In the game last Sunday in which the Raiders faced the Chiefs, second year Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles ran for 103 yards. It was Charles' first start since the Chiefs gave up on their former star running back Larry Johnson and the Chiefs seem to have officially passed the torch to Charles. He responded by putting up over a hundred yards rushing on just 18 carries.

This got me thinking. Jamaal Charles was drafted in the third round of the 08 draft. The same draft that saw the Raiders take Darren McFadden as the first running back off the board (#4 overall). McFadden was handed the keys to the Raider offense to begin this season and he has decidedly failed at the task. The week one game against the Chargers McFadden put together 65 yards rushing. Little did we know at the time, that would be his best game this season. Then he played just 3 more games before he went down with injury. In the five games he has played in this season, he has gained just 157 yards.

Add his total of 499 yards from last season and he has all of 656 yards over a season and a half. Not exactly numbers that conjure up a lot of faith in his abilities.

It is not like there wasn't a fine crop of running backs to choose from in the draft either. In fact, you have to scan all the way to the fifth round before you find a running back who has worse numbers than McFadden...and that is because he (Ryan Torain) didn't even make it through his rookie season.

Here, take a look at the 2008 drafted running backs for yourself:

1 4 Darren McFadden RB Arkansas Oakland Raiders

1 13 Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon Carolina Panthers

1 22 Felix Jones RB Arkansas Dallas Cowboys

1 23 Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois Pittsburgh Steelers

1 24 Chris Johnson RB East Carolina Tennessee Titans

2 44 Matt Forte RB Tulane Chicago Bears

2 55 Ray Rice RB Rutgers Baltimore Ravens

3 64 Kevin Smith RB Central Florida Detroit Lions

3 73 Jamaal Charles RB Texas Kansas City Chiefs

3 89 Steve Slaton RB West Virginia Houston Texans

4 122 Tashard Choice RB Georgia Tech Dallas Cowboys

5 139 Ryan Torain RB Arizona State Denver Broncos

5 149 Tim Hightower RB Richmond Arizona Cardinals

5 166 Marcus Thomas RB Texas-El Paso Dallas Cowboys

6 172 Thomas Brown RB Georgia Atlanta Falcons

6 176 Jalen Parmele RB Toledo Baltimore Ravens

6 179 Xavier Omon RB Northwest Missouri State Buffalo Bills

6 202 Mike Hart RB Michigan Indianapolis Colts

6 204 Lex Hilliard RB Montana Miami Dolphins

7 213 Chauncey Washington RB USC Jacksonville Jaguars

7 227 Peyton Hillis RB Arkansas Denver Broncos

7 233 Justin Forsett RB California Seattle Seahawks

7 238 Cory Boyd RB South Carolina Denver Broncos

7 240 Allen Patrick RB Oklahoma Cleveland Browns

You may notice another player from this draft that was just given his first ever start in seventh round selection Justin Forsett. An opportunity Forsett made the most of by gaining 123 yards on the ground. A total that McFadden has only been able to surpass once in his 18 games in the NFL.

Not only has McFadden only surpassed the century plateau once in his career, but he has only passed 50 yards twice. And he hasn't been making up for it in other areas either. His career receiving total is just 338 yards.

Among the running backs in his class, he ranks tenth overall. That is out of 12 running backs that are still in the league and were drafted into the fifth round. Jamaal Charles and Felix Jones are the only two backs that have less yards than McFadden. However, both have much better yards per carry averages than McFadden's 4 ypc (Charles 5.4 ypc, Jones 7.7). Jones was injured most of last season and a large chunk of this season and has never been given the carries or handed the starting job as McFadden has. And Charles is just 44 yards behind McFadden; a total he will no doubt surpass in his next game.

Six backs from that class have over 1000 yards in their careers and one has over 2000 (Chris Johnson). Rashard Mendenhall was on injured reserve all of last season and has surpassed McFadden's total while starting only a portion of this season for the Steelers.

So what is the reason/excuse?

It isn't how bad the team is. If that were the case then how do you explain the Lions' Kevin Smith having almost 1500 yards in a season and a half? Or the Texans' Steve Slaton having 1641 yards? The Texans aren't exactly a powerhouse and the Lions went 0-16 last season as we all know. You can toss in the success of Jamaal Charles for the lowly Chiefs as well. And if it really is just the Raiders being bad, why do both of the other Raider running backs in the same time frame have far superior numbers than McFadden? Michael Bush has 771 yards despite not starting a single game in his career. And Justin Fargas has 1157 yards during that time as well.

Sure you can point to him being injured but is that really an excuse that works in his favor? Being fragile is not much better than not being talented. But taking the injury bug out of the equation, what has he done when healthy?

He was always touted for his game breaking ability and his versatility while his lateral quickness was never considered his strong suit. Well, this season, during the three healthy games to start the season in which he was completely healthy, his longest carry was just 15 yards. And he only did it once. Pair that with the fact that if a defender merely touches his feet as he is running and you've got a serious problem. Oh yeah, and he also had a game in which he had three fumbles. So let's review: he is not really all that fast, he doesn't have lateral quickness, he goes down easy on contact, and he can't hold onto the ball. The four primary functions of a running back, he doesn't have.

So why did the Raiders draft him? Speed? If Al wanted speed, he could have gotten it in spades with Chris Johnson who set a combine record in the 40 yard dash. And unlike most combine phenoms, he has been just as fast on the football field and even more lethal. He was a top back last season and already has over 1000 yards this season to lead the league. The problem with Johnson was he came out of little celebrated Eastern Carolina and he didn't have the hype machine working for him. McFadden won all the awards and played for SEC powehouse Arkansas.

But the real question going into this draft was: why draft a running back at all? The Raiders already had stable of fine running backs. One of whom was former Heisman hopeful and, previous to his injury, a surefire first rounder Michael Bush. He was considered by most accounts to be a steal in the fourth round the year prior. It made no sense to make the investment to draft Bush knowing he would have to sit out a year only to draft another back the year after. Especially with much more pressing needs like defensive tackle, linebacker, defensive end, and offensive tackle.

The Raides suffered at all of these positions last season and continue to struggle at the linebacker and offensive tackle position this season. So while the biggest mistake may have been in drafting a running back at all, McFadden's poor performance only shines a glaring light on that mistake. If he had been as advertised, the transgression might be more easily forgivable. But as it stands, he acts as a constant reminder of wasted draft choices and first round busts. Since it has been proven that great teams are built through the draft, he is just a sign post along a dark and dreary stretch of road that has led to seven years of failure for this franchise... and counting.

Comments (16)

JS
written by oregon poop, November 20, 2009

I still ask....why did we go running back when we had justin and bush?

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McFumble with Imatation Cheese
written by SUNKEN SHIP, November 20, 2009

McFUMBLE oh yes! Just another Al Davis bust and the here it is: JWalrus strike one, DHB HGH what who ever this track dude is he is not a football player, strile two and of course there is McFUmble; who is not made of glass but friken China. Strike three AL DAVIS MUST RESIGN AND HIRE A GM, HE IS A NATIONAL JOKE AND SHOULD HANG IT UP WHILE HE HAS ANY DIGNITY LEFT.

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written by Aaronraider13, November 20, 2009

Al seems to do very well in the later rounds. I am trying to remember a first round pick that i agreed with in recent memory???? Woodson is the only one that comes to mind. If Al still had his brains from the 80s, Drew Brees would be throwing touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald, while Adrian Peterson was ripping off huge runs. Ricky Dudley would have been dropping passes for the Ravens and Ray Lewis would be crushing AFC west running backs for the Raiders. Haloti Ngata would be clogging up the running lanes for the Raiders while Michael Huff rides the pine with someone else. I could go on and on. Darrell Russell instead of Walter Jones, Tyler Brayton over Osi Umenyoura. Al should be banned from the first round.

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written by bigsnow81, November 20, 2009

Al Davis is so inconsistent in his drafting it makes me sick. Another player with pure speed from that draft class is Desean Jackson. Jackson could have been drafted with the 2nd round pick used for De Angelo Hall. There you have it pure speed on the board for Al Davis and he passed on it. 2004: Robert Gallery over Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethisberger. 2005: Trading the #7 overall pick for Randy Moss over drafting Aaron Rogers. Rogers is from my hometown Chico, California. 2006: Michael Huff rather than Jay Cutler, Maurice Jones-Drew. 2007: Jamarcus Russell over Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, or Calvin Johnson. 2008: Mcfadden over Chris Johnson. Trading the 2nd round pick for De Angelo Hall instead of drafting Desean Jackson hurts because WR was a desperate need. Every time I think about it I get pissed off

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Next year's draft
written by JB, November 20, 2009

Only offensive position needed in the first round is OL. But because of the system, we don't need the every down, phyiscally dominanting lineman. That's B.S. but I don't see Cable, if he is still here next year, convincing Al. So, lets get McClain from Alabama to compete at MLB with Kirk. If he don't beat him out, we get a hell of a SLB until he is ready.

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written by Aaronraider13, November 20, 2009

Jackson was off the board when the Raiders picked in the second so don't get too upset. They could have had Eddie Royal though.

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written by ahay, November 20, 2009

i think you are a bit too quick to dismiss the raiders being a sub-par offensive team as the reason that dmac has had such little success. of course you can't blame the team for everything, but the teams you named, the Lions and Texans both have a QB that can keep a defense honest. matt schaub can certainly do it, and i believe it was culpepper for the lions last year. with russell behind center, opposing teams know they can put 8, 9, 10 in the box and dare him to throw it!! as bad as the lions were for losing ALL their games last year, they still looked better on offense than the Raiders have this year! as for bush being able to get the yards this year... he is a bruising back that works well up the middle. dmac needs bigger holes up the middle or needs to stretch the defense and get to the corner. one thing that has plagued him is his inability to stay on his feet after contact!

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written by James Turner, November 22, 2009

Al made a big mistake in drafting this guy, very fragile lower body, runs too high and has poor awareness and field vision. I wondered what Al was smoking when he drafted McFadden, if he wanted speed and explosiveness then Chris Johnson would've been the number 1 choice, but my dark horse pick was Charles which I beleive has the best top end speed in the draft and in all of football, he could've gotten Charles in the second round. Al you failed this time.

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written by RaiderDoc, November 22, 2009

Jury is still out on DMac but it's not looking good. Everyone throwing in hindsight on who would have been the better pick at RB is kind of silly. Everyone I remember hearing of had DMac as the top rated RB. And by a decent margin. The one major knock on him at the time was his fumbling... a few mentioned his scrawny legs, but most let that go for his explosiveness. The real big problem is we did not need an RB and that is where the fault lies.

I think there is a chance, if someone is smart enough to use him right, he ends up being a pretty good change of pace back. The big problem there is that we don't have anyone "smart" in the organization.

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Meanwhile...
written by ams2fx, November 22, 2009

Those of us who were hollering for somebody other than McPointless two years ago, and were blasted by people on this site (Spokane something or other was one of McFadden's biggest promoters, iirc) are left looking unfortunately prescient.

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McPointless... :^) good one.
written by SnBsn69, November 22, 2009

PreDraft blogging in 2009 was all about DMAC this and DMAC that. No room for any other opinions. If they don't want DMAC the explosive, hate on 'em. I wanted linemen. Still do. Good lines make every other position work. Good lines expose fraudulent (overated McPointless, JaBustus, DHB) backs and receivers. I really wanted these guys to do well because I love this team. But you know what? The team is a mismanged group of talented men who have no formula for success. TAlent does not matter here, period. No amount of brute force talent can overcome the mess that is this organization's inability to use fundamental leadership techniques that work in every other organization and profession. It is equally pointless to even share your opinions coming into the 2010 draft in anything other than a "what if" scenario. Especially if you intend to be harsh. Face it. Davis doesn't want us and doesn't care. So we are all we've got. What was it Theodore "Ted" Logan said? "Be excellent to each other!"

It is pointless to argue what is best for this team until Davis passes ownership to someone else. However that happens. If we feel fired up about some issue, then let's throw down and discuss it here. But remember no matter how strongly you feel about this choice or that decision, your opinion really does stop right here. Your Raider Nation friends are the only ones who care. The way the organization is now, they'll ruin your pick anyway. And we'll all wonder next year why we were split on a pick or an issue in the first place. I signed the message to Al petition. But I'll tell you. If that billboard goes up, it will just pi$$ him off. He will not relent and will definitely dig in like the old blood sucking tick he is. I fell in love with this team the first time I saw their uniforms. I later loved the way they played ball. Now I guess I just love the uniforms and the history. Sad.

I hope Oh-No-I-Stinko gets his bell rung today. Maybe it will shut him up for a minute.

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written by SnBsn69, November 22, 2009

Ok,
I was one of those guys who read but never posted. I didn't get involved. So I guess I have no legitimate right to bitch now. But I am. I did not like the selections of JR, DMAC, or DHB in the draft. I swallowed each questionable pick like a trooper and said "We should have gotten a lineman" to myself.

These were my thoughts then and now.

2007 After a legitimately miserable year with Art and the BB Offense. I looked at one statistic that in my mind said it all.

72 sacks. I have seen QBs with zero mobility do great things given some time in the pocket, or in our case at the time, given a pocket. There is no way Walter was as bad as that statistic made him look. I wouldn't be surprised if his poor wife wakes to his screams in the night. He has to have post traumatic stress.

I wanted linemen then. I want them now. I have read all the posts, every one. To those who claim the ZBS scheme can fit our players and raise their standard of play to pro-bowl level I say think again. Schemes and systems can be coached and coached around. Truly talented and smart players can adapt to any scheme or system and make it work. Smash mouth ballers play smash mouth ball regardless of the system. Can any of us say that any of our linemen are TRULY smash mouth ballers, of Pro Bowl Stature? I think not. Yes I hear you Gallery fans. But really, is he so good as to stand up and stand out in Pittsburgh, New England, New York, Minnesota, New Orleans or Green Bay? Now take your seats and be quiet. I am not slamming the guy. I just don't think he's all that when compared to truly good lines and linemen in this or past NFL franchises. Would Jim Otto want him to his right or left?

So we drafted JR based on an LSU bowl game night of perfect proportions to highlight the one night skills of our over portioned acquisition. He held out for big bucks. Now we know that he did that to hedge against the fact that HE KNEW THEN AND KNOWS NOW that he is not as good as the game that got him here. Say what you will but Kiffen knew. I didn't care for wonder boy but to his credit, he knew. And he adjusted by bringing cable over to do ZBS because there was no building the line with new smash mouth ballers as Al continued with the need for speed and a big right arm. But I digress.

I accepted the adjustments that ZBS promised knowing that this was curing a symptom rather than treating the disease. The fact that ZBS is a poor sub for acquiring real linemen is demonstrated by the inability to provide pass protection; which boils down to fairly straight forward set of one on one battles.

Alas poor JR didn't miss his rookie camp because in truth he would never attend one at all. Camp for an NFL QB starts on draft day and continues from before dawn to well after sundown every day thereafter until you quit the game. JR has yet to attend a real camp or to his duties as a leader and team mate. Ask Unitas, Starr, Blanda, Staubach, Lamonica, Bradshaw, even Elway (EWWWW!) that left a bad taste on my keyboard. But we all know it down deep. JR will not (he never intended to), put in the time and effort to be an impact player; because he knows he is a one game wonder.

What of DMAC? These were the initials that sparked a blog war in 2008 pre draft. I never read so much hate mail. You know what? Thinking back I remember those few who said "we need linemen." Well we still do. DMAC was a wasted pick because we needed to change the faces of our offense up front. Great lines instill fear in the opposition at every tier of the defense.

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Cont'
written by SnBsn69, November 22, 2009

Defensive players are different by nature. They are attempting to change the game every play with their individual performance. Their egos are at stake on every play in a way that is different from O-linemen. Defensive [players look forward to contact with backs and receivers but not with blockers. DTs and LBs don't fear HBs; they deal with them, harshly. They fear great linemen because great linemen do the unthinkable to a defensive player. They remove his element of impact. All defensive players think of themselves as impact players. They live to render impact on RBs. If they have to deal with linemen, they are emasculated in public. When our notably less than impressive front seven step up to the line, I ask you, who's afraid of what is about to go down? Not the Richard Seymours and Greg Ellis types of the NFL. Those fella's are thinking about lunchmeat. It is pretty hard to develop a swagger in that environment. So we give McPointless the ball and you guessed it, lunchmeat for everybody. I don't think I will ever listen to the DMAC rumble on this blog again. It has pretty much died away. Good thing too because the only backs that play impact ball behind a poor line are the real smash mouth ballers (FARGAS and say it with me...BUUSSHHH!) There is an impressive guy who had his leg broken in half and worked his way back to impact player. If we had linemen with his attitude or Justin's, we would have smash mouth on the line and people would fear us.

There is no reason to discuss DHB. His stats tell all. Comparisons are futile because he thinks he is doing fine; because he is still getting paid to do just what he is doing. Nothing.


So what's right with our fair Raiduhs you ask? Well we have some bright guys and some smash mouth ballers. What we lack is a commitment to excellence. That is because a commitment would require three types of leadership at and from the top. Participative leadership --to get the most from your people. You need their perspective, strength and muscle to address complex situations and shifting situations. You need their situational awareness. Delegative leadership is needed to take advantage of when the people below your level understand the problem better than you do. This would be especially helpful at the GM and HC levels. Authoritative leadership is needed to address the discipline issues. Let's face it these guys should live on campus until they get it, period. Can you say Lombardi? They named that damned trophy for more than one good reason and one was definitely discipline.

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Cont' Last
written by SnBsn69, November 22, 2009

So where exactly does that leave us?

Franchise leadership is not on mission “Just Win" doesn't mean just win my way. Commitment to Excellence does not allow for any commitments that don't commit to the mission. To commit is to set aside for a single purpose not person. Franchise leadership must embrace and implement what these vision statements and mission really mean. They are selfless or they are compromised and failure is the only possible outcome.

Team leadership must be empowered by franchise leadership. The current methodology yields only lifeless and uninspired thinking. How many times have we said “vanilla” in relation to our game plans and play calling? This is why you don't spank children. While I agree that corporal punishment in the case of a child running into the street is probably ok, I doubt the complex problems of team cohesiveness are solved through beat downs, intimidation and fear management. I suspect that is the environment in Alameda if you aren't John Madden. Sadly, this is why no really hot creative minds want to coach for Davis. He's a bully even when he's right and especially when he's wrong. When my grandfather lost the ability to discern reality from dreams at 93 he was also afflicted with the worst nightmare of all, mistrust. I feel sorry for anyone trapped in that cycle. There is literally no one you can trust and no way out. Dementia is not required to suffer from mistrust but the analogy is hard to avoid.

Field leadership. In every job there is a leadership component. Lead by example. Show up early/on time depending on the situation, leave late as required and put in every ounce of effort on the job. Do not hold back. Everyone still reading knows the names of the players on the lists they are creating in their minds. Ballers and busters. The bloggers here have called them out weekly. I cannot believe we are still living with some of them taking up roster space when clearly they bring less to the table when they participate than their outright absence would contribute. So in managing players all three leadership styles are necessary to ensure that they will lead in their own capacity as players.

Moving the franchise will not help. Changing the franchise from the top down is the only way out. I am afraid we are stuck there. Until he embraces real change in leadership philosophy, strategy and tactics, this franchise will remain bogged down in its own problems. Their may be bright spots related to the blind squirrel finding a nut law, but they are predictably few.

If we had had the inner strength and determination to change in our franchise leadership office back in 2003, this discussion that started out about draft picks and linemen would never have taken place. We would have smash mouth linemen and innovative coaches and reliable team leaders. We would attract talent and pay handsomely for it without regret. We would have the most loyal fan base of take no crap/give no mercy fanatics you ever saw. We would be Raiduhs.

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written by ams2fx, November 24, 2009

^^ I'm with you, dude -- I've been hollering linemen each draft for several years running. Either side of the ball is fine, though I'd go OL first, DL second. Someday we'll get the lines back in good shape ...

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Donkey RBs
written by SnBsn69, November 24, 2009

I keep thinking that the Donkeys had three good RBs after TD and yet I can't remember who they were. Because their run game wasn't about backs. it was about linemen.

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