The only memories I have of the Oakland Raiders’ good old days are those eternally preserved in the NFL Films archives. Steve Sabol’s “The Autumn Wind,” Willie Brown’s pick-six in the Super Bowl and Marcus Allen’s 74-yard touchdown run against the Redskins, which moved teammate Todd Christiansen to tears. I’m too young for all of those.
I have never experienced a single iconic Raiders moment in real time. No one else in my generation has, either. The Tuck Rule Game against New England is an important part of NFL history, but for all the wrong reasons. And all positive anecdotes about the 2002 AFC Championship squad get buried under their ugly Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay.
The same, or even worse, could be said for the Bills of this millennium. Or even the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. But those teams don’t have the mystique of the Raiders, as lame as that sounds. It’s strange seeing the silver and black stuck in mediocrity. They’re in the same category historically as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Red Wings. Those that have witnessed Oakland (or Los Angeles) in their prime know this isn’t right. The franchises that dominate professional sports for decades are rarely out of commission for extended periods of time. It just doesn’t work that way.
Currently, the Raiders are the least talented team in the NFL, and it isn’t even close. Lamarr Houston and Tyvon Branch might be the team’s two best players to start the season, but they aren’t Pro Bowl-level talents. Jared Veldheer will be out for an extended period of time. Darren McFadden’s greatness exists only in Madden.
At least the Lions have Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.
The Raiders lead the NFL in dead money at $45 million, meaning players not on the roster anymore still count against the team’s salary cap. This, along with the endless amount of draft picks they have traded away, has them in a black hole. And with Matt Flynn or Terrelle Pryor under center this season, the 2014 offseason can’t come soon enough for the silver and black.
There is a reason for that. Oakland has a chance at grabbing a franchise-changing talent at the top of the draft in 2014. Jadaveon Clowney and Teddy Bridgewater will likely declare after this season. Assuming their current level of play continues, they are the two best prospects since Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Anyone who thinks Clowney lacked effort or proper conditioning in the season opener needs to realize he had a stomach virus the night before, which is obviously not easy to come back from immediately. He still wreaked havoc and caused pressure despite going
up against stud left tackle James Hurst of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The bar hasn’t been set too high. Clowney is a transcendent talent. The same goes for Bridgewater, albeit to a lesser degree. Chances are the Raiders will be picking first, and they can’t go wrong with either of these guys. No offense to Eric Fisher, the No. 1 draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, but the top of next year’s draft is infinitely better.
But this season won’t be as bleak for the Raiders as some of the pundits predict. Scheduled to match up against the AFC West and AFC South, Oakland has the benefit of playing San Diego twice, Kansas City twice, Jacksonville and Tennessee. They aren’t going to go winless against those teams. Pryor will create an explosive play (after throwing four interceptions), or one of Flynn’s two-yard tosses will go for 98 yards to the house. The NFL is too wild and too unpredictable for it to be a guarantee. Oakland isn’t going to scare any contender, but they can at least grab a victory over another mismanaged club.
“We want to win. The Raider fans deserve it. The Raider players deserve it, even my organization deserves it. You have to win and you have to win with a vision for the Super Bowl. That's our passion here.” – Al Davis, the late owner of the Raiders
Davis is in the Hall of Fame for a reason. His offensive philosophy is still used with success in the modern NFL, most recently with last year’s Ravens. Joe Flacco is playing the role of Daryl “The Mad Bomber” Lamonica. Torrey Smith is Cliff Branch, the deep threat. Ray Rice would be Marcus Allen, the do-everything runner who is as tough as nails. Bernard Pierce is Bo Jackson, the explosive change-of-pace running back who breaks tackle after tackle. Davis wasn’t behind the times in his last few years; he just picked the wrong players to fill those roles.
JaMarcus Russell, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Darren McFadden. These names won’t be remembered fondly in Oakland. What if the Raiders selected Calvin Johnson over Russell and had the No. 3 pick in the 2008 draft? That opens the door for Matt Ryan wearing the silver and black. No more Terrelle Pryor or Matt Flynn starting this year. Sometimes, becoming great is just a crapshoot.
I have never been a Raiders fan, but I have always been a fan of the Raiders. “Commitment to excellence,” before the decline of Davis, personified the NFL for better or for worse. “Commitment to excellence” used to mean winning by any means necessary. “Commitment to excellence” used to mean being in the title hunt, and making the right personnel moves to stay there for years. “Commitment to excellence” used to mean a group of fascinating individuals making the NFL better with their play and their controversy.
Now it’s just a relic.