If you’re a member of the Nation then that statement is very old news for you. I’m sure we could spend the better part of day telling stories of the random places we’ve run into fellow Nation members throughout the world.

One place you might not expect to meet a member of the Nation is congress. But that could all change if former Raider Napoleon Harris wins his bid to replace recently resigned Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

Already a member of the Illinois senate, Harris is looking to further his political career. Many will remember Harris as Oakland’s starting middle linebacker after being taken 23^rd overall out of Northwestern back in ‘02. He was a member of Oakland’s last Super Bowl team and is infamously linked to Randy Moss as a part of the trade that brought the talented yet troubled wide receiver to the Raiders.

Harris also did a little time in Kansas City before returning to the Raiders in ’09 where he was in camp for all of five days before being released.

If you listen closely you can her the sound of the door being slammed shut on the Randy Moss trade.

The final connection to the Randy Moss era in the East Bay is gone. Yesterday the Oakland Raiders placed cornerback John Bowie on waivers. Today he cleared waivers allowing the Raiders to place Bowie on IR for the remainder of the season.

Bowie will forever be known as the man the Raiders drafted with the 4^th round pick acquired from the Patriots back in 2007 in exchange for Randy Moss. Bowie has been plagued with injuries and when he has played his performance has been less than impressive.

Already the Moss for Bowie deal is being placed in the discussion for worst trade in NFL history.

There really is no way to get equal value when trading a Hall of Fame talent like Moss. No matter what, getting draft picks in exchange for proven talent is a gamble.

Was Moss worth more than a 4^th round pick? Yes, but his attitude and overall performance in Silver and Black weren’t worthy of a player on the practice squad in Detroit. According to reports, the Pats were the only team willing to go as high as a fourth round pick. Therefore, they were the highest bidders.

Bowie is forever linked to Moss.

That ever lit fire of Raider Hatred was just given a heavy dose of lighter fluid with the Bowie roster move. Never mind that Zack Miller, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Mario Henderson, Michael Bush, Oren O’Neal and Jonathan Holland – all starters or contributors now – were part of that ’07 draft class. John Bowie, he of Cincinnati with his 4.36 40-yard dash, is the name that will be the most infamous member of the ’07 draft class unless one JaMarcus Russell continues down his path to oblivion.

Any how, Pats fans enjoy Moss now before he goes sour on you. Judging by how things are going these days, I’m guessing it is only a matter of time until he’s jogging routes and whiffing on blocks.

No doubt it will be hard to discuss the worst trades in NFL history without mentioning this one but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out a few others that make this deal seem like a steal.

Flash back just over a decade ago and you’ll find the Minnesota Vikings gifted the Dallas Cowboys their 90’s dynasty by trading a boat load of draft picks in exchange for Herschel Walker. Not so long ago, the New Orleans Saints made that infamous move of trading away their entire draft just to select Ricky Williams. Most recently, the Dallas Cowboys paid it forward by trading a couple high picks for Roy Williams.

Of course, you could go do a little research and see what the Vikings got in return for Moss when they traded with the Raiders to begin this whole carousel. I don’t think Troy Williamson, Napoleon Harris and Adrian Ward did too much in Minnesota. Since Moss didn’t guide the Raiders to a perfect regular season, you won’t hear any mention of the original Moss trade being a bad deal for the Vikings.

The Moss trade is in the discussion, but it is only an appetizer for the seven course meal of some truly horrendous moves.

Al Davis has already gone on the record saying that Randy Moss was “great for the Raiders”. Therefore he must consider the John Bowie era a landmark moment in modern Raider history. Davis has seen his team win just 25 games since that last Super Bowl appearance six years ago. Hence, it is easy to understand why he’d consider Moss a “great” acquisition.

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McFadden and the Raiders shouldn't need much motivation after being destroyed by the Saints last season.

On October 12^th, 2008, the New Orleans Saints beat the Oakland Raiders like a steel drum in Trinidad during carnival.

The Raiders struck first on a 24-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal. It would be the only time the scoreboard operator in the Superdome would have to touch the Raider point tally.

After 320 yards and three TD passes from Drew Brees, the Saints walked away with a 34-3 victory.

Tomorrow, the Saints come into Oakland for the third preseason game. The game might not count in the final standings, but rest assured that JaMarcus Russell hasn’t forgotten his team’s wretched performance in front of his family and friends last fall.

The third preseason game is the most important for all NFL players running with the first string. This is the game when the starting lineups will see their most field time of the preseason. Saturday is a chance for the Raiders to remind the Saints that they’re not the UFL team that came to Louisiana a year ago.

Tom Cable will no doubt use the embarrassing loss from last season to motivate his troops for the clash. For many players, this will also be their last chance to leave a lasting impression on the team as the first wave of cuts will roll through the NFL shortly after the third week of preseason football is completed.

Here is a rundown on a few of the things to watch for this Saturday.

Michael Huff will actually be starting against the Saints. Hiram Eugene is out and Huff might be getting his final chance to shake the “bust” label.

Jeff Garcia should see more action than he did in his Raider debut a week ago. Reports indicate that JaMarcus Russell will play the first half and possibly into the third quarter, leaving Garcia with the bulk of the second half to try and get a better feel for the offense.

Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy will be the starters at receiver for a second consecutive week. Javon Walker will finally get to show off that bionic knee of his as he’ll be running with the second team.

The Raiders’ defense gets a good test against a high powered New Orleans offense. The secondary will have to be sharp against Brees and company while the run defense gets a chance to right the many wrongs that occurred a week ago in San Francisco.

Michael Bush gets the start at running back this time around, thus completing the cycle of starting each of Oakland’s three talented runners. Based on performance alone in the games, Darren McFadden’s effort against Dallas has made the strongest case for getting the top spot on the depth chart.

Also of note is one Chris O’Neill who is reported to be re-joining the Raiders after having been cut some three weeks ago. O’Neill was originally signed as a tight end out of Bosie State but was converted to middle linebacker by Al Davis himself. No word on what position he’ll play but if he’s back at linebacker then that doesn’t bode well for the also newly re-signed Napoleon Harris.

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