By Dan Parr
March 30, 2008

Al Davis

Al Davis has never drawn up a three- or four-year rebuilding plan. It’s always been about winning the next game and, in the end, the next Super Bowl. After a string of five failed seasons in which the club has won only 19 games, it appears he has decided on an altered tack and a new motto.

Just spend, baby.

There is a glare on Oakland, as daily team observers try to figure out the method behind the madness of Davis’ shocking spending spree, but the 78-year-old Davis has been out of the spotlight and has not met with the media as of yet to explain his new approach.

“Al is trying to win it now,” a veteran evaluator told PFW. “He does not have much time left. He wants one more chance at the Super Bowl.”

The Raiders have avoided bargains, opting instead to dole out bloated contracts for players who undoubtedly will fill some gaping holes but come with question marks about both health and character issues.

As free agency was set to begin, Davis gave us a glimpse of his offseason blueprint, re-signing DT Tommy Kelly, coming off a torn ACL, to the largest contract ever for a defensive tackle — seven years, $50.5 million.

“The Tommy Kelly deal is worse than (what the 49ers gave) Nate Clements last year (eight years, $80 million),” the evaluator said. “What do you think that deal did for guys like Albert Haynesworth (Titans) and Tommie Harris (Bears)? And what do you think guys are saying in their own (Raiders) locker room?”

Before the league could stop buzzing about that decision, Davis struck a six-year, $39 million deal with S Gibril Wilson. Kwame Harris, an offensive tackle who fell out of favor with the 49ers, received a three-year, $14 million contract. Davis kept the momentum going, swooping in to sign WR Javon Walker to a six-year, $55 million deal after he was released by the Broncos. Not yet settled, Davis traded a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fifth-rounder in 2009 to the Falcons for CB DeAngelo Hall after finalizing a new seven-year, $70 million contract. Hall, who has a strong work ethic and been chosen for two Pro Bowls, is perceived by many in league circles as a ticking time bomb with an attitude problem. He was fined $100,000 last season after he engaged in a shouting match with then-Falcons coach Bobby Petrino on the sideline during a game.

“DeAngelo Hall is the most overrated player in the league,” the evaluator told PFW. “I have never seen a player get beat more and get more toasted than he does and still be regarded as a good player.”

All this plus several smaller-scale signings and the nearly $10 million franchise tag that was placed on CB Nnamdi Asomugha has the Raiders close to $5 million away from hitting the league salary cap of $116.2 million. All indications are they plan on holding on to the fourth overall pick in the draft, which will also require a large investment.

“I know what Asomugha told (Davis) — it don’t matter what you pay me, franchise me and I’m out,” said the veteran evaluator. “Asomugha is a lot better than Hall, but that’s why they traded for Hall. They knew they were not going to be able to keep Asomugha much longer.”

One theory is that the Raiders are loading up now in anticipation of an uncapped year in 2010, which would be the product of league owners opting out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement in November.

Others portray Oakland’s moves as signs of an incompetent front office. Sources say the team mishandled contract negotiations with the first overall pick in the draft last year, QB JaMarcus Russell. Contract talks lasted for six months and stretched into the second week of the season. Russell, who missed out on crucial preparations and sat out training camp, eventually signed a six-year, $61 million contract, with $32 million guaranteed.

And let’s not forget the standoff between Davis and head coach Lane Kiffin, which is becoming downright bizarre. Davis tried to force Kiffin to resign after the season when he found out that the head coach had shown interest in college coaching vacancies at Michigan and Arkansas only months into his tenure. Kiffin has been spotted at various league functions wearing clothing without Raiders logos on it, and sources say he has been stripped of any power he once had in personnel decisions.

While battles within the franchise hierarchy forge on, there could be some disgruntled players in the locker room, as well. DE Derrick Burgess, who tied for the team lead in sacks last season and led the squad outright in the two previous campaigns, is operating on a five-year, $17.5 million contract he signed in 2005, but he is said to be looking for a significant raise similar to the one his D-linemate Kelly was given.

The underlying question, beneath the bank-breaking contracts and front-office disputes, is whether the Raiders can turn this thrown-together group into a winner. In the past, NFL teams that have tried to buy their way to the top have come up short, with the most obvious example being the Redskins under owner Daniel Snyder. Washington has moved away from that philosophy this offseason, but the Raiders have picked up where Washington left off.

Davis has put his woeful enterprise back in the thick of things in terms of media attention, but the larger challenge of winning where it counts is looming large.