Was Sebastion Janekowski worth the with pick in 1st Round?

The Game Room
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Raiders starting QBs during Chad Pennington’s career:
Rich Gannon (58 games). He was a great pickup for the Raiders and helped get 'em to a Super Bowl. Then he got hurt in 2003 and the shit hit the fan.

Beginning in 2003, they trotted out:
Rick Mirer (8 games)
Marques Tuisasopo (2 games)
Kerry Collins (28 games)
Andrew Walter (9 games)
Aaron Brooks (8 games)
Josh McCown (9 games)
Daunte Culpepper (6 games)
JaMarcus Russell (25 games)
Bruce Gradkowski (8 games)
Charlie Frye (3)
Jason Campbell (12 games)

Pennington wasn’t a world beater. He was a pretty average quarterback - a little better than average in the short game, substantially worse than average downfield. But an average quarterback is a hell of a lot more valuable than an average kicker, and a replacement level quarterback is a hell of a lot worse than a replacement level kicker. He clearly would have been a downgrade from Gannon, and Collins probably still had him beat at that point in his career. But Pennington was head and shoulders better than everyone else on that list.

There were a couple of years when Shaun Alexander rushed for more yards than the Raiders.

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He didn’t have the kind of attributes that GSm and scouts then appreciated. He wasn’t tall, didn’t have a big arm and he played for a conservative Michigan team. They overlooked his intelligence and leadership. And, ftr, if he hadn’t been lucky enough to play for Bill Bellichek, only U of M fans would remember him. Bellichek created the perfect system for him to succeed.

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If Pennington hadn’t had such bad luck with injuries I think he could’ve been great. Hard to know how much they sapped his strength. Had the Raiders kept Bill Callahan’s dink-and-dunk offense, Pennington could’ve done quite well in it.

44

I can’t believe JaMarcus Russell started 25 games for Oakland. Felt like he was there for about 2 weeks.

45

For Raiders fans, it probably felt like 25 years. :stuck_out_tongue:

46

Janikowski is a superb kicker, but today, there are SO MANY great kickers that picking one in the first round seems like a ridiculous overreach.

It would only be justified if Janikowski were waaaay better than most other kickers. And he isn’t.

47

He’s been a steady performer at a critical position for many years. Most first round picks are, um, not.