Gator, what you say about the Jets is mostly correct. But I have to
respectfully disagree elsewhere. The Jets have been hopelessly "inept" for a long time, but the Raiders are the evil ones.
For decades, the Davis family has crapped all over their White coaches. And, much worse, the way they've treated their fans, particularly in Oakland. The Davis' have bilked the cities of Oakland, Los Angeles and Vegas out of billions. Raiders made the stadium in Oakland so bad (ghastly renovations) that the
A's eventually left. They are the worst of the worst.
Once closing in on legendary status, coach
Gruden has currently been banished to the furthest outskirts of the NFL (coaching the Hula Bowl). That's all on the classless Davis family. For years, the Davis' treated coaches so poorly,
Mike Shanahan in particular, that no decent head coaching candidate would go anywhere near them. Even Gruden 1.0 left as quick as he could to Tampa. Tribesman Mark Davis lured him back with the stunning promise of 10 million per year (10 years), but him and fellow Lonsman
Bruce Allen stabbed Gruden in the back, by (intentionally?)
leaking "racist" and "homophobic" private E-mails.
Thankfully, all the bad karma they've brought upon themselves might be biting them on the rear, as Raiders have been terrible on the field and "enjoy" poor local fan support:
AI Overview:
The Las Vegas Raiders do not currently have "excellent" local support when measured by typical metrics like home-field advantage or the proportion of local residents in the stadium. Home games are often dominated by visiting team fans due to the city's tourism-based economy.
Key Factors
Tourism vs. Local Fandom: Las Vegas is a major tourist destination, and many visitors plan trips around seeing their favorite NFL team play at Allegiant Stadium. Reports indicate that as much as 68% of fans at home games have come from outside the Las Vegas Valley.
Lack of Home-Field Advantage: The high number of opposing fans means the Raiders often lack a true home-field advantage, a situation coach Pete Carroll has noted needs to be addressed.
Transplant Population: Many Las Vegas residents are transplants who already had a favorite NFL team, making it a challenge to immediately cultivate a massive local-born fanbase.
Ticket Prices: High ticket prices, driven by demand from tourists and premium seating sales to hotels, can make games unaffordable for some average local fans.
Getting back to the topic, no way Fernando Mendoza drops to round 4. Even though
Brady Quinn (link above) compares him to
Kirk Cousins, who, Ironically enough, was a 4th round pick. But don't be surprised if they take the "prodigy" from Oregon #1 overall. Lonsman Davis no doubt wants him, but only local fan reaction (wanting Mendoza) and Tom
Brady can stop him. And, I'm not sure Brady won't drink the upside potential Kool-aid, the same way Brady Quinn has.
