Oakland Raiders: The Need for a Smart and Fast Wide Receiver in 2011

Looking at the past to prepare for the future

Do you need a little pep talk? Some of us in Raider Nation need one.

I am a firm believer that Hue Jackson needs a fast, dangerous, smart and quick wide receiver. I hope one is brought in for 2011.

Lest we forget there are certainly many Oakland Raiders who are legends and thrilled fans with their miraculous feats on the playing field.

A lot of people talk about the Heidi Game, but few mention the game on Dec. 6, 1970 when everything was turned around in the last eight seconds. The trio of Daryl Lamonica, Warren Wells and George Blanda led the Raiders to a phenomenal victory, causing a supersonic boom of noise in Shea Stadium in a snowy, cold Sunday game.

That one game burns in my mind and has stirred me to write more than 600 articles since 2007. The excitement of that last-minute victory of the Oakland Raiders has been hard to match. Players like W. K. Hicks and other New York Jets players who are now seniors certainly remember the surprise and perplexing moment of that catch by Wells in those last few moments of a historical game.

Here is an article that is revisited to alert Al Davis and Hue Jackson to find a young man with the qualities on the playing field that are somewhat as aggressive and smart as players like Warren Wells, Cliff Branch, Tim Brown and others. These guys were geniuses on the playing field and we should always honor their contributions to the Oakland Raiders.

While filing some papers, I discovered a copy of an article written by Jim Scott. He wrote for The Sporting News and the article was dated Dec. 5, 1970.

The article mentions pro players Johnny Fuller, Wayne Moore, Tony Guillory, Jesse Phillips, Willie Ray Smith and others.

It also says that Warren Wells was the cousin of several other great football players from the Golden Triangle in Texas.

George Blanda is quoted several times in the article.

Blanda said he "considered Wells the most dangerous ever to play the game. Where Wells has it on the others is his quick burst of speed, his change of pace."

He added: "He's not the fastest man on our club but for 10 yards he's probably as fast as anyone ever was. He's also quick. He throws in a little step that confuses defenders after he catches the ball and before you know it, he's gone."

Well, this history lesson based on an article written 40 years ago is hopefully a motivator and an eye-opener for the young Oakland Raiders.

What can they learn from this article?

Wells was:

Dangerous.

Quick.

Deceptive to the defenders.

Fast.

Able to accelerate and decelerate in his trajectory.

Jim Scott added in his lead paragraph:

"Wells and others in his group had flash, dash and individuality. It's artistic. The players not only want to win, but to look beautiful doing it."

Did you learn something? We hope so.

In my frustration viewing the game between the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 28, 2010, I started cleaning and digging through old papers. I found this article which I was compelled to share, again.

Read it, young Oakland Raiders. Learn from it, and give us more victories in 2011.