Raiders fixed a symptom, not the source

This is my Tuesday column on the firing of Dennis Allen. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. ALAMEDA — Unfortunately, Dennis Allen was not the Raiders’ biggest problem. Yes, he is a bad head coach. And, yes, he deserved to get fired. But he didn’t deserve to get hired in the first place. Allen had been an NFL defensive coordinator for one…

September 30, 2014
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Raiders overmatched even against lowly Texans

This is my column on the Raiders’ upcoming game against the Texans. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans, feel free to skip this. You know what Sunday’s Raiders’ game is? It’s the Raiders’ best chance to win a game until late October. They are playing the downtrodden Houston Texans. If the Raiders lose this one, they’ll be 0-2 and their next three opponents will be the Patriots, the…

September 13, 2014
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Raiders put rookie QB in a vise

This is my Friday column on Derek Carr, Dennis Allen and Reggie McKenzie. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. The Raiders don’t have to do it. The Raiders don’t have to start Derek Carr this Sunday against the Jets. Dennis Allen still has time to bench the Raiders’ future franchise quarterback before the Jets smash and steamroll him like a character in…

September 5, 2014
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Five key questions for the Raiders

This is my Sunday article on the Raiders. 49ers’ fans — feel free to skip this. For the Raiders, training camp is about becoming mediocre. The Raiders have been plain bad since Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen took over in 2012. Back-to-back 4-and-12 seasons. Win one, lose three. That pattern needs to end this year. McKenzie’s job and Allen’s job are on the line. With that in mind, here are…

July 20, 2014
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Raiders flop at free agency

This is my Wednesday column. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. You’ve got to wait on Raiders’ general manager Reggie McKenzie, give him a chance. Don’t judge him on his first two horrible seasons. Those weren’t his fault. He had to tear down Al Davis’ mess. You can’t judge McKenzie until Year 3. Fifteen minutes into Year 3, McKenzie flopped. McKenzie let…

March 12, 2014
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Rebuilding Raiders, a blueprint

Here is my Wednesday column explaining how to rebuild the Raiders. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. TO: Reggie McKenzie, general manager, Oakland Raiders FROM: Grant Cohn Reggie, as a favor, I want to help you rebuild the Raiders’ roster. First, let me commend the job you’ve done the past two years tearing down Al Davis’ and Hugh Jackson’s expensive mess. You’ve made the…

December 18, 2013
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Pro football is longstanding Thanksgiving Day tradition

Here is my Thursday article on the Thanksgiving football. This article runs in the Thursday sports section of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Football on Thanksgiving is a tradition and a burden. Let’s start with the tradition. Thanksgiving football precedes the NFL by more than 40 years. Princeton and Yale played each other on Thanksgiving 1876, and the University of Michigan played every Thanksgiving from 1885 to 1905. The Detriot…

November 27, 2013
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The vanishing kickoff return

Here is my Sunday feature on kickoffs in the NFL. This feature appears in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s Sunday sports section. ALAMEDA — The most exciting and the most dangerous play in football, the kickoff, is disappearing. It used to be the kicker kicked off from his 30-yard line, 10 kickoff coverage players lined up way behind the kicker and took big running starts, the kick returner caught the…

November 3, 2013
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How to stunt a QB’s growth

Here is my Wednesday column on how to stunt a quarterback’s growth. SANTA CLARA – Here is how you throw a quarterback under the bus: Last Sunday, the Raiders had an 18-point lead over the Steelers at halftime. In the second half, Raiders’ head coach Dennis Allen went ultra-conservative, letting his quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, pass the ball just six times. As you might expect, the Raiders scored zero points in…

October 30, 2013
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While Raiders mix and match at QB, their best bet for future sits

Here is my Saturday column about what we learned from the Raiders’ first preseason game. OAKLAND – Dennis Allen, the Raiders’ head coach, will attempt to ride two horses at quarterback this season – Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor. Think the Alex Smith-Colin Kaepernick arrangement for the 49ers during the first half of last season. Is Allen making the right decision? Or will he fall off the horses? Allen explained…

August 10, 2013
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NFL should ban bounty hunters (Lowell column)

My dad wrote his Sunday column for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat about the New Orleans Saints and their bounty program for knocking opposing players out of the game. My dad doesn’t think this scandal is overblown – he thinks it’s serious. I do, too. Football is supposed to be a sport, not war. It’s physical, not dirty. There’s a difference. My dad proposes lifetime banishment from the NFL for…

March 4, 2012
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