Founded in 1960, the Raiders have moved from Oakland to Los Angeles and back and during that span they won three Super Bowl championships, 15 Division championships and made it to the playoffs following 21 of their 54 seasons. Yet since the Super Bowl loss in 2002, the Raiders have been really bad, with their best record coming in the 2010 and 2011 seasons at 8-8, when they still missed the playoffs. Since Bill Callahan left the team after the 2003 season, the Raiders have had six different head coaches most notably Norv Turner, Lane Kiffin and current head coach Dennis Allen. In addition to the constant coaching change, the Raiders have suffered from having 15 different quarterbacks start for them in that time period. 15. One-Five. The most notable of these are Carson Palmer, draft-bust JaMarcus Russell, and Jason Campbell.

The Raiders should take an early chance on another USC quarterback. By Neon Tommy, via Wikimedia Commons

In recent years, the Raiders have tried to find a winning recipe with a focus on the quarterback. Rich Gannon left the team after the 2003 season.  They drafted LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the top pick in 2007. Russell thrilled in his time at LSU, posting a 21-3 overall record, but he wasn’t cut for the NFL and the Raiders soon found that out. He had a record of 18-23 with only 18 touchdown passes through three seasons when the Raiders finally cut him.

Former Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was brought in. During his tenure in Washington, Campbell put up successful numbers, going 12-10 as a starter before suffering an injury six games into the 2011 season. He was replaced after the team traded for long-time veteran Carson Palmer. Palmer led the team to another 8-8 record in 2011 and by the end of the 2012 season the Raiders were 4-12 and at the bottom again. The Raiders went with two dual option quarterbacks in Russell and Campbell, then decided to try and work around a pass first type quarterback in Carson Palmer. Although Palmer didn’t have an impressive 2012, I believe a pass-first quarterback is best for the Raiders. Rich Gannon could move well, but he was an accurate passer and the Raiders should look to stick with that type of player instead of going back to a quarterback who runs fast and has a strong arm. The Raiders currently hold the third overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and I believe they should use it on a quarterback.

What they should do in the draft: 

The Raiders have had what bad teams would call success recently, posting two 8-8 seasons out of the last three. Recently it has come out that the Raiders are interested in the number one ranked quarterback in this years class, Geno Smith. But the Raiders should be looking elsewhere for their savior. The Raiders have six draft picks throughout the draft yet most of the mock-drafts available don’t have the Raiders taking a quarterback in the first round. I’m no Mel Kiper, but I disagree and I believe that the Raiders should take a quarterback in the first round and it should be Matt Barkley.

During their collegiate careers, Geno Smith and USC quarterback Matt Barkley had simlarly great statistics. Geno Smith finished his college career throwing for 11,662 yards, 98 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, while Barkley threw for 12,327 yards, 116 touchdowns and 48 interceptions. While their individual stats are close, Smith is ranked far ahead of Barkley as the number one ranked quarterback in the draft but I don’t understand why. Both Barkley and Smith’s team had down seasons this past year, both finishing 7-6 although Barkley’s team did start the year ranked number one in the nation.

Barkley, I think, is a better version of Carson Palmer and could thrive in Oakland. He is a West coast guy and would fit right into Oakland’s system with a fellow Trojan to groom him.

The Raiders have young talent at both the running back and receiver positions in Darrius McFadden and Darrius Heyward-Bey. I believe that the Raiders should also draft a tight end and another receiver to match with Heyward-Bey. As for the tight end, I suggest they look into the senior from San Jose State, Ryan Otten. He caught 12 touchdowns in his four years and racked up 1,760 yards. One of the highest ranked tight ends, Tyler Eifert caught 11 touchdowns and 1,840 yards. The stats are pretty similar, yet the Raiders could get Otten later in the draft as he is projected to go sometime in the fifth or sixth round. With the other four draft picks the Raiders could focus on the offensive line, another receiver and maybe a defensive player or two.

Final Word:

It all starts with drafting Matt Barkley with the third overall pick though for the Raiders. Having a franchise quarterback is very important in the NFL and the Raiders could get one by drafting Barkley. The Raiders tried two dual-threat quarterbacks and the first one failed while the second one had some success if not for an injury. I believe in patterns in sports, and the next pattern in the Raiders quarterback shuffle would be to go with a passing first quarterback in Barkley. I may be wrong about Barkley but what I’ve seen from him throughout his college career and the Raiders recently, they would be a great pair. Also don’t forget that Barkley is just a year removed from being a “lock” for the Heisman Trophy and possibly being the number overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft if he had chosen to go into the NFL early. He has the credentials and the “it factor” that could really work in Oakland.

Three weeks ago, the Detroit Lions were on their way to victory at Ford Field on Monday Night Football. The Lions hadn’t started 5-0 in 55 years. When the game clock hit triple zero, the scoreboard read 24-13 – let’s celebrate Lions fans. On the road to the big win however, there was a significant loss.

During the course of the game, Detroit’s shifty starting running back, Jahvid Best, sustained his second concussion this season. Best’s college career at Cal Berkeley was cut short by concussion issues. This loaded concussion history doesn’t bode well for Best’s future, not only for this season, but for the rest of his potential career in the NFL. After the Monday night game, Best was thought to be out at least a month if not more, and this missing horsepower in Detroit’s 5-0 engine left them with a dilemma.

Most teams that taste a little bit of the winning nectar after extended periods of futility tend to panic when key injuries occur during their most proximate run of success. Instead of promoting within the ranks, they go out and usually give another organization way too much for what is only a best-guess attempt at a replacement.

Such is true even this season with the Oakland Raiders. After quarterback Jason Campbell went down with a separated shoulder, Oakland, by necessity more than anything else, due to the ineffectiveness of backup Kyle Boller, traded potentially two first round picks to the Cincinnatti Bengals for the services of holdout veteran quarterback Carson Palmer.

Along these same lines, the Lions sought to plug-in a running back of Best’s big play ability by offering their backup running back Jerome Harrison to Philadelphia. In exchange they reached for Eagles’ veteran running back Ronnie Brown, who has been a bell-cow back in years past, but recently has seen limited duty with the Eagles behind LeSean McCoy, who is as close to an every-down back as there is in the “running back by committee” NFL of today. The swap seemed to make a certain amount of sense for both teams – a win/win.

Trades in the NFL always bar a physical exam before they are made final, and these tests are usually the last to be administered before the transaction is completed. What is undoubtedly the most thorough physical exam known to man due to the investment being made, the professional team-sports “trade physical” includes everything one can think of, including x-rays and cat-scans. Upon these tests rendered for this particular trade, a brain tumor was found in Jerome Harrison’s head.

Fortunately, the tumor was discovered in what was found to be the early stages of the growth, and is considered not only treatable, but having a very high chance of not being life threatening if treated with the prudent urgency required. If it weren’t for Jahvid Best sustaining his most recent concussion and the Lions then in-turn seeking to trade Jerome Harrison for Ronnie Brown, Harrison’s tumor undoubtedly would have gone undetected for an uncertain period of time. The brain injury of one Detroit Lion running back ended up preventing potential brain damage of another – irony to say the least. It’s definitely possible that if Best wasn’t concussed, Harrison’s tumor could have grown to the point where it might have been life threatening if not terminal.

Considering the level of significance of the situation coupled with the perfect chain of events it required for the discovery of the tumor to come to fruition, it’s hard not to recognize some sort of divine intervention here – no hyperbole subscription attached. Of course describing what has transpired as some sort of religious or karmatic reward is a slippery slope, but a puzzle that so perfectly falls together in such a life-altering way should at least have the idea honestly and truthfully presented.

And for those who believe in completely random universe, when you see something almost blessed or surrealistic, it puts life in perspective for even the most rabid and diehard of a sports fan. It ends up leaving a lasting impression. It gives us perspective that transcends any “game.” It reminds us that irony can mean much, much more than simply a stale pun or a cheap joke. It reminds us that believing that everything happens for a reason might not be such a crazy idea after all.

And even if Jahvid Best never were to never take another hand-off in the NFL, he will always be able to find some level of solice in the fact that, in some weird and indescribable way, he may have very well saved his teammate’s life.