I read selections from an Al Davis interview in the Oakland Tribune, but the interview actually was with Sirius NFL. The headline said: Davis likes look of his team.

I’ll get to what Davis said in a minute.

First, I want to praise Davis for liking the look of his team. He’s the owner and he’s supposed to pump up his team and like its look even if other people don’t. He’s supposed to feel optimistic, so good for him.

According to the article by Bay Area News Group reporter Steve Corkran Davis “envisions this year’s team performing like the 1980 Raiders.”

I find that interesting. The 1980 Raiders won the Super Bowl. Do you think this year’s team will win the Super Bowl?

Davis: “I see this young Jason Campbell as a football player like I saw Jim Plunkett. He has everything.”

Hmm. Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy and won two Super Bowls. Maybe Campbell is as good as Plunkett but he has a high bar to jump over to prove it.

Davis on the comparison to the 1980 Raiders: “We have a team that’s pretty similar. We don’t have as many Hall of Famers . . . but this team has a lot of potential and a lot of great young players.”

The Raiders don’t have as many Hall of Famers? By my count the current Raiders have one potential Hall of Famer — Nnamdi Asomugha. If I’m missing someone please tell me.

I find it interesting that Davis is promoting to such an extent a team that won five games last season and has been crummy a long time. How all of a sudden is this team as good as the 1980 team, especially when the Raiders have mostly the same players and have questionable wideouts and a questionable offensive line?

Maybe I’m not in the spirit of things. This is, after all, preseason and team owners are allowed to make all kinds of claims.

One other thing. Clearly the Raiders and Niners treat their quarterbacks differently. The Raiders hype their quarterback; the Niners ignore him.

To read Corkran’s article click here.