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Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Silver and Black are back, or that is what it seems after breaking a eight year streak of losing seasons. One thing that will never change in Oakland is their commitment to excellence and their three Super Bowl Championships. Just win baby...
Many will remember John Madden for being an excellent brodcaster, but not as the greatest Raider head coach in franchise history. Madden actually became the youngest head coach at 32 in NFL history after John Rauch resigned. In seven seasons, Madden took the Raiders to five AFC title games. Unfortanetly they lost all of them, most notably to their rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 1972 AFC Divisional Playoffs with the Steelers went down in history as the "Immaculate Reception" which you can read more about here. To sum it up for Madden in his early career as a head coach: a lot of unlucky things happened with him at the helm. Finally in 1976 the Raiders got past the rival Steelers and won the Super Bowl 32-14 over the Vikings. After losing the AFC Championship Game in 1977 and missing the playoffs in 1978, Madden retired and was the youngest head coach to ever reach 100 wins. Madden also has the most wins in Raiders history and his winning percentage ranks second among league history. Madden never had a losing season in 10 years and was immortalized in the Hall of Fame in 2006.
One of the greatest running backs in NFL history played for the Silver and Black. Marcus Allen was drafted 10th overall in the 1982 Draft and immedately made a impact. Even though there was a strike year in his rookie season, Allen rushed for 697 yards on his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year. During the next three seasons, Allen rushed for 1,000 yards and in 1985 he won the NFL's MVP award on the way to the Super Bowl. Probably Allen's greatest preformance was in Super Bowl XVIII when he rushed 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and two touchdowns in the Raiders 38-9 victory over the Redskins. One major stat from that game was a 74 yard touchdown run by Allen, which was the longest run in Super Bowl history until Willie Parker broke it in Super Bowl XL. Allen also became only the fourth player in NFL history to win both the heisman trophy and the Super Bowl MVP. Allen probably had the best season for a running back in NFL history in 1985 and it was summed up by his preformance in the Super Bowl. Unfortanetly for Allen and the Raiders, he formed a ver bad relationship with owner Al Davis over a contract dispute. During the 1989 season Allen missed most of the season with a knee injury and spent his last three seasons in a back-up role before leaving L.A. for Kansas City. Allen was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and will go down as one of the greatest players in NFL history. There is no doubt that he is the greatest Raider of all time, thats sure. Click here to look at Allen's stats.
Best Draft Gem: Art Shell (1968-1982)Suprisingly, Art Shell is only the second offensive tackle to be mentioned in the History of the Franchise series. What is not suprising, how great of a player Shell was. Shell was drafted out of Maryland State College in the third round of the 1968 AFL draft and played 14 years with the Raiders. Shell was voted to 8 Pro Bowls in his career, three first-team All Pros, and was also voted to the 1970's All-Decade team. Shell was given the most prestige honor after getting inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. He was also voted as the 55th greatest player NFL player by "The Sporting News."
Biggest Draft Bust: Jamarcus Russell (2007-2009)
Remember yesterday when I said Ryan Leaf is not the biggest QB draft bust in history and that the biggest one would be coming soon? Well here he is. With the number one pick in the 2007 NFL Draft the Raiders selected Jamarcus Russell out of LSU with the first overall selection. In his rookie season, Russell held out through training camp and into the first week of the season. Russell then signed a six year contract worth $68 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed. Russell's first game was on December 2, 2007 against the Denver Broncos and he played two series going 4-7 for 56 yards. Russell made his first career start against the Chargers which ended in disaster after throwing two interceptions and fumbiling once. It is insane that after that game, head coach Lane Kiffin named Russell the starting QB for the 2008 season. Russell probably had his best game against the Denver Broncos in 2008 when he threw 180 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Even though the Raiders lost four straight games in 2008, Russell played well down the stretch throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions during the last three games. Russell's decline began in 2009. After a sub-par preformance against the Kansas City Chiefs, Russell was benced in favor of Bruce Gradkowski. Due to injures to Gradkowski, Russell was able to play two many games but finished the season with the lowest stat in every major QB category. After the team traded for Jason Campbell in 2010, the Raiders released Russell and the biggest QB draft bust has since hasn't played a football game. Russell is no doubt the biggest mistake that the Raiders have made and I think he will go down as the biggest draft bust of all time because of his lack of work ethic.
Defining Moment: Al Davis becomes owner (1970)
Wether you hate him or not Raiders fans, you can't deny that the Raiders would have those three Vince Lombardi trophies if not for Al Davis. After resining as the AFL Commissoner following the merger, Davis bought a 10% stake of the Raiders. Thanks to Davis running football operations, Oakland was able to make it to Super Bowl II where they lost to the Packers. In 1972, Davis gained near absolute control of the Raiders. Today, Davis is the owner and serves as his own General Manager. With Davis running the show, the Raiders have been to four Super Bowls and has had 15 playoff apperances. Despite the Raiders run of bad luck in recent years, Davis has no doubt made the Raiders into one of the most successful sports franchises in history. Even though he has been through legal battles and arguments with every coach and player, Davis defines the Raiders. Never has one man defined a franchise like Al Davis does the Raiders. You know what he says, "Just win baby."
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