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Thursday, 19 October 2006 |
By D. W. O'Dell
 A while back I took the Raiders to task for passing on Matt Leinart in the 2006 draft. This offended a good portion of Raider Nation, who were committed to Aaron Brooks as the quarterback of the future in Oakland. Brooks would team up with wide receiver Randy Moss and bring back the vertical game the Raiders were once known for. Brooks and Moss would go down in Raider lore along with Lamonica and Biletnekoff, and Stabler and Branch. The Raider offensive juggernaut would be unstoppable!
So, Raiders fans—how’s that working out for you?
The Raiders did not score a touchdown in the month of September, and have scored four in five games. Aaron Brooks has a passer rating of 58.0; the good news is that he is injured and will be out for several weeks. The bad news is that his back up, Andrew Walter, has a passer rating of 43.4. He has been so ineffective the Raiders have benched him for Tuiasosopo, whose passer rating at least cracks 60 (barely).
The Raiders passed on a Heisman trophy winning, national championship leading quarterback because they put their faith in Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walters? Smart move, Silver and Black. About as smart as the NBC staffer who decided to pre-empt the 1968 game between the Raiders and the Jets in order to start the movie Heidi on time.
And who did the Raiders select instead of Matt Leinart? None other than safety Michael Huff of Texas. The Raiders have been outscored 126-50 in their first five games, dead last in scoring. In 2005 their rush defense was far worse than their pass defense; the area they needed defensive improvement at was not at safety, but at defensive line or linebacker.
Plus, when teams have leads, they usually are busy running out the clock, not passing. So far this year the Raiders’ combination of anemic offense and lack of defense (especially run defense) have assured them of being behind pretty much constantly. Huff isn’t helping the Raiders much when their opponents are sitting on a 20 point lead.
Okay, I’ll admit that five games is a small sample size. And it is doubtful even a budding superstar like Matt Leinart could thrive behind the Raiders’ woeful offensive line (after all, there is a reason why Aaron Brooks got injured). Still, the fact is that the Raiders first round draft pick filled a need the team did not have, while obvious holes like the quarterback position were not addressed. Brooks has never won anything as a quarterback, and there was no reason to think he would start at age 30. He never had a passer rating on the high side of 90, and that’s not about to change, either.
On the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption they had a serious discussion about the Raiders’ chances of going 0-16. The consensus: it could happen. The Raiders visit the Arizona Cardinals next, who are beatable. The Raiders have a home game against the pathetic Houston Texans on December 3rd. So with a little luck the Raiders may only finish 2-14.
So go ahead and celebrate, Raider Nation! The team with the motto “Commitment to Excellence” has committed itself to a trio of sub-par quarterbacks for the next five years or so. Of course, that means the Raiders will have some more high draft picks in the near future. Take my advice, and if a Heisman trophy winning, national-championship leading quarterback is available in the 2007 (or 2008, or 2009) draft, take him. |
