It's Official: DeAngelo Hall's Reign of Terror Is Over in Oakland

So ends DeAngelo Hall's illustrious Oakland Raiders career. (And it only took eight weeks!) Man, that came out of nowhere, didn't it? I mean, I really believed him when he said the Raiders would have the league's best secondary this season.

Apparently, owner Al Davis got tired of seeing opposing wide receivers burn Hall to a crisp for three hours every Sunday. That it only took two months to come to this realization is a sure sign that the Raiders are serious about turning things around.

While we wait for that, word on the street is that the team asked Hall if he would consider restructuring his contract, he declined, and they promptly released him. But MeAngelo being MeAngelo, he didn't go quietly.

During last week's pimp-slapping at the hands of the Falcons, Hall got a little mouthy on his way to the locker room during halftime. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via TBL):

Despite a few shoves and reprimands from his new teammates along the way in the tunnel, Hall kept swinging his head around to deliver sizzling words to his old teammates. "I was with [the Oakland players] in there trying to pull him away from arguing, man, because I told him, 'You're better than that, be a good person and don't get caught up in mouth talk,' " said Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jackson ... Hall bolted unseen after the game without comment, but Jackson added from the visitors' locker room, "I told him at halftime in the tunnel to be a good sportsman and just to keep on playing, man."

And to think, this was the same dude who was willing to put "his seven-year, $70 million contract up as collateral against [Michael] Vick getting in trouble with the law again" in an effort to get Ron Mexico to the Raiders. He can go ahead and mark that off the to-do list.

Oh, and Javon, you're next.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-05-2008 @ 4:57PM

D.Diaz said...

Al Davis is running the team like he's playing Madden 09. It's official, for us hardcore Raider fans theres only one future day/moment that matters: The day his housekeeper comes upstairs, and finds Al's cold dead corpse on the crapper. Forget any draft picks, forget any free agent signings, forget any new coaching hires. Our day of atonement is the day Al croaks. We're the laughingstock of the league at this point, and I'm almost to the point where I can't take it much more.

11-05-2008 @ 5:52PM

soulcitysigma1914 said...

i wish the Raiders had kept him for one more game, Steve Smith was really looking forward to torching him this weekend

11-05-2008 @ 6:57PM

Spoonman said...

Man, Davis didn't even wait for him to be a total pain to cut him. I didn't see this coming, but being an Atlanta fan I knew he was going to continue to play like garbage.

I totally agree with Diaz though, Davis does run his team like he is playing Madden. He loves the fastest and strongest guys, whether or not they can really play, or have any team work/love of football (see: Jamarcus), whether or not they even need the player (see: McFadden). Look at Indianapolis, their best players are undersized, but can play some serious football (Freeny and Sanders).

I really feel bad for the Oakland fans, because they can't have a good team under Al Davis. I am also starting to think that even when they accidentally draft a good player, the total lack of any competent or consistent coaching staff is really hurting the team. For some reason, firing every coach after 1-2 seasons prevents them from getting any good coaching staff. I still can't believe that they got an OC from a college team last year, even though I was kind of liking Kiffin. I fully expect Oakland to be a bottom dweller until they finally get a GM, who can come in and clean house, and give someone with some potential the time and the possibility to actually run the team in a way that is conducive to winning.

11-05-2008 @ 7:01PM

Old Skool Raidah said...

Spoonman,

Thanks. Couldn't have said it better! And good luck to those Dirty Birds. Nice to see a team interested in being PROS!

11-06-2008 @ 12:32AM

AlDavisFan4ever said...

No matter with all the complaints about Al Davis.....he can do as he please as long as he owns the Oakland Raiders. NOW...if you own a team....it is your perogative to do as you please. Anyways....we all know that teams out there want to follow suit and copy the AlDavis/Raider style......i.e....Jones/Dallas.....i.e.....Kraft/Patriout....but no one can do it like Al Davis. What other Team can lose year after year and still make money doing it???? ONLY Al Davis Can!!!