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

[ErMonnezza]

And who was going to throw him the ball?

matt schaub.....we had the give him some money we gave to the javaon walkers an the deangelo halls.
if you need a QB and there isn-t one in the draft then you trade or go after a FA QB, instead of wasting a pick.

schaub cj and moss would have been a good offense......

russell+randy moss traded for nothing+horrible FA signings= DISASTER

[DSOTM]

matt schaub.....we had the give him some money we gave to the javaon walkers an the deangelo halls.
if you need a QB and there isn-t one in the draft then you trade or go after a FA QB, instead of wasting a pick.

schaub cj and moss would have been a good offense......

russell+randy moss traded for nothing+horrible FA signings= DISASTER

Sounds great in retrospect but name a team that had the #1 pick that needed a qb and didnt draft one and aquired the qb in a trade or fa.

We needed qb and took a chance with the #1 pick and failed, we are not the 1st team to have this backfire. Im not trying to justify the pick all im saying is that ever pick is a crap shoot more or less and when the higher picks turn into busts it it is magnified more

[ErMonnezza]

Sounds great in retrospect but name a team that had the #1 pick that needed a qb and didnt draft one and aquired the qb in a trade or fa.

We needed qb and took a chance with the #1 pick and failed, we are not the 1st team to have this backfire. Im not trying to justify the pick all im saying is that ever pick is a crap shoot more or less and when the higher picks turn into busts it it is magnified more

I agree with you the draft it's a factory of dreams ,and everyone dreams to win the biggest prize, a franchise QB, even when there isn't one.

I thought and I think we had to go for the best player available, and a vet QB, that was the raiders way!
for once Al had to pick the freak athlete he didn't

it happens, draft is not an exact science.

[Hayes_Raider]

Such a shame we get the #1 pick in one of the worst qb classes in my memory.. All the great qbs seem to be coming out every year but 2007. Russell, Quinn, Edwards, McCoy, Kolb.. All busts.. Dam that pisses me off haha

[Hypnotoad]

after 2005 the $hit really hit the fan! kerry collins shouldnt have been let go IMO he was a top five qb in 2004

First of all, holy crap no he wasn't.

I can't fault Al too much for the Gallery and Russell picks because they wer ethe consensus. What I can fault him for is the multitude of horrific decisions he made that you conveniently left off of your little "recaps".

[s_adams66]

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

Calvin Johnson and then take a QB in the 2nd or trade up to take one in the late 1st.

[corleone]

First of all, holy crap no he wasn't.

I can't fault Al too much for the Gallery and Russell picks because they wer ethe consensus. What I can fault him for is the multitude of horrific decisions he made that you conveniently left off of your little "recaps".

Calvin Johnson was the consensus number 1 player on every draft experts board and was who I wanted us to draft. Gallery was the consensus pick in 2004, and at the time a very good pick, but he busted as a LT. Hindsight is 20/20, but anyone can go back and search the 2004 posts, I wanted Eli if he slipped to #2 and Roethlisberger otherwise. I stand by my decision and wish we would have gone that route rather than Gallery/Jamarcus. If we make the right choice and go Roethlisberger, we never have this debate.

[s_adams66]

i agree drafting o-line was a good idea at the time and gallery and grove seemed safe enough picks. i dont fault Al for trying to get a starting LT for the next decade the thinking was solid there. The jamarcus pick is another story. i hated the pick. a good portion of my posts on this site were attained campaigning for anyone but russell. way too many red flags. I wanted peterson. a lot on this site wanted him and quite a few wanted johnson. Russell actually said he wanted to play for whoever paid him the most money. man did that statement prove to be telling.

the day we drafted russell was one of the worst days of my life as a raider fan. i was sick to my stomach. some fool on this site who shall remain nameless was raving over and over "jamarcus is the truth, jamrcus is the truth, how could you think it would be anyone else?". i gave russell my support as a raider even put him in my sig and hoped i was wrong. never has being so completely right about something been so unsatisfying.

I thought we were good with Gallery and Grove as well.

I also was a huge advocate for Calvin at the time and wanted no freakin part of Russell. I remember being at a draft party with my buddies and they knew how much I was against the Russell pick. I chugged a drink before the pick and when he was drafted and they all laughed my face went red and I chose to chug another drink. It was such a bad day. I supported the guy once we chose him but you are right. Never has being so completely right about something been so unsatisfying.

[raider4llf]

2005 was my first season of a fan. It's kind of cool to see you summarize the seasons like that and realize how recent the success had been before that. It was only a 3 year difference, like the one between now and 3 years ago when we were coming off a season that Russell ended well (vs. Texans and @ Bucs). That doesn't seem so long ago. But that 2002 season (and 2003/04) might as well be ancient history to me... It's hard for me to grasp the idea of a winning Raiders team so until we actually make the playoffs it still feels like dark ages for me. I can't wait to see this team in the playoffs.

[Garner25]

WE also coulda had Joe Thomas or Adrian peterson, but that's beside the point. It's no use isolating one or two drafts. The majority of the drafts for the last two decades the team has come up short. They just have not found enough quality players, whether it's early rounds or late. Just tally up the number of pro bowl appearances by players we picked and you'll see what I mean.

And that is what you see reflected in the W-L record, not just for those seven years but most of the last 25+.

For me the disapointment of the JaMarcus pick I was That I was ok at first before he fell apart..We desperatly needed a QB and I was reserved on my judgement..Then he went totally downhill and all then we saw the talent that came and how those handfull of maybe hall of famers are still dominating today..because don't forget about Patrick Willis and Revis came in that draft also..

Uhh...sigh....tear..

[DSOTM]

Calvin Johnson and then take a QB in the 2nd or trade up to take one in the late 1st.

Was Calvin even a thought for the Raiders?

[s_adams66]

Was Calvin even a thought for the Raiders?

Good job in editing otherwise you would be down to one nut.


http://www.raiderfans.net/forum/2007...ml#post1782137

[s_adams66]

Was Calvin even a thought for the Raiders?

If you mean Al Davis then I don't have the answer for you. I just know that I as well as many other fans here did not want JaMarcus or Brady Quinn.

[kinz]

If you mean Al Davis then I don't have the answer for you. I just know that I as well as many other fans here did not want JaMarcus or Brady Quinn.

Didn't want either ALL DAY on draft day.

[albertpolay]

That 2006 season still haunts my dreams. and the fact that it led to the Jamarcus Russell pick is the icing on the sh!t cake. What a kick in the balls.

I agree