As someone who lives and works in Kansas City, being an Oakland Raiders fan is a fun experience. Wearing silver and black on “Red Friday” - or really any day - is an invitation for ridicule. You get the rivalry trash talk.
It can feel like a pile on from Chiefs Kingdom — and that’s the case when the Raiders are actually good.
How about when they are bad, like they have been the past 15 years?
When I discuss NFL football amongst my friends, colleagues and family, I’m always the negative one. It’s not a coincidence. It’s more than just the Raiders being 86-173 since they lost a blowout Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - coached by former and current Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
It’s not just losing by an average of nearly seven points a game since 2003. Consider how tough that is — in over 260 games the past 15 years, the Raiders have lost by nearly a touchdown each game. Consider that most gambling lines are under seven points and that’s amazing.
It’s not just losing by an average of nearly seven points a game since 2003. Consider how tough that is — in over 260 games the past 15 years, the Raiders have lost by nearly a touchdown each game. Consider that most gambling lines are under seven points and that’s amazing.
It’s not just those wins and losses. It’s everything. It’s the free agency moves. It’s the trades, even the ones that look brilliant on paper, that don’t work out. It’s the opposite of the Midas Touch, perhaps we can call it the Raiduhs Touch. Quite simply, basically everything the Raiders have tried since 2003 has either not worked or failed in a spectacular fashion.
This opus I’m motivated to write will not include Todd Marinovich. It will not include Bo Jackson’s hip. It will not include a mostly disastrous 1990s that saw the team leave Los Angeles on a bad note, losing seven straight games after starting the 1995 season 8-1. It won’t include the Tuck Rule, arguably the most important football game played in the past three decades and one of the most devastating losses for a team in NFL history.
For the sake of brevity and for the sake of me remaining somewhat sane as a football fan, this will just include the past 15 full seasons and the early portions of the 2019 season. The straw that broke the camel’s back, I guess you can say, was watching Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper dominate in a span of 48 hours during the third week of the 2019 NFL season. Cooper had two receiving touchdowns, while Mack forced two fumbles and just dominated the Redskins' offensive line.
How do you become jaded about your team?
These easy steps:
1. Following an embarrassing Super Bowl loss, the 2003 Raiders completely drop off the face of the planet due to the front office’s decision to bring most of the team back. They quickly age, dropping to 4-12 in 2003. Though there’s a no doubt a legitimate lag after losing the Super Bowl, it’s a shocking drop off for a team many predicted to win the AFC West and perhaps get back to the Super Bowl.
2. In the midst of a five-game losing streak, Raiders head coach Bill Callahan labels his team the “dumbest team in America,” ironic considering Callahan thought it would be a good idea to essentially run Gruden’s offense against Gruden, the opposing head coach of that Super Bowl.
3. A decade later, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown accuse Callahan of throwing the Super Bowl against his friend Gruden. Though obviously never confirmed, it’s really special have two of the best 15 wide receivers in NFL history accuse their coach of throwing the most important game in their Raider careers.
4. The Raiders jettison Callahan and hire the slightly more inspiring Norv Turner. After a promising 2-1 start, former MVP Rich Gannon injures his neck, ushering in the Kerry Collins era. The Raiders, for the second straight season, sustain a five-game losing streak and it’s really an end of decent era in the early 2000s.
5. In one of the few roster moves that excited Raiders fans in the past 15 years, the team traded for all-world wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss, unfortunately, had the worst season in his prime…bringing in just 60 passes and would later be traded to the New England Patriots, where he came just one game short of being part of the league’s first 19-0 team. Moss would play just 29 games for the Raiders. Not even Moss, arguably the game’s greatest playmaker of the past 25 years, would work out for the Raiders.
6. In 2006, the Raiders bring back Art Shell as head coach.
Here’s how that went:
7. The 2006 Raiders go down as one of the worst teams in the past 15 years in the NFL, somehow averaging just 10.6 points per game in an era that begins to see offenses scoring at will and quarterback friendly rules. Starting quarterbacks during this season? Andrew Walter and Aaron Brooks. They combine for seven touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Bonus points — the Brooks signing opens the door for the Saints to sign quarterback Drew Brees. You know, instead of the Raiders.
8. What do you do when you don’t have a quarterback? You draft one. Unfortunately for the Raiders, that quarterback turns out to be JaMarcus Russell with the first pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. The Raiders pick Russell over Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas, considered the two best prospects entering that draft. Also picked in the first round? Guys named Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and Darrelle Revis. Russell’s legacy, outside of his unfortunate run in with the law, are numerous fat jokes (DeMarcus Ruffles was my favorite). In just 25 starts, Russell tosses for 18 touchdowns and compiles a 7-18 record. Between his signing bonus, guaranteed money and salary, Russell brought home just a shade over $39 million. If you’re counting at home, each touchdown Russell ended up with costs the Raiders $2 million.
9. Speaking of short careers in the Silver and Black, it was Lane Kiffin’s turn to be head coach. After a kind, sort of promising end to his first season that saw back-to-back wins over division rivals Kansas City and Denver, the wheels fall off at the beginning of the 2008 season. He’s unexpectedly fired by Al Davis, the first of a handful of dramatic coaching exits for Kiffin. Former Raiders owner Al Davis said Kiffin’s Raiders were “embarrassing to watch” during a press conference that somehow included an overhead projector.
Seriously, watch this!
10. Going back to the theme of disappointing wide receiver acquisitions - we’ll be back again, trust me - Javon Walker signed a $55 million deal with the Raiders that includes a $16 million signing bonus. His Raider career lasts just 19 games and 18 catches. In other words, he averaged $1 million a catch during his Raiders career.
11. Bad free agent decisions in 2008 were not limited to the offensive side of the ball. After signing promising cornerback De’Angelo Hall to a $70 million deal, Hall proceeds to allow 146 receiving yards to Denver Bronco rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal in the season opener. Hall’s Oakland Raider career lasts just eight games. Still, Hall brought home $8 million, averaging $1 million a game. Do you sense a pattern here? Russell, Walker and Hall can be classified as the Million Dollar Club.
12. All NFL dynasties have one thing in common - a great quarterback/coaching combination. Brady-Belichick. Montana-Walsh. Starr-Lombardi. Bradshaw-Noll. Mini-dynasties do as well if you include Johnson-Aikman, Landry-Staubach and Shanahan-Elway.
Let’s check in on some of the QB/coaching combinations for the Raiders in this era:
- Callahan/Rick Meier
- Turner/Kerry Collins
- Shell/Andrew Walter
- Kiffin/Josh McCown and Kiffin/Russell
- Dennis Allen/Carson Palmer and Allen/Terrelle Pryor
Those really happened. That list of starting quarterbacks also does not include Jason Campbell, Matt McGloin and a cameo appearance by Bruce Gradkowski.
13. Another common thing dynasties do well is nail their draft picks, or at least the high picks. Here’s a quick run down of some of the first round picks made by the Raiders form 2003-2012:
- Nnamdi Asomugha, 2003: A lone bright spot who quickly moves on to Philly.
- Tyler Brayton, 2003: A defensive end who ends up with six sacks during his five-year Raider career.
- Robert Gallery, 2004: Seven of the first eight draft picks in that class made at least one pro-bowl. Gallery was the exception. Among the names Gallery was picked over: Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Sean Taylor and Ben Roethlisberger. While it’s easy to pick on draft picks in hindsight, keep in mind that the Raiders DESPERATELY needed a quarterback after Gannon’s injury. Passing over Rivers and Roethlisberger is indefensible, let alone Fitzgerald and Taylor — who were considered the two best skill players in that draft by many.
- Fabian Washington, 2005 - The Raiders selected Washington with the 23rd pick of the 2005 NFL Draft.
The player selected with the 24th pick of the draft?
This guy:
Again, keep in mind that the search for the next franchise quarterback was still going. This isn't hindsight.
The player selected with the 24th pick of the draft?
This guy:
Again, keep in mind that the search for the next franchise quarterback was still going. This isn't hindsight.
- Michael Huff, 2006 - A respectable career, but one nagged by multiple benchings by the coaching staff.
- JaMarcus Russell, 2007 - Already noted extensively.
- Darren McFadden, 2008 - I’m convinced his career is respectable if he’s drafted by any other team. Instead, injuries and a poor offensive line plague his career.
- Darrius Heyward-Bey, 2009 - Who?
- Rolando McClain, 2010 - When you can dig up a Web page with the actual headline “Report: Raiders LB made victim beg for life,” you know it didn’t go well.
14. What about the 2011 and 2012 draft picks? They were traded to New England for Richard Seymour and Cincinnati for Carson Palmer. Palmer was coming off a career-threatening injury and would finish his Raiders career a whopping 8-16 with 35 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. To be fair, slightly better than JaMarcus Russell. After making one pro-bowl, Seymour’s final few seasons would be uneventful in the Silver and Black. In typical Raiders fashion, Palmer would be traded to Arizona and found some success, leading the Cardinals to multiple playoff appearances.
(If you're counting at home, Seymour, Palmer and Moss combined for two pro-bowl appearances. The Raiders traded three first round picks in seven years for this production)
(If you're counting at home, Seymour, Palmer and Moss combined for two pro-bowl appearances. The Raiders traded three first round picks in seven years for this production)
15. The 2010 Raiders sweep the AFC West, but somehow inexplicably miss the playoffs after finishing just 2-8 against the rest of the NFL. The division-winning Chiefs - led by Matt Cassel and first-year head coach Todd Haley - finish just 2-4 in the AFC West, meanwhile. Even in a respectable season, there’s frustration.
16. Since 2003, there have been 10 head coaches of the Raiders. Just one of them - Jack Del Rio - lasted longer than three years. Just one of them - again, Del Rio - finished with a winning record.
17. Things begin to at least looking promising in 2014 and 2015 with the selections of Khalil Mack, Derek Carr and Amari Cooper in the 2014 and 2015 NFL drafts. While some teams were scared off Mack due to his college he played at, he was considered a top defensive prospect. Carr was considered a sneaky good quarterback prospect who the Raiders stole in the second round, while Cooper was a stud at Alabama.
18. In a year that began with a gutsy win in New Orleans, the 2016 Raiders begin the season 10-2 and in prime position to make the playoffs. Despite a disappointing loss at Arrowhead Stadium in an AFC West showdown, the Raiders are looking to make some noise. With a resurgent running game developing towards the end of the year and no dominating team, the Raiders even begin to get some Super Bowl buzz…..
19. That is until Derek Carr breaks his leg on Christmas Eve, in a game he shouldn’t have been in with the Raiders well in control. Carr can be heard on NFL Films saying “It Broke.” It’s an injury some believe he’s never recovered from mentally or physically. Carr’s status as the Raiders franchise quarterback remains up in the air at this moment.
20. In their first playoff game since the Super Bowl in 2003, the Raiders get rocked by the Houston Texans 27-14. Connor Cook starts the game at quarterback and proceeds to throw one touchdown and three interceptions.
21. After an offseason that saw the signing of Marshawn Lynch, the 2017 Raiders start off a promising 2-0, defeating their opening opponents by a combined score of 71-36. Then, the wheels fall off. Two separate four-game losing streaks result in the Raiders finishing 6-10. Outside of a fun 31-30 win against the Chiefs on Thursday night football, it’s a wasted season. Coach Jack Del Rio is fired and replaced with Jon Gruden.
22. In the midst of coaching changes and a frustrating 2017, rumors swirl about the team moving to Las Vegas. Those rumors eventually come to fruition, with a new stadium being built in Sin City.
24. Mack’s three pro-bowl appearances in Oakland, by the way, were more than the 2003-2012 first round picks made combined.
25. During a 2018 season that saw just four wins, the Raiders trade Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys in what actually feels like a good move. The Raiders acquire a first-round pick from the Cowboys. Cooper, in his final 18 games for the Raiders, had an unremarkable 70 receptions and 960 yards. In 12 games for the Cowboys since then, Cooper has 69 receptions, 963 yards and 10 touchdowns. He currently leads the NFL in touchdowns as of this typing.
26. Things begin to look decent during the Spring of 2019, when behind millions of dollars in Salary Cap spending and picks, the Raiders acquire a handful of talented players. This includes wide receiver Antonio Brown, who the team acquired for just a third-rounder and fifth-rounder from the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a move most NFL pundits approve of, wondering how the Raiders stole him from the Steelers.
27. And then in the summer of 2019, we find out why the Raiders paid just a third-round and fifth-rounder. A saga that includes HelmetGate, a hot-air balloon, frost-bitten feet, a threat against the general manager and secretly recording his coach ends with the Raiders releasing Brown. He has since been released by the New England Patriots. If you’re still counting at home, the two most dominant wide receivers in the past 15 years combined to play just 29 games in the Silver and Black.
28. From 2004-2014, just 20 Raiders are selected to the NFL Pro Bowl. No quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker or running back is picked. In other words, a full decade goes back without a meaningful skill player being selected on offense.
29. Since 2000, the Raiders have had 19 different starting quarterbacks. From 2003-2015 alone, the Raiders had 17 different starting quarterbacks sandwiched in between the Gannon and Carr eras.
30. I am 34 years old. The Raiders’ last playoff win came when I was 18 years old. It came before Facebook. It came before Twitter. There have been three full presidential terms since the last postseason win and there stands to be a fourth one depending on how optimistic you are about the 2020 Raiders.
I am still on the Gruden/Mayock bandwagon at this time. The 2019 rookie class looks somewhat promising. The 2018 class is coming along. They have over $80 million in cap money entering Vegas.
However, it would be hard to blame any Raiders fan who has no faith in this franchise. It's a dark time for the team.
It's been 15 miserable years and outside of perhaps Cleveland Browns fans, no other team's fan base has been destroyed as much as the Raider Nation.
So, if you come across a grumpy Raiders fan --- especially this one in Kansas City --- this is why.
However, it would be hard to blame any Raiders fan who has no faith in this franchise. It's a dark time for the team.
It's been 15 miserable years and outside of perhaps Cleveland Browns fans, no other team's fan base has been destroyed as much as the Raider Nation.
So, if you come across a grumpy Raiders fan --- especially this one in Kansas City --- this is why.
