Today, I had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings with one of the people first responsible for this blog. Let’s call him “Will”. Will is a fan of the hated Denver Broncos. We had a little discussion of their playoff performance and Will was obviously disappointed. He claimed unhappiness at signing Wes Welker. He also mentioned Peyton Manning crumbling down the stretch, making me laugh out loud.
Then I remembered I’m a fan of the Oakland Raiders.
Things weren’t so funny anymore.
You see, the 2012 Oakland Raiders were a very bad football team. On top of that, the few quality players the team had are being cut. Michael Huff, the seventh overall pick in 2006 and arguably their best defensive back, was released, along with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Darius Heyward-Bey. Although possessing blinding speed, Heyward-Bey’s hands were like he was wearing boxing gloves. They were also both overpaid. Rolando McClain, the eighth overall pick in 2010 had experienced legal and disciplinary problems and he’s now been given permission to seek a trade. Raiders were failing anyway; why pay big contracts to continue to fail?
But to say the team was bad isn’t enough to show you where the Raiders were last year. Check this out:
– 2012 Raiders were 3-0 against the two teams picking above them in the 2013 draft. Against the rest of the league, they were 1-12.
– 2012 Raiders four wins were against teams with a combined 14-50 record.
– 2013 Raiders have seven draft picks, missing the second rounder traded by former coach Hubert Jackson for Carson Palmer and gaining
– Raiders have needs all over the field and have 17 unrestricted free agents. The Class of 2009 no longer exists. Huge busts pop out everywhere. Huff, JaMarcus Russell, Heyward-Bey, and McClain stand out as some of the worst picks ever. Richard Seymour, traded for a 1st round pick can’t play any more but was owed an eight figure salary before being cut. Tommy Kelly is standing by to be cut.
You have to be a fan to know your team is one of the worst in the sport, but have faith they are going to eventually turn it around.
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