Raiders' Campbell seen as savior

OAKLAND, Calif. - For five years in Washington, Jason Campbell was often perceived as one of the problems holding back a once-proud franchise from a return to prominence.

Following a draft-day trade from the Redskins to the Raiders, Campbell was immediately viewed as the solution to seven years of woe in Oakland.

The cross-country flight did not make Campbell's arm stronger, his passes more accurate or his decision-making better. What coming to the Raiders to replace JaMarcus Russell did do is help revitalize Campbell and provide a little bit of hope in Oakland.

"It's a new start," Campbell said. "Oakland is trying to turn it around. They're trying to become a new team. They made a lot of changes, and they're trying to do things the right way and get it going in the right direction. We have to buy into it. When it happened on draft day, it was almost like you got drafted again."

The trade also gave the Raiders another shot at finding a franchise quarterback after whiffing badly when they selected JaMarcus Russell first overall in 2007.

Russell was an overweight, unmotivated underperformer in his three seasons in Oakland. Russell won only seven of his 25 starts as the Raiders extended an NFL-worst streak to seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses.

Russell put together one of the worst seasons in recent memory for an NFL quarterback last year before being benched by coach Tom Cable. He completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest in 11 years.

The offense showed some sparks under backup Bruce Gradkowski, giving the team confidence that it can be even better this season under Campbell and new coordinator Hue Jackson.

"I feel like compared to last year our passing game is going to be night and day. We're going to be a lot improved," tight end Zach Miller said. "There's more confidence as a team, that we have a chance this year to be really good. If we keep working out here, we keep improving, I think we'll be there."

Campbell is coming off his best season, completing 64.5 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a passer rating of 86.4. But the Redskins went 4-12 last season and new coach Mike Shanahan brought in Donovan McNabb to take over from Campbell.

He'll have a topflight tight end to work with in Miller, a running game that figures to be improved with Michael Bush and Darren McFadden carrying the load, and a group of young but speedy receivers, led by Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy and Chaz Schilens, that the Raiders believe will thrive with Campbell at the helm.

"We've got a good guy, a dependable guy, a guy who's going to work hard, who will be there for us every day," Schilens said. "He's not going to shy away from anything. You know what to expect. We know what to expect. You know where the balls are going to be. That's really all you can ask for as receivers, a dependable guy that's going to go out and work hard every day. So we have that now. We're ready to work. We're ready to forget about everything else and move forward."

There's a lot to forget.

After playing in the AFC championship game at the end of the 2000 season, making the playoffs again in 2001 and going the Super Bowl in the 2002 campaign, the Raiders have endured the worst stretch in franchise history.

Oakland has had five coaches, 11 starting quarterbacks and 83 losses since losing the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay 48-21 on Jan. 26, 2003. Cable's return for a second full season adds some much-needed stability.

"We thought that the decade of the 2000s would be ours," owner Al Davis told Sirius XM Radio during training camp. "But boy we slipped. We slumped. And now we come into the year 2010 and I really liken this team a great deal to the team of 1980 in which the great Jim Plunkett pulled us out of the doldrums, took us to the Super Bowl as a wild card and we had so many great players who eventually made their way into the Hall of Fame."

Despite Davis' optimism, these Raiders lack the talent the franchise had 30 years ago when players like Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Cliff Branch, Ted Hendricks and Lester Hayes filled the roster of a Super Bowl champion.

But there is some talent, especially on the defensive side with defensive lineman Richard Seymour, linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Throw in the top two draft picks in middle linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive end Lamarr Houston and the Raiders defense might finally have the size to stop the run after ranking near the bottom of the league in that category the past seven years to go with the speed that Davis has always coveted.

"The mindset is positive right now," Asomugha said. "I don't think it's just for me it's for everyone. We think we have a good shot this year. Beating 5-11 isn't the goal. The goal is to win the AFC West and we think we have a great shot at that. ... I'm not only seeing we have good guys on defense which we've had in previous years. But the offense looks different to me."