COMMENTARY : Rookies Go to Forefront for the Raiders

A year ago, the Raiders were losing games, losing fans and losing much of their mystique.

Had their owner, Al Davis, also lost it?

That was the rumor around the league. And indeed, it seemed fair to question whether Davis, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had lost his ability to judge talent.

In the glory days, when the Raiders’ commitment to excellence was more than a slogan, Davis and the Raiders were famous for finding new talent and rehabilitating old players others had given up on.

But by the end of last season, that was no longer the case. The Raiders finished 7-9. Their long-standing problems at quarterback remained unsolved. Davis’ long-standing feud with running back Marcus Allen had blown open, ended the Raider career of the team’s most valuable player (both on and off the field) and threatened to tear apart team morale. There were holes at middle linebacker and strong safety.

The Raiders attempted to fill those holes with seemingly questionable personnel. Jeff Hostetler, a ball-control quarterback with the New York Giants, was asked to run the Raiders’ long-pass offense. Linebacker Joe Kelly, considered average with the New York Jets, and safety Derrick Hoskins, who had only two years’ experience, were also given starting jobs.

All have succeeded admirably, vindicating Davis’ judgment.

But the best indication that he still has an eye for talent is the emergence of running back Greg Robinson and receiver James Jett.

Everybody noticed when the Raiders made defensive back Patrick Bates their top draft pick, but few paid attention to Robinson, an eighth-round choice from Northeast Louisiana.

Everybody noticed when the Raiders signed high-profile receiver/kick returner Rocket Ismail, but few paid much attention to Jett, a rookie free agent from West Virginia and a former Olympic gold medal-winning track star.

But it is Robinson and Jett who have become the stars of the reinvigorated Raiders.

With injuries shortening the season of Nick Bell, the starting tailback, Robinson was handed the ball on opening day.

He was tentative and unsure at first, but as the offensive line has opened bigger holes and Robinson has found his way through them, his confidence has grown along with his yardage total.

Through his first six games, Robinson rushed for 211 yards in 79 carries, an average of 2.7 per carry. Over the last four games, Robinson has run 63 times for 302 yards, an average of 4.8. He is averaging five yards in his last three games.

With 513 rushing yards, Robinson, with six games left, is only 184 yards shy of Allen’s club record for a rookie.

Jett didn’t have the luxury of filling a spot opened up by injury. He had to compete for playing time with such talented receivers as Ismail, Tim Brown and Alexander Wright.

Jett nearly let his chance slip away a week ago, dropping three passes, including a potential touchdown, against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, he caught seven passes for 138 yards.

The Raiders still have a lot to prove. At 6-4, they are playoff contenders, no more. They have shown an alarming tendency to blow second-half leads and still haven’t proved they know the way to the end zone.

But they have restored some of the luster to their reputation as masters of the talent game.

Davis likes to give credit for the team’s success to Coach Art Shell and various other lieutenants. But when it comes to running the whole show, Davis is about as likely to surrender his authority as a Lou Holtz or a Ross Perot.

Davis rightly got the blame for last year’s talent drain.

Give him the credit for this year’s discoveries.