OAKLAND RAIDERS

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The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders began play in 1960 as the eighth charter member of the American Football League (AFL), where they won one championship and three division titles. The team joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL-NFL Merger. Since joining the NFL the Raiders have won twelve division titles and three Super Bowls, and have appeared in two other Super Bowls. The team has thirteen enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

During their first three seasons, the Raiders struggled both on and off the field. In 1963, Al Davis was brought to the team as head coach and general manager. Davis immediately turned the Raiders into winners, and from 1963 until 2002 the team had only seven losing seasons. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise," "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just Win, Baby"—all of which are registered trademarks. Except for a brief term as AFL Commissioner in 1966, Davis has been with the team continually. Upon his return to Oakland in 1966, he became a managing partner of the franchise.

After a few years of legal battles, Davis moved the team from Oakland to Los Angeles, California in 1982. While in Los Angeles, the Raiders won their third Super Bowl, but made just two playoff appearances through the rest of the 1980s. In 1995, Davis moved the team back to Oakland. In 2000, head coach Jon Gruden led Oakland to their first division title since 1990, but left the team one season later. Under head coach Bill Callahan, Oakland faced Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, where they were defeated 48-21. Since the loss, the Raiders have posted four consecutive losing seasons. In January 2007, the team named 31-year-old Lane Kiffin their fourth head coach since Gruden's departure in 2002.

Upon receiving the franchise, Oakland civic leaders found a number of businesspeople willing to invest in the new team. A limited partnership was formed to own the team headed by managing general partner Chet Soda, a local real estate developer, and included general partners Ed McGah, Robert Osborne, Wayne Valley, Harvey Binns, Don Blessing, and Charles Harney as well as numerous limited partners. A "name the team" contest was held by a local newspaper, and the winner was the Oakland Señors. After a few weeks of being the butt of local jokes the fledgling team (and its owners) changed the team's name to the Oakland Raiders, which had finished third in the naming contest. The original team colors were black, gold and white. The team emblem of a pirate (or "raider") wearing a football helmet was created, reportedly a rendition of actor Randolph Scott.

When the University of California refused to let the Raiders play home games at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, they chose Kezar Stadium in San Francisco as their home field. The team's first regular season home game was played on September 11, 1960, a 37-22 loss to the Houston Oilers. The Raiders finished their first campaign with a 6-8 record, and lost $500,000. Desperately in need of money to continue running the team, Valley received a $400,000 loan from Buffalo Bills founder Ralph C. Wilson Jr.

After the conclusion of the first season Soda dropped out of the partnership, and on January 17, 1961, Valley, McGah and Osborne bought out the remaining four general partners. Soon after, Valley and McGah purchased Osborne's interest, with Valley named as the managing general partner. That year the Raiders moved to Candlestick Park, where total attendance for the season was about 50,000, and finished 2-12. Valley threatened to move the Raiders out of the area unless a stadium was built in Oakland, but in 1962 the Raiders moved into 18,000-seat Frank Youell Field (later expanded to 22,000 seats), their first home in Oakland.[7] It was a temporary home for the team while the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was under construction. Under Marty Feldman and Red Conkright—the team's second and third head coaches since entering the AFL—the Raiders finished 1-13 in 1962, losing their first 13 games before winning the season finale, and attendance remained low.

Raiders 2008 NFL Draft Preview Wishlist
The Raiders will have the No. 3 or 4 pick in April's NFL draft, depending on a coin flip with Atlanta - both boasting 4-12 records from 2007. The Raiders have a number of offensive weapons with Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry, Lamont Jordan and Zach Miller. Oakland sunk tons of money into Jamarcus Russell in 2007, so drafting another top-5 signal caller is definitely out in 2008. The defense has some good, young pieces like pass rusher Derrick Burgess, Thomas Howard and Michael Huff. The draft will give the Raiders the opportunity to fill their biggest need areas of offensive line, linebacker and defensive tackle.

The Raiders are in a great position to fill those needs with the 2008 draft. Those positions are some of the deepest this year. In the top-5, the Raiders will have one of these players available to them: Glenn Dorsey, Jake Long, Keith Rivers, Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan and Darren McFadden. Obviously, the two quarterbacks are out. If the Raiders had all of them available, they would probably choose Dorsey. Unfortunately, Dorsey will be snagged by St.Louis if Miami passes on the mammoth defensive tackle. Darren McFadden would be the best player available - and you never know with Al Davis wanting to make that instant impact. With the Raiders struggles with pass protection over the past few seasons, it would take prescription drugs for Oakland to pass on a franchise tackle like Jake Long. Keith Rivers a wild card because Raiders need another play-maker in the front seven on defense. The Raiders take Jake Long in the 1st round.

The Raiders sure up the offensive line with another tackle in the 2nd round, either Gosder Cherilus (Boston College) or Carl Nicks (Nebraska). Jamarcus Russell now has a chance to have some success in 2008. Lamont Jordan and Jerry Porter send Al Davis a thank you card in late April. In the 3rd round, Oakland targets a linebacker - Virginia Tech's Vince Hall or Maryland's Erin Henderson. Rounds 4 and 5 give the Raiders and opportunity for cornerback Chevis Jackson (LSU), wide receiver Mark Bradford (Stanford) and speedy defensive tackle James McClinton (Kansas).

With a couple key free agents and a solid draft, the Raiders would be in position to compete in the AFC West starting in 2008. They would have young talent on the offensive to fuel their running and passing attacks, play-makers on both sides of the ball and a young quarterback to start from week 1.

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