Post by TheShadow on Jul 15, 2009 17:48:38 GMT -5
www.examiner.com
by Patrick Patterson
The final piece of the All-50 Raiders roster is the special teams. The Raiders have two of the greatest punters in the history of the game duking it out, as well as a Hall of Fame kicker. The return men didn't have quite a standout. It is harder to put the finger on guys who were gunners or coverage specialists without watching ten miles of tape.
I will, however, use the non kicker or returner positions to give some respect to guys who narrowly missed their position groups.
Kicker:
George Blanda: Blanda is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a kicker and a backup quarterback during his time with the Raiders. He is also known for being the one who mentored Kenny "The Snake" Stabler. It was Blanda's late game heroics in the 1970 season that won him an NFL Player of the year award.
Sebastian Janikowski: Sea-Bass recovered from the rough start to his career to become the leading scorer in Raider history. The kick that he is best known for is a miss, but it was a 76 yard attempt that is widely seen as former coach Lane Kiffin extending his middle finger at the regime that was about to fire him. He also has the highest career field goal percentage in Raiders history.
Punter:
Ray Guy: It is a crime that this guy is not in the Hall of Fame. He is a member of the NFL's All-75 team as the only punter. He was also the punter in the NFL's 1970s all decade team. At the time of his retirement he owned nearly every punting record.
Shane Lechler: As of right now, Lechler's career net punting average is slightly higher than Guy's. Lechler has been named to the Pro Bowl four times, and is a six time All Pro. With his dominance of his generation, he would be called a first ballot hall of famer, if he played any other position.
Kick/Punt returners:
Harold Hart: Hart had a 29.6 yard kickoff return average in his five years in Silver and Black. He ran a touchdown back 102 yards.
Tim Brown: If Tim Brown wasn't already a lock as a receiver, his success as a punt returner alone would likely get his name into consideration.
Misc:
Napolean Kaufman: Kaufman was an above average kickoff returner, and a key rusher in the Raiders AFC West winning 2000 season. Kaufman ended his career early to become a man of the cloth.
Tom Keating: He should have been on the list of defensive linemen, but honestly I had a brain fart and for the life of me could not remember his name.
Coming tomorrow: The final 53 man roster