(If you stare at Al Davis long enough he can look right into your soul.)
For the first time in his tenure as owner of the Oakland Raiders and perhaps for the first time in his entire life Al Davis is questioning himself, and more specifically the moves he made during the offseason.
In typical Al Davis fashion the Raiders went on a free agent spending spree this offseason, inking three players to multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. Among those signed by the Raiders were former Giants safety Gibril Wilson, former Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall and defensive tackle Tommy Kelly. Wilson was given a sic-year, $39 million contract, $16 million of which is guaranteed. Hall took in the largest contract with a seven- year, $70 million whopper, including $24 million guaranteed after being traded away by the Falcons. Kelly was re-signed to a seven-year $50.5 million contract, with $18.125 guaranteed.
The team also signed oft-inured wide receiver Javon Walker and re-signed running back Justin Fargas as well. In the last two seasons the team has been forced to dole out huge contracts to rookies because of their high first round draft pick status. JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden were both given sizable contracts because of their draft position.
Al Davis should be questioning the moves he’s made, but he should be looking much further back then just this past offseason. The Raiders have made a string of questionable decision regarding their coaches and players since the 2003 season when they lost the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since that time the Raiders have a league worst 19-61 record and have gone through four coaches in the last five seasons. It was even reported that the team wanted to coach Lane Kiffin to step down after last season, his first with the team.
Davis has been too hasty when reacting to his teams performance on the field over the past 5 seasons. He has not allowed a single coach to establish an offensive game plan or take command of the locker room. The only coach who has remained is defensive coach Rob Ryan, and the teams defensive performance has been the one constant positive over the years.
Many sources have claimed that Davis sought the services of former Green Bay Packers vice president of player finance Andrew Brandt. Davis wanted Brandt to player a larger role in selecting and evaluating the type of talent the Raiders should be adding to their team. However, Brandt reportedly declined Davis’ offer and instead countered with an offer to be a consultant to the team.
The Raiders camp has vehemently denied the rumors swirling around Davis’ crisis of confidence. Oakland public relations director Mike Taylor told reporters, “You obviously don’t know Al Davis. Self-doubt is not part of the equation with Al Davis,” Taylor said. “I’m not going to justify this tripe, this drivel by even asking (Davis) for his response. It’s ludicrous, it’s insane, it’s rumor-mongering and it’s irresponsible journalism.
“The fact is, we’re very excited about what we’ve done here this offseason and looking forward to a great year. We’ve signed or traded for three of the top players at their position and picked up two of the top players in the draft the past two years.”
The fact is though, that the Raiders did overpay for a number of their free agent signings. Tommy Kelly for example has never posted more then 4.5 sacks and has yet to prove himself as a solid player in this league in 3 NFL seasons and yet he was rewarded with a monster contract. DeAngelo Hall is considered to be an elite shutdown corner, but he has demonstrated some character flaws on more then one occasion and his on field demeanor can hurt a team more then help. Gibril Wilson is an effective safety, but was most likely overpaid because of his new found Super Bowl champion status.
Whether Al Davis’ confidence in his offseason moves is shaken or not, only time will tell if the spending spree will payoff in wins.
