Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

If you want a snapshot of the short-lived Louis Murphy era in Oakland look no further than his first game as a Raider. He scored twice yet only one of those TD grabs counted. It might have felt like shades of the Tuck Rule when his first NFL score was erased from the history books no thanks to a completely idiotic rule but in reality it was Louis Murphy’s Law. What can go wrong does and odds are Murphy could have somehow prevented it.

Louis Murphy has the talent. He showed that in his first NFL game.

Murphy has the drive. He proved that with a stunning and gritty performance in Pittsburgh.

Murphy’s even got the right mentality and desire. He more than displayed by bulldozing a clear path to end zone for Zach Miller once.

Problem was Murphy could never put it all together. He’d follow up a spectacular catch with an inexplicable drop. He’d take a reverse to the house then the next time on the field he’d take a trip to the showers after getting hit with a personal foul penalty. One minute he’s running around the defense like they’re playing in concrete cleats. The next he’s running into his own teammate effectively committing pass interference against the offense.

Such is the nature of Louis Murphy’s Law. That he went from being the team’s leading receiver to a pre-camp castoff can’t come as much of a surprise. Not if you’ve been paying attention to your recent Raiders history concerning wide receivers.

In recent years it hasn’t ended well for the leading pass catcher at wide receiver in Oakland. Randy Moss, Ronald Curry and Johnnie Lee Higgins all were either gone or saw their roles significantly reduced one year after being the team’s top receiver. Same now for Murphy. Darrius Heyward-Bey, you’ve been warned.

Of course Murphy’s Oakland exit wasn’t all about his decline in production. Injuries played as large a role as his inconsistencies. The emergence of Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore didn’t help either. Neither did the arrivals of Juron Criner and Rod Streater.

All of that added up to Murphy going from being a fourth round steal to having seventh round trade value.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Matt Shaughnessy is flying dangerously close to Chaz Schilens territory. You know, that realm of Raider Nation fan favorites reserved for those that only tease us with their brilliance yet never fully deliver. Guys like Nick Miller and long before him Ronald Curry have all done time in the Schilens zone.

What makes Shaughnessy different is that he’s actually shown plenty of promise in his three years as a pro. So much in fact that Bay Area beat writers were expecting a breakout season in 2011 for Shaughnessy with a potential Pro Bowl berth as well.

As we all know Shaughnessy’s season was over almost as soon as it started. He appeared in just three games and was finally shutdown when it was learned that his shoulder injury wasn’t going to heal during the season.

What was so Schilens about Shaughnessy last year was that he looked amazing in the preseason including an athletic interception in the (as of now) final Battle of the Bay.

The year before last Shaughnessy showed his pass rushing prowess by racking up 7 sacks in just 8 starts. He also showed some real improvement in defending the run.

Now nobody is saying that Shaughnessy’s absence in 2011 was the reason why the Raiders were a dismal defensive unit. But there is no arguing that the team never recovered from losing their best perimeter pass rusher on the line. In 2012 it’s all about staying healthy and humble for Shaughnessy. He’s poised to breakout (again) but he’s also one more injury filled season away from officially gaining full membership in the Schilens club.

Basketball and football have always been connected in one way or another. Al Davis openly admitted that John Wooden’s defensive style was the biggest influence on his usage of the bump and run. For whatever reason every football player thinks he can ball. And for good measure these days most power forwards seem to think they can play football too.

That’s just one of the reasons why the Raiders are taking a chance on Cal State Fullerton power forward Andre Hardy. Though he’s never played a snap of collegiate football the Raiders signed the soon to be NFL tight end today. For a breakdown on Hardy you can check JBB’s draft analysis of him from earlier this week.

Collegiate hoopsters turning into NFL pass catchers are nothing new under the sun, especially not in the AFC West and definitely not for the Raiders.

Naturally the conversation begins with man most refer to as perhaps the best tight to end ever play. Before Tony Gonzalez was terrorizing the AFC West as a Chief he was a two sport stud at UC Berkley.

As for the Raiders, this isn’t unfamiliar territory at all. Al Davis once took a tight end from Ohio State with the ninth pick in the draft named Rickey Dudley who just so happened to also play hoops for the Buckeyes. In more recent years Stanford alum Teyo Johnson was a second round pick as a tight end that doubled as a forward for the Cardinal hoops squad.

Between the two Dudley had the better career though he never lived up to his top 10 draft status. Johnson was out of the NFL in three years largely due to his JaMarcus Russell-esque work ethic but mainly due to his T.O.-like attitude.

While we’re on the subject might as well mention Ronald Curry who played quarterback and point guard for the University of North Carolina before becoming a wide receiver in Oakland.

Of course the man that really brought the hoops to football conversion into the modern era was San Diego Charger Antonio Gates. Here is where the Raiders are hoping to catch lightening in a bottle. Like Hardy, Gates played no collegiate football whatsoever yet was unearthed by the San Diego scouting department. He has sine gone on to become one of the most dangerous weapons in the history of the position.

Perhaps influenced by  Gates’ transition, Hardy no doubt saw him play for the Bolts as he went to high school in San Diego. Hardy’s father also has a football background playing for three different franchises during his brief NFL career in the 80′s.

Recently New Orleans record setter Jimmy Graham has taken a similar route.

So, just because Reggie McKenzie is doing away with many of the Al Davis practices doesn’t mean the Davis philosophies aren’t still alive and well. Rolling the dice on an unproven yet athletically gifted player with potential is right out of the Davis playbook. Unless Hardy can beat out David Ausberry, Richard Gordon or Brandon Myers then chances are Hardy will be a practice squad player if he makes it to the final roster cuts and clears waivers. That is unless Dennis Allen goes Hue Jackson and carries four tight ends on the 53-man.