have not retained all of Al Davis' early football ideas, but the bases have remained the same. Offensive pressure, defensive force, these are the things that make a Raider kind of player, and they have remained remarkably intact.
In the years since Davis took over, man-to-man coverage has given way to zone defenses, zones to the wolfpack assaults of the 46. But jamming receivers at the line and covering them tight are the same as when Davis started the "bump-and-run" in the 1960's. In that same time, NFL passing games are based on ball control, short routes to the backs for modest gains. What's important is that Raider quarterback, staying in the pocket, waiting for that end to break into a "flag" "post" or "up" pattern.
Al Davis, whether he is the coach, general manager, administrator or adversary has demonstrated a restless and inventive mind. Not since Vince Lombardi and George Halas has one individual exhibited such a significant impact on a franchise.
The man has made his imprint on the Raiders... And the Raiders, by the way they play football, continue to make their imprint on the entire NFL.
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