The Raider Effect . . .

A few days ago I wrote about JaMarcus Russell and his trials and tribulations in the NFL.  Today, after watching the Cowboys dismantle the Raiders on national TV, I am now thinking about every Raider 1st round pick over the past two decades.  On top of that let’s look at the coaching carousel over that same time frame.

I felt for the longest time that the Raiders had just fallen on some tough luck.  I mean this is a franchise only a few years removed from a Super Bowl appearance.  Instead as we look into the franchise deeper we will learn that they made a few good moves, but mostly bad decisions and poor player development.

First let’s start with the coaches:

1989 – 1994 – Art Shell – In his first stint he was actually not a bad coach, in fact he had them on the right track.  He was actually fired after a 9-7 season.

1995 – 1996 – Mike White – He was a fantastic college coach, but it didn’t translate well to the NFL, his 1995 team went 8-2 to start the season and tanked the last six games to finish 8-8.

1997 – Joe Bugel – An amazing offensive line coach, but a terrible head coach, his stint was a short 4-12 season.

1998 – 2001- Jon Gruden – The best coach the Raiders had second only to John Madden.  He led the Raiders to the Super Bowl and the “Tuck Rule” game.   He ended up being traded to the Bucs for 2 first round picks and 2 second round picks (one of the first round picks was traded and the other got Tyler Brayton).  Worst move in Al Davis history.

2002-2003 – Bill Callahan – Gruden’s right hand man, who lived off of Gruden’s left overs for two seasons.  Was fired then messed up the Cornhuskers just as badly.

2004-2005 – Norv Turner – Bad situation for a good coach.  His lack of talent killed him in his two years there.

2006 – Art Shell – 2 – 14, need I say more?  Actually appeared to be napping on the sidelines at some points during the season.

2007-2008 – Lane Kiffen – Great offensive co-ordinator in college, unfortunately was way out of his league in the NFL.  He is still learning how to coach in college in Tennessee.

2009 – Tom Cable – Not looking good as he is 4-8 and has a wee bit of a temper issue.

Shell was good and Gruden was great, too bad Al Davis canned them.  Now let’s look at the first round picks and their card values:

1989 – None (had three number 1′s in 1988)

1990 – Anthony Smith – A good career, 7 years, all with the Raiders, his card is in the common bin.

1991 – Todd Marinovich – total flop, busted for pot, kicked out of USC, flunked in the NFL, only appeared in 8 games. Another one in the commons bin.

1992 – Chester McGlockton – One of the best first round picks that the Raiders had in the last 20 years.  He had an autograph in the 1995 Proline Profiles set and it runs about $10.

1993 – Patrick Bates – A borderline starter for 2 seasons. More common bin fodder.

1994 – Rob Fredrickson – A solid linebacker who the Raiders bailed on in 1997, went on to be just as good elsewhere.

1995 - Napoleon Kaufman – Essentially a backup running back who got to start for about 5 years for the Raiders.  His autograph can be found for about 3 bucks on eBay.

1996 – Rickey Dudley – Never lived up to expectations in the league, essentially a second stringer.  Common bin fodder.

1997 – Darrell Russell – An absolute stud that never recovered from an injury suffered in 2001.  Had he been injury free who knows how good he could have been.  He died in 2005 and his autographed cards run in the $20 region on eBay.

1998 – Charles Woodson – Could be a Hall of Famer, bolted from the Raiders in 2006 out of a sinking ship.

1999 – Matt Stinchcomb – Not a bad player but only had a 5 year career.  Pure common bin fodder.

2000 – Sebastian Janikowski – one of the longest tenured players on the team.  A probable Hall of Fame kicker.  Too bad he has wasted his career in Oakland.  His autographed cards run $15 – 30 on eBay, as he is an incredibly popular player.

2001 – Derrick Gibson – Started only 32 games over 5 years.  Not exactly a home run.  A dollar gets his autographed card on eBay.

2002 – Napoleon Harris and Phillip Buchanon – Both bolted after 2004 and only Buchanon is still playing.  Both autographs can be had on eBay for $1.

2003 – Tyler Brayton and Nnamdi Asomugha – Brayton never was able to take it to the next level but Asomugha is perhaps one of the best players on the team right now.  Couldn’t find autographed cards of either of them.

2004 – Robert Gallery – Total dud in the NFL – his autographed card can be had for $1

2005 – Fabien Washington – Nothing more than a backup in the pros.  Another $1 autograph on eBay.

2006 – Michael Huff – Has been pretty solid, but he is on a bad defense and has essentially given up at times.  His autographs are also a dollar on eBay.

2007 – Jamarcus Russell – Sloppy play has him benched.  Not sure if he can ever come back from this.  Autographed cards run about $5.

2008 – Darren McFadden – Soon to be dud, can’t don anything because his line is awful and the Raiders refuse to pay for talented OTs.  His autograph is going down in value and can be had for under $10, once a $100+ autograph.

2009 – Darius Heyward Bey – In his rookie campaign, 7 catches 103 yards and a TD, of course to be fair Russell only had 96 completions this year.  Seems to be a down field threat but who knows on this team.  Autograph can be had for around $8.

The Raiders have had very little luck in the draft.  Their last three number one picks have been failures and who knows how they will do in the future.  If I were a prospector, I would steer clear of any Raiders prospects at this point.  Until you see a changing of the scouting guard, this team is in the toilet.