The Rise & Fall of the Raider Empire

[RaiderSithLord]

THe following was a three part essay I wrote on my Raiders Blog last year. It was during the coaching search and was written at the time when it was thought that Whisenhunt was going to be brought in. Other than the reference to Whiz, I think it is a pretty good write up on where we have been.

THE RISE

The Rise and Fall of the Raider Empire part I: The Rise

The Humble Beginnings

As the American Football League formed in 1960 no one could have imagined that a force that would conquer and forever change the football landscape would arise from the franchise that landed in Oakland. The AFL was dismissed as a second rate league with second rate talent compared to the older and established National Football League. In fact, the team that would rise the highest out of the AFL, the Oakland franchise, was not even in the original plan. The AFL awarded a franchise to Minneapolis that was moved when the NFL put the expansion Vikings in Minnesota.

When it was announced that Oakland would be the home to the franchise originally slated for Minneapolis, the city of Oakland took a poll and the team was to be named the Señors and they were given the colors of Black and Gold. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the team was renamed the Raiders, which came in third in the poll.

The Raiders did not start out like they were a team destined for greatness, in fact they were terrible. In their first three years they were a putrid 9-33. They played their home games in various locations including Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. They were a bad vagabond team. granted, during this time they already had acquired one player who would play a key role in their eventual rise to greatness, All-AFL center #00 Jim Otto who was selected during their first draft ever.

Enter Al Davis

Prior to the 1963 season the Raiders hired an offensive assistant coach away from Sid Gillman’s San Diego Chargers by the name of Al Davis. Davis’s hiring was a pivotal moment not just for the Raiders and the AFL, but for pro football.

Davis brought with him the phrases that have become synonymous with the Raiders “commitment to excellence,”: “pride and poise,” and “Just Win, Baby.” These phrase sound cliche now, 43 years later, but at the time they were necessary mantras to turn around a struggling franchise.

The slogans, the offensive style and Davis’s instillation of a new attitude turned the Raiders fortunes around immediately. In 1962 under their prior coach Red Conkright and his predecessor Marty Feldman (who was released during the 62 season) the Raider had an abysmal 1-13 record, but in 1963 under Al Davis they brought home a 10-4 record for the greatest one year turn around ever.

Besides the slogans, and the system, Al also changed the colors from the gold and black to the now ubiquitous Silver and Black. He began bringing in players who were bigger badder and meaner than anyone else, they were players who did not fit in in other teams’ uptight cultures, but were awesome football players. Al Davis, like the other greats in coaching valued winning above all else.

Davis served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1963-5 and amassed a record of 23-16-3. Following the 65 season Davis was named the AFL commissioner and John Rauch was named Head Coach.

Rauch coached the team from 66-8 and won the 1967 AFL Championship only to lose to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II.

Almost a Dynasty

The early seventies marked the epoch of the Raider would be dynasty with trips to the AFC championship game in 74, 75, 76 & 77. In the 74 and 75 games the Raiders would be eliminated by their archenemies the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 76 game saw the Raiders defeat the Steelers and go on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings for their first World Championship. The 77 game saw the Raiders lose to their arch rival Denver after a controversial call, but this is getting ahead of myself just a little.

The roots of the dominance of the Raiders lie in Al Davis’s return from the AFL commissioner’s office to become part owner and General Manager of the Raiders following the AFL-NFL merger. Davis opposed the merger, envisioning instead a landscape similar to baseball with separate leagues, but a common draft and a common championship. Lamar Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs was the one who spearheaded the merger as we know it. This left a rift between Hunt and Davis that has not healed to this day. That is one of the reasons for the long standing blood feud between the Chiefs and the Raiders.

Upon Davis’s return to the Raiders, he became a general partner with a small minority share of the team, as well as the director of football operations. Using machinations that would make Machiavelli himself proud, Davis was able to wrest complete control of the team. (To this day, no one outside the organization is positive exactly who owns what share of the Raiders.)

Prior to the 1969 season Davis promoted a little known linebackers coach to Head Coach by the name of John Madden. Madden would be the catalyst that kept the team of misfits playing at a top level. Davis would sign players who had worn out their welcomes with their old teams, players known as misfits who could not fit in. Davis looked at the ability of the player, not the baggage that the player carried. Madden was able to make this eclectic mix of personalities work.

Madden had three rules for his team
1 Be on time
2 Pay attention
3 play your (butt) off on Sunday

Other than that the Raider teams of the Seventies were known for being rowdy, partying hard, and playing harder. The ring leader was the QB Kenny Stabler who was known to brag about studying his playbook by the light of the jukebox. He sure was a good study, under him the Raiders were a winning machine, at least until they got to the playoffs.

The beginning of the string of post season disappointments was the 1972 AFC divisional game against the team that was to dog the Raiders for the rest of the decade, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Raiders held the lead late in the game, Terry Bradshaw faded back to pass and lofted the ball for Frenchy Fuqua who was laid out by Jack Tatum with the ball careening off of Frenchy through the air to the area where Franco Harris was been jogging down the field. Franco grabbed it as it neared the turf and somehow took it to the end zone. The officials gathered to discuss the play because in those days if an offensive player touched the ball, an other offensive player could not make the reception, thus making it an incomplete pass. After a phone call to security to see if they had enough protection, the refs upon finding there was not enough protection to escort them out of the building if they made the correct call of an incomplete pass, ruled it a touchdown thus administering the first of many joke calls to go against the Raiders. (More on this when we get to the 77 AFC championship game & the 01 divisional game) This travesty has gone down in history as the immaculate reception. The Steelers lost the next week to the Dolphins as they completed their perfect season, but laid the groundwork for their coming dynasty.

The 74 and 75 seasons both ended with losses to the eventual champion Steelers. At the dawn of the 76 season, the Raiders came out more determined than ever. Madden told the team that they were not going to do anything fancy, but they were just going to be better than everyone else. By that season, the Raiders were known as the team that could not win the big one. The Raiders played with a renewed fire that year and beat the Steelers in the AFC championship game, and beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

The 77 season promised to be a good one for the defending champions, but it did not go quite as planned. They entered the playoffs as a wild card, but still made to to the AFC championship game after winning the divisional game against the Baltimore Colts in one of the greatest games ever played. (It is called the Ghost to the Post game, and if you ever get a chance to see it on ESPN Classic, I suggest it.) In the championship game, The Broncos had a lead, and were working to go in for another touchdown, but Rob Lyttle fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the Raiders, but the refs said it was not a fumble in another travesty of justice, and the Broncs went on to lose to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

After the 78 season Madden retired citing health reasons, and went on to a storied career in broadcasting. Madden was replaced by former Raider player and asst coach Tom Flores.

Back to the top

The last couple of years of the 70s saw a major remaking of the Raider roster. Fixtures such as linebacker Phil Villapaino and QB Ken Stabler were traded. Willie Brown and Fred Belitnikoff had retired. It looked like the Raiders were set to go into a rebuilding mode.

The 1980 season started out inauspiciously. It seemed that the team could not find its rhythm. Then starting QB Dan Pastorini was hurt and Jim Plunkett took over the reigns. Plunk led the team to a wild card birth, which the team parlayed into a third Super Bowl appearance. The Raiders demolished the Philadelphia Eagles to win their second world championship in 4 years.

End of an era

Following the 1980 season, Davis announced that he was moving the team from their home in Oakland to Los Angeles. The 1981 season was dismal, and included being shut out three games in a row.

The 82 season brought a new face to the Raiders in future Hall of Farmer Marcus Allen. He would help the team compile one of the best records in the league that strike shortened year, only to lose to the New York Jets in the playoffs.

The 83 season saw the Raiders defeat the Washington Redskins for their third Lombardi trophy in a game that saw Allen set the Super Bowl rushing record and bring home the MVP trophy. This would prove to be the last Lombardi trophy that the team would bring home….

The Raider Mystique

During this period of dominance, the Raiders built up a powerful mystique that they were going to win, and ground you into the turf to do it. They played with an intensity that few teams could match. Al Davis always did whatever was necessary to make sure that the best players available would wear the Silver and Black.

The fans at the Oakland Colosseum were among the loudest and proudest of all fans. Oakland at the time was a tough blue collar city, and the Raiders were a tough blue collar team. They played hard and partied hard. It was well known that many of the players would party with the fans at the bars around the training camps in Santa Rosa. There was a synergy there.

In my next segment, I will examine what happened to the Raiders as they fell from their throne….
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THE FALL


This is the second in a series of three posts on the Rise and Fall of the Oakland Raider Empire.

In my first entry I chronicled the Raiders rise to domination, and in this entry I plan on looking at the circumstances and events that led to the Raiders slide into their current state. This is something that has been hotly debated in many barrooms and Internet message boards, and I make no claims that my analysis is in any way authoritative, just the way that I see it.

The beginnings of the end

To examine what has led to the state of the Raiders today, it is important to look at the landscape of the NFL at the time that the Raiders were on top. I will categorize the era of Raider Dominance as 1976-83. That is the period between the first and last Super Bowl wins. The NFL of that era consisted of 26 teams rather than the current 32. There was no free agency or salary cap. If a team was to sign a cast off of another team they had to surrender compensation in the form of draft picks. Players were basically ‘owned’ by the team that drafted them, and could not change teams except via trade or being cut.

All of the above factors are important in understanding the way that the Raiders of the 70s and early 80’s were built. Al Davis was considered a maverick in that he would actively recruit the players that were cut lose from other teams. Many of them were cut lose not because of a lack of talent, but because they didn’t fit in with the rigid rules that most teams had in place at the time. The Raiders were the team of free spirits because they didn’t have to have short hair, wear suits while traveling, or conform to any rules except for Madden’s three basic rules. John Matuszak, Ted Hendricks, & Lyle Alzado are prime examples of the players that Davis picked up that fit into the renegade mold. The other type of player that Davis took a chance on that no one else would was the player who was near the end of their rope or had failed in other systems but had talent. Jim Plunkett was the classic example of this type of pick up. At that time, Al had no competition for signing these players.

There is one factor that I see as the lighting of the fuse for the eventual decline of the Raider Empire. It took place between the 1976 and 1977 seasons. Against the backdrop of the Raiders being the defending world champions for the first time , the NFL made two significant rule changes that would forever hamper defenses. They liberalized the offensive lines’ use of their hands and severely limited the contact that defenders could make with receivers. Prior to the 1977 season, defensive backs could molest receivers all the way downfield until the pass was in the air. After the 1977 season defensive backs could only touch receivers within five yards of the line of scrimmage. The Raiders had always had a great pride in the physicality of their defensive backs, but that took the Raider D-backs out of their game. (If you think that this is not significant 30 years later, just look at all of the pass interference/ illegal contact flags the Raiders endure year in and year out.) Granted, other than the change in institutional philosophy this rule change brought about it is a rather minimal factor. It did, however, begin to reduce the importance of cornerbacks in the grand scheme of things.

Uprooted

If that rule change lit the fuse, the event that prepared the boom was the move from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1981. The early years of the LA Raiders (It pains me greatly to type that phrase) saw a large number of victories, but those early teams were made up of holdovers from the Oakland years.

As I closed my ruminations on the rise of the Raiders, I commented on the symbiosis of the fans in the city of Oakland with the team that is the Raiders. Oakland fans were loud and rowdy, but even more so they were intensely loyal to the Raiders. The players and fans would party together during training camp. There really was no dividing line between the players and the fans. It was one great big dysfunctional family. The Raiders were more than a team they an extension of the city. Then Davis moved the team. The love turned to bitter hatred for many of the once Raider faithful. A very strong bitterness ran through the fans not necessarily at the team, but at Davis.

Free Agency

As the 1980s crawled to a close, there was a shifting of the Earth under the NFL that would remake the path to prominence of many teams. This was the beginnings of the free agency era. No longer could teams automatically hold on to their players. the players could go to the highest bidder. Al was successful in the beginnings of the free agency era bringing on players like Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig and others. These players never reached the promised land of the Super Bowl with the Raiders, but kept the team at or near the top of the AFC West.

The earliest years of the Free Agency era were a complete free for all where teams could just go out and spend bundles of money and stockpile superstars. (For a perfect example of this look at the 49er teams of the early to mid 90s.) The NFL, in its ever present quest for parity, could not let the league be divided into haves and have nots, so they instituted the salary cap.

The free agency era brought a seismic shift in the NFL, not just because teams could suddenly go out and improve overnight, but also that was the death knell for the team spirit that was once prevalent. The players became more about looking out for themselves and getting the fat contract, rather than looking to improve their team. Also, with the advent of free agency many other teams took up Davis’s method of singing players off of other teams that would make an impact right away.

The Salary Cap, Parity and the Modern NFL

The Raider teams of the 60s though the 80s were built by stockpiling the best talent. This is something that is now impossible. Every team has a set amount that they can spend every year in player salaries. This is used so that no team can dominate the league, the way that the Steelers, Raiders, Dolphins, Packers, Niners, and Cowboys had at different times. The tuck created so called dynasty of the Pats is as much a result of the cap forcing teams into mediocrity as it is a great team. (I would like to see Tom Brady face a real defense, something the league no longer allows.)

The cap is the crown jewel in the plan of the late commissioner Pete Rozelle’s plan for parity. His vision of the league was one that precluded dynasties, because all teams were created equal. There are no truly great teams any longer. The one thing about the Patsies is not that they are a great team, but Billicheck has gotten them to play as a team, which is something that is missing in much of today’s NFL culture. (The refs giving them about every call does not hurt either.)

The one area where I think Davis has had the most trouble adjusting is to the parity that is currently in the league. I believe that he thinks that by acquiring the likes of Moss, Jordan, Sapp and any other superstar that would automatically put him over the top as it once did. The problem is that the talent gap between the Steelers (crowned today as the best team) and the Texans is quite small. It is a matter of having the coach that will bring the team together to play as a unit getting the players to forgo their own egos for the sake of their team. This is where Cowher, Bellicheck, Holmgren, et al have created their successes. This was what made the Gruden years so successful in Oakland. This is what I hope Whiz brings to Oakland… I am digressing off point here.

The Raiders do have a history of being in so called cap trouble, but managing to get guys to restructure or making the necessary cuts to not just keep their own guys, but consistently add big names. But, as I said above its not that there is a huge talent gap between any two teams. Al needs to bring in the right coach to maximize the talent that Al brings to the team. Al also looks for the malcontents, that was his way of success back when. The problem is that the ‘malcontents’ that he brought in back in the day loved playing football and wanted to win, they just chafed under the petty rules of their previous teams, or had gotten into some trouble off the field. Today’s malcontents are not about winning, they are about their contract or their playing time to make sure they get the big shoe deal from Nike. (hello, TO)

The Raiders have never been a strong drafting team. In fact, during the domination period we didn’t have many first round picks. Those picks had to be surrendered because we were signing guys from other teams. This lack of draft prowess was covered up by the players that Al did bring in. In today’s ear of parity, strong drafting is more essential. The players brought in though the draft will likely command less of the salary cap, and they will be around longer than the standard free agent acquisition. It does appear that the draft fortunes are improving and that is something that bodes well.

Homecoming

In the mid 90s Davis brought the Raiders home. That seemed line a nobrainer solution. Oakland loves the Raiders. There would be a continuation of the sell outs of the 70s. This was the news that made me very happy. This deal ended up going down as an epic example of what not to do. The effects of this debacle still hang over the Raiders like a storm cloud. It is the very reason that the team does not sell out.

First off, there was the PSL debacle. The Raiders would be selling seat licenses to guarantee the right to buy a seat. This idea did not go over well with the fans. They felt That they were being charged twice for their tickets. That was bad. The worst part of it was that as fans lined up and bought their PSLs, many were turned away after being told that they were all sold out. (not even close.) This inflamed many long resentments toward Davis from the fans.

This morass can be laid at the feet of the no longer extant (Thank the gods for small favours.) Oakland Football Marketing Association. They completely bungled everything. I am not sure they could market a glass of ice water to someone in hell.

At the base of it all lies the history. The Oakland Raider fans of old were beyond loyal to the team. They had a waiting list for season tickets that was 10 years long. The fans kept the Colosseum as the loudest place to play. They loved their Raiders with all their hearts. Al Davis broke our hearts by taking the team to LA. The fans were hurt and betrayed. Those feelings were not easily glossed over by a return home. Not to mention, it is hard to continue the fierce loyalty knowing that Davis could be moving the team again.

OK to this point I have kept it general. I have told you why I think that the Raiders have trouble selling out, and why the Raiders have not been able to become the dominant team that we once were. That charted the issues in a general form from the mid 80s to now. In the next section, I am going to explain my reasons as to why the team fell so quickly from the highs of 2k-2k2 to the disaster that has been 2k3-2k5.

The final slide

The easy answer would be that Jon Gurden was no longer stalking the sidelines. I do believe that has something to do with it. Granted, it was his successor Bill Callihan that guided the team to SB XXVII.

The long answer to that questions begins with the days leading up to the Super Bowl and the disappearance of center Barret Robbins. The offensive line that seasons was awesome, and Barret was the leader of that crew. Barret’s ultimate dismissal from the team caused an upheaval in the offensive line that has yet to gel again. I believe that Gallery and Grove will get it together and turn the line back into a force, but B-Robb’s leadership and skills are sorely missed.

In addition the 2k-2k2 teams were built on vets that Davis brought in. Brown and Rice’s skills Had already greatly deteriorated, when combined with Gannon’s injuries set this team back quite a bit. This has been a rebuilding era, which is something that Nation is not used to.

Next… the future.




THE FUTURE


“The greatness of the Raiders is in the future.”
–Al Davis

The media portrays the situation in the Raiders’ front office as one of turmoil. They have cried long and loud that the hiring of Art Shell was a desperation move, no ‘respectable’ coach wanted to come to Oakland, blah blah, blah. I just simply do not believe that for one second. There are however many questions and dark clouds that do surround the Raider organization that goes beyond the record the last few years and the protracted coaching search. That is what I am looking to address here.

Again, these are my thoughts as a rabid Raider fan, and I have no inside information on the organization.

The biggest question seems to be what will happen when Al moves to that great Skybox. (Although, many people may say he is headed elsewhere, but thats not mine to say.) As was the common theme in the first two installments of this series Al Davis is the Raiders. The entire Raider organization from the top down are a reflection of Al and his personality and his philosophies. In many ways the Raiders and the Raider Nation are nearly a personality cult built around Al. When Al is gone, will the Raiders still be the Raiders that we all know and love or will they truly become just one of 32 teams. No one knows for sure who will assume ownership of the franchise upon Al’s passing, nor what will become of it. Many people believe that Al is grooming Amy Trask to take over the business side of the franchise, with Mike Lombardi to take over the football side, but that is all speculation. Even if that is to come to pass, who will actually get his shares of the ownership, and will they continue to run the team or sell it for the mega profit that a franchise of the Raiders magnitude would command?

My fear is that the ownership will pass to someone who really doesn’t want it. They could pull a John York and just be happy to own a team, and not put out what it takes to continue to have that commitment to excellence. (You can’t believe that Eddie D would have let the Niners fall that far, do you?) Or instead of the Yorkesque ownership, it could be sold to a dot-com billionaire who doesn’t know the first thing about football. Any of the above scenarios do not bode well for a Nation who is used to having a true “football man” as the head of everything.

Then there is the question of will the Raiders remain in Oakland beyond 2011?

That question is much harder to answer. A lot of that depends on whether the ship gets righted as far as selling out the Colosseum. I believe that ship will get righted with the OFMA disaster now out of the picture, but it will also take winning to bring the fans back. I think that will also depend on the ownership situation. Will Al still be running the show, and if not Al, who?

I can only hope and pray that Al’s words are prophetic, and the greatness of the Raiders is still in the future. Once Al leaves, his imprint on this franchise that he has guided and nurtured will begin to fade. The speed of that process will be determined by who his successor is, and we can only hope that his successor is one who knows that the spirit of the Raiders is.

[the_new_Jerry]

“The greatness of the Raiders is in the future.”
–Al Davis