What the Football with Suzy Shuster and Amy Trask: 8 with Howie Long

Welcome to this week's episode of What the Football brought to you by GameTime, the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy, and theater events near you. GameTime's got killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code WTF for $20 off of your first purchase. Visit GameTime.co for terms. Again, create an account, redeem the code WTF for $20 off. Download GameTime today.

Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Hi, Amy Trask. I'm really happy to be with you again on this Halloween. I have to say for all of you not lucky enough to watch this on YouTube, Amy Trask is wearing devil's ears that she says are kitten's ears. If you want to have a love compromise, maybe it's a devil cat. Which, by the way, I have to say, like the way I subscribe to costumes is you have to do it to look cute remotely.

Even if I'm 51, I'm not dead. And I feel like, you know, I always would go for a costume that would be kind of like, you know, the sexy devil or the, you know, cat woman or something like that. I think that you're pulling this look off with a plum.

Well, later today, a little black nose and black whiskers and a black tail will be added for when I'm handing out candy. You should have possibly worn that. I did actually wear it into Al Davis's office once, but that's a whole nother story for another time.

No, no, no. What? We were hosting an event at the facility bringing tons of kids in from the community, from the neighborhoods in Oakland. And so of course, I was dressed as a cat. I had a little, you know, black on my nose, a little circle because I was a black cat, of course.

I had whiskers, I had a tail, I had actually different more cat like cat ears on. And as I'm walking down to the event where we're hosting these kids, Al yells out of his eyes, So I walk in and we have this entire conversation about our financial status and our cash and our cash flow and the negotiations I'm having with our bankers. And then I'm walking down the hall.

You're going to be good with me swearing for a minute, right? So good. As I'm walking down the hall to go to the event, I hear Al yell out to his assistant, was she a f***ing cat?

So this is why I like a podcast. We talked about what we were going to talk about before we came out. And before we sat down, we had a little meeting.

That is so much more interesting to me than trade deadline crap. I mean, the fact of the matter that I mean, so Al yells, was she a f***ing cat? I think that was his exact words. I'm not remembering his exact words. But there was that was definitely the gist.

Because there we go. We're having a conversation about, you know, cash, cash flow, a credit facility, the negotiations I'm having with the bank. And the entire time, I have a little black circle on my nose, black whiskers, black cat ears and a black cat tail. But it was a very, very serious, important discussion that went to the financial stability or the financial wherewithal of the team. And I did it dressed as a cat. And he didn't flinch. He didn't budge.

It was an important discussion. And then I walk out and I hear him make the comment about you know, was that a cat that you didn't come in with a photograph of that I'm going to call Rob your husband after this and say, you know, please Rob next time prepare the woman with photographic evidence. And as we know, he does prepare me.

Yes, I know he does. I do like a costume. I have to think about that as we head out tonight. My kids were a little disappointed. We have done some dressing as a family in the past and rich and I've been a little overwhelmed lately.

And I have to think of something by I don't know, six o'clock tonight. I have seen your pictures of how you as a family have costumed yourself in the past. And I really think there should be an Oscar or an Emmy or maybe both for you.

I think you're right on a tease for later on. Taylor's costume is something related to you. Before I move on to the trade deadline, but did you ever dress up as the Princess of Darkness since you do have the best nickname of all in the history of sports? Thank you, Susie, it is the best nickname of all ever in the history of sports. It is the best name in the history of anything, and I shall cherish it forever, even though it wasn't bestowed upon me as a compliment. It was intended as an insult, but I loved it.

Raider nation loved it, and we loved it. And I never have dressed up like that, but you've given me inspiration. I try to I try to bring inspiration and also baked goods wherever I go.

We will talk about candy choice before the end of this podcast as well. The Hall of Famer Howie Long will join us momentarily. You might know him. He only played 13 years his entire career as a Raider. I do know Howie, a Hall of Famer, and his wife, also a Hall of Famer in life, went to law school with her.

And I can't wait till we get to talk to Howie. Well, as we trade, as we talk right now, the trade deadline is looming. It is in, hold on, 60 minus 30. Is that 22? 60 minus 30 is 30. 60 minus 38. Is that 22?

I think so. Let's just go general. I did not have a math requirement in my college, so there you go. I had to do that. By the way, and excuse me for interrupting, but when you talk about math, you should have seen Al Davis's face the first time he walked into my office to talk to me and saw me counting on my fingers.

He just stared at me like, this is the person I have in charge, and she's counting on her fingers. But were you wearing devil's ears that are supposedly cat ears at the same time? Not at the time. No, I'm just asking. You have a little bone to pick with the fact that it's West Coast 1 o'clock, 4 o'clock East Coast time, the deadline. Big gripe.

Almost 30 years in the National Football League. Every single deadline was on New York time. Every single email, memo, document, anything we got, always East Coast time. Well, you know what? Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. We have a time. Google it, kids.

It's from the Brady Bunch. We have a time zone out here, too, and it irked the heck out of me. Trade deadline, 4 o'clock East Coast time.

Well, guess what? We're not on the East Coast, so that was 1 o'clock our time. They could have pushed that to 7 o'clock, so we could have had till 4. But no, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, everything on New York time.

I couldn't stand that. Did you ever, before I asked these questions, and I should have let you percolate, but did you ever have something where you're up against a deadline and you're like, but I want it until 4. Oh, I called the league office about this all the time. I was going to say, if any of them are listening, I know some of my old league friends listen because I get wonderful notes from them. And they're probably laughing because I would call up and they would say, you know, we get a memo, deadline at such and such a time, and I'd immediately call them and say, actually, that's New York time.

I'd like to do it on California time. It was routine. I called and complained all the time. I would imagine. I wish I was on the other end of those phone calls.

We are recording this, like I said, on a Tuesday, and we now have 20 minutes to go. The commanders seem like they're having a bit of a fire sale, sending Montez Sweat to the Bears and sending Chase Young away to San Francisco. What do you think they're doing?

I mean, it's so funny. Why would they make all these moves right now? Well, there's always the long term versus short term analysis that a team may be exploring, but they have new ownership in Washington, new ownership that, and let me put this in really technical terms, paid a lot, a lot, a lot of money for that team.

As someone I once heard in a courtroom say to the judge, did you say a billion with a B? They paid billions of dollars for that team. And they're clearly making moves, which new ownership does at times. You know, you asked me earlier, what do I think they're thinking? And I wanted to revert to my legal education and object and say, Your Honor, objection assumes a fact not in evidence, which is that they are thinking this through.

And yeah, I'm being silly because clearly they are. But trading away players of that caliber, it's interesting and it sends a message in the organization. What's the message? Well, in the locker room, players are looking at one another like, what's going on here? And you've put your team in a bad position for the remainder of this season. Even if you're looking at this on a long term basis, let's acquire draft picks. Let's build for the future. You'll have men in that locker room who are thinking you all may be building for the future, but I'm at the tail end of my career. So you're building for a future when I won't be here.

I want to win now. And I think trades like this put Ron Rivera in a tough position in that locker room because he's going to have to explain this to players. And Washington, of course, is three and five. Amy, both of these guys are at the end of their contracts. So does a team take that into consideration when they make these trades? They sure should. And I'm not aware of any teams that don't. And I actually shouldn't say any teams. I think there are times a team I'm thinking from my own personal experience. I know in general, some teams do, some teams don't. I'm trying to think from my personal experience if I remember times when teams didn't think it through appropriately. But remember this, Susie, teams can always have discussions with players for whom they're trading or if they're interested in making a trade, as long as they have permission from the team with which they're discussing this to do so. And say, look, if we make a trade for you, it is going to be with the understanding that you're going to enter into discussions to extend your contract, that you're willing to extend your contract, that you will agree to extend your contract. And the reason I stopped myself before mid-sentence, there are times team owners want to make a trade for right now, this minute, this season, not looking beyond the season. And, you know, I worked for a team owner who was very cognizant in the final years of his life that it was the final years of his life.

And we received a lot of criticism, I've shared this with you before, for making what appeared to be short-term decisions, not long-term decisions, to which I'll say when you know that your life doesn't have a long-term component, maybe you do make short-term decisions. Rich Eisen here. If you love football as much as we do here and want to be in the game every day, there's something the guys on my show have been enjoying. PrizePix Daily Fantasy Sports, the number one daily fantasy sports app. Brockman, tell us about PrizePix and your strategy this season. Rich, it's so fun and so easy. You know I love this stuff. You pick two or more players based on their stats and place their entry.

It takes less than 60 seconds and just a few taps. You make your picks, boom, you're part of the action. And they have weekly promotions that can lead to big prizes. I love PrizePix because it adds to my game time experience. I'm more invested in the outcome and I get real-time updates.

Like this weekend, you know, if I'm thinking about a certain Indianapolis quarterback going over his rushing yards or maybe a Pittsburgh receiver getting more than his allotted catches, there I am. Boom. I love it. I love PrizePix.

You should too. If you're eager to test your knowledge and skills, play the game enjoyed by millions and join the PrizePix community of more than 7 million football fans who have already signed up. Visit prizepix.com slash pigskin and use code pigskin. That's code pigskin at prizepix.com slash pigskin. PrizePix, daily fantasy made easy. Must be present in certain states. Visit prizepix.com for restrictions and details. With Sotictu for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, you could show off your skin again.

And you know what that means. Peach Day. As a Tic-Tu inhibitor, Sotictu is the only once daily pill of its kind for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Ask your dermatologist about Sotictu today and learn more at soclearlyu.com.

That's soclearlyu.com. Sotictu, decrevisitinib, is a prescription treatment for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who may benefit from systemic therapy or phototherapy. Don't take if you're allergic to Sotictu. Serious reactions can occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections, including tuberculosis. Sotictu can lower your ability to fight infections. Don't start if you have one. Serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred.

Tell your doctor if you have a history of these events or if you have an infection or symptoms like fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough. Or if you have history of hepatitis B or C, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. Sotictu inhibits Tic-Tu, which is part of the Jack family. People 50 and older with heart disease risk factors who use a Jack inhibitor are at increased risk for certain side effects, sometimes fatal. It's unknown if Sotictu has the same risks as Jack inhibitors.

Call 1-888-SOTYKTU to learn more. I didn't ask to be thrown in the streets, but I did ask for help, and Covenant House was there for me. For these kids who didn't ask to be put in this unthinkable situation, Covenant House is there.

To learn more, go to safeplacetosleep.org today. We talked last week with Warren Sapp, and if you did not listen to that, what the football? What are you thinking and what are you doing?

So go back and check it out or on Rich Eisen Show YouTube page or wherever you find your podcasts. But we spoke about Jerry Jones with his feet up waiting for the phone to ring because he said he doesn't chase down trades. Trades have to come to him. And again, as we record this, we've got 60 minutes to go. But what are the tricks and treats since this is Halloween of the trade deadline in terms of what's the chicanery behind the scenes that these coaches and these teams play as they wait for the phone to ring or they're picking up the phone? First of all, magnificent usage of chicanery. That was beautiful. And the reason I was kind of giggling and smiling ear to ear, it really shouldn't be trick or treat for the next 16 minutes. It should be trick or trade.

Thank you very much. Look, there are some teams, the owners of which GMs of which are honest. They're straightforward. They're honest. They're not playing games.

A lot, a lot, a lot of teams play games. We're not going to trade that player. We're not going to make any trades. Nope, we're not trading.

Well, a lot of them are not being honest or may I say they are disingenuous. And I'm always, always, always reminded of a joke that I heard. Woman walks into a bar, sits down, man next to her says, here's a drink.

Will you have sex with me for $100? And she becomes indignant and looks at him and says, I am not a prostitute. And he says, okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I misunderstood. I'm sorry, but go ahead. Have the drink.

It's on me. Several hours later, quite a few drinks later, he leans over and says, will you have sex with me for a million dollars? And she immediately grabs her purse and starts to get up and says, yeah, let's go.

Let's go. And he looks at her and says, so we've established that you are a prostitute. Now we're just negotiating. So when a team says we're not trading, we're not trading, I always think of, so we've established you are a prostitute and now we're just negotiating. That may often be a message.

Offer me more. I just want to point this out. What other show can you go and watch or listen to where you're going to get a prostitute joke out of the co-host mouth? I'm just saying to you, this is refreshing football conversation.

And it's such a good joke because it's so true. We're not going to trade that player. We're not going to make any trades. And then you get offered the million dollars, so to speak, to use the prostitute analogy, and you make the trade.

Oh. So you are going to trade. We're just negotiating over the amount. It's just what's the amount, right?

Isn't that what it is? Everybody is, you know, I've been seeing more and more people going on shows on this Tuesday saying, Davante Adams, he'll never go anywhere. You just don't know until it hits one o'clock Pacific time.

Thank you very much for that. And by the way, my big brother listens to this podcast, of course. And I do think that he's probably a little surprised right now that his little sister just dropped a prostitute joke. And that's OK.

I have to say and an F bomb, which is delightful. My brother would call me immediately and tell me not to swear, as with Leslie Visser. Oh, Leslie Visser. So if Leslie, wherever you are listening to this, we are sorry. By the way, my brother not sorry.

Yeah, not sorry. I once said when someone said a team had no chance to win a game. I once said on air on CBS Sports Network, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Of course, that's a quote from Animal House.

Look it up. I get home. My brother calls. I love you.

I always want to support you. I don't want to be critical of you. But it was the Japanese that bombed Pearl Harbor. And I said to him, I don't know what frightens me more that you actually thought. I thought it was the Germans that bombed Pearl Harbor or that you never watched Animal House. And I decided it was most frightening that he never watched Animal House. Did you ever swear on television or anywhere inappropriately?

I might as well ask you that now. Not on television. I'm very, very careful about that. I swear inappropriately a lot.

That's true. I almost swore on TNT during an NBA playoff game. I've been watching Deadwood nonstop. And if you haven't seen Deadwood, go now and watch every single bit of it. It's gorgeous. But well, since since you've already dropped the F bomb in in it, the heroine.

Sorry, the hero is in Swearingen, like the greatest David Milch character of all time. They use the word sucker like it like like every other word. And I'd watch three or four. And we were like doing a warm up. And Dick Stockton's talking to me and I was like, God.

And I literally I think I almost got fired because I we weren't on the air. But, you know, there's always somebody listening. There's and there's always a microphone. Oh, this is a great segue.

This is. And by the way, by the way, that is a word that was used so often. Look, I spent 30 years, almost 30 years in the NFL.

There ain't a swear word I haven't used. I mean, it is so true. I mean, we're two women that between the two of us, we've spent a half a century in sports. That's a lot of years. That's disgusting.

But I mean, no, we were ahead of our time. That's right. I know. But I mean, honestly, like I don't have a shy bone in my body when it comes to verbiage anymore or something like that, because like also like I don't know, there's nothing that really stops me in my tracks. Lincoln Kennedy.

Oh, yeah. Phenomenal, phenomenal offensive lineman. Love that he was with our team. I consider him my teammate because, of course, we played together. I was on the defensive line. He was on the offensive line.

He took issue with my swearing and he was always trying to get me to stop swearing. So we're walking out of the stadium one day after a great Raider win. I'm walking through the tunnel. I've got my mom and dad with me. We see Lincoln coming out of the locker room. Lincoln stops and approaches my mom and dad. Big hug.

Hello. And asks my parents to help him get me to stop swearing. My dad burst into laughter and just said, good luck. By the way, while I was researching Howie Long and thinking of questions, I Googled most frightening Raiders thinking I'd be cute and do some kind of Halloween kind of thing. And Lincoln Kennedy comes up and I think I'm thinking to myself, you've got to be kidding. Like he's a pumpkin. He's like a teddy bear of a guy. And he's under most frightening Raiders. Not when that ball was snapped. He is a pumpkin. He is just a love. When that ball was snapped, you did not want to be on the opposite line of scrimmage. That is fantastic.

Or you could say he turned into a pumpkin and that's a Cinderella reference. But that's that's for another podcast, people. Let's talk about game time. And you know, I'm going to talk about game time because I love it because I'm the one who always buys the tickets for my family. Last night was another one.

Mom. So and so his favorite. There's always a new favorite for gender. There's always another concert to go to. So yet again, I'm like, OK, I'll go to the game time app because I've downloaded it.

Game time. Co is so easy because I can see where I'm going to sit. And like I said, I'm really picky about where I sit.

I'm just too old to go to a concert or a show where I don't like what I'm seeing. And my kids are little so small. Not Xander. He's 15. But Taylor's little. She's 10.

So I want to know where she's going to sit. So I like the app. It's easy to navigate. You can see exactly where you're going to be. So don't show up.

And all of a sudden there's a concrete in front of you and you're pissed. They don't pull any punches. They they'll tell you right up front what to get. All in pricing with a house full of kids that have different tastes and allegiances to arts and teams. Game time is the perfect solution to finding tickets to satisfy everyone.

And they've got deals. So like if you're running late like I am, you can quickly get a ticket. They sell tickets up until an hour after the show starts. And it's just kind of perfect. So download the game time app, create an account, use the code WTF for twenty dollars off of your first purchase. And I know you guys are actually listening because game time is telling us that people are using WTF.

It's great. Restrictions apply. Visit gametime.co for terms. Again, create an account WTF for 20 bucks off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets.

Lowest prices guaranteed. I don't typically introduce our guests on what the football, but I am thrilled to do so today. Hall of Fame player. Hall of Fame human. Married to a Hall of Fame human. A man who at some point is going to explain to me how it is that we are old enough that I'm on a weekly television show on CBS Sports Network with his son, who I think was only born six years ago. Howie Long. Howie, thank you for joining us today.

We are thrilled to have you. And I'm going to jump right in with a question this. This week, there are two games that bring to mind a question because Rich Eisen just asked me this on his show.

I'm going to ask you. We have Philadelphia and Dallas. We have Buffalo and Cincinnati. Did you during your playing years feel at all differently during the week leading up to a game when we were playing a divisional rival or we were playing a conference rival that we just had trouble beating? Were your feelings any different that week than on another week?

I don't think so. I think for me, it was, you know, back when we played, you know, the Super Bowl year, we played Washington up in Washington. They were they had set an offensive scoring record that stood the test of time until the Randy Moss, Chris Carter Vikings, when they almost went to the Super Bowl. They were dominant team.

You put the film on and you go, oh, my gosh, you know, it's counter counter play action, deep ball. I think we were built more like an NFC team. We were big. We were physical.

And, you know, in Al's kind of image of what he wanted. He wanted speed. He wanted size.

He wanted strength. And that was it. You know, I always kind of felt like every week within the division was the other team's kind of week.

It was there. Whether we went to Kansas City, it was the red coat week where they had the red blazers and all the alumni come back and charges. So it was more about the opponent with us versus us versus the opponent. It was just another division game. Some were dirtier than others in our mind. Certainly there were teams that I didn't like a little bit more. And Denver was probably one of them for sure. Kansas City with Marty was always, you know, we're going to run the ball 40 times. You know, get your mind right.

Buckle your chin strap up and get ready to play. Marty did Raider week every year. Raider week. But Washington was when I look outside the division and outside the conference, Washington was kind of a mirror kind of image in terms of size, strength and all that. And they weren't I just don't think they were used to what we had. We had the two corners. We had a great defensive front and we were able to kind of go toe for toe with that. We lost that game, ironically enough, up in Washington in a shootout and was backed up on a second long screen pass to Joe Washington. And ironically enough, fast forward to the Super Bowl. They were backed up second and long in their territory. We saw Matt Millen out of the game, put a young guy in that nobody knew named Jack Squirek. And his job was by Joe Washington. And we ran a jet ripped blue slash off the off the weak side, strong side, rather.

I slant. Ted Hendricks comes in. Safety comes off the corner. And Joe got got hurried and pressured and scaled one up to Joe Washington.

And Jack Squirek will live in infamy for Washington fans. I am covered in goosebumps right now. Listening to you describe that.

Absolutely covered. I got to tell you, I don't know how you remember every single specific nature of this game. This is a long time ago, Howie. How do you remember all this? This is insane.

Because really, you know, I'm 63 and life goes by so quickly. And there there are some things. It's like the smell of training camp grass. It it it it brings you back. It's a smell.

It's for other people. It's wine. You know, it's oh, we had this wine and wherever. And I remember and all that.

For me, it's, you know, a fresh mowed lawn. It's being around football. And, you know, fortunately, after I retired, I was able to, you know, be a part of football in my own way. You know, I was never interested in being coaching in the NFL. Ended up being fortunate enough to get on a staff with a high school team where our boys played and coach during the week, but never coached on game night because I don't want to be a distraction.

So, you know, I thought to myself, well, look, I can't help you with your biology homework, but I can certainly teach you how to do this. And coach all three of the boys for eight years, coach Little League Baseball. And every time I'm around grass or around sports, I'm around players.

You know, like I've spent the time of Max Crosby and, you know, over the phone and have been fortunate enough to meet him in person. And, you know, it all comes back. You know, the funny thing about football is it's like it's two elevators. It's, you know, your physical elevators through the roof when you start your mental elevators here. The game is moving really fast. And as you go, they're going in opposite directions, somewhere around 28, 29. It kind of thinks up. And by the time you figure it all out mentally, you can't do a damn thing about it physically.

That's kind of where you are when you're 63 and you're trying to explain the game to Max Crosby. Half redneck, half posh, 100 percent fun. Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan Forrester try and learn fancy culture in Puttin' On Airs.

The host of the Medium Popcorn Podcast, Brandon Collins and Justin Brown. OK, so Paddington 2 had like 100 percent arrived tomatoes for you. You guys ruined that? Justin came in and took it down like two points because of his rating. That's the time we started getting death threats. Yeah, I'm not surprised. People worship that movie. Puttin' On Airs.

The podcast is on YouTube and wherever you listen. So what do you think is going on right now with the Raiders? You mentioned Max. We have so much to talk about in this and not that much time, but let's start right there.

Personnel moves. You know, listen, we didn't have titles. There were no titles in the building when I played there. And you know this because you certainly were in the building and, you know, had a significant title. And I don't even know.

I'm not sure I knew you were the president or whatever. To me, it was Ron Wolf was just a guy upstairs. Ron Wolf turned out to be the architect of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that, you know, was Leroy Selmon, et cetera.

Doug Williams, the whole thing. And then obviously with us. And then, you know, two, three Super Bowls with us. And then goes to Green Bay and resurrects that franchise. And he's in the Hall of Fame. See him every year. And you look around what we had, particularly in that really good stretch run there from early 80s to, you know, late 80s.

There was greatness everywhere. And, you know, nobody had a title, but you realize how important that personnel element is. And, you know, whether it was Al, it was Ron Wolf, we had a number of people in the building who were tasked with trying to find talent. That's been a problem to me.

That's been an issue. And I think when you don't hit on the quarterback, you look, listen, Jim Pluckett took the Lewis and Clark route to get to the Raiders. You know, and he's drafted number one by the then Boston or New England Patriots.

I'm not sure if they were in the wingman at that point and took a beating, a major beating, a traumatizing beating. And then he goes out to San Francisco and that's where he went to school. And he's from out that way.

And again, a bad team and took another beating. And everyone had pretty much written off Jim Plunkett. And, you know, there's a lot of stories like that in our locker room. You know, there was a nice kind of blend of young and old. I lived with Cedric Hardman my rookie year in Oakland, in Alameda, in a little house down there. And he was 34 years old, old San Francisco player. And we had a lot of that in our organization where the older guy would take care of the young guy. And it was my job, whether it's Shawn Jones or it's, you know, Chester McLachlan or whoever it was to kind of take them under your arm and say, hey, look, this is what it means. And the guys that did that for me were Ted Hendricks, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw. And, you know, like I said, everywhere you look, Freddy Politikoff's on the staff, Willie Brown's on the staff.

You don't have to look forward to see greatness. And Al was somebody who knew more about football or as much as any coach in football. So it was such a unique organization.

And I don't think you really realize that because we're kind of an island onto ourselves. It was kind of a bubble and no one got in the bubble. And that was great from a player standpoint.

But you never saw how anyone else did it. And we've been chasing that for quite some time now. And, you know, we got close when, you know, Rich Gannon was there.

Rich Gannon was, to me, the last guy that, you know, we've we've had there. And when you got to hit that position, you've got to hit the offensive line. You've got a running back who last year I think led the league in rushing. And this year they can't run the football. They've got a young guy in kind of number two, number three slot that I think they like. But you have to ask yourself the question. And Jim played big in the biggest of games.

He always did. Do you have a guy on that roster that can win a Super Bowl? And I think the question the answer to that question is no. And until you have that to start with as a foundation, you can you can you can kind of go back and look at the history and lean on that, lean on that.

But at some point you've got to make your own history. And this team and this organization needs to kind of get it dialed in and figure out how they can make their own way. So then is McDaniel the wrong guy for the Raiders? I don't know enough about McDaniel. I spent some time with the GM.

I think they were aware, you know, and they had to ask the questions about their quarterback and came to the conclusion that, you know, in fact, he wasn't the guy that was going to take them to the Super Bowl and they moved on. I think Jimmy is kind of a reliable stopgap measure. I think the young guy who I think they took him in the fourth round is a guy that.

Josh McDaniel, you're anytime you're anytime you're you're you're looking at talent, your head coach or your GM, you're going to draw on what you had in the past. Well, this guy looks like art or this guy plays like Gene. Or this guy could be Ted Hendricks. This guy could be Howie Long, whoever it is. I think for him, that guy probably reminded them the most of Tom Brady. You know, the size, the style of play. He's a pocket guy who can move a little bit, but he's not a runner.

Smart guy poised. I just don't think they had the pieces in place right now. And then what ends up happening is frustration sets in. Frustration sets in with wide receivers like you get a Devante Adams who's, you know, probably a Hall of Fame wide receiver who's used to playing with a great quarterback.

And, you know, in the one sense, maybe I'm not sure if it was all this. You know, the money certainly had something to do with it and getting back out west had something to do with it. But he came there to play with Derek Carr and their cars no longer there. And, you know, you take last night.

Last night he's open on a couple of what would have been really big plays, potentially touchdown plays, and can't get the ball there. And you can see the frustration that he has. And you pointed out he went there for a different reason. But, you know, when we had Warren Sapp on last week, he was saying that he believes the Patriot way of football is over. What are your thoughts on that? Because he was obviously referring to Josh McDaniel. As you can imagine, when Warren does not have a paucity of words, like he basically said, it's over.

I won't be as maybe as harsh as that. Listen, when you've got Gronk, you've got some of the offensive linemen that the Patriots had. You've got some of those slot receivers. And, you know, a number of big receivers have, you know, Randy Moss included. After, ironically enough, the Raiders gave up on Randy Moss. And Randy Moss ends up going and setting a league record that they broke. As a matter of fact, I think Chris Carter and Randy Moss' record down there. I think, I asked the GM, you know, because we're in a day and age of, and you look at styles of offense, two contrasting styles of offense. Let's take the Miami Dolphins.

Let's take the Philadelphia Eagles. They've got a wide receiver who's a bully. He's a big, physical, fast bully. He wins 95 percent of 50-50 balls. He's throwing, he's being thrown to sometimes in double coverage and he comes up with the ball.

He's just a big bruiser. You know, Cliff Branch, people don't realize how fast, how great and what an impact Cliff Branch had on when he broke the huddle. Because it dictated secondaries, it dictated coverage.

You knew what people were going to be in and in many ways opened up the run game because you had to go two deep safeties. You had to roll the coverage to Cliff. Cliff was so fast. You know, I loved Cliff.

The disappointing thing for me with Cliff was he didn't get in the Hall of Fame until after he passed. And I remember exactly where I was when I got the news. I was in Colorado. I was going to the Red Rocks with my son, Chris, to go see My Morning Jacket, which, you know, could you imagine me at a My Morning Jacket concert?

No, I can't. But we had a ball and it was great. But it was a somber time. And I told, I told his sister about this at the Hall of Fame this year.

You know, he was Diane, one of Diane's favorites, one of my favorites. Cliff slept on Cedric and my couch a number of times my rookie year. And this was me at 21 years old. I'm going from Villanova where there's a priest on every floor to the Oakland Raider locker room. And it's like, wow, we're not playing Delaware. And, you know, it's it's not that. But it was great.

I had great people around me. So I asked him, I asked the GM that question and I said, you know, you see all these pre-snap motions, exotic, you know, pre-snap shifts, the speed, the kind of double passes, bootlegs, getting people out, doing all that. Is your head coach at all kind of enticed to do that, to do more of that or incorporate some of that?

I just I don't think he is. And I think that system can work. But you've got to have Tom Brady. You've got to have, you know, a Gronk. You've got to have Mangold.

You've got to have, you know, the kind of offensive line they had, the slot receipt. Great, great, great players they had. They had great players there. Not all them first round picks, but boy, oh boy, were they good. And that's how they beat you.

They beat you with better players. You can scheme it up all you want. If you can't scheme it up, you can't scheme it up if you don't have the players. And that's the bottom line. All right, Howie, I have one final fun question for you. But before I get to that, I will tell you something heartfelt and sincere. And you know of me that I only say what I mean, and I always mean what I say. So in that spirit, I will share with you and Diane that which I have shared with Susie and Rich, which is that if everyone in the world raised children the way you four have raised your children, this world would be a lot better than it currently is. That's a very nice thing to say. I'm of the mindset that, you know, who's the wide receiver from Cincinnati who says he's 7-11?

No, that's me. I'm 7-11. I'm always open. You could call me at four in the morning, five in the morning. I'm there.

You have to be there. And even with that, and as great as Diane is like a saint, an extraordinary mother. I mean, every day is a guilt-ridden day that I'm not living up to her standard because she's so great. I mean, look, you were at law school with her. She was carrying Chris. She was pregnant in Luke Court. She was big as a house.

And, you know, Chris was born and when she graduated at USC and she took him on stage and, you know, he's got a lot of his mama in him. You know, fortunately, I think there's a blend of both of us. But even when you do all that, you're batting 650, 700, you're doing okay. You know, you just got to keep showing up and swinging. Well, the four of you have done a magnificent job and you are thus making the world better. And yes, Diane is magnificent.

As I said on introducing you to our listeners and viewers, she too is a Hall of Famer. Now, here's my question for you. It is something I am asked all the time. Do you have a favorite Al story?

And if so, will you share it with us, please? Oh, God, there were so many. That's my answer. You know, he he was really kind of funny. I called him Mr. Davis. And maybe that was just the way I was raised. You know, we had we had maybe two lengthy conversations. I think I had I had a bad fight in practice and beat somebody up and, you know, I didn't start it. Never started a fight.

I'd walk five blocks around a fight. But this was unavoidable. And, you know, it was bad. They had to bring in plastic surgeons and the whole thing. And, you know, I was brought up and he just tore my ass up and, you know, said that was our second round pick. And you just ruined our second round pick. And, you know, blah, blah, blah.

You know, this, that and the other thing. And, you know, he'd walk out and practice. I mean, it was funny because the defensive line was way down the end of the field in the in the El Segundo facility and also in Oakland, way down the field. Al wore a cologne that the minute he walked out the door. You knew he was there like a minute and a half before he hit the field because you could smell the cologne. It was I don't know what it was. It was some kind of special cologne. I've never smelled it ever since. It's kind of like grass, Pavlov's dog. If I smelled it now, I'd I'd start stretching and get ready to play.

He would walk out on the field. And, you know, I've been sitting on my helmet and I'm watching maybe it's offensive day. And, you know, I'm sitting behind the thing. And, you know, he woke up all along. You think you're tough, don't you?

And I'm thinking to myself, does he think he can kick my ass or something? He was really it was. You cannot imagine the opportunity to play for someone that iconic. He was an iconic owner, leader, commissioner, coach. You know, he was I've said this. He was benevolent. He was tyrannical. He he was someone who on the drop of a dime would, you know, get a player out of trouble, you know, after he left the organization and help out and do all that and do it without without making it public. And he could also, boy, I'll tell you what, we're I'm Irish and we carry a grudge before he carried grudges. He was an interesting guy. And he really epitomized what the organization was all about.

And I will simply add to it how he said that I owe my career to the fact that decades before it was even a topic of discussion, he hired without regard to race, gender, ethnicity or any other individuality, which has no bearing whatsoever on whether one can do a job. And that's when you play. Can you play?

Exactly. Can you play? No. Hey, listen, today's trade day. You know, later on, much many years later, I heard the story from, you know, it was publicized that, you know, I was going to be involved in 83 prior to the 83 season with three team trade that would send Elway to the Raiders and the cargo.

I'd go to Chicago and there was a culture involved or something. And and, you know, it's funny because I just heard it when I landed to go to the Hall of Fame and I called Ron Wolf. I said, were you going to trade me? And of course, I would trade myself for John Elway.

But Al would have no part of that. I was one of those guys that he wouldn't trade. Howie, thank you for your time. It has been such a pleasure. We hope that we will drag you out to do this again. We really appreciate you taking this time.

Honored, touched and delighted to talk with you, Howie. And give Diane a hug. I will. I will. She set the pumpkin shot up. She did that nicely, of course. Excellent pumpkin shot. You guys have a good one.

Thanks again, Howie. Step into a world of nonstop action on DraftKings Casino. Play the classics like blackjack roulette and slots, plus enjoy exclusive games you can't find anywhere else. Right now, new customers can get a deposit match of up to one hundred dollars in casino credits when you deposit five dollars or more. All you've got to do is sign up, select the offer, make your deposit and start playing from a full suite of games. The only way to do it is on DraftKings Casino. It's safe, secure and reliable so you can deposit it. Withdraw your cash whenever you're ready.

Download the app right now. Sign up with the promo code. Susie. That's S U Z Y. New customers get a deposit match up to one hundred dollars in casino credits when you deposit five dollars or more. Only on DraftKings Casino with promo code Susie.

That's S U Z Y. Trick or treat, Amy Ham. This was actually Xander Eisen's idea as we drove to school.

We spoke to you on the phone. He said, why don't you play trick or treat? Because it's Halloween.

So give me a trick. Give me a treat. Well, and great idea, Xander, because I love Halloween. And the treat I will wish is a treat for Raider fans for whom I will always, always, always have the greatest love that the season has turned around. That's my treat. That's my wish. My wishful treat for Raider fans who I love.

My trick. I'm wishing this for all teams. Have some fun on the field. Run a trick play. I remember a game. It was the first home game we had after Al Davis passed away. Set up for a field goal. Center snapped it to the holder. The holder was our punter, Shane Loeckler. He stood up and completed a touchdown pass. Trick.

That's a good one. I am going to have for my trick. My trick is Raiders let Devante go. I just want to see him go somewhere happy because I love him as a player. That's my trick.

And I know it can only do so much. Obviously, the trade deadline is passed. My treat is Jameer Gibbs. I love the rookie out of Georgia Tech by way of Alabama. I just thought he had a great game for the Lions in his Monday Night Football debut. Eleven touches in the first quarter off eight rushes and three receptions. They were the most touches in an opening quarter in the league since Christian McCaffrey's outing in week 15. And I have to say this. I just thought 109 yards, 189 yards from scrimmage, a touchdown.

The Lions go to six and two. And just watching him postgame just be so joyous. I thought that is my idea of a treat.

And it was nice to see a player that happy. But I will note that both your trick and your treat are heartbreaking to Raider fans. So Raider fans, I have your back.

I'll handle this with Suzy after the podcast. Yeah. I mean, Raider fans, by the way, I'm a Patriots fan anyway. So I'm already in pain most of the time this year.

So I feel like, you know, I'm already damaged goods. So maybe I can have my tricks and my treats. Speaking of tricks and treats, Al Davis, in fact, got to meet Darth Vader in real, real live time on the field one time. Tell us about that. Lucas Films had another. I don't remember which Star Wars movie it was, but there was a Star Wars coming out. And we formed a partnership, did a sponsorship agreement with Lucas Films to promote the Star Wars movie that was coming out during a game. And as I said, we partnered with them. It was a good sponsorship partnership agreement. So as part of this sponsorship, they sent to our game stormtroopers that walked the sidelines during the game. The stormtroopers visited the black hole.

It was great. And they sent Darth Vader. So we're on the field pregame on the sideline. Al is right on the sideline watching our team warm up, evaluating the other team and sort of playing around with them a little bit, messing with the other team as he was wanted to do.

And by messing with the other team, I do not mean tampering because he didn't do that too often. But there we are on the sideline and he's watching warm ups, as I said. And someone from Lucas Films, an executive, walks over to me and says, We'd really like you to get Al to greet Darth Vader. It would be very, very helpful. And we'll take some pictures. Could you do that for us? And, you know, look, we had a sponsorship arrangement with them.

They were our business partner for this game. And of course we're going to try to do that. So I approach Al. I'm a couple feet behind him on the sideline.

He's right on the sideline. And I walk up and I say, I need you to greet Darth Vader. I need you to come say hello to Darth Vader and greet Darth Vader. And I will never forget the look on his face when he says to me, Who the fuck is Darth Vader? But he did it. He walked over and he graciously shook hands with Darth Vader. And there are pictures of this. And because I asked him to do it, he did it.

Even after saying, Who the fuck is Darth Vader? All right. First of all, F-bomb number three, which is so fantastic. I don't have a swear jar. But that was a quote. I want to be clear that the F-bombs I have dropped have been in the context of quotes. And if you're going to quote someone, you've got to quote them accurately. Amy, you're a lawyer through and through.

And I really like it when you work blue. That's number one. Number two, we have our own Star Wars person at home. I'll have you know.

One Taylor Eisen is dressing up as Kylo Ren. And there we go. And our dog looks horrified.

So I'm just letting you know. And there's Rich in the background taking the picture. He's in the mirror. I guess that's a mirror.

Is that a mirror? There's Rich in the background. Oh, that's great. Sadly, two big Lego boxes yet to be done that Rich will have to be doing himself. And yeah, so there you go.

Kylo Ren, Darth Vader. You get all of it here at What the Football. You really do. And by the way, I thought the dog looked intrigued, not horrified.

But maybe because I represent the dog with that law degree you just referenced, extra treats for the dog. Amy, have a great Halloween. Have a great week. And I'll just talk to you every five minutes. That'll be great.

And trick or trade. Thanks very much, everybody, for taking in this very special spooky edition of What the Football. For decades, Rolling Stone has set the bar for entertainment publications. Today, Rolling Stone music now takes over in podcast form. We have Michael Azerrad, who is Nirvana's very first biographer. I'm not sure how many people realize how many of the best songs on In utero were written way beforehand. To be fair to Kurt, he was also a new father. There was a lot of stuff distracting him. It wasn't just drugs, although that was certainly a major factor. Rolling Stone music now, wherever you listen.