The Raiders Should Give Bo a Break

Bo Jackson is beginning to look like the old Bo Jackson. He is running fast, playing hard, busting bats over his knee. The injury that was supposed to keep Bo out of action indefinitely kept him out of action definitely.

Leaving us with one question:

What about football?

The Raiders, who play Denver today in their first home game, would love to know if Jackson will be reporting to camp when the baseball season is over, the way he usually does.

And they would ask him, provided they had his home phone number.

All Bo says on the subject is that Bo don’t talk football when Bo is playing baseball. Bo will do what’s best for Bo, so Bo will consult Bo and then Bo will let the Raiders know, you know?

After seeing the last two Raider games--last January at Buffalo and last week at Houston--all we know is that the Raiders need Bo, maybe more than they thought they needed Bo.

George Brett the other day repeated the oft-made observation that Bo Jackson is a great baseball player who would be a far greater baseball player--perhaps a Hall of Famer--if he got out of the football business once and for all and concentrated on baseball.

John Wathan, who managed Jackson with the Kansas City Royals before they unceremoniously dumped both of them, said: “If Bo ever plays a full baseball season healthy, he’ll hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases.”

This is music to Chicago White Sox ears. The Sox can’t wait to become Bo’s Hose.

Although he made outs in his first eight at-bats for them, Jackson energized the Sox just by showing up. The crowd was electrified. Teammates oohed and aahed just watching the rips Bo took at the ball.

And when eventually he smacked a couple of hits in a big victory, the White Sox got excited by the thought that Bo Jackson was truly back--and all theirs.

As all this was happening, there seemed to be a lot of talk about the Kansas City Royals and what a blunder they made. How could they have given up on Jackson, this scientific marvel of a man? Was it a money thing, or did they honestly believe that, being human, Bo would never again be the same?

But nobody seems to be asking what all this means to the Raiders.

Once Jackson joined the party last season, a football team that had been good if not great suddenly transformed into a superb team. The Raiders cruised into the playoffs, then took care of the Cincinnati Bengals while barely breaking a sweat.

But Bo got hurt, and was useless against Buffalo in the AFC championship game. And, as we all remember, the Bills beat the Bo-less Raiders something awful, scoring half a hundred points.

Spring and summer came and went. The Raiders learned that Bo Jackson might have difficulty walking without a limp ever again, much less playing any kind of professional ball.

They put their backfield into motion. Roger Craig moved in, Greg Bell moved out. Marcus Allen was alive and well, Steve Smith was a steady worker and the Raider brain trust admired a rookie from Iowa name of Nick Bell.

But by opening day, all the Raiders knew is that neither Bell was on the premises and that Bo Jackson wasn’t expected. What followed hurt worse--a 47-17 defeat against the Oilers, in which Allen was injured and in which no Raider rusher picked up more than 17 yards.

The burden today falls to Roger Craig, who perhaps will resemble the old Roger Craig. As with Jackson, we have here an athlete of astounding physical prowess who is known around the league for his character and desire.

If this Craig is the same Craig who can rush for 70 or 80 yards and catch three or four passes, then the Raiders are still in good shape. Forget that first game; what does one defeat matter when teams with records of 9-7 or 8-8 qualify for the playoffs?

But if no running game develops, look out.

Because that would mean getting Bo Jackson back would become a top priority. And that would be unfortunate, because it would be a better world for everybody concerned if the Raiders could be in a position to tell Bo to take better care of that body of his -and give up football forever. He’s recuperated now and playing baseball. Be nice to leave him that way.