It's been pretty slow around here for news since we announced the acquisition of new head coach Dennis Allen to the Raider Nation. While we have discussed the new HC of the Raiders ad nauseam he is still the new head coach of this team and he's here to usher in a new era along with Reggie McKenzie in the story of the Oakland Raiders. Today will be the first time we will get to see the new HC and most of us don't really know a whole lot about the man. Here are some things to look for at today's press conference.

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To be honest...I don't really know much about this guy so here's what I found on Wikipedia:

In 2002, Allen’s first year with the Falcons, when he assisted in coaching the defensive backfield, the club tied for third in the NFL with 24 interceptions and improved from 30th vs. the pass in 2001 to 16th the following year.

Over his last two years in Atlanta, the Falcons’ defensive line was the anchor of the defense. In 2004, Atlanta led the NFL for the first time in club history with 48 sacks and the unit sent DE Patrick Kerney to the Pro Bowl. In 2005 DT Rod Coleman represented the club in the postseason all-star game and the Falcons notched 37 sacks.[citation needed]

In 2006, Allen was in charge of the Saints' defensive line, who combined for over 290 tackles, 28.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. The season was highlighted by the Pro Bowl selection DE Will Smith.[citation needed]

On January 24, 2011, Allen was hired by the Denver Broncos to become their Defensive Coordinator.[citation needed]

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Dennis Allen has served:

• Wade Phillips: Dallas Cowboys
• Sean Payton: New Orleans Saints
• John Fox: Denver Broncos

I still think that going for a defensive minded head coach is the way to go for this team and the guy has obviously produced results wherever he has gone thus far. Hopefully Bowles is still in the mix and we make a move on someone by the end of the week. I'm all for taking the time to see who is out there but I think by now Reggie should have a good indication as to what is available in the market.

I'm having a really hard time deciding on which candidate I'm pulling for at this point. I was on the Moss bandwagon but I read and article that when he interviewed for the Rams HC job in 2009, he didn't come prepared to talk X's and O's and basically said that he would delegate all those activities and just act as a motivator. While being a motivator is a key ingredient to be being a good HC...you have to have a full understanding of the game and be able to talk schemes and game plan and without that kind of knowledge...you don't have the ingredients to be the best leader of a team.

Does anyone else know much about the guy that they can share?

Reggie McKenzie said at his press conference that he wanted to bring in "his guy" but with the way this "short list" is growing...he seems to know a lot of guys. I applaud McKenzie for looking diligently for coaching talent around the league and keeping his promise of making this a quick decision by lining up these interviews fairly quickly. I was originally worried that McKenzie would just wait for the Packers to be done with their season and just bring in Moss and hire him on the spot without doing his homework and going with a comfortable choice instead of an informed choice.

The latest news has 2 more coaching candidates that Reggie is looking to have a chat with...Mike Tice and Marty Mornhinweg.

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Yesterday is another game that is beginning an alarming trend...we are a .500 team...no more...no less. To go along with winning half our games this season...we only play for the first half of games...then we throw it on cruise control and make very few adjustments...especially if we are winning at half. The intensity level of defense especially from the first half to the second half in many of our games this season is night and day and it has cost us dearly. We have the look of a playoff team on paper but the product on the field tells it like it is...we are VERY inconsistent  and easily unraveled under pressure. 

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I happen to catch this on CNNSI today from Don Banks Snap Judgements and thought this was a little foolish to be revisiting this topic again at this point

If I've heard a common theme about the AFC West this season during the course of my camp travels it's this: No one outside of Oakland is unhappy to have ex-Raiders head coach Tom Cable out of the division. The Raiders played hard for Cable last season, going 6-0 in the division and finishing with Oakland's first non-losing record since its 2002 Super Bowl season.

"The Raiders were a tough team last year,'' one AFC West source said. "You got beat up coming out of that game. Cable had those guys playing hard for him, and nobody's sorry to see him go. Why Al Davis got rid of him after that team made so much progress, nobody understands.''

As for new Raiders head coach Hue Jackson, the team's former offensive coordinator, let's just say there's very divided opinion around the league when it comes to him. Some view him as a strong motivator, and others consider him something of a manipulator and self-promoter. I know this to be true: When Jackson left his gig as Ravens quarterbacks coach after the 2009 season, joining Oakland as its offensive coordinator, Baltimore and head coach John Harbaugh didn't mind seeing him go in the least.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/08/17/snaps.judgments/index.html#ixzz1VJAt3U96

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Thought we'd all like to finally hear from our new OC...it's not much but I like what I hear about the multiple formations.

On the No. 2 quarterback job:

"Well that's yet to be determined. Obviously Jason is our starter at this point in time. Obviously Bruce is going to play I this game. Kyle has done a wonderful job. We're just kind of going to let this thing sort itself out over the next couple of weeks."

How the offense looks different under him:

"I hope it's already looking different. The most important thing is we're striving for balance. We want to be a team that we can run the football when we need to run it and we can throw it when we need to throw it. We're a multiple formation team. We have some no huddle. We do a little bit of everything. We do whatever it takes to win football games. That's the most important thing that I've stressed from our coaches to our players that whatever it takes to win that's what we're going to do."

On if he likes what he's seen at camp:

"I'm very excited about the progress we have made. Obviously from week 1 to week 2 there was improvement. We're looking for that same improvement from week 2 to week 3. As we continue to move forward, our whole goal is to make sure we're ready to hit the ground running when the regular season starts and I think we're well on our way to that happening."

On Bush and McFadden splitting carries:

"Well I don't know. Darren hasn't played yet. Obviously he'll get an opportunity in this game and then we'll kind of see where it goes from there. I'm excited about getting a lot of our pieces out on the football field and watching them play. I have not seen Darren play in a game. That's going to be exciting. I haven't seen Bruce perform in a game. That will be exciting for me as a coach finally seeing the other pieces we have to have an opportunity to go out and compete in a game-type environment."

Saw this on PFT today...

ESPN's Chris Mortensen this morning mentioned Oakland's Darren McFadden as a veteran player that may surprisingly be available during the draft.  Mort has close ties to the Arkansas program, so the news carries a lot of weight.  And it's surprising.

Pretty crazy to think they'd move McFadden unless they are targetting Spiller with their pick. I don't think it's time to give up on McFadden at all. I know he goes down easily with a gust of wind at times but I still think he's got the talent to be a great multi-facet type player for the Raiders.He's been injured a lot and misused quite a bit so far in his career. I fully expect Hue to find a way to fully utilize McFadden's talents this season.

This is my first fanpost so be gentle....

As evidenced from last year's DHB pick, there is a strong possibility the Raiders are looking at guys we don't really have on our radar. With the amount of holes we have on this team and the amount of talent out there it seems to me this is a difficult draft to mess up on. Enter Al Davis. I feel his ability to draft, or lack thereof, is overblown. Most people in Davis's orthopedic shoes would have taken McFadden and possibly Russell. I know the Raiders are often tied to workout warriors and guys that flash the height/weight/speed at the combine but could it be we will actually draft someone who can play immediately as Cable has eluded to? I know the popular mock draft pick for the Raiders is Bruce Campbell since he’s a monster of a man but there’s little to go on as far as game tape goes. Having said that…what pick would really surprise you when the commish takes the podium for the 8th overall selection? I’ve gone with Kyle Wilson as I’ve heard he’s a better man to man guy and can change direction better than Haden and could come off the board before him. Check out the poll and let’s discuss some crazy possibilities now that we have the rational picks all sorted out.