What Ails Raiders Can Be Found In Owner’s Box

I guess it’s safe now to say that former head coach Art Shell wasn’t the Raiders’ problem.

Just like it was always safe to say the Raiders’ problem wasn’t the quarterbacking of Jay Schroeder, Todd Marinovich or Steve Beuerlein.

Or Marcus Allen and his desire to be his own man.

It wasn’t that Allen, Eric Dickerson and Roger Craig lacked punch at tailback, either, or that Ethan Horton committed too many holding penalties.

It obviously wasn’t the defensive coaching of Dave Adolph or Gunther Cunningham, since neither former defensive coordinator ever let Seattle or a John Friesz drop 44 points on the Raiders.

It obviously wasn’t other assistant coaches who have also left the team, because they at least knew how to beat Denver.

And it’s probably also fair to say the Raiders’ problem wasn’t the lack of luxury boxes at the Coliseum, or the loss of the white-collar season-ticket holder, or the generally blase attitude of the Los Angeles fans in general.

The Raiders, in their 13 years in Los Angeles, playing in the decrepit Colosseum with its lack of luxury and intimacy and severely wishy-washy fan base, never lost four straight home games.

Gee. I can’t imagine what the problem is, can you?

I do know there was a lot of hot air pumped out of the Oakland Coliseum locker room Sunday, after the Raiders come-from-ahead, blow-the-playoffs loss to Denver, about how some players on the team need an attitude adjustment.

Quite true. But as anyone who watched the Raiders play down here knows, they’ve needed a psychological oil change for some time, and not necessarily in the locker room.

More than any team in the NFL, the Raiders’ attitude starts in the front office with owner Al Davis, where turrets are still manned to shoot down the enemy. The front office still embraces the team’s trademark swagger and I’m-better mentality of yore despite what should be the rather humbling reality of the last decade.

This is why Art Shell couldn’t succeed. When fate led him in the middle of the Al Davis-Marcus Allen rift, Shell chose to remain loyal to the team, and Davis. His loyalty wound up costing him his job. Not only did he back the wrong horse in that snit, but he agreed to saddle up the same offense year after year and fight the same windmills as the owner.

When it came time for a change, of course, Shell got the blame, not the guy who installed the battle plan back at headquarters.

This is also why Mike White did not succeed. White may have convinced Davis to enter the 20th century and try a new offense, but he did not convince him that the new system might require some new parts, too.

The Raiders of ‘95 didn’t have a clutch tight end, a running back who could catch, or enough receivers who could split a seam without landing on their butt. Raghib Ismail, Al Davis’ kind of player, has finally sped past someone - past Andre Ware, Desmond Howard and Tony Mandarich on the list of all-time NFL busts.

What the Raiders of ‘95 had was the same bad habits of the past - no discipline, no consistency, no brains, no heart. Too many Raiders, like James Trapp, knew the owner has always enjoyed a crisp cheap shot. Too many Raiders, like Steve Wisniewski, know the owner will still love them after a loss as long as they spit in the winner’s face.

Too many Raiders also knew the changes were cosmetic and couldn’t possibly cover the huge wart at the center of the organization. Like Jeff Hostetler. When a guy like Hoss decides it’s time to dismount, the problems are pretty obvious.

The most unbelievable thing about the whole mess is that things may get worse before they get better. The move back to Oakland only caused more Raiders vapor lock. Everyone got caught up in yesterday, and with this pratfall, they may take two more steps back instead of a step forward.

The Raiders offense the last month was a Molotov cocktail of the West Coast offense with a dash of the old Raiders vertical attack. You got the feeling that White mixed his liquor at the behest of someone holding a foot on his neck.

And guess who may have figured this out before anyone else? The fans. They didn’t suck up all the Personal Seat Licenses that were available this year, and now 15,000 new PSL-attached seats are supposed to be added to the Oakland Coliseum.

With the game still tied Sunday, with the Raiders still alive for a playoff spot, more than a few of the new-old fans gathered their flasks and comforters and headed for the exits.

Maybe they left early because it was Christmas Eve, needed to get home, hang a stocking and read “A Christmas Carol” to their kids.

Whatever. Suffice to say the Ghost of Christmas Past was not kind to the Raiders or their fans, and the Ghost of Christmas Future may be just as unforgiving.

I feel sorry for Oakland. But lest anyone get the wrong idea, let me add this: Anyone seeing the Raiders trying to crawl back to Los Angeles are advised to shoot on sight.

They’re not the only ones with turrets.