Weighing in on possible Raider Hall of Famers

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, October 29, 2008  |  Comments( 17 )

Oakland Raiders
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Just when you thought the election hype was nearly over, another round of voting is merely beginning. Earlier this week came the release of some 133 early nominations for the Pro Football Hall of Fame; this list will be reduced to 25 in a second round of balloting, while a third vote will see a group of 27 (the 25 second-round finalists plus two Veterans Committee nominations) shrink to 15 before the final – really – vote to determine the Class of 2009 takes place.

Of the 133 early considerations, some 18 are former Oakland Raiders, thereby giving the team nice representation on the ballot and a few excellent opportunities to paint a little silver and black in Canton spearheaded by first-time candidate Rod Woodson.

What are the possibilities for the prospective Raider Hall of Famers? Glad you asked.

Gotta be in: Ray Guy, Rod Woodson. Once that shortlist comes around with Guy’s name included for the seventh time, RealFootball365.com will certainly again be making an impassioned plea on Guy’s part; you’d think status as best ever to play the position would be enough to get Guy into Canton, but the Hall remains distinctively punter-free. At this point, the only travesty bigger than Guy’s exclusion would be another punter’s Cantonian induction before him. Put Ray Guy in the Hall of Fame already, voters!

In contrast, Woodson is a first-timer on the ballot, headlining PR with Shannon Sharpe and Bruce Smith. Though Woodson spent only two seasons with Oakland, the Raider Nation surely proudly recalls 2002, in which Woodson led the league in interceptions with eight in that great Super Bowl season. Woodson seems a shoo-in, with a fat resume which includes a spot on the officially approved 75th anniversary team and the Wikipedia-noted distinction of being “the only player in NFL history to suffer an ACL injury and return to action in the same season,” the latter of which might be enough to get him in first time around these days.

Tell the youngsters what, too: Those of us who saw Woodson play will never forget his presence and style out there, a Hall of Famer if there ever was.

Shortlisted perhaps, but short of Cantonesque: Cliff Branch, Todd Christensen, Dave Dalby, Max Montoya, Greg Pruitt. Branch had a particularly storied career, having played in all three Raider Super Bowl wins. A Raider throughout his 14 year career, Branch missed just 10 games in his first 13 seasons. On the numbers side, though, the stats are fairly lacking: Though he continued to be one of the league’s top long-ball threats until his retirement, Branch was never again the dominant force of 1974-1976, in which he garnered three straight All-Pro selections.

Four consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards receiving (OK, just short; there’s a 987 in there) should get the voters’ attention – and then realize that Christensen was a freaking tight end with receiver’s numbers! In the great tradition of Dave Casper, ultimately taking over from him, Christensen could do it all as a top blocker in addition to being one of the greatest catching TEs ever. A relatively brief career of ultimately just six productive years (and one of these the strike-shortened season of ’82) will work against his campaign, however.

Certainly another member of the all-time Raider squad is Dalby, who, like Branch, is a three-time hoister of the Lombardi Trophy. Dalby anchored the offensive line at center for 14 years, but is handicapped from enshrinement simply by his position: Just 33 of 247 members of the Hall of Fame are modern-era offensive linemen.

Montoya was a monster of an offensive lineman seemingly forever with the Cincinnati Bengals and later in his career the Raiders. In fact, the four-time Pro Bowler played for 16 years and 223 games in the big leagues, once going seven consecutive seasons without missing a start.

Ah, Greg Pruitt. What a classic he was, eh, 40-somethings? The ripaway jersey: How amazingly picturesque. And how dominant Pruitt was, particularly on special teams where he now plays in the all-time pantheon, in five Pro Bowl seasons with the Browns and Raiders. Like Woodson, Pruitt was only with Oakland in the twilight of his career, but like Woodson too was Pruitt productive in his last years as a player. Don’t you wish there were more contemporary Raiders like this?

Just short of the final ballot: Albert Lewis. Yes, Lewis had a long and productive career, spending 16 seasons with the Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, but this is another case of underwhelming stats. Certainly a big “intangibles” guy, as evidenced by his four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods, Lewis rounded up just 42 interceptions. His tackle stats year to year are all right at best after a massive dropoff following his fourth season, 1986: After going for 69, 74 and 69 respectively, Lewis would never bag 60 tackles again and went most years under 50.

A half-decade of dominance does not a career make: Lester Hayes, Henry Lawrence, Jim Plunkett, Tom Flores. The '80s bunch that routinely crushed the opposition in the first half of the decade is well-represented here. Flores took over the team from the Madden reign in 1979, replaced Ken Stabler with what was a much-maligned Plunkett (and often Marc Wilson) and ran the Raiders to a 61-28 record and two Super Bowl wins in six seasons. And, oh yeah, they played for Los Angeles for a while there as well.

But Lester the Molester’s stickum was a two-year fad; while Lawrence played on the line and was drafted onto Madden’s team, he peaked quite sharply in those glory years. Plunkett often rose to greatness in the clutch but, speaking purely subjective, when he was bad, he was godawful. (Come on, a career QB rating of 67.45? Be serious.)

Finally, Flores was a master in silver and black for a half-dozen years or so, but the man turned in lots of subpar seasons – six at or under .500, to be exact – and surely the Seattle Seahawks disaster won’t be forgotten.

To be judged on their non-Raider career: Eric Allen, Roger Craig, Jim Lachey, Pat Swilling. Lachey played literally one game as a Raider, in 1988. Craig played one mostly forgettable season with the Raiders and will be judged based on his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Similarly, the call on Swilling will measured by his time with the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions rather than any late-career contributions to the Raiders, and Allen will certainly go down as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he was a five-time Pro Bowler and onetime All-Pro.

Character counts (unfortunately for these guys): Ken Stabler, Steve Wisniewski. Wisniewski was eight times a Pro Bowler and a member of five playoff teams in the '90s. In 2000, the Hall of Fame ended up putting Wisniewski on its 1990s All-Decade Team, and history says the man lived up to the great heights established by his stated role models Howie Long and Matt Millen. However, Wisniewski’s universally held reputation as a legendarily dirty player will probably work against him again.

While always a marginal choice for the Hall, Stabler’s DWI of earlier this year will certainly work against him with the reputation-obsessed types, though one might argue that you could make way in the hallowed halls for Guy by moving out, say, O.J. Simpson. Sorry to say, but here’s to thinking Stabler’s not even a final balloter this time around.

Good luck to all the Raiders and other prospective nominees -- see you in Canton!
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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