K/QB George BlandaBlanda had already played a

No team in NFL history has had a more successful run of punters than the Raiders. The had the first great pure punter in Hall of Famer Ray Guy. They had statistically the best punter in NFL..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesSilver And Black Pride homepageHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityFollow Silver And Black Pride online:Follow Silver And Black Pride on TwitterFollow Silver And Black Pride on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchSilver And Black Pride main menuFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕AJ Cole development has mighty similar feel to career start for Raiders most recent punter success storyNew Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey ,37commentsPDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:AJ Cole development has mighty similar feel to career start for Raiders most recent punter success storyTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailOakland RaidersNo team in NFL history has had a more successful run of punters than the Raiders. The had the first great pure punter in Hall of Famer Ray Guy. They had statistically the best punter in NFL history, Shane Lechler. And when Lechler left the Raiders after the 2012 season, they didn’t miss a beat with Marquette King.King spent time as the Raiders next great punter ended much sooner than it should have. He let his off the field antics and his mouth run him out of Oakland and soon out of the league. A tremendous talent became a cautionary tale. But if you go back to when he was still just a budding NFL hopeful, you will recall there was a lot of buzz surrounding his potential.What we knew about King early on was when he really got ahold of one, he could launch some moon shots. But early on, those moonshots only happened every few punts. In between, it was shank city. In other words, it was all about becoming more consistent.With King, the Raiders could afford to be patient. They still had Lechler, so they stashed King on IR and gave him a year to improve his consistency. And improve it he did, becoming one of the best punters in the league over five seasons in Oakland.Gruden came in as coach and before he ever met King, he was already tired of the sideshow and cut him. Then he drafted Johnny Townsend in the fifth round and hoped to move forward. Well, Townsend finished the season as statistically the worst punter in the league. Had the Raiders not pressed the eject button on the season after week six, they would most likely have done so with Townsend at some point.As soon as the season ended, they signed former Chargers punter Drew Kaser to compete for the job. Then following the draft, they worked out severl undrafted punters including former NC State punter AJ Cole. Much to Cole’s shock, he got the job. He explained the moment that landed him his contract.“On the last day of Rookie minicamp, which was Sunday, we had a punt of like nine plays or eleven plays or something like that,” said Cole. “Basically I got the impression that if I kicked well, I was going to get a contract and if I didn’t kick well I was going to be on the Southwest flight back to Atlanta at 2:20. They put a lot of pressure on that moment because that’s what it’s about. It’s what can you do in pressure situations, what can you do when all the eyes are on you and obviously I punted well enough to still be here.”He punted and held well enough that the team let go of Kaser and narrowed the competition to between he and Townsend.Working in Townsend’s favor is his holding abilities and his familiarity with kicker Daniel Carlson. Carlson had hit 16 of his 17 field goal attempts last season, including 15 in a row. And he did so with Townsend as his holder. Most everything else about Townsend’s performance does not speak well of him. He was basically the worst punter in just about every meaningful punter category. Having a big leg was never expected of Townsend. Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia said many times that Townsend is a directional kicker. Unfortunately, the direction of Townsend’s punts often didn’t matter much because far too many times they didn’t get more than 35 yards past the line of scrimmage. And sometimes much worse.Cole has a leg up (so to speak) in that area for sure. And he’s gaining ground as a holder as well.“Well, he has a tremendous leg,” Bisaccia said of Cole. “He has a natural hang to him, kind of even on his bad ball he can kind of get away with it. He’s a high-hit guy on his contact on the ball and he’s really improved his holding as he’s come along. And he can kickoff, so it gives us a little bit of an advantage that way with having the ability to have two guys that can kickoff through preseason.”That kickoff ability is handy. But that big leg is where he will make a career. That and pinning opponents inside their own 20.“I did the pooches really well in college,” said Cole. “And I know that’s something that caught their eye, the inside the 20 punts. I think that’s something that I put on film in college. And when I got there for rookie minicamp Womens Antonio Brown Jersey , I think I showed them that I can hit a pretty big punt, good hang time, good distance, and I can control it as best I can. I think I showed them that I have the skills that it takes to try and perform at this level and I just need a little bit of coaching up and get a little comfortable in the system and start to play the way I want to.”When he first arrived, Cole said his timing was off. He wasn’t able to get the punt off as fast as he needed. That area he said is where he wants it to be now, but there’s still the issue of making good contact with the ball on a consistent basis.“I just think the level of consistency that’s required at the NFL level is a higher level,” said Cole. “There’s only 32 jobs, you gotta be perfect or pretty close on every single rep. So, just working on that consistency was a big area.”What’s interesting to me about all this is how much it reminds me of Marquette King when he first came to the team. The one thing King had was a big leg. He struggled with his timing, he struggled with his consistency, and he struggled as a holder.For King’s part he was far more raw in most every area being that he was a converted receiver. Cole is an experienced punter from a major college program. On one hand, he doesn’t have the excuses for lacking in those areas. On the other hand, he’s much closer to what the Raiders would want from him and therefore wouldn’t require a ‘redshirt’ year to get up to speed.Cole’s shanks are not as frequent as King’s were in his first camp and his holding is simply a few tweaks from being right where they need to be as well.Having a rapport with the kicker as a holder is important, it should work in Cole’s advantage as well that he and Carlson are roommates in camp.If Townsend is to hang onto his job heading into the season, he will need to show he has improved leaps and bounds from his rookie campaign. Otherwise, the upstart, wide-eyed undrafted rookie who came into Oakland thinking he had little chance of even being a camp leg, is going to jump up and take that job. He’s well on his way already.Follow @LeviDamien In the spirit of Easter, we re-live the top ten offensive players who resurrected their careers with the Raiders."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Happy Easter: Here are the top ten Raiders career resurrections on offenseNew,24commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareHappy Easter: Here are the top ten Raiders career resurrections on offenseLos Angeles Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett (16) in action against the Denver BroncosI hope everyone is enjoying their Easter Sunday. The spirit of the holiday is to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, so what better way to mark to occasion than to list the greatest resurrection stories in Raider history. There have been quite a few on both sides of the ball. We start with offense.Historically the Raiders have been the Ellis Island of the National Football League - where other teams’ castoffs come to flourish. Some of these players became truly legendary and some are simply legendary to Raider fans who recognize the accomplishments and contributions each player made to “The Greatness of the Raiders”.So between your egg-coloring and little kids running around with candy filled baskets, sit back and reminisce about some of the great Raider acquisitions over the long and storied history of the franchise. And for the Jewish readers among us, just think of these players as those who were "passed over" by their former teams.If you don't celebrate either holiday (or any holidays at all for that matter) just enjoy the article with no religious holiday context.QB Jim PlunkettHe was the hottest prospect in the ‘71 draft coming out of Stanford, prompting the Patriots to take him first overall. But after a good start to his career, injuries started to pile up and after five seasons with the team, they traded him away to his hometown 49ers who looked for him to try and resurrect his career. But after just two lackluster seasons in San Francisco, he was let go. At which time, he was considered a bust. Cue Al Davis “What? Former hot prospect? Bay Area guy? Get him in here!To be honest, Plunkett's numbers were never great while with the Raiders. He had just two seasons with the team in which he had more touchdowns than interceptions. He also never started a complete season for the Raiders. But he proved his entire college and NFL career that come crunch time, he could get it done. By the way Antonio Brown Jersey White , can you guess which seasons he had more TD than INT? That's right, it was 1980 and 1983- the two years the Raiders won the Super Bowl. That is probably not a coincidence. He remains the only eligible NFL quarterback to start and win two Super Bowls who is not in the Hall of Fame.RT Lincoln KennedyThe man who would never be president, was drafted ninth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 1993. He started his entire rookie season at left guard for Atlanta but was relegated to spot duty for the following two seasons. He was being labeled a bust when the Raiders grabbed him off of the scrap heap. Kennedy went from a bust at guard to grabbing the starting right tackle position for the Raiders and not letting go until he retired eight years later in 2003. He is the shining example for every offensive lineman rehab attempt since then.QB Rich GannonThe ultimate journeyman success story. How else would you refer to a guy who spent 11 years on four different teams as an NFL backup before going on to win league MVP and take a team to the Super Bowl? The Delaware Blue Hen was originally a fourth round pick by the New England Patriots in 1987 but never play a game for them. And over the next 12 years he would bounce around to five different teams, spending six years with the Vikings, a year in Washington, and four years with the Chiefs before finally landing in Oakland in ‘99.It was a long road for Gannon who could never quite get his shot until Jon Gruden asked him to come in and run his West Coast offense in Oakland.Gannon's first four seasons in Oakland were seasons for the ages. He went to Pro Bowls every season and his passing numbers were 3840, 3430, 3828, and 4689. He never threw less than 24 TD's and the Raiders didn't have a single losing season during that time. In his NFL MVP and Super Bowl season of 2002, he averaged almost 300 yards per game. Who knew this kind of talent could finally be found after eleven years of futility in the NFL? Well, Gruden did.TE Todd ChristensenChristensen came into the NFL as a fullback. After being drafted by the Cowboys in round two of 1978 draft, he broke his foot in the preseason and was cut.The next season, the New York Giants came calling but he appeared in a total of one game that season. He then went on to the Raiders where they asked him to convert to tight end. And was that ever a smart moveIt took a couple of years for him to catch on as a tight end but he really began to break out in 1982 when he was on pace to go over a thousand yards before the strike hit mid season. The next season, he picked up where he left off as he became the second tight end in NFL history (Kellen Winslow was the other) to lead the league in catches (92) and had 1247 yards receiving.He would play ten seasons for the Raiders-- racking up five Pro Bowls, two All Pros, and two Super Bowl rings. He was the Raiders number one receiver for 4 straight years from 83-86 and averaged over 1100 yards per season during that span. He remains one of the best tight ends in Raider and NFL history. He was a key piece to the Raiders winning their third Super Bowl and he remains a topic in some Hall of Fame discussions.RB Tyrone WheatleyA highly touted pick out of Michigan, he was taken with the 15th overall selection in the 1995 draft by the New York Giants. After four seasons of unspectacular play in New York he was considered a bust and was released.Just as Gruden has done with Gannon, he scooped up Wheatley and rode him to success. He was splitting carries with Napoleon Kaufman throughout his first season and still had nearly a thousand yards. Then in 2000 he would be the given the feature back job and he went over the thousand yard plateau (1046) for the first time in his career.When the Raiders acquired Charlie Garner in 2001, Wheatley was again forced to split carries but he was the perfect change up back as the thunder to Garner's lightening. The Raiders would ride that combo all the way to the Super Bowl.RB Clem DanielsThe first great Raider runner, he came into the league with the Dallas Texans in 1960. He played just one season for the Texans before coming to the Raiders in 1961. At which point, he would spend seven seasons with the team; the final six as the Raiders leading rusher every season. Among those six great years, he was a four time AFL All-Star and two time All-AFL selection.FB Hewritt DixonWas drafted in the eighth round by the Denver Broncos in 1963, where he spent the first three seasons of his NFL career. But when Oakland got ahold of him is when he really took off. He would play five seasons for the Raiders and four of those seasons saw him headed to the AFL All Star game. One of those seasons he was an All AFL selection. He cleared the way for Raider Legend Clem Daniels to make four AFL All Star appearances himself as well as a couple all AFL selections.SE(WR) Warren WellsBefore there was Cliff Branch lining up across from Fred Biletnikoff, there was Warren Wells. In fact, in the four seasons he played for the Raiders, he had more yardage than Biletnikoff in three of them (‘68-’70). He went to two AFL All Star games and had two seasons over a thousand yards while with the Raiders. Wells remains the all-time leader in yards per catch (23 ypc) among NFL and AFL players. Pretty impressive for a guy who was drafted in round 12 by the Lions, played just one season for them and then served in the Army for two years before returning to play for the Raiders.n entire career prior to joining the Raiders and he could have retired and no one would have thought that strange. He was 40 years old before he ever put on a Raider uniform. As an every down quarterback, his career was over. But he would be switched primarily to kicker for the Raiders and play another nine seasons. He would head to the Pro Bowl in his first season with the Raiders. He was also the team's backup quarterback and came on in relief of an injured Daryle Lamonica quite a few times. He threw for 23 touchdowns for the Raiders all while being the Raiders leading scorer as the kicker. His nine seasons in Oakland were the "kicker" in his Hall of Fame career. He was the Raiders all-time leading scorer up until it was surpassed by Sebastian Janikowski a few years back.LT Donald PennThe Buccaneers’ stupidity saved the Raiders and their shiny new rookie QB from disaster. The team had just blown the chance to bring back left tackle Jared Veldheer and headed in to free agency with no prospects for a replacement. They didn’t count on the Bucs being boneheaded enough to think Donald Penn was the reason for their statuesque QB Mike Glennon getting sacked as often as he did. They cut the 31-year-old left tackle and he enthusiastically signed on with his childhood favorite team. He would play five seasons for the Raiders, heading to two Pro Bowls as part of one of the best lines in football. The Raiders released the soon-t0-be 36-year-old this offseason following an injury-shortened season. But he gave the Raiders four of the best years of his career after his former team gave up on him.Also see: Top ten Raiders career resurrections on defense