The Raider Dark Age of 2003-2009...What Went Wrong?? Simple Version.

[als_shadow]

I sometimes wonder if Al brought in Shell, both knowing in advance that the upcoming season was hopeless. IIRC, our cap situation was a mess, meaning that any decent talent was un-gettable. There were also very few coaching prospects that would come here. So he calls up Shell and they have a discussion about the situation. If Shell pulls off a miracle then he can stay but most likely it's going to be a hard and thankless one year gig. Two wins and fourteen losses later...

Even though Al was old and had been making questionable decisions for a long time, it's hard to imagine he believed for a minute that he could succeed with that coaching staff and set of players. But if he did believe it, then maybe that was the catalyst that appeared to end his practice of trying to reload for a playoff run every year instead of biting the bullet and rebuilding. But I do prefer to think he knew Shell's second tenure was going to be a disaster.

I wasn't on this board back in 2005 but I saw the 4th place Raiders situation coming and my personal friends all have heard my story.

AL realized that he couldn't "beat" the salary cap after almost 20 years of trying and came to realize that he would have to "tank" the team in order to restock it with cheaper young talent and start over. That process took 5 years! AL didn't believe in rebuilding so he didn't let his plan be known to the public.

Kiffin was known as a smartaxx kid before AL hired him and surely AL expected 2 or 3 years of "tanking" while he fought with Lance. That's what we got...

And as a bonus to "tanking" the team he got to show Raider fans in Oakland how spoiled they were... and he had the chance to blow up the salary cap, which hasn't happened yet... but wait until you see the veteran player out-rage in preseason 2013 when they get cut and nobody will offer them a job, period.

Let's give AL's legend another decade to see where the team and the NFL go based upon what AL "did" to them before he died.

[als_shadow]

Watch the upcoming GREAT NFL VETERAN PLAYER PURGE of 2013:

possible Raider players who could make the purge:

Seymour
Kelly
Huff
McFadden
even Palmer!

You men better enjoy 2012 because there may not be a 2013 for any of you!

Salary cap will be the cause, not our GM McKenzie... and it will happen to all 32 NFL teams.

You read it hear first! Mark it on your calendars!

[kinz]

Watch the upcoming GREAT NFL VETERAN PLAYER PURGE of 2013:

possible Raider players who could make the purge:

Seymour
Kelly
Huff
McFadden
even Palmer!

You men better enjoy 2012 because there may not be a 2013 for any of you!

Salary cap will be the cause, not our GM McKenzie... and it will happen to all 32 NFL teams.

You read it hear first! Mark it on your calendars!

I'm scarred. I agree with you.

[B. anthracis]

Watch the upcoming GREAT NFL VETERAN PLAYER PURGE of 2013:

possible Raider players who could make the purge:

Seymour
Kelly
Huff
McFadden
even Palmer!

You men better enjoy 2012 because there may not be a 2013 for any of you!

Salary cap will be the cause, not our GM McKenzie... and it will happen to all 32 NFL teams.

You read it hear first! Mark it on your calendars!

Very possible. If that is what happens, then so be it--as long as said gestastion doesn't give birth to a two-headed, five armed miscarriage of a team. It better be worth it.

[paul0660]

I wasn't on this board back in 2005 but I saw the 4th place Raiders situation coming and my personal friends all have heard my story.

AL realized that he couldn't "beat" the salary cap after almost 20 years of trying and came to realize that he would have to "tank" the team in order to restock it with cheaper young talent and start over. That process took 5 years! AL didn't believe in rebuilding so he didn't let his plan be known to the public.

Kiffin was known as a smartaxx kid before AL hired him and surely AL expected 2 or 3 years of "tanking" while he fought with Lance. That's what we got...

And as a bonus to "tanking" the team he got to show Raider fans in Oakland how spoiled they were... and he had the chance to blow up the salary cap, which hasn't happened yet... but wait until you see the veteran player out-rage in preseason 2013 when they get cut and nobody will offer them a job, period.

Let's give AL's legend another decade to see where the team and the NFL go based upon what AL "did" to them before he died.

This makes perfect sense, but is almost pornographic. You are one sick puppy.

[Rainman56]

AL realized that he couldn't "beat" the salary cap after almost 20 years of trying and came to realize that he would have to "tank" the team in order to restock it with cheaper young talent and start over. That process took 5 years! AL didn't believe in rebuilding so he didn't let his plan be known to the public.

[cheapshotartist]

Watch the upcoming GREAT NFL VETERAN PLAYER PURGE of 2013:

possible Raider players who could make the purge:

Seymour
Kelly
Huff
McFadden
even Palmer!

You men better enjoy 2012 because there may not be a 2013 for any of you!

Salary cap will be the cause, not our GM McKenzie... and it will happen to all 32 NFL teams.

You read it hear first! Mark it on your calendars!

No big deal teams will just sign cheaper players and keep going. The salary cap will not stop the NFL, players just won't get those dumb azz contracts anymore.

[Idaho Raider]

Would love to know why he is crying. When the Raiders blew out Denver? I imagine this is what his face looked like when Romo broke his arm.

[Idaho Raider]

[QUOTE=Sea Of Hands;3675709]Raider Dark Age, 2003-2009




2004 – With the 2nd and 34th picks of the 2004 draft at his disposal, Al decided to use the picks on the cornerstones that would stabilize the Raider OL for the foreseeable future. He drafted Robert Gallery and Jake Grove. Galley and Grove were respectively considered the best left tackle and the best center being ushered in by the college ranks. It was clear that Al understood the importance of a great offensive line and took the opportunity to bolster his own unit. He was applauded and considered on the money with his picks. Prior to the season the Raiders hired Norv Turner as head coach, who was highly recommended by Jimmy Johnson. The 2004 season also saw the return of Gannon following surgery to his throwing shoulder. But he would last only 3 games and eventually retired after suffering a neck injury. Kerry Collins took over the QB duties for the remainder of the season and led the Raiders to a 5-11 season. The Raiders were obviously in transition and the roster would need to be bolstered in order to return the team to it’s winning ways.
Gannon got old and could no longer make plays with his legs. I loved the Gallery and Grove picks. Who knew they wouldn't pan out?
2005 – Gallery and Grove had faired pretty well during the 2004 season and hopes were high that they would ascend to pro bowl status during the 2005 season. They had their issues adjusting to the NFL game as rookies, but that was to be expected. Al figured that they were on track and confidently went about the business of bolstering the offensive weaponry. Al traded for Randy Moss and signed Lamont Jordan during the off season. Combined with Collins and Jerry Porter, the Raiders were loaded once again. With Gallery and Grove anchoring the OL, the Raiders vaunted vertical scheme would take flight and dominate. With a revamped defense, the Raiders appeared poised to return to the playoffs and beyond. So they thought. The 2005 campaign would end in another losing season with a record of 4-12. Norv Turner was fired and for the first time, questions about Gallery and Grove began to surface. The Raider offense did not live up to expectations and Kerry Collins was exposed. His inability to handle early pressure hampered him all season long and Gallery-Grove were fingered as possible busts.
I was sure we were loaded. Lamont pounding the ball and Moss going deep. How could we not be explosive?
2006 – The Raiders dumped Kerry Collins and hired Art Shell. Al figured that maybe a blast from the past with some old school Raider methods would do the tirck. The Raiders acquired Arron Brooks to handle QB duties. Hope surged through Raider Nation once again. But 2006 would end in disaster as the team finished the campaign 2-14. The team looked dazed and confused all season long and it became clear that Gallery and Grove were indeed busts. The Raider OL was anemic all year long and the bulk of the blame went to Gallery and Grove, who were very high draft picks with great expectations attached. Art Shell got the axe and the Raiders stumbled into the off season wondering what the hell happened. An important point to add is that the defense was a solid unit, but the offensive woes were so great that the defense suffered as they were on the field for large portions of time during the season. It has been mentioned that the Raiders defense during the Dark Age was poorly constructed. I beg to differ when I say that this unit was very capable, but the offense put huge amounts of pressure on them.
I had little hope. It was Al, he always regretted fireing Art. RIP Al no regets.

Gruden was gone no matter what. He was the captain of a sinking ship and he knew it.
It was a great move to get draft picks for him. Thats why the NFL made it against the rules to trade coaches for draft picks. But we all know how those picks turned out.

[Devilspawn]

Would love to know why he is crying. When the Raiders blew out Denver? I imagine this is what his face looked like when Romo broke his arm.

Nah, he was clowning around when they were asking about Press Conference meltdowns.

[Devilspawn]

Raider Dark Age, 2003-2009

From 1963 - 2002, the Raiders went on an epic run. During that 40 year period the Raiders posted a winning percentage of .632, the highest in the NFL during that time frame. Throw in the legaendary players, games, coaches and five Super Bowl appearances, and the Raiders were considered an elite franchise in the world of professional sports. The Raiders were an organizational superpower single handedly ran by the one and only Al Davis. Davis’ teams were so consistent during this run, that they became known as the Team of the Decades. To be sure, the Raiders knew how to win. In fact, the Raiders lost more than ten games in a single season only twice during that 40 year span. So then how in the world did the Raiders fall so far as to lose 10 or more games in seven consecutive seasons???

And I believe they had a winning record against all franchises except Baltimore and I think Jacksonville.

To answer the question on what went wrong... everything.

[B. anthracis]

[QUOTE=Idaho Raider;3715966]

I was sure we were loaded. Lamont pounding the ball and Moss going deep. How could we not be explosive?
2006 – The Raiders dumped Kerry Collins and hired Art Shell. Al figured that maybe a blast from the past with some old school Raider methods would do the tirck. The Raiders acquired Arron Brooks to handle QB duties. Hope surged through Raider Nation once again. But 2006 would end in disaster as the team finished the campaign 2-14. The team looked dazed and confused all Art Shell got the axe and the Raiders stumbled into the off season wondering what the hell happened.

A lot people were indeed wondering what the hell had happened but a lot of people knew well advance that it was an obvious disaster in the making. No coaches wanted to come here and the team was full of overpaid underperformers. When Shell was first re-hired he was talking about playing the game the way they used to play it back in the 70s. From the get-go it was apparent it was going to be a horrible season.

We won all but one of our preseason games but that's because we kept our starters in longer than everyone we played. Opening night on MNF told the tale. A 27-0 shutout at the hands of the Chargers that was actually merciful. If they'd wanted to, they could have put up 45+ on us that night.

An important point to add is that the defense was a solid unit, but the offensive woes were so great that the defense suffered as they were on the field for large portions of time during the season. It has been mentioned that the Raiders defense during the Dark Age was poorly constructed. I beg to differ when I say that this unit was very capable, but the offense put huge amounts of pressure on them.

That defense was terrible. We were #1 against the pass but that's because teams could play Pop Warner football against us and win--just run the ball. We were one of the worst against the run in the entire league. But when teams wanted or needed to throw on us, they could do it at will.

What came out of that season though was that a lot of Raider fans were forced to trash the rose colored glasses and admit that maybe Al wasn't above criticism. 2-14 is a disaster from every angle. When you win 2 games in a season, you can pretty much know that there were no bright spots on any unit on the team. With 5-11 you can look at a couple of games and say that the ball bounced the other way or that the zebras screwed in another game, or whatever. You can also make a case that some good things happened that you can build on. But 2-14? Tear the house down and rebuild it from the ground up.

Gruden was gone no matter what. He was the captain of a sinking ship and he knew it
.

I think that ultimately the seeds of that were sown when Al exercised Gruden's contract after Gruden's 3rd year, thereby keeping him one of the lowest paid HC's in the league. Any other owner in the league would have offered him the house but Al didn't. And with all the stories of the lack of respect Al showed Gruden, that was probably the single biggest act of disrespect. Had there been a good relationship and a contract given that was commensurate with other HC's in the league, Gruden wouldn't have been gone after just 4 years.

Who knows what would have happened had Gruden stayed? It's impossible to say. But it's safe to assume we wouldn't have set the record for most consecutive 10+ loss seasons in NFL history.

[BelongInOakland]

The great run of the Raiders ended in the 80s.....We made the playoffs a couple times in the 90s..........but half of the nineties was a real dismal time for the Raiders....and Al made monumental personel mistakes in the 90s too....Prior to that--In the 70s and 80s better personel moves were made for the most part.......

The Nineties was a better than 2003-12 but it was well below the Raider standard......

that i would agree with, although 2003 to 2011 were the worst years, hopefully that changes this year, we end the playoff drought.

[kinz]

Agree with the people who pointed out that the "what went wrong" should start before 2002. Recall Willie Shaw and Eric Turner (we would have 2 more SBs if he didn't die way too young) being a breath of fresh air that was continued by Gruden after a bad run. The suckage started long before 2002. Art part I was the last time I saw us look good before Shaw. Should probably go to "1990, what went wrong".

[LINQ]

In Als defense, who were we suppose to draft instead off JaCarcus? The Raiders needed a qb and it was either fatty or Quinn

2004 - Fitz (or Rivers/Roethlisberger)
2006 - Cutler (or Ngata)
2007 - Megatron (or AP)
2008 - McFadden (or Flacco/CJ2K)
2009 - Hard one, make your pick; Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing, Hakeem Nicks, Michael Crabtree (no thanks but still has game), BJ Raji, Maclin, Harvin, etc.

The first four years I mentioned, the first picks are the ones I wanted and rallied around here for, with the exception of 2004 since I wasn't here yet. But trust me I was saying "WTF?" to my friends when the Gallery picked was announced. I thought NO WAY does Al pass on Fitz or one of the QBs. I heard Gallery was a can't miss prospect and a solid LT is always great, but I had a feeling Fitz would be a major playmaker.

As for 2007, I really wanted Megatron or AP. I wasn't high on either of the two 'top' QBs, but if I had to choose between one or the other, I wanted Quinn because I thought he had Russell beat on work ethic and intelligence. Turns out they both sucked.

I liked Cutler in 2006 because he was a gunslinger and a mad man in my eyes, the kind of guy who would be fiery enough to really breath life into our crappy lifeless team.

In 2008 I was all on McFadden's nuts. I couldn't possibly want anymore more than him. I only mention Flacco or CJ2K because hindsight is 20/20, and if we had AP we wouldn't be drafting McFadden.

2009 I wasn't a fan AT ALL of the DHB pick. To me this signaled the end of Al Davis doing anything meaningful as it was in my mind an AWFUL pick. I will say I like the guy now, and I think he has worked hard and will continue to improve. I still think I'd take Matthews, Cushing, Raji, Harvin, and Nicks over him. But he's here and he's a team player so he's got my full 100% support.