Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

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Saturday, August 6, 2016
Oakland Raiders All Career-Year Team
OPINION
By John Turney

A team as storied as the Raiders had to be tough do to! The only thing that popped out at me that I would have picked different would be to flip your TE spots and put Christiansen '83 on the 1st team. Great job as always!

ChrisBabcock wrote:A team as storied as the Raiders had to be tough do to! The only thing that popped out at me that I would have picked different would be to flip your TE spots and put Christiansen '83 on the 1st team. Great job as always!

Thanks, I should add some text. With Casper, he was the #1 TE by Pro Scout Inc, and Christiansen was #2 in '83. So, by virtue of blocking and that, I went Casper over Todd C. But, as I say, it's just my opinion, taking available data and then making a choice. Reasonable folks can easily make a case, as you did, that sme picks could be different.

Excellent read as usual, and another great conversation starter. I wonder about Charles Woodson's 1998 season. He did have 5 interceptions, but he also got burned on occasio,n as he learned the ropes. He won DROY and made the Pro Bowl, but didn't get any All Pro recognition. I would have switched Woodson and Nnamdi around, (Nnamdi was a consensus All Pro in 2008) and used Woodson's 1999 season for the HM, where he was a consensus All Pro. He only had one interception that year, but that can be taken as a sign of his effectiveness.

1998 for Woodson was a mistake, I've corrected it. You other point is well-taken, Nnamdi could be as high as #3 on the list, or las low as 5, it was a very tough call. Some of us recently had a discussion about it and it was just hard to separate those top 5 guys. Good points.

John, did Howie Long get any consideration at defensive tackle?

conace21 wrote:John, did Howie Long get any consideration at defensive tackle?

No, not really, because it would be too confusing. Pro Scout Inc considers a 3-4 end when it's a 2-gap scheme (some 3-4 schemes are not 2-gap) they consider that a tackle. So, internally they considered him a tackle, but for ratings they put him in with the ends.

On run downs Howie was a left end. On pass downs he was a 3-tech, with Pickel playing the shade tech (1-tech). And sometimes Long, especially in 1985 and 1986 when they were copying the 46 defense he played nose. Also, when Lyle Alzado needed a rest (he took a series off more than most players) Long would play RDE or if Lyle was hurt, Howie would play RDE and Pickel LDE Kinlaw nose. then in nickle Pickel would play the 3-tech, Long RDE and Townsend LDE.

Anyway, I know I put Richard Seymour as a DT for Pats, and didn't do same for Long, in a sense he was a tackle. Also, the Raiders had good defensive tackles to consider, too. Best way to put it is guys like Long and Seymour and Dan Hampton were linemen who were hybrids.

Hampton, like in 1985-87, would start at LDE and then in 46 was on nose and in nickle he was the 3-technique. In the last game of 87 Hampton was moved to RDT permanantly and there were times when Fridge was the LDE in run downs.

Another of these hybrids was Toos, also Leonard Marshall, Dennis Harrison, Doug Betters, Bubba Smith moved inside some. Keith Sims. It was quite a trend in 1980s. Smith was one of few in the 1970s to do it. In 1975 Ed Jones did it some, when Randy White played LDE in nickel. Rulon Jones in the 1980s did it a lot. Cannot name them all, but really, in 1980s, the way to pick an All-Decade team is pick 4 DL, reglardless of postion