After this last and most disasterous loss to the Baltimore Ravens -- and the continued problems with the offense -- I decided to review the last Oakland Raiders press release and found this bit of information:
The Raiders, who began play in the American Football League in 1960, enter their 47th year of professional
football competition in 2006, and 36th year as a member of the National Football League. For over five
decades -- the 1960s, '70s, '80s, ‘90s and the 2000s -- the Raiders have been the most dominant team in
professional football since Al Davis first pledged in 1963 to build the finest organization in pro sports.
Since 1963, when Al Davis first took over the failing Oakland franchise that had struggled to win only nine of 42
league games in the initial three seasons of the new American Football League, the Raiders have totally
dominated professional football in terms of consistent victory. During those decades of dominance in Oakland
and Los Angeles, the Raiders have won 385 league games and continue to stand atop the NFL for this period
with their winning percentage of .602.
(1963-2005)
TEAM WINNING %
1. OAKLAND RAIDERS .602
2. Miami Dolphins (since 1966) .599
3. Dallas Cowboys .592
So I did some calculations and determined that if the Raiders won 385 games and that was .602 of the total, then the full number of games in their history was 639.534 (Where there's half a game, I don't know. Maybe the "Heidi Game").
I then determined that if the Raiders lost just six (6) games, they would be at .596 and fall behind the Miami Dolphins for claim of best record in pro football. At of now, the Raiders have lost two of those six games. Still, if this happened, the Raiders total record would be 10 wins and 6 losses, certainly at or near what it takes to win the AFC West. But many in the media are picking the Silver and Black to not win one game, and there's nothing in their current statistical performance to show a reason to expect a rebound.
If the Raiders lose 10 total games -- 6 and 10 -- then they would not only fall below the Miami Dolphins for best overall record in NFL history, but be in a statiscal tie with the Dallas Cowboys at .592; one more game lost and they fall below the Cowboys.
I hate to say this, but this year -- unless the team and organization shows a remarkable turn around -- the "Greatness of The Raiders" will be over and a thing of the past. The PR department will have to eliminate this statistic from their record books they use to claim bragging rights over the NFL.
Moreover, the Raiders organization could not claim the "2000s" as a decade where they were a dominant organization because they lump their overall record into that claim. Since the overall record's in danger of dropping below that of the Dolphins, the claim to being the dominant organization of the opening decade of the 21st Century would be false by the end of this season if the team loses over five games.
But beyond that, this statistic sheds a light on how far the Oakland Raiders organization has fallen over the past three years alone. If legacy is important to the Raiders, then this should give cause for alarm bells to sound.
1 comments:
I hate to mention something like this, but both the Dolphins and Cowboys also have played and will play games this season. The Dolphins lost their first two, meaning the Raiders must lose more than six games this season. Had the Dolphins won their first two games, and I haven't done any of the math here, I suppose the Raiders may have to lose fewer than six games. What I find most impressive is that the three teams with the best records since inception are only +/-10 wins or losses apart.
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