Davis did have some misses, but one must realize just how much Davis has had to endure.
In the world of sports, aging and injuries are considered natural disasters. The Raiders had plenty...at the same time.
Then, there were sudden departures of talented players. I consider those to be self-imposed disasters, but also happened right around the same time.
Look at the history of the Oakland Raiders and you'll see that rebuilding is something that Davis is not used to. Davis has always been able to get a few players to get right back into contention. This time, though, there were too many holes for a quick fix.
His first attempt at rebuilding happens to be his job of a lifetime. That may have caused him to panic, clouding his judgement on some of those players.
From 2002 to 2006, Davis missed badly on most of his personnel choices, digging "Raider Nation" an even deeper hole.
I believe that the panic caused these misses.
Just look at all the holes that needed filling at after the Super Bowl loss. Quarterback Rich Gannon suddenly suffered a career ending injury ; tantamount to the death of a King without an heir.
Then, huge holes were created on the offensive line with the departures of All-Pro's Lincoln Kennedy (tackle) and Barrett Robbins (center). Frank Middleton was also a key departure.
Robbins' departure, however, was most disturbing.
It started in early 2003, when he was mis...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
