The death of Al Davis has raised disingenuousness to a new level — with many of the same people who railed into Davis for years, with a popular line being that the Raiders would never win again as long as cranky, old owner was still alive, now pretending to pay homage. But as fake as many have turned at Davis' passing, there is one attempted tribute that figures to be very real.

And scary to the Houston Texans.

For Gary Kubiak's 3-1 team happens to be the first team the Oakland Raiders will play after Davis' death on Saturday. And you can bet that Raider coach Hue Jackson will be giving his team an emotional, win one for Al and the Raiders way speech sometime before it takes the field at Reliant Stadium Sunday afternoon.

It might sound macabre to turn a death into a motivational tool, but that's what football coaches do. This isn't Steve Jobs dying at age 56 after a horrific bout with cancer either. The 82-year-old Davis enjoyed a full, beyond colorful run.

The NFL isn't a place where high-minded, complex talks rule and Davis loved that. A good rant or a few good video clips sliced together — all the better if you can combine the two — are the preferred motivational tools. It's a league where New York Jets coach Rex Ryan shows his team clips of UFC bouts and Patriots coach Bill Belichick regularly screens sports movies like The Fighter to pump up his players.

And you can bet that the Texans will bring up trying to win for Andre Johnson, who is only hurt with a right leg injury that could keep him out for anywhere from two games to a month (bet the latter as sports teams are always wildly optimistic when it comes to injuries to their own players).

Besides, Jackson is one of the few who probably isn't being fake when he preaches about his love for Davis. For all the dubious and sleazy things Davis has done over the years, there is one important part of his legacy that shouldn't be forgotten or diminished in importance: He hired an African-American head coach when no one else would.

Sadly for the NFL's own conscience, this came in the year 1990. When Davis chose Art Shell as the Raiders coach that year, he gave the league its first African-American coach in the modern era (in fact, the gap stretches all the way back to 1925). He also took a chance on Hue Jackson, who happens to be African-American, who'd never been a head coach at any level — albeit after having hired Tom Cable, one of the worst coaches in NFL history.

Davis also hired the first female CEO in NFL history in Amy Trask — who is still the first and only 14 years after that move.

The caricature in that black leather jacket made real differences that went beyond the Raiders' win-loss record. Jackson might not talk about those when he pumps his team up for Sunday afternoon's game. But he'll turn Davis into a rallying cry.

That's what Al would have wanted — and what the Texans should dread. Did a game against the NFL's No. 1-rated rushing offense just get tougher for Houston because a guy who never played a down died?

Absolutely. That's the NFL, whether everyone wants to admit it or not.