Count Him In

Moss is coming out of retirement and
making his return to the NFL.

He's back.

Randy Moss, who abruptly retired last August, has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers following his workout with the team on Monday.

It was just hours after he had been catching passes from head coach Jim Harbaugh, that Moss decided San Francisco would become his fifth career NFL team. The 49ers became only the second team to host a tryout for Moss after he announced on his 35th birthday (Feb. 13), that he would in fact be making a return to football.

Last Tuesday, Moss showcased his talent for the New Orleans Saints, but was not offered a contract. However, multiple team sources reported he "looked like the old Randy", leaving us to believe the Niners saw the same thing.

Our last memory of Moss is a horrific 2010 season in which he started as a New England Patriot and ended as a Tennessee Titan with a return to the Minnesota Vikings sandwiched in between.

He finished the year with career-lows in games started (11), yards per game (24.6), receptions (28) and yards (393). But it was his eight games as a Titan that caused many to believe the freak show we all use to marvel had left the theater, catching just six passes and not scoring a touchdown.

Although, it wouldn't be the first time Moss has risen from the ashes.

After two dismal seasons as a member of the Oakland Raiders in which he caught 102 passes for 11 TDs, including one season with a career-low three, Moss was traded to the Patriots on Draft Day 2007 for a fourth-round pick.

In his first season with New England, Moss was a key contributor of a Patriot team that went undefeated until they lost in Super Bowl XLII, catching a league-leading and NFL-record 23 TDs. Moss also led the NFL in touchdowns in 1998 (17), 2000 (15), 2003 (17) and 2009 (13).

And now joins a team that needs him desperately.

San Francisco possessed one of the worst receiving corps in the league last year. They cut Braylon Edwards. Josh Morgan, who played in just five games after breaking his leg, and Ted Ginn Jr. are both free agents and not expected to return.

Michael Crabtree has been inconsistent and yet to emerge as the star he was at Texas Tech since being drafted with No. 10 pick in the 2009 draft.

The Niners ended an eight-year absence from the postseason after finishing the year with a 13-3 record and their 18th NFC West Division title. But after escaping against the Saints, San Francisco lost in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, 20-17.

In that lost, Crabtree was the only wide receiver to catch one of quarterback Alex Smith's 12 completions. Tight end's Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker combined by five more, while running back Frank Gore led the team with six receptions.

Speaking of Smith, San Francisco is in the process of trying to re-sign their still-unproven quarterback - a process that should become easier with the signing of Moss.

Along with his six Pro Bowl selections, Moss has been a member on four All-Pro teams. His 954 receptions and 14,858 yards are ninth and fifth all-time, respectively. Moss' 153 TDs catches are tied for second all-time with Terrell Owens, and trails only Jerry Rice's 197. Twenty-nine of those 153 scores totaled at least 50 yards, also trailing only Rice's 36.

It looks like Moss will be chasing Rice's records in the uniform he help make famous.

Welcome Home, Carson

Palmer could help Oakland reach the postseason
for the first time since 2002.

Born and raised in San Diego and a Heisman Trophy recipient while attending the University of Southern California, Carson Palmer was happy to be home Thursday.

Palmer and his Oakland Raiders seized first place in the AFC West with a convincing 24-17 victory over the high-powered offense of the San Diego Chargers. After losing each of the first two games he appeared in as a Raider, Palmer earned his first career win in the legendary silver and black.

The San Diego native went 14 for 20 while throwing for 299 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win. Both of his touchdowns came with wideout Denarius Moore on the receiving end of them, doubling the rookie's season total. Despite losing a fumble, Palmer took care of the football, something he hadn't done in his two previous games with the Raiders.

In the six quarters Palmer had played in for Oakland prior to Thursday night's game in San Diego, he turned the ball the same number of times with 6 interceptions.

His 14.95 yards per attempt are also the highest total ever in a single game by a Raider quarterback, surpassing Daryle Lamonica's previous mark at 14.33, a record he set in a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1963, when both teams were members of the AFL.

But it wasn't t just the work of Palmer that handed Oakland their fifth win of the season.

With star running back Darren McFadden out for the second straight week, former Louisville tailback Michael Bush stole the show. Bush rushed for 157 yards, the second highest total of his career and the most for a Raiders running back in a game against the Chargers. The previous mark had been held by Clem Daniels, who rushed for a 144 yards against San Diego in 1964.

Bush also totaled 242 yards from scrimmage, the fourth most in franchise history and the most since Art Powell accumulated 247 total yards from scrimmage in a game against the '63 Houston Oilers.

At one time holding a 24-10 lead in the second half, Oakland had only surrendered a 14-plus lead to San Diego in their long and well documented history. The Raiders have now beaten the Chargers three times in-a-row after losing their previous thirteen meetings.

As for the Bolts, they have now lost four in-a-row, their worst losing streak since they lost nine straight in 2003. Normally notoriously slow starters, San Diego got off to a fast start this season, kicking off the year 4-1. That all has since been erased with Philip Rivers and Co. falling to second in the division and under .500 for the first time all year long, with a trip to Solider Field against the suddenly surging Chicago Bears (5-3) waiting in the wings.

In a division that it still up for grabs, it might be the arm of Palmer that decides the crown rather than Rivers, something nobody saw coming.

New Raider In Town

Raider Nation Moans Loss Of Commander-In-Chief

Davis was hard-nosed, but he knew what it
took to be a winner.

Saturday marked a truly sad day for the National Football League along with Raider Nation with the unexpected passing of their legendary owner, Al Davis.

Davis, 82, died peacefully in his Oakland home, the team said. But the cause of death has yet to be determined and released to the public.

With the passing of one of the most important figures in sports history, we now have time to reflect on what a remarkable life it really was.

Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Davis began his coaching career working for several different colleges, highlighted by his time as the offensive line coach for the University of Southern California. He worked his way up the ranks and finally had his talent and hard work noticed by an AFL team, the Los Angeles Chargers, who would eventually become what we know now today as the San Diego Chargers.

In 1960, he was hired as the Chargers assistant coach and held that position until the end of the 1962 season.

He would be wooed by the Oakland Raiders and quickly be named their head coach and general manager in 1963, brining his newly learned vertical and West Coast offense up North. That is when he become the leader of the silver and black, a position he would never relinquish. It was then he would assume an image that would define him for nearly a half century.

His first year on the job he would be named the AFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 10-4 record.

Three years deep into his coaching career, Davis decided it was time for a new project and was named the AFL's Commissioner in 1966, making the league immensely more popular and essentially got it on the map. Despite knowing the merger between the NFL and AFL was inevitable, he resigned as commissioner and instead bought owner's stake in the Raiders.

While Davis may have been against the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, he was an instrumental part to making that possible with the way he boosted the AFL.

The Raiders won the 1967 AFL Championship, giving them a chance to play in only the second Super Bowl in history. Oakland was outplayed by Vince Lombardi's defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, losing 33-14. Oakland would lose back-to-back AFL Championships the following two seasons, having to wait almost a decade to get back to the big game.

Prior to the merger, Davis named his homegrown linebackers coach, John Madden, as the team's sixth head coach. Following his employment in 1969, Madden would rapidly make a name for himself after bringing home six division titles over a ten year coaching span.

In 1972, Davis would assume principal ownership of the team and remain their general manager. A position he held all the way up until his death.

It would be in 1976 that Davis and Co. would capture their first AFC Championship and return to the Super Bowl. The Raiders trounced the Minnesota Vikings at the Rose Bowl in Super Bowl XI, 32-14 for their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Madden. left and Davis both brought home
Oakland first Super Bowl title.

That would be the only Super Bowl title in Madden's career as he opted for retirement following the 1978 season, but that was just the beginning for Davis.

After hiring the first Latino head coach in NFL history, Tom Flores, Davis, who is also responsible for hiring the first African American head coach of the modern era, Art Shell in 1989, got his team back to the Super Bowl in 1980. There they dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.

Then in 1982, Davis abruptly moved the team down south to Los Angeles.

In only the team's second year in Los Angeles, the Raiders were in another Super Bowl. This time they would face the Washington Redskins, but it yielded the same results. Los Angeles bulled through Washington which at the time the biggest point differential in Super Bowl history, 38-9.

Davis decided to move the team back to Oakland in 1995, where they still reside today.

Just like every man's success there is bound to be his share of failures and there was plenty of that during the iconic owner's tenure. In 1980, Davis angered his own fan base when he traded away Super Bowl winning quarterback Ken Stabler to the Houston Oilers. He is the one also responsible for Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen playing the final five years of his career for the division rival Kansas City Chiefs.

Prior to the 1998 season, Davis in what was a questionable move at the time hired a 34-year-old head coach by the name of Jon Gruden.  But he silenced his critics as it turned out to be a brilliant move with Gruden developing into one of the games premiere head coaches. It didn't last long, at least in Oakland.

In what could be the worse move under his tenure, Davis promptly decided to trade Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2001-02 season. In the deal the Raiders received Tampa Bay's 2002 and 2003 first-round draft picks along with their 2002 and 2004 second-round draft picks and $8 million cash.

This would be a move that would forever haunt Davis and his franchise.

Oakland met their former head coach and Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the last Super Bowl appearance of Davis' career. There they would stomped by a Hall of Fame type defense and lose 48-21, giving Gruden the revenge he always deserved.

Following that Super Bowl loss, the Raiders would reel off eight straight losing seasons and never allowing Davis see his team back atop the NFL.

Three of those seasons where due to the poor and inconsistent play of former NFL quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who was drafted by Davis with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Many believe it was the worst pick in the draft's seventy-five year history.

During Davis' tenure with the Raiders, they accumulated 411-312-11 record during the regular season. Those 411 wins are second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys since 1963. His postseason record consisted of a 25-18 mark with three Super Bowl rings to show for it. Oakland also was able to capture 16 division titles and four AFC Championships under his watch.

Davis was often seen wearing
 his trademark white jumpsuit.

Davis will always been one of the most controversial and misunderstood sports figures of his generation. His thick Brooklyn accent, slicked backed hair, dark rectangular rimmed glasses with the chain woven around his neck, and his all white jumpsuit will the images many remember him by, but his legacy is far more different.

The man was a winner and an opportunist. He turned a sub par franchise into one of the most recognizable in the world, whether they are beloved are not is a different story.

He was an innovator and visionary of the game. His sometimes unconventional ways will always go undervalued and misconstrued.

When nobody else was willing to take a chance on you, he would.

He leaves behind an unfillable legacy and shoes with a lifetime of achievements. The NFL might quite never be the same.

The 1992 Hall of Fame inductee achieved every level of success in the game and his understanding and passion for football go unmatched. His "Just Win Baby" attitude will forever live in Raider lore without there being any question who really bled silver and black.

Davis was truly committed to excellence.