The Greatness of the Raiders- McNabb a No-Go

It sounds just about right that Donovan McNabb landed with the Washington Redskins and not the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were the front-runner and were sounding like the only serious team willing to make the deal for him. There was even a bogus trade in the works that would have sent Nnamdi Asomugha to the Eagles in exchange for McNabb.

But this probable mishap in front-office management cannot be blamed on Al Davis or any other personnel, at least not this time. There was no way this was going to happen. There was no chance because there was no way McNabb would go to Oakland...willingly. What was attracting him there?

The media tends to go crazy with the rumors, but this one seemed far fetched even after the "proposed" trade containing Asomugha.

There is one thing that strikes a cord with me though. McNabb could have changed that Raider team around. They would have instantly been a 7 or 8 win team this coming season. It would have made Raider fans forget all about the pathetic and embarassing moves they have made in the past (most recent-Darrius Heyward-Bay drafted #7 overall).

Then why not pull out all the stops for McNabb? He is a franchise changer. Al Davis should have made McNabb an offer he couldn't refuse or promised him things where he felt that this could be a successful franchise.

Turns out, there may have been nothing the Raiders could do to woo McNabb under Center for their team. Reports say if McNabb was traded to the Raiders, he would have retired on the spot and maybe pulled a Brett Favre on them and sign with a different team, sooner or later. Only to the Raiders would that happen.

But Raider fans had hope, even if it was for just a couple weeks. Their team was on the front page of sports, and the attention was on them. But alas, they came out of it with nothing but broken hearts and disappointment, yet again. And instead of dreams of having McNabb leading the Raiders down the field, they'll have Bruce Gradkowski leading them...into a ditch. The same one the Raiders have been in for the last decade.