Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

After it is all said and done the career of Robert Gallery will be looked at as disappointing. Now that might sound unfair considering he made a living playing pro football for nearly a decade. A lot of guys are lucky to get three years. So all things being considered Gallery has nothing to apologize for.

To be honest, disappointing is a compliment when compared to bust. For the first few years of his career the so-called can’t-miss-prospect out of Iowa missed worse than Walter White Jr. in the shot put.

Not all was Gallery’s fault. Some guys just aren’t cut out for the speed of the pro game. A lot of success in the NFL is right place right time too. Gallery happened to arrive in Oakland when the term stability was a dirty word.

No excuses though. Gallery’s life as a left tackle was short lived.

Now to his credit Gallery accepted a new role as a guard and a pay cut just to prove he still belonged in the game. While he never made a Pro Bowl as promised when Al Davis took him second overall in 2004, Gallery was a solid run blocker.

Even better than Gallery’s transition to guard was the work he did in the community during his time in the East Bay. Gallery helped organize an event to benefit the families of police officers that died in the line of duty. Classy stuff no matter how you view his football career.

In the end the injury bug bit Gallery and it was all but over once the Raiders finally severed ties. He wanted more money than Mr. Davis was willing to pay so the Raiders sent him on his way. Perhaps feeling a certain sense of responsibility got Gallery’s new career path, Tom Cable convinced his new employer in Seattle to give Gallery a shot. Again injury intervened and by the start of the 2012 Gallery was again looking for work. The Pats and Bill Belichcik gave him one last chance and Gallery opted to walk away from the game without even getting through a month of training camp. His limitations had finally exceeded his abilities.

Robert Gallery retired from the NFL today. Though his career will always be a warning sign of hype and overblown expectations that roll around every April there is no substituting dedication. Plenty of guys get labeled as busts. Most of them spend less time in the NFL than the months of hype that follows their path to the NFL from college. For them they don’t get to retire. They’re told they just can’t play anymore

Saying Gallery’s career was disappointing might be an insult but at least he had one to retire from.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Quiet as kept the Raiders unearthed a franchise caliber left tackle in Jared Vedlheer back in the third round of 2010 draft. The 6’8” sleeper from DIII Hillsdale College overcame an awkward transition to the pros as Tom Cable attempted to convert the lifelong tackle into a center.

Luckily for the Raiders Mario Henderson played poorly enough that the coaches were left with almost no choice but to give Veldheer the opportunity to play left tackle. He hasn’t played anywhere else since and the Raiders finally have the man in Veldheer that they hoped to get in Robert Gallery.

In his two seasons in Oakland Veldheer has shown progress in almost every game he’s played. Despite his huge frame Veldheer struggled when blocking stronger defenders as a rookie. So he took it upon himself to increase his strength during the lockout ruined offseason in 2011 and the results showed on the field.

Going forward all that remains is for Veldheer to get even more consistent than he already is. That is the quality that makes good pros great.

Of course the greatest quality of all Veldheer possesses is durability, a trait that is highly valued among offensive linemen. He has yet to miss a game in two seasons and rarely misses snaps during those games.

While he might not yet have the notoriety Veldheer’s star is definitely on the rise. Another year of solid play combined with a career year from Darren McFadden will bring plenty of attention of Veldheer and the rest of the Raiders’ line. I’d be willing to bet that we’re only a year or two away from seeing Veldheer and Stefen Wisniewski representing the silver and black in Hawaii.

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

What is most interesting is that Williamson has Veldeheer as the second best left tackle in the division behind only Denver’s Ryan Clady based largely on the larger- than-life tackle’s massive potential.

It goes without saying that Veldheer has quietly morphed into one of the best and most durable young linemen in the game. He’s flown under the radar on the national scale but Veldheer’s performance hasn’t been lost on Raider Nation. Not after suffering through the Robert Gallery/Kwame Harris/Mario Henderson years.

What is truly telling of Veldheer’s value is how seamlessly he went from tackle to center and back to tackle again. Not sure how many rookies could have gone through the culture shock Veldheer did when the Raiders tried to play him out of position for his first taste of the NFL.

Again, these types of ranking mean nothing. It’s one person’s opinion and it’s a topic you won’t get a ton of discussion out of anyway. Can’t tell you the last time I was a bar polishing off a cold IPA when a fight broke out over who the second best lineman is in the AFC West. None the less it is nice to know Veldheer is slowly getting his due.