There are only a handful of former players who are synonymous with the Las Vegas Raiders franchise, such as Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown. Brown is far and away the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and continues to follow the Raiders closely to this day.
As such, when things aren’t going the way of the Raiders, Brown is someone who will often speak up and give his opinions on things. And with the Raiders now sitting at 2-6 and with the season spiraling out of control, Brown had a few words towards his beloved former team.
Brown sent a message saying that he will always love and appreciate the Raiders, and spoke about how important effort is in the NFL, hoping the players were proud of what they gave, via Michael France of Sports Illustrated:
“Ya’ll know I love you. Love you, appreciate you, always will, always have,” Brown said. “I say this a lot when I get cameos and all that stuff, a lot of what I did, I did for you. Because I understood you were going to be there supporting us, and I had to perform because I’m scared of you. So that was fun. But I realize that you guys are gonna do what you did, the least I could do was give an effort. I hope you guys are proud of that.”
Effort has been something that has been brought up with the Raiders since early in the season. Head coach Antonio Pierce felt that some players had been making business decisions during a loss, and there were a lot of whispers about who exactly he was speaking about.
In fairness, Pierce praised the Raiders’ mindset following the loss to the Chiefs and noted that there was no finger-pointing within the locker room, and players were getting to work at trying to turn things around. Brown’s love for the Raiders is apparent, and in the end, he simply wants this franchise back to the top of the NFL.
Raiders assistants Marvin Lewis and Rob Ryan have “checked out”?
The effort and desire to put the work in isn’t only about the players on the field but also the coaching staff, and there is reportedly some concern that a pair of big-name Raiders assistant coaches aren’t carrying their weight.
A recent rumor noted that some close to the situation believe assistant head coach Marvin Lewis and senior defensive assistant Rob Ryan have “checked out” and are only with the Raiders to collect a paycheck.
