American Football Spectacular: The First Mutinous Rumblings Of 2006.

Ahh, signs of Summer in the Bay Area: Blackberries ripening at creekside. Long lines of cars headed to Stinson Beach. Warm evenings as the sun lingers above the Pacific. And fresh dissent rising within your Raiders' camp.

Boundary testing -- every two-year-old knows this skill well, and by demanding a trade in conversation with a Chronicle reporter, this is the skill that Raiders' WR Jerry Porter is putting into play with the Oakland's management. He's testing them. Now with Art Shell returning to the Raiders' helm, how much will they give?

Demanding a trade is a terribly bad idea on Porter's part. C'mon now, who do you think you are? Why're you so special? Porter has been a Raider starter for some time now, and is under contract for two more years, yet has never quite gained that breakthrough year to take him to the next level. Opposing coaches and fans have never looked at OAK on the schedule and said "Oh man, we've really got to account for Porter or he'll just take us apart." Nuh-uh. One might be of the opinion that Porter has never lived up to his possible potential after apprenticing under two of the greatest receivers the NFL has ever seen: Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. And where's he gotten in terms of individual achievement? Dude has never even been to the Pro Bowl.

By SFist Christopher Rogers, contributing

And what of the second coming of Coach Shell? Regarded as one of the two coaches to successfully rule the Raiders' locker room in the LA/post-LA Era, the ol' Hall Of Fame lineman is wading back into coaching in the job post that The Al couldn't give away in the offseason.

When asked about Porter, Shell said "You can't have inmates running the asylum ... a couple of the inmates have been trying to run the doggone culture around here. That's not going to be any more. I'm the head coach. I'm the guy in charge."

This is new to the Raiders. Having a Head Coach, we mean. So how will the franchise react to a strong hand at the helm?

A question to The Raider Nation: In your opinion, during his previuos tenure as Head Coach of the Raiders, did Shell ever lose control of the team like Callahan or Norv did? Why? Secondly, do you think that Shell will lose control over the Raiders this season? Why? Post below or email me, we're interested to hear what you think.

So who are you talking to, Porter? What ears are you imagining that might receive your demand and be supportive? You've got nothing to talk about until you can merit a double-team while sharing the field with Randy Moss -- the best deep ball threat in the league. That's the truest measure of an American football player, if the other team must change their gameplan to account for you. And Porter certainly does not garner that.

Respect is gained by earning it, not demanding it. That's why Shell has respect, and Porter does not.

Next up on your American Football Spectacular: Spinning the tales of your new Raider draftees.