It finally dawned on me and it’s been bothering me for quite awhile. Jerry Jones has been following the old Raiders’ formula for success in the NFL. You long-time NFL fans remember how Al Davis used to take chances on the bad boys of the day or the cast offs from other teams and then mold a group of misfits into a Super Bowl Champion. It certainly looks like what the Cowboys have been up to lately. The moves to bring in Terrell Owens, Ken Hamlin, Leonard Davis, and Tank Johnson literally smack of Raider football. The Cowboys have been close in recent years, but just haven’t made it to the promised land. So back to the drawing board went Jerry and looky, looky, what he found! Zach Thomas, a Pro Bowl linebacker, became available when the Miami Dolphins under former Cowboys’ head coach Bill Parcells initiated a youth movement in Miami making the 13 year veteran available. Then there was the ongoing effort to get the rights to Adam Jones in a trade with the Tennessee Titans. That finally was accomplished and now the process to get him on the field is taking place while Adam seeks reinstatement after several run-ins with the law led to his banishment. Will Adam “Pacman” Jones be the key acquisition to put the Dallas Cowboys over the top? From all appearances, the rest of the Cowboy’s players have bought in to this latest effort as we’ve recently heard calls directed toward NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to allow Jones to be reinstated.

Do you remember the 1976 Raiders that featured a Snake, a Stork, a player from the University of Mars, and a castoff defensive tackle known as “The Tooz”? Ken “The Snake” Stabler, the left handed improviser from the University of Alabama,  led the Raiders to a 13-1 regular season record and then the team vanquished their long-time AFC rival Pittsburgh Steelers to get back into the Super Bowl for the second time in team history. This was long-time coach John Madden’s first and only visit to the league title game. The Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings for their first league championship in SB XI. While Stabler and Madden were always good for a couple of sound bites, the real characters on this team all resided on the defensive side. “The Stork”, Ted Hendricks (also known as “Kick em in the head Ted”) had  been brought in after breaking in with the Baltimore Colts, being traded to the Green Bay Packers and then a short stint in the World Football League. Al Davis just had to have him and he gave up two first round picks to the Packers for the gangly (6’7” 240 lb.) Hendricks. Ted just seemed to always be where the action was and it was clear he thoroughly enjoyed knocking heads. Otis Sistrunk, one of the few to play in the NFL while never playing in college, was playing for a minor league semi-pro football team when he was noticed by a couple of NFL talent scouts. Otis signed with the Raiders and soon became a fixture in the middle of their defensive line. Former player and TV commentator Alex Karras hung the title of Sistrunk having played for the “University of Mars” while the cameras showed him during a game sitting on the Raider bench with his shaved head steaming profusely in the cold. “The Tooz”, John Matuszak came to the Raiders after being a number one draft pick of the Houston Oilers in 1973 where Matuszak tried to play for both the Oilers and the Houston Texans in the new World Football League. This understandably ticked off the Oilers so they traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs who turned around the next year and traded him to the Raiders. In the day, Matuszak was one of the biggest men in the NFL at 6’8” tall and 280 lbs. and he must of reminded Al of another big defensive lineman the Raiders once had, Ben Davidson. Sadly, Matuszak died at the age of 39 after years of drug abuse (Many believe his death was directly related to the use of anabolic steroids). Of course it takes many players to make up a championship caliber pro football team and the Raiders had some good ones on that team including Hall of Fame members Fred Biletnikoff, Dave Casper, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, and Willie Brown.

In 1980, the Raiders were forced to cast their fortunes to another former number one draft pick, quarterback Jim Plunkett. Plunkett had come out of college as a Heisman Trophy winner and the New England Patriots used that number one pick to select him in 1971. Plunkett won the NFL Rookie of the Year award for the Pats but it turned into one losing season after another. Plunkett was being pummeled and lost his confidence. After 5 seasons in New England and two in San Francisco, the Raiders literally picked him off the NFL trash heap and allowed him to sit for two seasons as a backup throwing only 15 passes in 1979. Five games into the 1980 season, Dan Pastorini went down with a season ending broken leg. After a rocky start, Jim sucked it up and led the Raiders and new head coach Tom Flores to a wild card berth in the playoffs. This team still had many of the characters for the SB XI team but a couple of other cast offs were added. Speedy WR Bob Chandler came to the Raiders after 9 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The former Rose Bowl MVP with USC got his ring with this team. Cornerback Dwayne O’Steen was picked up after two years with the Los Angeles Rams, and Free Safety Burgess Owens  was signed after spending seven seasons with the New York Jets. These two joined Raider draft picks, CB Lester “The Molester” Hayes and FS Mike Davis in a completely rebuilt defensive secondary. The 1980 Raiders were the first wild card team to win the league championship as they dominated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 while being led by the ultimate cast off, Jim Plunkett.

Three years later, after defeating the NFL in an anti-trust lawsuit in which the Raiders partnered up with the Los Angeles Coliseum in order to move to Southern California, the Raiders under Tom Flores once again found themselves in the league championship game. This team again featured many of the same cast offs from SB XV but had also added a couple more interesting characters. Lyle Alzado finished his NFL career with the Raiders after starring with the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Lyle was known for his high RPM play and his intimidating style. Lyle Alzado became another former Raider defensive lineman that died at an early age a few years later. Alzado didn’t leave any doubt as he readily admitted the use of steroids and became an advocate against their use before his untimely death. Future Hall of Fame inductee Mike Haynes joined the Raiders after six All Pro seasons out of seven with the New England Patriots. Mike continued his stellar play with the Raiders for several more years. Another free agent wide receiver played for the Raiders opposite Cliff Branch making it three different WRs in three Raider Super Bowl wins to play opposite Cliff. Malcolm Barnwell was brought aboard after playing for the Washington Redskins and the New Orleans Saints. The Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII were once again led by Jim Plunkett who threw for one TD, but this game belonged to Marcus Allen whose reverse direction 74 yard long touchdown run broke the backs of the Washington Redskins in what turned out to be a 38-9 rout.

The Raiders appeared in two other Super Bowls in losing efforts, but the Raider tradition of sifting through the league's bad boys and other team’s cast offs has continued through the years. Al Davis, to his credit, was never afraid to give the “bad boys” a chance at the ring, and many of them made good on their chance.

Will the 2008 Dallas Cowboys follow suit?

The Miami Dolphins’ management began a discussion with potential draft pick Jake Long’s agent this past week. This discussion with Michigan’s mammoth All America Offensive Tackle has sent ripples across the NFL as everyone’s draft boards may have received what may turn out to be the first solidifying information of the year, but not so fast my friend, as one of those college football commentators likes to say. It’s time for the Raiders’ Al Davis and a couple of other NFL team owners and their upper management types to take a seat and listen for a change. Al, you might even want to take notes so you’ll be able to remember what’s being said here when you get out of bed tomorrow…

Early this coming week you can expect to hear that these same Dolphins have begun a conversation with Vernon Gholston, the Defensive End / Outside Linebacker that left a year of eligibility on the table with Ohio State and entered the 2008 Draft. Then later in the week you’ll most likely hear that the Phins are talking to Virginia’s Defensive End Chris Long. Got the picture yet? No?

              Vernon Gholston          Chris Long                         

Glenn Dorsey

Before April 26th, if I don’t miss the mark, we’re going to hear that the Dolphins have opened conversations with at least four of the top five 2008 draft prospects.

Why do you think they’re going to do this?

Al? Any idea?

No, it’s not to throw off the rest of the teams as to the Dolphins’ intentions with their number one pick.

You say that’s what you think Al?

You’re asking me what Al? What’s the point of that? All right, now listen carefully, Al. The Dolphins are playing it smart. They’re going to get a feel for how much each of these top prospects expect to receive in guaranteed money in order to sign before draft day is here. The Phins will be able to play games with each of these prospect’s negotiators and maybe even get a top player for less money by using this tactic, but that still is not the reason they are going through this exercise.

AL DAVIS! Get your head up off of that table in front of you and pay attention! The Dolphins are working to have their first pick of the draft signed, sealed and delivered before they ever announce who that pick actually is on the draft day. What a revelation!

What did you say Al? I see, money is not a consideration for the Pride and Poise organization. Uh-huh.

Well Al, how does having your $30 million first round pick from last year in training camp from the get go grab you?

What’s that Al? So what?

Well, it’s important to most NFL teams to have their top draft picks, you know, the expensive ones, in camp so they are sure to learn their team’s system as soon as possible rather than have them holding out while the rest of the team practices. Then these teams are in a better position to receive a return on their major investments sooner rather than later.

Yes Al, that might have given your young quarterback, Mr. Russell, a little more insight into the Raider playbook...

But thinking about it Al, since money is no object, what does it matter?