The Chargers are still putting the Marty system together. While they
may surprise some AFC-West watchers I'm looking at Denver for the
tough competition in the division this year. They released Griese
and
signed Jake the Snake. If their defense can hold together they may
give the Raiders a run for their money this year.




I'm VERY excited by the off season player acqusitions this year. I
believe that the Raiders have the talent to make the playoffs this
year. The real person to watch at Oakland is Marc Trestman. This is
his second year at Offensive Coordinator. After his Cinderella debut
last year he is probably the most closely watched and studied coach
in
the AFC right now. If he becomes predicatable the offense will
suffer
regardless of who is on the team. If he can overcome the mounting
opposition in the AFC the Raiders are a certain success. I'm sure
that you remember the last three division winning seasons. The
Offensive Coordinator through two of those seasons who took over
after
Jon Gruden left was none other than Bill Callahan.




--- In GoRaiders@yahoogroups.com, "wonderfulkat aka F.Dellomes"
<wonderfulkat@y...> wrote:


> Are Chargers the wildest team out west?


>


> Drew Brees has an explosive arsenal of weapons. (AP)


> It's no surprise that the AFC West is a phenomenal division. But
while Yahoo! Sports analyst Cris Carter picks San Diego to finish
third, he says the Chargers could surprise a lot of people. Still, he
couldn't bring himself to pick San Diego ahead of Oakland and Denver.
Kansas City could again be the last-place team by default.


> click for full story:


> ~~~~~•~~~~~


> Raidertude


>


> Spikes. Facepaint. Snarls. It is all part of a weekly ritual for
the Inland dwellers who help populate The Pit.


> By MICHAEL FISHER


> THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE


> Wayne Mabry ceases to exist on any given Sunday.


> The Rancho Cucamonga man transforms into The Violator, a
post-apocalyptic villain clad in black leather, studded gauntlets and
silver-and-black make-up. He roams Network Associates Coliseum in
Oakland on game days, cheering for his beloved Raiders.


> "Once I hit the turnstiles, I clock in and the eyes roll back,"
said Mabry, 46. "I tell people I've come out of the asylum for 48
hours."


> •Zuma Press


> Wayne Mabry of Rancho Cucamonga drives to Oakland for Raiders home
games. Mabry, one of the most recognizable of the roughneck Raiders
fans, holds out hope that he will score an 11th-hour ticket for
today's Super Bowl between the Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last week, Raiders officials gave Mabry tickets just hours before
kick-off at the AFC Championship.


> Mabry and Corona's Mike Climo are hard-core members of the Raider
Nation, devotees who attend virtually all Oakland home games dressed
in wild face paint and costumes reminiscent of Mad Max, Marilyn
Manson
and KISS. They scream to inspire their team and intimidate opponents
and opposing fans.


> "I go around and start raising havoc, and I hope people will
follow
suit," said Climo, 45, who dresses as Darth Raider, complete with a
black cape, a plastic light saber and a Darth Vader mask.


> •Transmogrification


> Heavy-metal music blares in Mabry's apartment during his 90-minute
ritual on game day.


> He carefully applies symmetrical stripes of silver-and-black
makeup
to his face, then pulls on NFL shoulder pads topped with silvery
spikes that poke through his black Raiders jersey. A cutlass and a
silver flask dangle from his waist.


> Mabry drives nearly seven hours to Oakland in costume for every
home game.


> "Passion, dedication and a little bit of insanity," Mabry said,
explaining his motivation. "I'm usually kind of mellow. This gives me
a chance to let it all out."


> A fan for three decades, Mabry created The Violator in 1990 to try
to awaken docile crowds around him when the Raiders played at the Los
Angeles Coliseum.


> "I'm not going to come here and sit like I'm watching an opera,"
the former competitive body-builder explained. "We're going to raise
hell. That is the mission. To make noise when we need it."


> His loyalty to the silver-and-black did not go unnoticed.


> The unemployed construction worker had neither the money nor the
chance to buy a ticket for last Sunday's Raiders-Tennessee Titans AFC
Championship game.


> Less than a day before kick-off, the Raiders front office called
and offered Mabry -- a frequent target of television cameras roaming
the stands -- two free tickets and a free flight to the game.


> Mabry said adrenalin coursed through his body as the Raiders won
the game, and their first Super Bowl berth since January 1984.


> "I was holding back tears and feeling great for the players,"
Mabry
said, his voice scratchy and raw from screaming during the game.
"It's
been 19 . . . years."


> The team's Super Bowl run has brought recognizable fans like Mabry
some celebrity status. Former Raider Bob Golic interviewed him for a
radio show and he has spent several hours this week accompanying
Japanese reporters at the NFL Experience theme park, set up on the
Embarcadero.


> •Darth Raider


> Climo, a Web site operator and designer, said he started wearing
the Darth Raider costume to games back in the 1980s.


> "This is just my love for the Raiders," said Climo, who does not
have tickets for today's game. "I think what I like the most about it
is just the camaraderie."


> Climo enjoys mingling with other fans, posing for pictures and
chatting with tailgaters in the stadium parking lot.


> He gets autograph requests, including one several years ago from a
Wisconsin parent whose sick child wanted a signed photo from Darth
Raider. Climo obliged by signing a snapshot that he mailed to the
family.


> "I was touched," he said.


> Climo argues that Raiders fans are unfairly labeled as rough and
rowdy troublemakers, a bad reputation that he says stems from the
team's days in Los Angeles.


> "You have a few of the crazies, but the fans basically police
themselves. If you have someone getting too out of control, people
say
ease up," he said.


> 'Controlled mayhem'


> Mabry offers no apologies for the behavior of Raiders fans at
games.


> "If you can't stand it in here, get . . . out," he said, sitting
in
an apartment sprinkled with Raiders memorabilia such as a football
autographed by the team, and awards and pictures.


> "It's like the game. Controlled mayhem," he said. "We know where
the line is before they put you in restraints. We ride that line. We
push the envelope."


> He describes Raiders fans as the nicest people in the world, as
long as you don't root against their team. Rival fans feed the
legend,
he explained.


> "They love to hate us, and we love it," he said.


> Mabry considers himself an ambassador for the team. Fans ask him
to
pose in photographs or sign autographs, and he was honored in 1997 by
a Raider fan magazine.


> In 2000, Mabry was named to the VISA Hall of Fans. The exhibit at
the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, celebrates the most
dedicated and passionate fans from across the NFL.


> "It's not about the colors or the gangs and all that. Kids grew up
on this, like it's religion," he said.


> Mabry predicts victory for his team today, but a loss will not
drown his love for the team.


> "My saying is, 'Raiders for life,' " he said. "When they put me in
the box, I want to be in all black with a silver ring."


> Disclaimer: I am in no way offiliated with the Oakland Raiders,
NFL, Affiliates or any of it's players.


> All logos, photos are copyrighted and I take no credit for the
creation of any of them.


> Everything on this site is for pure fun and I take no credit for
anything related to the NFL or it's affiliates.


> wonderfulkat ©


>


>


>


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