Not to sound completely distasteful but I find it hilarious how everyone is talking about how great he was. For YEARS lately, all people have done is ridicule him and talk about how once he's gone, the Raiders will be able to draft better, make better financial decisions, etc. Now that he IS gone, people are going back on what they said. Are people afraid to say what they really think because it may seem distasteful? If so, that's pathetic.
Al Davis had a huge impact on the game. Some good, some AWFUL. In my opinion the Raiders will become a stronger team without him...
With that being said, RIP Al Davis
There's no doubt Davis had some dubious decisions recently, and I'm guilty of making fun of many of them.
But we're talking about a football lifer who spent decades building up that franchise. He won an AFL coach of the year award in the 60s. As owner/GM, his team had an amazing run from 1967 to 1985, going to the play-offs 15 times, winning the division 13 times, an AFL championship and 3 Super Bowls. The Raiders are also one of two teams that have played in a Super Bowl in 4 different decades.
Recent history hasn't been kind, and huge busts like Jamarcus Russell and Heyward-Bey had us convinced the guy had lost his mind. A huge bust like Russell can overshadow a lot of other things, but when you look closer, you see that he actually did quite well, especially during a period where most people struggled in the draft.
Most had Russell at the top of the draft in 2007 as well, but the rest of that Raiders draft turned out quite well. Zach Miller was a very good pick. Henderson, Higgins, and Richardson were solid contributors, while two other picks by the team went elsewhere and have played 40+ games (Moses and Frampton).
In 2008, without a 2nd or 3rd rounder, they ended up with McFadden and Tyvon Branch, along with Trevor Scott and Chaz Schillens. 4 out of 5 picks ended up contributing, despite 4 of those picks being 4th round or later.
In 2009, they reached for Heyward-Bey and perhaps Mitchell, but 2009 is turning out to be a really poor draft overall for almost everyone except for Green Bay it seems.
In 2010, McClain, Houston, Veldheer, Ford, and Brown have all been major contributors. And from 2011, Wisniewski and Moore have been huge contributors already.
So yes, he made some big busts. But the track record even over the past 5 years is pretty solid overall.
The Seymour trade seemed crazy at the time, but as it turns out, it was a win/win, or some may even give that to Al. Yeah, we got a productive Moss for a 4th, but that was no sure thing, as Minnesota and Tennessee found out.
His crazy contract for Lechler was pretty much indefensible, as was the Asomugha deal, but his recent track record, even as a senile crazy old man is still just as good, if not better than half the GMs in this league.