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