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As a long time Raiders fan, the last few seasons have been very hard to stomach. the game has changed significantly over the last decade or so yet Al Davis still runs the team like he did in the 80's.
Pre salary cap, you could go out and sign a bunch a free agents and turn a losing team into a winner overnight. In today's league, it takes several years to turn a loser into a winner, you just can't do it overnight any longer. The exception is if you are only missing one or two major pieces to the puzzle, you can fill these with FA's and turn a loser into a winner overnight. Unfortunately, the Raiders have more than just a couple of holes to fill so there is no way to fix all the problems by overpaying a bunch of free agents. If the Raiders were one player away from being a winner I'd encourage Al to get out the checkbook and get busy.
Change neds to be made slowly, by utlizing the draft to bring in young players that fit the team system. Yet another problem the Raiders have. When you change your coach every other year, there is no chance to establish a system. Players who were signed for one coaches system may not fit into the new coaches system. It is a vicious cycle that will keep repeating itself until Al finally turns the controls over to an established GM.
A lot of people come on here and bash AL. Some of the criticism is valid but much of it is not. Al Davis wants to win, period. He doesn't want to take the time to rebuild the franchise over a couple of years by building through the draft. He wants to win today. Unfortunately the way the game is today, you can't simply win anymore by outspending the rest of the league. Hopefully Al will see the light one day soon but I fear that this trend will continue until Al is no longer healthy enough to run the team.
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