A decade that began with so much promise devolved into dysfunction and disappointment.

While it wasn’t all bad, the last seven years of the decade have certainly overshadowed the stellar first three.

Here is a look back at the decade that was for the Oakland Raiders with hopes of a better future.

2000

Record: 12-4, AFC West Champions, lost to Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens in AFC Title Game

Head Coach: Jon Gruden

Summary: The Wonder Kid head coach with the Chucky scowl takes the Raiders out of 90’s mediocrity with a journeyman thrower that he helped to mold into a  franchise QB.

Leading Passer: Rich Gannon 92.4 QB Rating, 3430 yards, 28 TDs, 11 INTs

Leading Rusher: Tyrone Wheatley 1046 yards, 9 TDs

Leading Receiver: Tim Brown 76 catches, 1128 yards, 11 TDs 

Notable Draft Picks: Sebastian Janikowski, Kicker, Florida State (1^st round); Shane Lechler, Punter, Texas A&M (5^th Round)

Draft Notes: Al Davis draws laughs for picking a kicker in the first round. Funny thing is that he might be the best first round pick not named Nnamdi that the Raiders made in the 2000’s. Jano owns a boot like no other (see 61-yard field goal in the cold) and just happens to be the all-time leading scorer in franchise history. Super Shane is statistically greatest punter in NFL history and booms punts that make Ray Guy blush.  

The Seed of the Tuck Rule: Raiders lose to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Title game after Tony Siragusa belly flops on Gannon’s shoulder. They now have rules that protect Tom Brady from being sneezed on but Gannon couldn’t get a roughing flag when Shamu was dry humping his arm. Andre Rison’s 4^th quarter TD is waived off on phantom pass interference, Raider Nation paranoia level goes up a few notches as we all become aware that the NFL doesn’t want us to win. 

2001

Record: 10-6, AFC West Champions, lost to New England Patriots in Divisional Playoffs

Head Coach: Gruden

Summary: Raiders win 10 of first 13 only to drop three straight to end the season. The lat slide dooms then to competing on Wild Card Weekend where the prize for beating the New York Jets in Oakland is a trip to New England to play during a blizzard. This is the final year of the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC. One less divisional rival in the West looms large for Raiders later in the decade.

Leading Passer: Gannon 95.5 QB Rating, 3828 yards, 27 TDs, 9 INTs

Leading Rusher: Charlie Garner 839 yards, 1 TD; 72 catches, 578 yards, 2 TDs

Leading Receiver: Brown 91 catches, 1165 yards, 9 TDs

Notable Draft Picks: Derrick Gibson, Safety, Florida State (1^st round)

Draft Notes: Davis begins his decade long quest to find the greatest defensive back to ever play the game. Gibson spent his entire pro career in Oakland, all five years of it.

The Tuck Rule is Invoked: With a 13-10 lead, late in the fourth quarter, Charles Woodson blitzes Tom Brady, ball comes loose, Greg Biekert dives on the rock, Pats have no timeouts, game over…right? Wrong. Adam Vinatieri becomes a legend, Brady becomes an NFL god and the Raider Nation paranoia level goes to orange. 

2002

Record: 11-5, AFC West Champions, AFC Champions, Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII

Head Coach: Bill Callahan

Summary: Callahan leads Raiders to the Super Bowl with the team that Chucky built where he meets Gruden led Buccaneers that Dungy built. High powered offense in Oakland rips through the AFC winning 7 of their last 8 regular season games after dropping four in a row to conclude first half of the season. Gannon is voted MVP by the associated press and Garner was everything that Darren McFadden should be as a do everything dynamo.  

Leading Passer: Gannon 97.3 QB Rating, 4689 yards, 26 TDs, 10 INTs; NFL MVP

Leading Rusher: Garner 962 yards, 7TDs; 91 catches, 941 yards, 4 TDs

Leading Receiver: Jerry Rice 92 catches, 1211 yards, 7 TDs

Notable Draft Picks: Phillip Buchanon, cornerback, Miami (1^st round); Napoleon Harris, linebacker, Northwestern (2^nd round); Langston Walker, offensive tackle, Cal- Berkeley (3^rd round); Ronald Curry, wide receiver, North Carolina (7^th round).

Draft Notes: Buchanon’s selection makes it consecutive years of DBs in the first round. Harris would later be traded to Minnesota Vikings for Randy Moss. Walker and Curry would later make two of the most memorable plays of the decade for the Raiders on a snowy night in Denver.

The Tuck Rule Fallout: Chucky knows all of Gannon’s tricks, tells Dexter Jackson not to bite on pump fakes, Gannon throws 5 picks, Jackson gets Super Bowl MVP, Chucky gets last laugh as Bucs win with a flattering score of 48-21. Raiders play the game without All-Pro center Barret Robbins who went to Mexico to party the night before the big game. We later learn the haunting tale of Robbins who suffered a manic episode that tragic night; a sad tale that would ultimately be the impending sign of doom for the rest of the decade. Raider Nation paranoia level reaches new heights and actually registers on old Soviet satellites still orbiting in space.

(more…)

Oakland paid tribute to Shell and the '06 Raiders on Sunday.

The Raiders rolled back the clock on Sunday. It was Retro-Raider day at the far-from-sold out Oakland Coliseum as the rival Denver Broncos blew into the Black Hole.

Denver left with a 23-3 victory, a perfect 3-0 record to start the season and first place all to themselves in the AFC West.

Raider Nation left having watched their team give an effort only Art Shell could admire.

The game had everything you’d expect from the ’06 version of the Silver and Black. JaMarcus Russell continues to find ways of making Aaron Brooks look like a franchise quarterback. Darren McFadden fumbles at the most inopportune moments as if his name was LaMont Jordan. The defense made no adjustments and was continuously beat by the same running and passing plays. Richard Seymour even checked in with his first personal foul as a Raider.

Al Davis must have been proud.

Tom Cable is executing Al’s plan to perfection. No thought is ever given to benching Russell no matter how loud the “boos” get. No change in defensive philosophy is made even if Kirk Morrison is getting burned by Brandon Marshall like a Southern California brushfire. No need to give your young quarterback veteran wide receivers if he can’t hit the target to begin with.

This is what Raider football has become. It is a stubborn belief in a losing system as opposed to a winning game plan based on talent.

Photo: Brant Ward / The Chronicle

JaMarcus Russell could develop into a franchise quarterback, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. In fact, it looks like he’ll be seeing a new playbook and a new set of coaches come 2010.

The Denver Broncos didn’t have to do much to win on Sunday. So long as they showed up, there was a good chance the Raiders and their stubborn game plan would be enough to gift victory.

Sure enough, the Raiders did their all to give Denver an easy win.

Penalties, poor decisions, bad coaching, horrendous execution, missed tackles, blown assignments, fumbles, interceptions, missed opportunities and that was just the first half.

The Raiders posted 137 yards of total offense on Sunday, a meaty average of 2.9 yards-per-play.

Ah, yes! A vintage ’06!

The defense gave up 217 yards on the ground to Denver at a clip of 4.8 yards-per-carry.

That stubborn formula did produce some good though. Staying true to form, Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson shutdown everything on the corners, Shane Lechler boomed four punts to the tune of 47.5 yards per-punt and Sebastin Janikowski nailed a 48-yard field goal with stunning power and accuracy.

About the only thing missing from this one was Mike Shanahan flipping Al Davis the bird once the clock hit 0:00 in the fourth quarter.

Where does Tom Cable go from here? How can he top this great homage to the 2006 Raiders?

One way of ensuring this continued and aimless approach to building a champion might be to do the exact same things again. That seems to be the best way of keeping Russell’s completion percentage just slightly above his quarterback rating. Not making any adjustments assures McFadden will have more trouble keeping his hands on the ball than Al Davis will have keeping his off the defense. Not changing a thing assures the ’09 Raiders a chance at matching the ’06 win total of 2 for the entire season.

Ah, yes! I can taste that ’06 now! It tastes like another miserable year of football topped with an off-season spent debating who should be taken with the number one overall pick.

Cheers to Art Shell! This one was for you!

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The best moments from the worst years of Raider Football

Yesterday, I put together a list of the 10 worst moments of the last six years of Raider football.

Not one to dwell on the negative and in attempts to send out some good vibes as another season approaches. Here are the 10 best moments of the last six years of Raider football.

10. The 2007 Draft Class – Yes, it is still pretty early for Al Davis and his scouts to take a victory lap on this one. However, if the way some of the members of this class ended 2008 continues in 2009, then we’re looking at one of the best draft classes a team has had in any decade. JaMarcus Russell’s success will likely define this class since he was the number one overall pick. Beyond Russell you’ll find a future Pro Bowl tight in second round pick Zach Miller, in round three the Raiders found emerging left tackle Mario Henderson at #91 and nabbed return ace Johnnie Lee Higgins with the 99^th pick of the draft. In round four, Mr. Davis rolled the dice on Louisville running back Michael Bush with the 100^th pick. Mix in defensive end Jay Richardson  who was drafted in the 5^th and fullback Oren O’Neal in the 6^th and you’ve got a bright future.

Culepper got his revenge as a Raider

9. Daunte Culepper’s redemption – The Raider organization has long been a landing ground for players cast off by other teams. On September 30^th, 2007, Daunte Culepper etched his name into the book of Raiders who got their revenge by taking apart a Miami Dolphin team that cut him the previous year. Of course, bragging about beating a 1-15 team is a little like boasting of having been with J-LO – everybody’s done it. But none the less it was the last great moment of Daunte Culpepper’s career as he accounted for all five Raider touchdowns that day by running for three and throwing two others.

8. Tom Cable hired as head coach – Time will tell on the hiring of Tom Cable, but after a masterful cleanup job of the ’08 mess, he’s earned the respect of Raider Nation. Cable inherited a team that had a nasty Lane Kiffin hangover yet was able to get the locker room behind him as he led the team to three victories in the final six games including raining on the playoff hopes of Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If history is any indicator, then the best omen possible is that on February 4^th, 2009, Cable was named head coach of the Oakland Raiders exactly 40 years to the exact date John Madden was introduced as head coach in Oakland.

7. Beating the Cowgirls with a stop on 4^th and Goal – One of the best rivalries in all of football takes place on Thanksgiving Day in 2009 as the Raiders travel to Dallas. The last time these two met was on October 2^nd, 2005, with the Raiders getting a hard earned 19-13 victory by stopping the Drew Bledsoe led Cowboys on 4^th and goal. It was among the rarest of all rarities as both LaMont Jordan and Randy Moss eclipsed the 100-yard barrier on the same afternoon as members of the silver and black. Toss in two sacks by Derrick Burgess, a Charles Woodson interception and a Warren Sapp sack – that netted a 15-yard roughing penalty to boot – and you get one of the better team efforts of the last six years.

6.  The AFC West losing steak comes to an end in Arrowhead – Things haven’t been too enjoyable in Kansas City lately. The Raiders were more than happy to add to the misery of Chief fans by snapping a 17-game losing streak against AFC West opponents with a 20-17 victory in Arrowhead on November 25^th, 2007. If there was ever a sign of the apocalypse, it was Michael Huff recording the only interception of his thus far disappointing Raider career that day. Combine Huff’s crowing achievement with 139 yards on the ground from Justin Fargas and the Chiefs never stood a chance. Ok, so maybe starting Brodie Croyle was truly the first sign of impeding doom for Chief fans that afternoon, but the Raiders got the monkey off their back and I got drunk off microbrews in honor.

Carr went the length of the field in '06

5. Chris Carr goes 100 yards to pay dirt – The 2006 Raiders will forever be remembered as the worst offense in NFL history. Things were so bad that when the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers came to the East Bay on October 29^th, 2006, it seemed impossible that the Raiders could win without scoring a single offensive touchdown. Proof that miracles are not confined to 34^th street, the Raider defense picked off Ben Roethlisberger four times, returning two for touchdowns. Nnamdi Asomugha took one back 24 yards in the first quarter and Chris Carr went the length of the field in the fourth quarter to seal a 20-13 win.  

4. Beathing the Chargers – This is just sad. It has been nearly six years, five head coaches and five different starting quarterbacks since last time the Raiders beat the Chargers. One can hardly even call it a rivalry anymore – if it ever really was one to begin with.  You’ve got to roll back the calendar to September 28th, 2003, to find the last victory over the Dolts. It was one of the last great games for anybody who happened to own any Raiders for fantasy football. Rich Gannon led a second half comback as he threw for 348 yards on the day and 3 touchdowns. Both Tim Brown and Jerry Rice eclipsed the 100-yard barrier while Sebastian Janikowski booted a 46-yarder to win the game. Ahhh, memories…

3. Sebastian Janikowski Stands alone – When the Raiders selected Sebastian Janikowski with the 17^th pick in the 2000 draft, the collective football world laughed that an NFL team would select a kicker in the first round. While Seabass has had his issues both on and off the field, he accomplished a remarkable feat in 2008. During the fourth quarter of a boring 17-6 loss at home to the Carolina Panthers, Janikowski hit a 45-yard field goal. The kick would push Sebastian past former Raider great George Blanda as the highest scoring Raider in franchise history.

2. Ronald Curry’s one handed grab and Langston Walker’s best block ever – Before the Raiders embarked on their odyssey of dropping 17 straight to AFC West foes, they won a dramatic game in Denver. It was a Sunday Night game that was straight out of the NFL Films library. Cue John Facenda: On November 28^th, 2004, as the snow blanketed the mile high field in Denver, it would be the Raiders who would emerge victorious from the depths of the blizzard. Cue The Autumn Wind: Trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, Kerry Collins would march the Raiders through the blinding snow as he pillaged the Bronco secondary for two of his four touchdown passes that stormy night. The first of his two fourth quarter TDs was a moment that will forever live in Raider lore. Collins fired a bullet to the back of the Denver end zone and found a leaping Ronald Curry who managed to pull in the frozen pigskin with one hand. Collins again led the Raiders down field, this time hitting Jerry Porter for his third receiving touchdown of the night. Later, with the game on the line, the Broncos’ Jason Elam lined up a kick that would have been the game winner. As the ball left his feet, it was met by  the mammoth 6’8” frame of Langston Walker who emerged from the pile to block the kick. Game over! Raiders win by the score of 25-24!

Bush pushed Chucky into unemployment

1. Michael Bush runs Chucky out of the NFL – On the last Sunday of the 2008 regular season, the Oakland Raiders traveled to Tampa Bay to take on the Jon Gruden led Buccaneers. Tampa was in the driver’s seat. Win and they were in the playoffs. All they had to do was beat a downtrodden Raider team that had nothing to play for. Little did Gruden know, but his years of basking in the karma that brought him to Tampa and gave him a Super Bowl ring with Tony Dungy’s roster was about to return with a vengeance. Chucky, do you know what nemesis means? A righteous infliction of retribution personified, in this case, by a running back out to prove every team wrong that passed on him in the draft because of a broken leg. Michael Bush abused the defense of lame duck coordinator Monte Kiffin with a 177-yard and two touchdown effort, the last of which was a back breaking 67-yard scamper to the end zone that signaled the end of the Chucky era and may one day be seen as the demise of Tampa Bay. Cable got the team to dig deep and in the wake of the aftermath Jon Gruden was fired, Kiffin was given a rude farewell as he was off to coach with his son in Tennessee and the man who ended Rich Gannon’s career, Derrick Brooks, could only hobble after Bush. Brooks was cut at the season’s end and Al Davis, despite not being present at the game, had the last laugh as he had a hand in getting the entire Kiffin family out of the NFL in 2008. Raider fans had their best night of sleep in six years!

Yes, we’ve suffered though the six worst years in franchise history. After 2006, I felt that the worst was behind us. Three years later, I’m still hoping the best is yet to come.

Tom Cable proved he deserves the job, now its time for him to deliver on his promise of getting our team on the field in January.

RAAAAAIIIIIDERS!

RAAAAAIIIIIDERS!

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