Despite all that the Raiders are still in a better place for having passed on Michael Crabtree.

On draft day the collective football world laughed when Hey-Bey came off the board before Crabtree. In actuality the real crime is that DHB and Crabtree were picked ahead of Hakeem Nicks. But that’s another topic.

Today we’re just focusing on all the reasons why the 49ers are the team that really whiffed on draft day nearly three years ago.

Since becoming a resident of The City Crabtree has done little to dispel the notions of his diva nature. While his production has been much better than Heyward-Bey’s his attitude has helped to continue the struggles of that other Bay Area football team.
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The overrated genius of Paul Hackett.

It is far too easy to assign a large portion of the blame for the Raiders’ 1-4 start on the horrendous play of JaMarcus Russell. Through 5 games, Russell’s numbers are as terrible as you’ll ever see in the National Football League. With a completion percentage (42.1%) well below his QB rating (47.1), it is more than fair to criticize the young signal caller for failing to take the necessary steps in becoming the face of the franchise.

However, when you’re offense hasn’t gained more than 200-yards in a game since September. There is more than enough blame to go around.

At the conclusion of ’08, JaMarcus Russell was looking like he was on his way to becoming the player Al Davis envisioned when he selected the former LSU Tiger number one overall. Russell played three masterful games to conclude the 2008 season, completing 63% of his passes, throwing 6 TDs to just 2 INTs and most importantly leading the Raiders to consecutive victories.

What has changed since last season? Paul Hackett. That is the glaring difference between then and now.

Russell’s work ethic might not be legendary, but he was certainly doing something right last year.

Has JaMarcus mysteriously forgotten everything he’s ever learned in the game of football?

Could it be that Russell has an evil twin who has taken his place, wearing #2 on Sundays?

Is JaMarcus intentionally trying to throw games in hopes of being benched so he won’t have to take hits from 300-pound lineman any longer?

Or, is Paul Hackett simply doing what he does best – ruining good talent.

When looking at Hackett’s resume, it becomes clear that there is a consistent pattern of underachievement.

As a head coach, Hackett was never going to be confused with John Madden. In his three years as the big man on campus at the University of Pittsburgh, Hackett led the Panthers to a woeful record of 13-20-1. In 1998, Hackett took the reigns from his mentor, John Robinson, at USC. In each of his three years, the Trojans’ win totals decreased, finally bottoming out as Hackett led USC to a place the storied program had never been before – dead last in the Pacific 10 Conference.  

Hackett was replaced by Pete Carroll and the rest is modern college football history. Carroll quickly returned the Trojans to their glory days and Hackett was back to the NFL.

Interestingly enough, Hackett did not leave the cupboard empty for Carroll. All-Pros Carson Palmer and Troy Polamalu were both Hackett recruits. Under the tutelage of Hackett, Palmer arrived at Southern Cal with a bounty of potential yet never seemed as if he’d progress any. When Carroll arrived with Norm Chow in tow, Palmer blossomed into a Heisman winner and eventual number one overall selection in the NFL draft.

Some can be attributed to Palmer’s injuries, but most can be traced to Hackett and his inability to either inspire or lead.

As an offensive coordinator, Hackett has been blessed with some standout NFL talent. He might not have been calling plays for the likes of Joe Montana and Marcus Allen in their prime, but his offense in Kansas City was sporadic at best, ranking as high as 5^th in the league to as low as 24^th. Not surprisingly, after his departure, the Chiefs’ offense was ranked in the top 10 for 6 of the next 8 seasons. Hackett’s parting gift to the Chiefs was to help develop Rich Gannon into a franchise quarterback for the Raiders. Perhaps his crowing achievement, though it would be hard to argue with the role Jon Gruden played in the growth of Gannon.  

The last time Hackett was an NFL play caller was in 2004 as a member of the New York Jets’ coaching staff. During his four years under Herm Edwards, Hackett’s offense never ranked higher than 17^th and was as low as 23^rd. His unit was below average despite having an All-Pro runner in Curtis Martin, talent out wide in Wayne Chrebet and Laveranues Coles, a dominating offensive line and a young quarterback named Chad Pennington.

Russell has played his worst football under Hackett.

Pennington’s progress, or lack thereof, is the most glaring example of what Raider fans can expect from JaMarcus Russell. All the things that Russell isn’t, Pennington was before Hackett ever coached him. Pennington arrived in New York as an accurate thrower who made good decisions and had excellent footwork. All the tools any coach could ask for from a young quarterback. Pennington showed flashes of brilliance, but never evolved into the “Joe Montana” prototype he was billed as.

Russell is everything Pennington never could be. He is a natural talent with instincts that can’t be coached and an arm the likes of which has never been seen.

Hackett’s conservative approach to coaching Russell has stunted his growth. When watching JaMarcus play, you can see him thinking instead of reacting. Quarterbacks must do what comes naturally by relying on their instincts; this is the essence of the position. Coaches must find ways to rely on the talent of their players while helping to refine their skills; this is the essence of the job. If Hackett coached Brett Favre, you’d better believe that you’d never see him even attempt the type of throw he made to beat the San Francisco 49ers just a few weeks ago. Sometimes, making the right decision must be ignored when a QB believes that making a play is possible. 

Hackett is no longer an NFL play caller and might not ever be again unless Tom Cable is relieved of his duties this year. Of course, Hackett would have to leap frog the “passing game coordinator” Ted Tollner first.

Given his track record, the decline of JaMarcus Russell should have seemed inevitable under Hackett.

Russell is playing worse than ever and Hackett cannot be excused from that. There is no progress being made. Nothing changes from week to week. If Russell is following instructions, then he is getting horrible coaching. If Russell is ignoring instructions, then Hackett needs to be more vocal in his displeasure with his pupil. These are the traits of a leader. These are the tools Hackett does not have in his arsenal.

The worst part is that should Cable be excused from his head coaching duties for any reason, Hackett could very well become the man in charge.

Unable to inspire; incapable of getting the most of his talent; Paul Hackett could be the worst thing to happen to the Oakland Raiders in 2009.

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Six years of miserable football boiled down to 10 horrible moments

Since that tragic loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Oakland Raiders have been a franchise in free fall.

In the six seasons since Chucky exacted his revenge on Al Davis, the Raiders have won just 24 games while losing 72 contests along the way.

Here are the 10 worst moments of those last six years.

Huff's reign was short lived

10. Drafting Michael Huff –While the jury is still out on JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden and now Darrius Heyward-Bey, it would appear that the ruling on Michael Huff is a unanimous choice to give his Raider career the death penalty. Huff Daddy was the 7^th pick in the 2006 draft, a draft that might go down as the biggest collection of busts this side of Dolly Parton and a pre-op Soliel Moon Frye. After being benched halfway through his third year in the NFL, the Raiders drafted a virtual unknown safety by the name of Michael Mitchell to replace him. Huff has recorded just one interception, one sack and one safety in 39 career starts.

9. Joe Flacco’s Demolition of Oakland – In week 8 of the 2008 season, the Baltimore Ravens took apart the Raiders to the tune of 29-10. That afternoon, the Raider defense made rookie Joe Flacco look like Joe Montana. Flacco threw a 70-yard TD in the first quarter, ran for a TD from 12 yards out in the fourth quarter and to add insult to injury, Flacco burned linebacker Ricky Brown for a 43-yard reception as well.

8. The 2008 Raider Free Agency Class – Few franchises have shown such poor personnel decisions in a decade as the Raiders did in just one summer. Last year, Al Davis committed $70 million to DeAngelo Hall, $55 million to Javon Walker, $39 million to Gibril Wilson and $16 million to Kwame Harris. Hall played opposite Nnamdi Asomugha and got undressed more often than Vida Guerra. The Raiders severed ties with MeAngelo just 8 games into a 7-year deal. Wilson and Harris were both let go just one year after signing multiyear contracts. Meanwhile, Walker caught a grand total of 15 passes in ’08 then needed season ending ankle surgery and is now attempting to comeback from a secret knee surgery he had during the offseason.

Janikowski runs like a three legged bear

7. Sebastian Janikowski’s Fake Field Goal – If you met Sebastian Janikowski on the street, you most likely would think he’s either a construction worker or a bouncer for a Ukrainian night club. As Tom Cable learned the hard way, it just won’t end well when you try to give the ball to a 260 pound kicker who runs a 7.5 second 40-yard dash. A winnable game against the Kansas City Chiefs became a 20-13 loss thanks in large part to Cable’s gutsy yet misguided effort to fool everyone in the stadium including his own team.

6. Tyler Brayton knees Jeremy Stevens in the “man region” – Losing 16-0 on Monday Night Football and allowing 9 sacks is embarrassing. Losing your cool and kneeing an opponent in the package – even if that opponent is as dirty as Borat’s bed sheets – is reason to stop watching football all together. It still amazes me that the Raiders won two games in 2006. That ’06 team will forever be remembered as the worst offense in NFL history and for Tyler Brayton giving Seahawk tight end Jeremy Stevens a friendly reminder of where the Raider stereotypes come from.

5. Opening Night Losses on National Television – The start of each season brings the hope of a new day. If you’re a Raider fan, the start of each of the last six seasons has been a reminder of just how much liquor you’ll need to make it to the New Year. Twice in the last three years the Raiders have opened the season in primetime on Monday Night and they’ve lost those two games by a combined score of 68-14. The Chargers rolled the Raiders in a Monday Night sack fest in 2006 to the tune of 27-0. Then Jay Cutler, rookie Eddie Royal and every player in a Bronco jersey picked on DeAngelo Hall in route to a 41-14 loss on the ’08 Monday Night debacle. History is against us, but the Raiders and Chargers will again be on Monday Night to open the 2009 season. Let’s hope that Tom Cable plants a few land mines on the Charger sideline for that night.

Art Shell: The look of futility

4. Rehiring Art Shell – Al Davis had an Uncle Rico moment in 2006 when he tried to relive his football past. Davis turned back the clock to 1990 and rehired Art Shell. Shell’s stoic sideline glare became the face of ineptitude. As if the Art Shell move wasn’t bad enough, the Raiders topped themselves by resurrecting the career of offensive coordinator Tom Walsh. Walsh was out of pro football for more than a decade and had been running a bed and breakfast in Idaho. Walsh’s dubious contribution to the NFL record books was to place Randy Moss in the annals as having played for not only the highest scoring offenses in football history but also as a member of one of the worst ever. Walsh’s offense tallied just 168 points in 2006, an average of 10.5 per game. If history holds to form, expect to see a Mike White rehiring in 2011.

3.  Trading Randy Moss to the Patriots – The Randy Moss era in Oakland will go down as one of the worst marriages in pro sports since Mike Ditka took the plunge with Ricky Williams. By the time the Raiders were ready to move Moss, his value had fallen so far that the Patriots were the only team willing to give up anything higher than a 5^th round pick. The Raiders got a fourth round pick and the Pats got a nearly perfect season out of the deal. While the arrogance of the Hoddie was squashed by an epic failure in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants, the Raiders cannot be excused from getting nothing out of the most dangerous weapon in the modern game. Moss has played for the highest scoring offenses in NFL history yet was only good for 6 wins in two years in the East Bay.

2. Brett Favre’s Defining Moment – Brett Favre will be remembered for many things. Among the Favre memories are his myopic attempts to stay in the spotlight and his destruction of the Oakland Raiders only one day after the passing of his father. Favre gave John Madden a Viagra free night on the evening of December 22^nd, 2003, by torching the Raiders with 4 first half TD passes in route to a 41-7 spanking on Monday Night. For the rest of the world it was heart warming and inspiring. For Raider Nation, it was sickening and painful.

The symbol of Raider football since 2003

1. The Painful End to Rich Gannon’s Career – Gannon was the last great offensive player to wear Silver and Black. He was a dedicated leader with a tireless work ethic and a hunger for perfection. The journeymen QB would lead the Raiders to three consecutive AFC West titles, a birth in the Super Bowl and was named the NFL’s most valuable player in 2002. As fate would have it, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jon Gruden were responsible for the decline of the Raider franchise in more ways than one. Gruden’s squad gave Gannon the two worst moments of his career in both the Super Bowl loss and the injury that would end his career. A helmet-to-helmet hit with Derrick Brooks left Gannon with a broken vertebra in his neck. With Gannon’s inevitable retirement, the Raiders have spun out of control and are now mired in the worst six year stretch in NFL history.  

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the 10 best moments of the last six years. Yes, there are actually 10 of them.

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