Ziegler, McDaniels Hope 2023 Raiders Are Similar to 1983
For those members of Raider Nation who have an acute sense of deja vu, the 2023 Las Vegas Raiders have a distinct resemblance in a few positions to the 1983 Oakland Raiders, who went on to win the Super Bowl, 38-9, over the Washington Redskins.
Future Hall of Famers led those Raiders at running back, wide receiver, and defensive end. But the clincher to the resemblance is that the quarterback who led them to victory in Super Bowl XVIII had been beaten up while playing for the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers.
Of course, the first three we’re talking about are running back Marcus Allen, wide receiver Cliff Branch, and defensive end Howie Long, who might have been the greatest players at their positions in the history of the Silver and Black.
Allen is the Raiders’ all-time leading rusher with 8,545 yards and 79 touchdowns in 11 seasons, while Branch is third with 501 receptions for 8,685 yards, an average of 17.3 per catch, and 67 TDs, and while we don’t know how many tackles the 6-5, 270-pound Long made because they were an unofficial NFL statistic, he had 91½ sacks in his career while forcing 10 fumbles.
Naturally, the player we have yet to mention is quarterback Jim Plunkett, who claimed the 1970 Heisman Trophy while being a consensus All-American at Stanford and was the first overall selection in the NFL Draft by the Patriots in 1971.
However, Plunkett struggled for five seasons with subpar teams in New England and with the 49ers for two more before Managing General Partner Al Davis brought as a free agent to him to get his wits about him. Eventually, he led the Raiders to Super Bowls XV and XVIII victories.
Linebacker Matt Millen said: “That 1983 team was the ever,” something Long has agreed with, while Davis told the same thing to everyone else in the locker room on national television after the game.
Whether this will repeat itself with the current Raiders, we don’t know, but they have some similar pieces in place.
Running back Josh Jacobs led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns last season while catching 53 passes for 400 more yards, wide receiver Davante Adams caught 100 passes for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns, and defensive end Maxx Crosby collected 89 tackles and had a career-high 12½ sacks.
The three will go down with Allen, Branch, and Long in Raiders history.
Of course, the wild card here is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who the Raiders signed as a free agent this offseason after he also played for the Patriots and the 49er in his nine seasons in the NFL.
And Garoppolo, like Plunkett, has been beset by injuries and recently underwent foot surgery.
However, here’s the bottom line, Garoppolo—like Plunkett—has proven he can take his team to a Super Bowl, having done so with the 49ers, but they lost, 30-21, to the Kansas City Chiefs as he passed for 219 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl LIV.
So Garoppolo has shown he can do it.
The Raiders' offseason workout schedule is as follows:
OTA Offseason workouts: May 31-June 2, June 12-15
Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8
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