It’s not often--very, very, not often--that one sees the Raiders fan base open up and lay copious praise at the feet of Al Davis. Especially not after a draft, considering the Raiders’ recent history of spending first round picks on spectacular failures. We’re told that if Darrius Heyward-Bey were somehow not available at No. 7 last year, Davis was prepared to draft himself. Okay, we’re making that up. Probably.
Raiders Blog: ‘Heartfelt Thanks To Al Davis’
But this actually looked like a normal team’s draft, complete with good and bad players, and it prompted this paean from our Oakland Raiders blog, Silver and Black Pride:
The players you have acquired make us happy and hopeful. We appreciate your thorough preparation and intelligent steely-nerved execution throughout this preseason and especially these past 3-days. With finesse and poise you demonstrated sophistication and mastery.
The Silver & Black phenomena is like nothing else whatsoever. May the name “Oakland”, which is synonymous with “Raiders”, again and always evoke an immediate association with speed, intimidation and devastation.
As for the players themselves, SABP gives the draft a solid rating overall, grading four picks and the Jason Campbell trade at A- or above. Here’s their rundown of top pick Rolando McClain:
Round 1, Pick 8: Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama -- Grade: A-
Inside linebacker or middle linebacker, call him whatever you want. It doesn't matter because the kid is a football player and was a pretty damn good one for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, McClain is coming to Oakland and taking over for Kirk Morrison. This was a surprise, but not a bad surprise. Just about everybody had written off McClain coming to Oakland, but Al Davis and company made a sensible decision with the eighth pick. After the aforementioned Morrison was dealt, this pick made a whole lot more sense. A true leader and someone of high character, McClain will be a big step in improving the anemic run defense. Can he alone put an end to our run defense woes? I don't know, but he can help in a big way. I know Rolando will make us proud.
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