Look, the 70's and 80's were great times for us Raider fans, but those days are long gone and the Raider business model from those times simply don't work anymore.  I ask you, since our last Super Bowl victory in '83-84, we've only been to the show once and that was only when A.D. let a coach bring a "newer/fresher" offensive scheme.  Since A.D. jettisoned Gruden's west coast offense, and instilled his much beloved "vertical" offense with Shell and Turner, and Cable what has happened?  Yes, the worst record in all of professional football.  You bring up injuries....yes, we have suffered injuries on the O-Line, but we can say that about the majority of the NFL.  The difference between us and the upper echelon teams is that A.D. doesn't plan well for such inevitable scenarios.  He invest so much of his cap money on the "flash" positions, that he has not $$'s available to invest in quality linemen in both the starters and in the back-up's.  If we were playing in an uncapped NFL, like we did back in our hey-day, then it wasn't a problem, but we're not, and his strategy of stockpiling 4.3 40-yard dash players has left arguably the most important positions on a roster (linemen) with a bare cupboard.  Plus, even when A.D. decides to "invest" in linemen, he simply cannot pick great players.  To illustrate, let's look at the highly drafted linemen that he's drafted over the last decade or so......1998 1st rd Mo Collins (average at best), 1999 1st rd Matt Stinchcomb (bust), 2002 2nd Langston Walker (marginal starter at best), 2004 1st rd Robert Gallery (bust at OT, good at G) 2004 2nd rd Jake Grove (average starter).......look Gallery is a good Guard, but when you draft a guy #2 overall in the entire draft, you expect that guy to be a perennial Pro Bowler at the Left Tackle position.....rarely is a Guard drafted in the first round, and never in the Top-5, of Round #1.   Dig deeper.  Look for the root cause to our roster issues.  Ask yourself why our roster is exposed when we suffer a couple of injuries.  A.D. spends, but spends the cap $$'s unwisely, in the wrong areas and in the wrong players.

Now, let 's look at the WR position.  Again, ask yourself why we are starting (2) rookie WR's?  Are they better than Higgins and Walker?  If they are, then what does that say about spending a 2nd rd pick on Higgins and his decision to spend millions on signing Walker, who EVERYONE knew was a head-case, with a damaged knee.  Again, picking the wrong guys and overspending.  No one doubts A.D.'s will to win, we just doubt his capacity to make the good personnel decisions.  Who puts together a roster that leans on two rookies WR's?  Sure Schilens is injured, but Schilens was a 7th rd draft pick from San Diego St that was oft-injured in college, and never completed a full season, so putting much major stock in him was irresponsbile on A.D.'s part.  Again, it would have been nice to have invested in some veteran help at the WR position, but because so much of the cap money is invested in other areas (because we always draft in the Top-10), we simply do not have the funds to invest in quality back-up's.  Was it a good decsion on A.D.'s part to let GRove go and replace with Satele?  Was it done for $$.  Again, A.D. spends unwisely, in the wrong players and at the wrong positions. 

Lastly, let's look at your boy Jamarcus.  He was a project coming out of college.  Even his head coach at LSU said as much, as did all the other people around the NFL.  When you have the #1 overall pick in the NFL, you just CANNOT afford to miss on that selection, because of laudy expectations and the amount of guaranteed $$'s that goes to that player.  That player has to produce at a high level, early-on in his career.  The fact that we're having to beg the guy to show up to the practive facility and to fine him to watch his caloric intake, 3 years into the league, speaks volumes about his commitment to his team and the game.  Did you see his behavior at the NFL Combine?  He didn't work out at the combine because he was in horrible shape!  How could you show up in lousy condition on the most important series of day's in your entire young life?  What does that say about his maturity and commitment?  What about his college resume leads you to believe that he has "it"?  Like A.D., were you mesmorized by his one game againt Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl? Wow, one game, versus a vastly overatted Notre Dame team.  Like I said before, let's dig deeper.  How did Jamarcus perform during his career when going up against the top teams in the SEC during his 3 years as LSU's starter........From 2004-2006, he started 12 games versus the likes of Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee....how did her perform.?  His W-L record was 6 -6, where he completed 57% of his passes, with 10 TD passes and 10 INT's.  7 of those games he passed for under 200 yards and 5 he passed for 200+ yards., with a high game of 269 yards........do those numbers equate to the #1 overall pick in the draft?  I say, "no".  He is in his 3rd year of the NFL, so are you seeing marked improvement in his decision making, pocket presence, accuracy?  I say, "no".  Again, when you draft someone #1 overall, we fully expect to see much more than what we're seeing.