Rich Gannon: 'Give the check back'
One of the last great Oakland Raiders players has taken aim at the woebegone franchise again.
Former quarterback Rich Gannon -- who won the 2002 NFL MVP award as a Raider and whom the team tried to ban from its facility five years ago because of his critical takes -- accused Raiders personnel of "stealing" their checks from owner Mark Davis on his SiriusXM radio show.
The Raiders are 0-4 and have lost an NFL-high 10 straight games dating to last November. They fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday night. Interim coach Tony Sparano is the eighth Oakland coach since 2002.
"People out in Oakland, in that building, players, coaches, front office, people in business, accounting -- stealing," Gannon said. "They ought to give the check back. ... When you lose like that, how can you go to the bank and cash the check? Should be embarrassed. ... They're stealing. That's a problem."
Gannon said the problem has been building for the Raiders, who haven't had a winning record since 2002. Gannon last played for the Raiders in 2004.
"They have a sign in front of their building that says, 'Commitment to Excellence.' They ought to take it down. It's false advertising; [it should say] 'Commitment to Mediocrity,'" Gannon said. "It's a culture and environment that has existed for years. ... You let things slide, don't pay attention to detail ... and don't have a high degree of professionalism and account in that building, that's a problem."
Gannon's rant Wednesday lasted more than five minutes. And it's not the first time he has sounded off on the Raiders. His criticism led the Raiders to attempt to keep him from their building when he was a CBS analyst in 2009. However, the relationship had been repaired in recent years.
Gannon said he feels for long-suffering Oakland fans.
"Raiders fans have to be sick to their stomach," Gannon said. "I have them calling me, 'Hey, we're going to win 12 games and beat Denver.' Yeah, right. They aren't going to beat anybody until they find guys in the locker room who demand perfection."
On Thursday, Gannon took to Twitter to address his rant and clarify that not all with the Raiders organization deserve his scorn.
As for the team's current quarterback situation,Derek Carr said Wednesday he remains confident he will play Oct. 12 at home against San Diego. He left the loss to Miami on Sunday in London in the third quarter with a sprained MCL in his knee and a high ankle sprain. The Raiders are on their bye week.
Backup quarterback Matt Schaub rejoined the team Wednesday. He missed the past two games because of a family situation.
