Genius Or Madman: Dwelling into The Mind Of Al Davis

There’s a slogan plastered all over the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. It can be seen everywhere, you can’t turn a corner without seeing it. From the scoreboards to the restrooms, it is right there. It’s the phrase that helped defined what the Oakland Raiders of old were like. The Jack Tatum’s, The Jim Otto’s and the John Madden’s would all swear by this three-worded saying.

“Commitment to Excellence.”

The year is 2009, and now Al Davis’ quote is perhaps one of the biggest jokes in the NFL. The Raiders are a pathetic 23-73 since reaching the Super Bowl back in 2002. The head coach’s office might as well have a rotating door on it – Tom Cable marks five coaches since Jon Gruden departed. Players are getting paid extremely large amounts of cash only to give subpar performances on the field. Fans get drunk and start fights with each other because it is more entertaining than watching another defeat. The only glimpse of promise comes every April in the form of the NFL’s Annual Draft.

Raider fans glue their eyes to ESPN in hopes that salvation can be found in a couple of draft picks. Because of their dismal records, Oakland has been a constant fixture in the top 10 of the first round. And unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that’s where all the star-studded talent is ripe for the picking. However, if you do know your Raiders history, you know Al Davis is the kind of owner that does things outside of the box.

In the 2004 Draft, Davis held the coveted second overall pick, and used it on Iowa’s Robert Gallery. Standing 6’7”, Gallery was supposed to be a sure fixture at left tackle and make covering a quarterback’s blindside easy. Since his induction into the NFL, Gallery has started at every offensive line position except center and has been one of the most oft penalized lineman on the team. Curious to hear who the pick after Gallery was? Just a little known wide receiver from the University of Pittsburgh named Larry Fitzgerald.

In 2005, Kerry Collins was supposed to be solution at quarterback and left the logical choice of a draft pick to be super-speedy cornerback Fabian Washington. You all know how that turned out. Collins fixates on Randy Moss all year, leading to a stack of interceptions, while Washington couldn’t cover his own grandmother with a blanket. All the while, Aaron Rodgers was spending his rookie year as Brett Favre’s number two. The year 2006, now believing Aaron Brooks was the right man under center, the Raiders passed up the chance at getting Jay Cutler but instead opted for hard-hitting safety, Michael Huff.

Starting to see the pattern now? Big versus productive, speed over consistency and hard-hitting against great numbers, what seems like the logical choices in all of those match-ups? It seems pretty obvious, am I right? Then again, Al Davis doesn’t see it that way. Rather than taking valued attributes, he would opt to have useless adjectives.
2009 was no exception. With Michael Crabtree sitting right in his lap, Al Davis decides to push him aside for Darrius Heyward-Bey, who happens to have the fastest 40-time amongst everyone in the draft, along with the worst hands. Wait, did this just really happen, again? Unfortunately, it did, but at least this time, you don’t necessarily have to be mad at him.

Why? Just ask the San Francisco 49ers, when they picked him with the tenth pick.  Crabtree is one of only five first round picks that have not signed yet and will refuse a contract until it’s worthy of a top-five pick. The Texas Tech standout has also gone on record stating he would sit out the season if nothing admirable is presented. On the other side of the bridge, Heyward-Bey has signed, quickly and willingly, and is at camp getting his reps in. And Lord knows, he needs as many as possible.

We all called him a madman for his unorthodox methods, but did Al Davis know something about Crabtree that no one else knew? Did he save us from another humiliating JaMarcus Russell fiasco?  Couldn’t he have grabbed Jeremy Maclin instead if he wasn’t sold on Crabtree? Or did he curse us yet again with Heyward-Bey? So many questions come to mind, but the answers are scarce, like finding the needle in a haystack. Maybe Heyward-Bey wins Rookie of the Year and Crabtree goes the way of Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett. If that’s the case then there won’t be cries of anarchy in Oakland. Hey, it could happen, I mean Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round after all.

And if it is any consolation Raider Nation think of this, if Crabtree doesn’t suit up this season, he’ll be eligible for the 2010 draft. Think about it.