Al Davis – Just Win Baby

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A cultural icon, Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders of the NFL passed away on October 8th.  A straight shooter and rebel, who coined the phrase “Just Win Baby”, lived his life, and ran his team, in the way he wanted to, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.  His teams were always stressing the vertical passing game and usually consisted of misfits and “characters” that did not fit well on other teams.  He let them be themselves as long as they won and the strategy usually paid off in victories.  RIP Al Davis.

 

Related articles

• Raiders just win, baby, in aftermath of Al Davis’ death (denverpost.com)
• Al Davis Dead: How Will Raiders Honor Fallen Leader? (bleacherreport.com)

Canadians In The NFL

Jamaal Westerman

Believe it or not there are Canadians in the NFL.  We in Canada are proud of our guys that make the grade in the USA.

The current list of these Canucks are:

Player	Team	Position	Hometown
O.J. Atogwe	Washington Redskins	Free Safety	Windsor, ON
Nate Burleson	Detroit Lions	Wide Receiver	Calgary, AB
Austin Collie	Indianapolis Colts	Wide Receiver	Hamilton, ON
Cory Greenwood	Kansas City Chiefs	Linebacker	Kingston, ON
Israel Idonije	Chicago Bears	Defensive Lineman	Brandon, MB
Nick Kaczur	New England Patriots	Offensive Lineman	Brantford, ON
L.P. Ladouceur	Dallas Cowboys	Long Snapper	Pointe Claire, QC
Vaughn Martin	San Diego Chargers	Defensive End	Windsor, ON
Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	Punter	Regina SK
Shaun Suisham	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kicker	Wallaceburg, ON
Jamaal Westerman	New York Jets	Linebacker	Brampton, ON

In Week 1 the stats for these players were:

Austin Collie            0 catches

O.J. Atogwe              2 tackles

Nate Burleson           5 catches 60 yards and 20 yards rushing

Cory Greenwood      1 tackle

Israel Idonije             1 tackle

Shaun Suisham          1 convert

Jamaal Westerman   1 fumble recovery

Jon Ryan                     7 punts   48.9 yd average

The CFL is also known as a bit of a developmental league for the NFL, supplying some fine talent back to the NFL.  Names that may be recognizable to a casual NFL fan who have played in the CFL include Cameron Wake on Miami, John Chick on Jacksonville, Mike Sellers on Washington, Stefan Logan on Detroit and Brandon Browner on Seattle.

I love watching an NFL game and seeing a Canadian player do well, or see a player who had spent time in the CFL on the field.  Makes me appreciate the CFL that much more.