Oakland Raiders: Turning Fat Into Muscle With Jason Campbell

There's a growing feeling in the Raider Nation that the Oakland Raiders are about to reverse their losses and become playoff competitor once more. Many point to the acquisition of Jason Campbell as a reason for this positive outlook along with a very good draft session.

Any assessment of Campbell's chances of contributing to the Raiders' success has to look at prior FA QB acquisitions, prior QB performance and what Jason Campbell brings to the table. Please keep in mind that the off season is just that, off season. No football has been played. However, there's no moratorium on enthusiasm in the off season. Let's see why we're happy.

 

Prior Free Agent Quarterback Acquisitions

Everyone agrees that the last successful QB for the Oakland Raiders was Rich Gannon, who played until 2004. However, injuries were responsible for a less than stellar performance by Gannon his last two years.

After leading the Raiders to the 2002 Super Bowl (and throwing for over 4,000 yards that season), Gannon started only ten games in the next two years while compiling a 4-6 record. He retired in 2004. His replacement was Kerry Collins.

 

Kerry Collins

Kerry Collins was a nine year veteran when he came to the Oakland Raiders. His history was one of inconsistency. No one doubted that Collins had an arm. Collins had thrown for over 3,000 yards the past four years and over 4,000 yards in 2002. Collins was cut to make room for Eli Manning and was coming off of a 4-9 season. 

While Collins was putting up some great numbers in pass yardage, he was also giving up the ball. He came to the Raiders with a negative TD/INT ratio: 144/149.

In 2002, he established a record for most fumbles (23) that was supplanted by yet another future Raiders QB (Daunte Culpepper). His Raider career was 41 TDs, 32 Int and 20 fumbles in 2 seasons. He did throw for over 3,000 yards for both...

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