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Don't count on McClain returning to Raiders

By Tim Kawakami
tkawakami@mercurynews.com
Posted: 05/21/2012 11:12:54 AM PDT
Updated: 05/21/2012 12:26:26 PM PDT


The Raiders don't have to make any big decisions on this right away. It's very likely there will be no announcements on the NFL status of Rolando McClain, not immediately.

And that became clear on Monday when McClain showed up at the team's OTA, even though it was only last week that the Raiders middle linebacker was found guilty of several gun-related charges and hit with a 180-day sentence in Alabama.

McClain will appeal the verdict, his lawyer says, and it's unclear how many days he'd have to serve of this sentence, anyway.

It's also unclear how many games McClain might miss, either via the jail sentence or subsequent NFL suspension for straying away from the code of conduct.

But if we go by what new GM Reggie McKenzie and new coach Dennis Allen have consistently said since arriving here as the faces and voices of the new Raiders, the ultimate decision seems clear:

McClain actions and his spotty play so far have shown that he's the polar opposite of the kinds of players McKenzie and Allen want in their locker room, and McClain should be gone from this team before the start of the 2012 season.

Maybe it'll happen in training camp, when the Raiders know they have replacements ready to go.

Maybe it'll happen before that. Somewhere in there, unless this incident immediately sets McClain on a clean new path—and there is evidence of this—McClain should be an ex-Raider.

This is a new Raiders team, not
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the old one... which lost a lot of games because the players were undisciplined and lacked chemistry, leadership and accountability.

If you're looking to re-establish those things, how does McClain fit into that? He doesn't.

The Raiders can do better than McClain—there are players who can play that position, who don't get into trouble off the field, and who may not be as talented as McClain, but who are more reliable and productive.

Maybe the Raiders used to think they had to marry themselves to raw talent, no matter the inconsistencies, the price tag and the character issues.

Remember, Hue Jackson (acting unilaterally as the chief of football operations at the time) decided to let McClain play days after the incident last year.

That can't be the case now.

I'm not saying McClain is a terrible person. I don't know if he is or isn't. I'm saying that a person who gets into this kind of trouble—and plays as erratically as he has in his Raiders career—is not someone who has proven he can be counted on.

In the NFL, the good players are the accountable players.

McClain just hasn't been a very good player—or citizen—and certainly seems replaceable in the near and distant future.

If you're counting on players like McClain, you're asking for errors and defeats.

— This is how Comcast's Paul Gutierrez put it: It's time for the Raiders to move on from their 2010 No. 1 draft pick.

— This is Monte Poole's take on the issues facing the Raiders and McClain.

— And this is Dennis Allen speaking to me a few weeks ago on the importance of faith and high character in what he and McKenzie are building:

"Here's what I think, I think we're going to take into account football character and off-field character. We want good guys on this team, all right?

Now, we're not looking for a team full of choir boys. But we are looking for guys that are going to be dependable on the field and that we can also depend on off the field, that aren't going to be involved in a lot of personal issues and a lot of personal trouble.

I think that kind of goes hand in hand. Usually guys of good character, there's a faith-based background to the way they were brought up."

http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders/ci_2 ... lenty-time

Rolando McClain sentencing a blow to Oakland Raiders
By Monte Poole Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/17/2012 02:43:42 PM PDT
Updated: 05/17/2012 09:58:57 PM PDT

The current status of the great linebacker Ray Lewis suggests Rolando McClain still has time to reconstitute himself and become the productive team leader the Raiders thought they were getting two years ago.

A closer inspection of McClain, who on Thursday was sentenced to a 180-day jail term in Decatur, Ala., implies otherwise.

Through his first two seasons in Oakland, the middle linebacker -- the team's first-round pick in 2010, taken eighth overall -- has shown a low aptitude for leadership and been mostly unproductive.

He's often out of position, usually invisible at key moments and generally unwilling to publicly hold himself accountable. He has exhibited many of the characteristics new Raiders management -- general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen -- have made clear are unwelcome.

Considering his pedigree as a megastar at Alabama, in the frequently glorified Southeastern Conference, McClain has been a $40 million ($23 mil guaranteed) bust.

Still, this sentence is a blow to the Raiders. McKenzie and Allen would like to have gotten a firsthand assessment to determine what McClain might offer -- on and off the field. That they did not acquire a veteran middle linebacker suggests they expected to have McClain.

Pending appeal, McClain will begin serving time June 1. If he serves 180 days from June 1, he won't wear a uniform in 2012.

And even if his sentence is shortened, he still faces league
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discipline. The last NFL player to unlawfully fire a gun, Plaxico Burress, spent 22 months in prison. His indefinite NFL suspension ran concurrently, and upon release he had to apply for reinstatement.

The Raiders now must make plans for a season without McClain. They might even decide to cut ties completely and simply start looking for a new replacement.

Oakland last month drafted linebacker Miles Burris from San Diego State. Taken in the fourth round, Burris is downright hyperactive. He has the makeup to be good, but he's a rookie who would have to prove he can play middle linebacker in the NFL.

The Raiders also might consider Aaron Curry, drafted fourth overall in 2009 by the Seahawks, only to wash out in Seattle. Curry was acquired last season and showed flashes of ability. Most of his playing time, however, was spent at outside linebacker. Rarely did he line up in the middle.

After that, it's veteran backup Travis Goethel or seventh-round pick Nate Stupar.

As bad as this may seem for the Raiders, it's not a complete disaster. It's not as if they're trying to replace Patrick Willis.

But McClain's conviction and sentencing still leaves at least a temporary hole in the defense -- which happens to be the team's most ineffective unit. This weakness was one of the factors in McKenzie's decision to replace former coach Hue Jackson with Allen, who last season served as defensive coordinator in Denver.

Though the Raiders have some work to do if they are to patch themselves, McClain represents a test case for their tolerance of questionable character. The NFL is not for angels, but McKenzie and Allen have expressed desire to move ahead with good citizens.

Based on McClain's contributions through his first two seasons, it's entirely conceivable they decide the team is better off without him.

Meanwhile, McClain has some heavy labor ahead in an attempt to wipe this stain from his reputation. The photo taken after his arrest, in which he is grinning broadly while being handcuffed made a troubling statement about his maturity and ambition.

Now he must cope with the conviction and, pending appeal, the sentence.

McClain was found guilty of all four charges he faced -- third-degree assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, unlawful discharging of a firearm within city limits -- and received 45 days for each misdemeanor.

Once he goes behind bars, he'll have plenty of time to reflect on his actions in Decatur on the evening of Nov. 30, 2011.

He'll also have plenty to time to ponder the direction in which he wants to take his life and career.

Rolando surely is aware that Lewis, the Baltimore linebacker, in 2000 was facing more serious charges. Lewis agreed to a plea deal, received probation and found a way to salvage everything he almost lost. He's now considered the strongest leader in the NFL.

McClain would be fortunate if the Raiders gave him another chance to show he, too, can be a better person and player than he was before he broke the law. The Raiders aren't obligated to do so, and nobody could blame them if they declined.

Sounds like the type of player either the Pats or Ravens pickup, smack some sense into and reap the risk/rewards.