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For New England
Patriots, Dallas
Cowboys, Philadelphia
Eagles, New York
Giants, Oakland
Raiders, Chicago
Bears, San Francisco
49ers
or any other NFL TEAM.
Inside the Oakland Raiders Press
Room
By: Keith Dobkowski
With the first training camps over, the major media’s take on
each teams respective drafts and the excitement of another NFL
season staring us right in the face, it is only fair to offer both an
insight to the draft -- the steals, the trades -- plus an insiders
look into an actual press room at an NFL facility.
Legalball.com through Sports Business Simulations received an
invitation to cover the draft from the Oakland Raiders facility.
And what a wonderful experience it was. From our arrival at
Raiders’ headquarters at 7:30 in the morning on Draft Saturday,
through the Raiders second pick, it was an incredible day.
While eating a catered breakfast, the room’s mumbles and
grumbles were all about Eli Manning and where he was headed.
It was only a few days earlier that Manning stated he would
never wear a Chargers’ uniform. And as predicted, the Chargers
drafted Manning with the first pick. Manning’s facial expression
was as if he just lost a loved one. The ESPN writer I sat next to
simply stated, “The kid is costing himself major endorsement
money right now. Just smile.”
And with that, the Raiders were on the clock.
On Draft Saturday’s past, the 15 minutes per team seemed like
an eternity. The errors made the previous year by the Minnesota
Vikings, not entering a pick on time, seemed impossible. Yet
feeling the intensity as each minute slipped away, there was an
overall sense that something big was about to happen. The
glares between reporters, the whispering amongst the guests, it
was as if the world’s greatest secret was about to escape.
Still sitting next to the ESPN reporter, he leaned over to me and
stated, “my source just walked in the room and something is
going to happen. There must be a trade in the works or Robert
Gallery would have already been selected.” Ten of the 15
minutes had slid by.
Throughout the week and even in the morning paper, predictions
that the Raiders would select a wide receiver to team up with
Jerry Porter was the talk. Most signs pointed to Roy Williams,
the Texas standout. However, the second pick appeared too
high for a wide out, especially in a wide out heavy draft.
The ESPN writer kept saying that something big was happening.
How come they had not announced a pick yet? It is the second
pick in the draft and every board had Manning going first. The
Raiders knew whom they wanted and with two of the fifteen
minutes left, nothing.
Then silence hit the room. As we watched on television, Paul
Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner, walked onto the stage at
Madison Square Garden and stated, “With the second pick in the
2004 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select Robert Gallery,
Tackle, University of Iowa.”
The two Raiders Fans sitting at the table beside ours, who had
gotten into the pressroom from a friend of a friend, jumped and
hooted like none other. The media and Raiders employees all
shook their heads in approval. As I had written just a few weeks
earlier, the number one player in the Draft was Gallery.
Gallery’s combination of size and strength made him the most
likely to play, play-now and play-well player in the draft. Further,
Gallery’s position, offensive tackle, seldom suffered career-
ending injuries in comparison to other positions, namely
quarterback. While Manning was the first selection, legalball.com
had calculated that a first round quarterback had only a 40%
chance of being a good quarterback in the league. And an even
much smaller percentage of being a great quarterback.
The NFL as of late had seen a rise in late round and un-drafted
quarterbacks leading their teams to the Playoffs and Super
Bowl. The emergence of Tom Brady, Mark Bulger, Kurt Warner
and Jeff Garcia are just a few names in that trend. The opposite
has held true as well from Akili Smith to Cade McNown to Tim
Couch to Heath Shular to Jim Druckenmiller, the NFL had also
seen a dramatic shift in first round failures.
Suring up a position for ten years is a goal any team would take.
And on Draft Saturday, the Raiders took it. When Norv Turner,
new Raiders Head Coach, took the stage and answered our
questions he said just as much. And when Robert Gallery called
the Oakland Raiders headquarters, he too stated the same. I
can be a dominant starter at this position and in this league for
the next ten years.
So while the second pick is seldom a steal and with the news
surrounding this draft was about Quarterbacks, Quarterback
trades and wide outs, it was the Oakland Raiders who made the
pick of the draft.
While New York wonders if a third Manning has what the first
two did, and San Diego wonders if Phillip Rivers’ Kosar-like
release can have Kosar-like results, Oakland can sit happily back
and know that whoever their quarterback will be during the next
ten years, the quarterback’s blindside will be safe.
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