As Raider Nation prepares for a “new era” (Reggie McKenzie’s words, not mine), I thought I’d take some time and countdown my favorite Raider memories from the past 15 years. …I was going to do so from the past 10 years, but let’s face it folks, I don’t think I could have logged even five memories there.

So without further ado, my ‘Top 10 in 15’ (Part One):

10. No More Jamarcus

November 22, 2009

Raiders 20, Bengals 17

In 2007 our great storied franchise was set back several years when Purple Drank was drafted #1 overall. Sure there was optimism and hope when Lane Kiffin drafted him, but when he started his first full season in 2008, it was abundantly clear that Jamarcus was this millennium’s Ryan Leaf. Even still, he was given all the opportunities in the world by both Kiffin and then later Cable, but again, nothing came to fruition. The man had more turnovers than a Betty Crocker cookbook!

So why do I mention Aunt Jamarcus with my #10 choice? Well, this was the first game in the post-Jamarcus era for the Oakland Raiders. It was cool that we won – I’ll take that all day, every day, but it was even better to see that Al Davis was finally listening to reason when he pulled Russell. It took nearly two full seasons for the team to bench him, but I guess it could have been far worse.

So this game was special because the future for the Raiders finally started looking bright. And, it was even better because Oakland won. Bruce Gradkowski, whom you’ll find out from this countdown that I loved, stepped in as the signal caller and orchestrated an upset of the previously 7-2 Cincinnati Bengals.

Specifically about this game, it ended with high drama. Gradkowski threw a game tying touchdown with 33 seconds left to one Louis Murphy, and then on the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders forced a fumble and got the ball back. Seabass was able to put it away in the closing seconds with a field goal. The dramatic win was just the cherry on top to the brighter future the Raiders suddenly had inherited.

9. Dolphin Slaughter

January 7, 2001

AFC Divisional Playoff Game

Raiders 27, Dolphins 0

January 7, 2001 was the Raiders first playoff appearance in seven years, and it was the first for me as a Raiders fan (I converted in 1994). Raider Nation was on pins and needles for this one – Oakland had just finished 12-4, had won the West, and had earned a bye during the Wildcard weekend. The Dolphins won in the wildcard round and earned the right to come into the Black Hole and face the lethal combo of Jon Gruden and Rich Gannon. Still to this day, there has never been a better pairing of quarterback and coach.

This game was just fun to watch. A shut out during the playoffs? Can anything be sweeter? I remember this game looked a little ugly at first. Our journeyman quarterback was having a hard time moving the ball, and their journeyman quarterback (Jay Fiedler) was starting to get the ball rolling. Mid way through the first quarter the Dolphins had made it into the red zone when none other than Tory James picked the ball off and took it back for 6. Do you remember that defensive back tandem we had? Tory James and Charles Woodson. No offense to the current regime, but it sure beats the heck out of Ronald Bartell and Shawntae Spencer.

The Raiders had this game all locked up by halftime, as Gannon was as efficient as ever (10 of 13 for 117 yards) and Wheatley ran the ball with great ease, of course. I tell ya…just remembering this game is making me nostalgic on what we had.

Not to rain on the parade, but the good times would only last that day, as the following week Tony Siragusa and all 400 pounds of him came to town and pretty much broke Gannon’s collar bone. Unfortunately Wade Wilson couldn’t save us against that defense.

8. Carson’s Got Game

November 10, 2011

Raiders 24, Chargers 17

This one’s the latest on this countdown – from just last season. It was Carson’s third game with the Raiders, and was played a mere 20 days after he signed with the team. The man was barely learning the playbook when he was asked to step at QB and play the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football. At stake: the winner would be in sole possession of first in the West.

Carson had had a lot of pressure on him since his whirlwind trade from the Bengals three weeks prior. Many people questioned the sanity of Hue Jackson for how much he gave up, and many people questioned if Carson had anything left in the tank. Well, on national TV, Carson for at least that night, brought question to the doubters. His numbers might not have been great, but the man played with conviction, energy, and leadership.

Other than Carson stepping into his own, this game had a lot of memorable moments. Denarius Moore had his coming out party as his speed and ability were on the ultimate of displays – five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, the defense really stepped up in this one, as Philip Rivers was intercepted in the endzone with just three minutes left. And, oh yeah, it’s never a bad thing to beat the Chargers. This one made it three straight in favor of the Silver and Black!

7. The Raiders Clinch the West

December 24, 2000

Raiders 52, Panthers 9

Raider Nation was given quite the gift on the first Christmas of the millennium when our boys in Silver and Black clinched the Western Division crown and a trip to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. I remember this game fondly. The Raiders had to win, otherwise Denver was going to win the west, and as it would turn out, the Raiders would have then had to travel to Baltimore during the wildcard weekend. That would have meant no playoff wins for another year.

Luckily, Oakland raised to the challenge. At first I was a little nervous, because even though Oakland was literally scoring on every possession, so too were the Panthers – although maybe not in such big chunks. In the first half, it seemed like for every touchdown Oakland scored, Carolina scored a field goal. While that is a good thing, so much was at stake that it made me uneasy. That uneasiness was laid to rest however as Gannon literally lit up the score boards. The man threw for five touchdowns, and Eric Allen (another great Raider corner) ran one back for a touchdown. The Raiders finished the game with a 52 to 9 trouncing of the Panthers.

I still have newspaper clippings from this game – with Darrien Gordon (I loved him) being propped up by teammates after he had returned a fumble for a 74 yard touchdown. Since we’re on memory lane here, let me just shout out a few other names that contributed in a big way this season that we may forgotten about over the years. Rickey Dudley. More like Rickey Studley – what a great tight end he was for us. We’ve already mentioned Tyrone Wheatley earlier, but here’s one that I think very few remember – one Andre ‘Bad Moon’ Rison. I believe this was his last season with the Raiders, as once we got Jerry Rice in the next season, Rison was cut, but man was he fun to watch. He brought a swagger to that wideout lineup. Man, what a team.

To cap off this wonderful Raider memory, the team circled around the stadium and made it a point to high five and give thanks to the fans. Something tells me the Black Hole will be getting the same treatment sometime this year too.

6. A Gradkowski Glimpse Into What Could Have Been

December 6, 2009

Raiders 27, Steelers 24

I was just sifting through some old articles related to this game, and here is what one headline said:

“The Oakland Raiders? Suddenly they’re winning like they did in the old days, with remarkable comebacks and surprise finishes.”

This game was the second week in the post Jamarcus era, as well as the second week in the very short lived Bruce Gradkowski era. If you ask me, I think Gradkowski should have been given much more of a chance than he was. I don’t think the Raiders ever should have brought in Jason Campbell, and I think if Tom Cable had been able to have his way, this would have happened. Gradkowski was like a more talented, quicker Rich Gannon. The man could run, throw, and motivate. And this game exemplified that.

The 6-5 Steelers hosted the dismal Raiders in a midseason clash that meant everything to the playoff hopeful hometown team. Things boded well for Pittsburgh as they led 10 to 6 in the beginning of the 4^th. But then the bald man from Toledo (my man Bruce) took over. It was a thrilling fourth quarter as the two teams exchanged touchdown after touchdown – 35 points were scored in the fourth quarter alone.

With 1:56 left in the 4^th quarter, Big Ben threw what was at the time, a potential game winning touchdown to Hines Ward as Pittsburgh went up 24 to 20 on Oaktown. Now, if JMarc was still the QB in this game, 1:56 would have been enough time for him to throw three incompletions and for him to eat a 12 inch hoagie sandwich. That was not the case however with Gradkowski. For the first time since what seemed like the Gannon era, Gradkowski orchestrated the two minute drill flawlessly and capped it off with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy with nine seconds left. What a game, what a finish. It’s unfortunate that even with showings like this, Gradkowski was never given the proper backing he deserved.

The ‘Top 10 in 15’ list will conclude in my next posting, but until then, I invite you all to sound off on your favorite Raider memories over the past 15 years. Feel free to discuss the ones I’ve talked about already too!

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Just because your pops tosses you the keys to his ride doesn’t mean you’re responsible enough to drive. Pat Bowlen learned that the hard way when he bought in on all the Josh McDaniels hype, ditto for Al Davis and the lies told by Lane Kiffin. Those two duds were ghostriding the whip in drive instead of neutral like the newbies they were.

Now when your dad asks you to look under the hood and get the ride up and running again that is a much different demand. Forget cruising, this is a task meant only for those that can be trusted. Sometimes dad makes the wrong decision, placing his ride in the hands of a moron that looks for YouTube videos on engine repair such as the hack job Matt Millen did in Detroit. In other instances the old man seeks out a steady hand with the knowledge necessary get that car off of blocks and back on the street.

In the case of Mark Davis trusting Reggie McKenzie to get the car out of the garage and back on the track you’d have to say it has thus far been the best decision made by the Raiders since they cut ties with #2.

The Raiders have yet to play a game in the McKenzie era but you can’t help but feel as if their prospects have already improved. Now, I’m not saying McKenzie will guarantee success. In fact his rebuilding job isn’t a full on engine overhaul. He’s inheriting a team that has missed the playoffs but by only a small margin for two years running.

McKenzie was hired to get under the hood to make fixes necessary to get this car at top performance again. Not to rebuild the entire block.

If you were to design a man in a lab for the job of running the Raiders then McKenzie would be the Frankenstein of the silver and black front office. A machinelike man brought to life by the challenge of improving an historic franchise while working with no budget and no draft picks.

McKenzie’s track record says it all.

He played linebacker for the Raiders so McKenzie knows all too well what it means to be a Raider. He made his bones as a scout by seeking out diamonds in the rough that aren’t obvious to the so-called draft experts. My man is perfect for handling Oakland’s 2012 draft which features only five picks of which the first choice isn’t until the 95^th slot. For good measure McKenzie learned the front office ropes in Green Bay where champions are built on the field and not in the checkbook.

All in all there just isn’t another human being out there that could have stepped in as a first time general manager and hit the ground running like McKenzie has.

His first order of business was a real wakeup call. Canning Hue Jackson might have seemed rash but considering Jackson is now working with the special teams in Cincinnati that moves feels very justified. Of course Dennis Allen will have to just win, baby in order to really make that move as sensible as it seems.

Up next was the slicing and dicing of payroll. Al Davis didn’t run the Raiders into the ground with his spending but all those bulky contracts were certainly weighing down a franchise that needed to drop weight in order to get up to speed.

After that came the very frugal approach take in free agency. No need to devour an entire 8oz steak when smaller bites will fill you up just the same. The Raiders didn’t grab any headlines with their free agent acquisitions but they didn’t put themselves in position for another salary purge next year either.

Now the draft is on the horizon. This is where we’ll really see McKenzie shine. Like all men with great football minds, McKenzie enjoys the evaluating process. Any jerk can skim the internet for highlights and opinions of the top prospects. It takes great vision to find the guys that aren’t on magazine covers but are more than necessary to fill the pages inside with quality content. Al Davis had that trait so it seems only natural McKenzie would be so ideal for Mark Davis.

All that said we’re still not at a point where McKenzie is ready to hand the keys to Allen. He’s still got a little more tweaking to do before this car is ready to leave the shop. Nothing promises the Raiders will be the first across the line after the checkered flag is waved. But at least you know the car won’t breakdown before it gets back on the track. Having a realistic chance to compete is about all you can honestly ask. With McKenzie the Raiders will be in the race for years to come.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

With NFL free agency set to begin in the very near future it looks like the Oakland Raiders will once again be on the sideline. Not since the ill-advised Al Davis spending tsunami of ’08 have the Raiders actually been players in free agency. Instead free agency lately has been limited to giving hefty raises to players before they hit the open market and signing marginal veterans such as Khalif Barnes and Kevin Boss.

This year, even with all the swirling change around the East Bay, won’t be much different.

What will be much different is Oakland’s approach to retaining their players. Mr. Davis never shied away from paying whatever price it took to keep his men in Silver and Black. I don’t pretend to be an Alameda insider but I’m guessing that Davis didn’t see much value it keeping Michael Bush around.

Sure, Davis rolled the dice on drafting the talented but injured prospect. Davis was willing to pay Bush for an entire year while all he did was rehab on the Raiders dime. Davis was the one who insisted on keeping Bush despite the constant inquires from teams seeking to trade for his services.

Davis was also the man that didn’t even try to talk contract with Bush last offseason. Davis was more than willing to give Bush the highest contract tender possible for a restricted free agent but nothing more.

With or without Al Davis in the picture the Raiders were headed to this very moment of deciding on keeping Bush or letting him walk.

The gamble wasn’t much of one at all. There was every reason to think Darren McFadden, at some point, was going to miss time due to injury. It’s happened every year he’s been in the NFL. What else has happened is that during those moments when McFadden is out Bush has stepped in and stepped up. The Raiders knew there was a great chance of Bush putting together a career year thus raising his value on the open market.

Wouldn’t you know it? Guess what happened? Michael Bush put together his best season as a pro including a record setting game against the San Diego Chargers.

Reggie McKenzie didn’t put himself in this bind but he’s the one to deal with it now. Like so many things in life, the easiest way to deal is to do nothing at all.

In my estimation the Oakland Raiders will do little to try and retain Bush. For the $7-million it would cost to franchise him the team could go out and get themselves a true number one corner. For the number of years Bush is seeking and the amount of carries he’ll expect he’d be better suited going elsewhere.

This relationship has run its course.

Bush has been fantastic in the absence of McFadden. However in his first season as a feature back you saw what the wear and tear did to the former Louisville Cardinal. He, like the rest of the roster, wore down. Chalk that up to whatever you want to but I never saw Justin Fargas run out of gas when Lane Kiffin was slamming him into a brink wall 25+ times a game.

To be sure McFadden can’t be counted on to remain healthy. But that alone cannot make Bush an affordable luxury. Not to mention between the two there is no comparison.

Bush is a remarkable athlete with plenty left in the tank. Still, he’s nothing close to being the explosive game breaker McFadden is. Bush can wear down a defense then explode whereas McFadden can take a game over with his first touch. Look around the league and you’ll see plenty of runners that resemble Bush but few that are McFadden-like.

This is not meant to disrespect Bush in any way. This is just the business of football. A business Bush got a taste of last offseason. Let’s not forget how long it took Bush to sign his tender and report to camp. He wasn’t a holdout by any means but he was the last man to show up. That should say something about how the franchise viewed him then and how he felt about the way his situation was handled as well.

These days the Raiders are all about cutting costs. Bush doesn’t, in any way, factor into that equation. He’s a quality back for sure but in Oakland is nothing more than an insurance policy. In due time the Raiders will be at the crossroads with McFadden too. Don’t be surprised if we’re having a similar conversation then depending on how his health issues go.

Such is the life of an NFL running back. With or without Bush the Raiders could have missed the playoffs last year. That will factor in heavily on many of the roster moves that are coming. A $7-million security blanket just isn’t in the cards on McKenzie’s watch.