by Andrew Nostvick

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

With the #1 pick in the NFL Draft the Oakland Raiders select...Wait a minute, Oakland? The top pick in the draft? Can this be right, what is wrong with this picture?

When did this happen? Well Oakland was the worst team in the NFL last season and Silver and Black fans everywhere are shaking their heads in sorrow. The defense is very good, that is a given, but as we all know, defense might win championships, but it doesn't win games. So it is the offense's fault, right?

The Raiders were the worst offensive team in the NFL, averaging only 11 points a game and gaining less than 250 yards a game. The leading rusher was Justin Fargus and he didn't even get 1,000 yards. The star wide receiver, Randy Moss, wasn't even the LEADING receiver on the Raiders. So it was the quarterback's fault, right?

Well let's look at who took the helm for the Raiders last season...Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter. Walter got the Raiders two wins this season. Brooks is clearly a backup quarterback and everybody realized that when he went to the Raiders. Unfortunately the Raiders figured that out too late.

I think Andrew Walter has a lot of potential. He got the most wins at quarterback for the Raiders. But it seemed obvious that he was clearly misguided. So it is the offensive cooridinator's fault, right?

Well the offensive cooridinator was let go at midseason. So it's the coach's fault, right?

Art Shell was not fit whatsoever to be coaching this band of misfits. The only reason he was hired is because nobody else wants the job. He got the job by default. So it's the owner's fault, right?

Well if you want to blame somebody, you can only start at the top. Al Davis has owned the Raiders for a very long time, since the days of the Civil War. He is clearly out of touch with the game of football and doesn't have what it takes to win. He is responsible for all the decision making.

Now the Raiders are trying something new, hiring Lane Kiffin as the head coach, who was barely a year old when the Raiders won their first Super Bowl. What benefit could this be, who knows? But this is the Raiders, this might as well be a Soap Opera. So sit back, relax and enjoy the three-ring circus, otherwise known as the Oakland (not Los Angeles) Raiders.

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