Ruining the fun: Why the glass is half-empty in Oakland

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, February 17, 2009  |  Comments( 26 )

Oakland Raiders
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It’s that time of the year -- the NFL offseason – when the glass is always half-full and your team is always improving. It doesn’t matter how bad your team was the year before; the hot-ticket free agents are always on the radar and are always eager to strap on your club’s helmet.

That’s the great thing about the NFL offseason. It’s a hope-filled, eight-plus-month stretch of imagining the best.

Then there’s the case of the Oakland Raiders. They’ve posted a six-year record of 24-72 with no more than five wins in a single season from 2003 on. Yet, somehow, someway, there’s always a reason for hope in the Bay Area. Maybe it’s because there’s always a new coach coming in. Or because they always have a top five draft pick. Or because team owner Al Davis isn’t afraid to spend money.

But after five straight offseasons of looking at the glass half-full, I’m here to temporarily ruin the fun. (At least for this article.) Here are five major dilemmas the Raiders have to deal with before fans have a true reason to believe their team is headed in the right direction.

• Low supply at WR, but low demand, too: T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Anquan Boldin. Terrell Owens. Imagine being any one of those wide receivers. Now imagine the Oakland Raiders courting you to join their squad. Last year, their top wide receiver had just 366 yards, and the team hasn’t fielded a 1,000-yard pass catcher since Randy Moss barely passed the threshold in 2005. Simply put, Oakland is the place wideouts go to die. Why would three of the best in the game want to join in?

• The D-line is very quietly weak: There are massive needs to be filled in Oakland at WR and O-line, but it’s not so obvious that the team needs major help across the D-line. The big names are still there -- Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands, Derrick Burgess and Kalimba Edwards -- but that likely means much won’t change next season. The Raiders had the second-worst run ‘D’ in the NFL last year and their leading sack-getter had just five takedowns. Something about Tommy Kelly and Terdell Sands finally turning into run-stopping machines doesn’t sound very promising.

• Who’s really calling the shots? OK, so the Raiders have a new head coach. Tom Cable is no longer an interim leader, but instead the official head coach of the Raiders in 2009. That’s usually refreshing. But when you’re talking about a head coach of the Raiders, you’re in a whole new ballpark. There was so much hope in Oakland surrounding Norv Turner (2004-2005), Art Shell (2006) and Lane Kiffin (2007-2008), none of whom lasted beyond two years. So with Davis still in the background, how much could really change?

• JaMarcus Russell’s development: There’s plenty to be hopeful for when it comes to thinking about the young QB's future. But how much will the 23-year-old be able to progress in a one-season span? Russell threw for just 2,423 yards, 13 TDs and eight interceptions last season and the Raiders capped off the year with the league’s last-ranked passing offense. He has no go-to wide receiver and the Raiders may have a very difficult time acquiring one this year. Thus, 2009 might not be the year. I’m feeling better things for 2010, though.

• They can’t lose the art of losing: There’s something about losing so often and for so long that makes it near-impossible to turn the ship in the right direction in just one or two years. There were signs the Raiders were beginning to head in the right direction late last season with two consecutive wins, but, nevertheless, they still won just five games. The team has played 96 games over the past six years and never won more than five in a single season.

Since 2003, they’ve tried seven different quarterbacks, six different head coaches, brought in Randy Moss, traded Randy Moss, brought in DeAngelo Hall, released DeAngelo Hall, spent hundreds of millions of dollars, drafted 48 rookies and won just 24 games.

Call me crazy, but there’s something about blind optimism that gets old. Sorry to temporarily dampen the offseason fun.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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