... can be attributed to a system that never really worked when it "worked." 

Where does the blame lie? Even those fans who swore some type of blood oath know the reason, and secretly whisper it when no one is in earshot: Al Davis.

Let's go back in time, to a time when Lamonica was throwing bombs down the field and the Raiders were always a day late and a dollar short. 

Lombardi showed that this "throw the ball really far and hope some speedy guy catches it" method really wasn't the future. It sure wasn't successful in Super Bowl II or against good secondaries.

It changed when John Madden started Kenny Stabler.  This, more than any other element in the great teams of the '70s, shows who was in charge. 

Al Davis's d...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL