Reason for Pride : Raiders’ Allen Remains Class Act

Few would argue whether Marcus Allen is one of the greatest tailbacks ever. He might be the most popular, devoted, decorated, unselfish Raider in franchise history.

So how is it that Allen doesn’t finish seasons as much as he survives them?

Take this one. It started in training camp with rumors of Allen’s demanding a trade and spilled over into the season opener, when Occidental’s Vance Mueller started ahead of him at tailback. There were anxious moments before October’s trading deadline, when the Raiders apparently shopped Allen around the league like carnival elixir. The San Francisco 49ers came knocking hard but couldn’t pull the trigger when the asking price turned out to be pass rusher Charles Haley.

What team in its right mind would ever consider trading Allen, the leading rusher and touchdown maker in team history? As malcontents go, Allen hardly compares to former Ram tailback Eric Dickerson, who might have found a million escorts to the California border.

Yet, Allen replacements lined up two-deep. Greg Bell, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher in the league, was plucked from the Rams last spring as insurance. Lurking in the lobby of his own theater, Bo Jackson took his final baseball cuts in Kansas City, sold autobiographies like hotcakes and made a shoe company rich, all while plotting his next series of spectacular moments.

On Oct. 14, two days before the NFL trading deadline, Allen lingered somewhat longer than usual on the Coliseum floor after a victory over Seattle. If this was a last waltz, Allen was going to take a final look around the old place to lock in the essence of a relationship that dated to the 1970s and his days at USC.

But Allen was not traded. Jackson arrived with his usual fanfare. The backs were platooned all season and, remarkably to some, made it work well enough to win a division title.

“It always made interesting copy for you guys,” Allen said of the fascination with Bo vs. Marcus. “There was never a question in our minds that it would work. We can handle it. The team transcends Bo and I.”

But there was drama, no doubt. You wondered how long Allen would keep his starting job. Coach Art Shell ended speculation by always starting Allen and then substituting Jackson at first whim, sometimes as soon as the first offensive series.

Shell, believed to be a staunch Allen supporter in the days when trade rumors were swirling, said Allen has handled his adjusted role with his usual dignity.

“Marcus is a football player,” Shell said. “He does everything that’s asked of him. He runs, he blocks, he catches.”

Allen appreciates Shell’s gesture, but he doesn’t make much of the issue.

“The reality is that (Jackson) usually comes in on the first series anyway,” Allen said. “Obviously, I feel good about starting. I don’t even think that’s an issue now. We both play quite a bit.”

Allen finished the season with 682 yards, 16 fewer than Jackson’s 698. As usual, Allen did his share of handiwork in the backfield. Against Seattle in Week 2, Allen played tight end in one sequence and threw the game-winning block on a touchdown by Bell. He remains the team’s receiving back on passing downs and some would argue that he’s the best blocking back ever to win the Heisman Trophy.

Despite the usual Raider trials, though, Allen said this might have been his most satisfying season since 1985, when he won the NFL rushing title with 1,759 yards.

“If we go all the way, it will be more satisfying,” Allen said. “Honest. Winning, that’s the thing. I don’t know if you guys have ever experienced the thrill of winning. I don’t know how many guys there are on a football team, 50, 47, whatever, but they’re thrilled to death.”

Allen said it has never bothered him that Jackson received more attention.

Other future hall of famers might not accept the situation so easily.

“I don’t know how other guys would have handled the situation,” Allen said. “I’ve always been selfless when it comes to winning.”

How much has Allen’s role been reduced?

In 1985, he carried 380 times. In 1990, his workload was reduced to 179.

Has Allen’s star been eclipsed by Jackson’s?

Turn on the nearest television set and stand back. Maybe it’s true Allen has lost a step at 30. Then again, did he ever need it?

For reasons unknown, Allen’s career has been as much a soap opera as fairy tale and his relationship with owner Al Davis remains one of football’s great mysteries.

Where did it go wrong? The exact origin of estrangement has made for interesting conversation.

Some pinpoint the split to Allen’s bitter holdout of 1989. Former teammate and tight end, Todd Christensen, now an NBC football analyst, said the problem dates as far as 1986, when a fumble by Allen against Philadelphia cost his team a game and sent the Raiders into a four-game losing streak.

“Call it an intelligent guess,” Christensen said. “We were 8-4 at the time. Philadelphia wasn’t that good yet. Marcus fumbles in overtime, they run it back for a touchdown and the Raiders haven’t had a winning season since. I don’t think the owner has every forgiven him for that fumble. And he’s always been openly critical of Marcus’ running style.”

Davis has sometimes gone out of his way to note that tailbacks don’t win championships. In the years before Allen arrived, the Raiders had more a power-oriented fullback offense, with the likes of Mark van Eeghen and Marv Hubbard plowing up the middle.

Christensen thinks the Raiders’ treatment of Allen far outweighs any resentment Allen might have for Jackson.

“We are all enamored with the spectacular,” Christensen said of Jackson. “This kind of athlete comes around once in a lifetime. I’m sure it’s tough on Marcus, but the fact that he’s compensated so well certainly aids in the process.

“There was a time when Magic (Johnson) and Marcus were the most famous athletes in Los Angeles. Now that mantle has been handed over to No. 34 (Jackson). I don’t think Marcus resents Bo’s talent--that would be foolish--but it’s just the way he’s been treated, not just with his contract, but just the respect.”

Allen, who is smart enough to keep quiet on such matters, guards his words and privacy like a mother hen with chicks. He speaks as though rooms were bugged, offering more with shrugs and gestures than with spoken answers.

“It’s always a delicate thing,” he said of his relationship with the Raiders. “I’d like to talk about it, but really for the most part this year it’s great.”

Of course, there is also the argument over who is the better football player, Allen or Jackson. Jackson possesses rare size and speed and can break a long run for touchdown on any given play.

Jackson was selected to the Pro Bowl by his peers this season, largely on the merits of spectacular runs of 55, 62, and 88 yards.

“He is a genetic anomaly,” Christensen said of Jackson. “You should not be able to run that fast at 230 pounds. He’s almost the ideal size for a tailback. But as all-around football players, I don’t think there’s a comparison. Bo definitely lacks football savvy. He’s faster, stronger than everybody, but sometimes he picks the wrong holes and makes bad decisions.”

And what of Allen?

“I think the world of this guy,” Christensen said. “He’s a class act. He’s deserves much better than he’s received. He’s the consummate team player, and one of the all-time tough guys, which seems kind of strange because you don’t think of halfbacks as tough guys.”

Christensen believes neither Allen’s nor Jackson’s talents are best served in a platoon system. But Allen doesn’t join such discussions.

“The paramount points should be facts, like science and the scholars,” he said.

Most of all, Allen is still about winning. Maybe surviving another round of rumors of 1990 was an omen. The Super Bowl is in Tampa Bay again; Allen gained 191 yards in the 1984 game there.

“I think if you play long enough, you see a lot of things happen,” he said. “Although I was in the position of hearing rumors and so forth, I’ve always felt that things would work out.”