Silver & Black 4 Life
I disagreed with some of Al Davis’ recent decisions, particularly when he used his #1 pick for Jamarcus Russell, then stuck with him for three years when it was obvious Russell that was fat, dumb, and lazy.
But some of Al’s decisions were great: Getting Daryle Lamonica from the Buffalo Bills; Picking John Madden as a head coach in 1969; picking Tom Flores to replace Madden. One of his best decisions wasn’t obvious at the time: Getting Jim Plunkett as a backup. When Dan Pastorini was injured early in the 1980 season, Plunkett took over, and the team won two Super Bowls with Flores as the coach and Plunkett as the starting quarterback.
I got frustrated sometimes as a Raider fan, but almost everybody admits that Al Davis knew a lot about football, and helped shape the AFL/NFL into what it is today.