Warren Sapp Weighs In On Al Davis

Warren Sapp isn't quite the Charles Barkley of NFL broadcasting, but he may get there yet, as long as the Al Davis stories hold out. Sapp, a regular on Showtime's Inside the NFL, played for the Raiders for four seasons, and with his insights on Davis and the way things were run, he can finally put his big yap to good use. Sapp said that Lane Kiffin — whom Davis fired last week — was never given a chance to turn the team around. And that's because Davis is out of touch.

"Al Davis knows football — it's just '60s and '70s football," Sapp said. "That's what it is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field — deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."

The rumors are true, Sapp said: Davis is not above overruling the coach and calling plays.

"Nobody tells you how bad it is. Any person that calls me on the telephone, (I tell them) do not go anywhere near Oakland. I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game," Sapp said. "Somebody came up one time and said, 'We're going deep right here, dog.' I said, 'how do you know?' He said, 'The phone just rang.' "

However, at least Davis has never thrown "a hissy fit" during rehearsals for Dancing With the Stars. Sapp Spouts Off About Raiders' Al Davis [NBC-5]