The Hapless Raiders....

In many circles, there are Raider lovers and Raider haters.  Pretty much every one has an opinion one way or the other.  When I look at that team, I look at it as that "Land of Misfit Toys" with Al Davis playing the Abominable Snowman that will someday goes "bumbles goes bounce".  As I regress from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie, I can help but think that, with the recent hiring of John Madden as an assistant to the Commissioner, it may be a good thing for the Dopeland Raiders.  During his tenure as Head Coach of that bumbling franchise, they were a respected and feared team.  With players like Lyle Alzado, Ted Hendricks, Ken Stabler, Dave Casper, John Matuszak, Cliff Branch, and especially, Jack "They Call me Assassin" Tatum, teams had to gear up to play them.  They struck fear into their opposition.  The main reason for that?  They were damn good!

Now, when you look at this sorry franchise, what do you have.  An owner who should be hitting the four o'clock early bird specials and letting his football people run the show, enjoying the fruits of their labor.  Instead, he sits in his luxury box, making phone calls to his coaches telling them what plays to call, like he has any clue whatsoever.  He drafts players that can't keep away from the buffet tables (Jamarcus Russell), gets rid of coaches that win Super Bowls (John Gruden) and drafts guys several rounds before they are graded (Darrius Heyward-Bey).  Even recently, after trading for a defensive lineman to upgrade their team (Richard Seymour), they have to threaten him with a letter just to get him to report!  It's really sad when a team has dropped that far into oblivion. 

As far as the fantasy aspect of the team, every year I make a short list of teams that I won't pick any players off of.  In the heat of the draft, it's easy to get caught up in seeing a player on the Raiders and seeing him still available and jumping on him.  Contrary to the Nike Ad....I just can't do it.  Jamarcus may have a million dollar arm but he has a ten-cent head.  There is no one on their receiving corp that would make me draft them.  Zach Miller may actually be a diamond in the rough, but time will tell on him.  Their running back situation is also a mess. It seems like every week they name a different starter so it is useless to go after anyone in particular to be a regular contributor on your fantasy team because you'll probably get burned.  Darren McFadden, with any hopes, may actually be the one guy they can hang their hat on but who really knows?  As soon as he rounds into a player that can be relied upon, his injury history will probably rear it's ugly head and the trend will start all over again.

All I can say is... if you are a Raiders fan, good luck, you are going to need it, as you do every year.