| "Looking Back" On The 2007 NFL Draft: Calvin Johnson The Star
Calvin Johnson as a Star
NAPA VALLEY, CA - One week before the 2007 draft, anything was possible for Calvin Johnson. Not surprisingly, Calvin Johnson was the unanimous best player in the draft. However, it was widely believed the Raiders (holders of the first pick) would draft the perennial quarterback of the future, JaMarcus Russell. Al Davis had suffered too many fools in the quarterback position for too many years prior to that draft and, as 40 years of NFL and AFL participants could attest to, Al Davis did not suffer fools gladly.
It was what Al Davis suffered next that changed Calvin Johnson's life and the shape of the NFL forever. On April 25th, 2007, Al Davis suffered a mild stroke. The Man in Black was suddenly faced with his mortality, a notion that both Davis and all that knew him could hardly believe. "The good die young," snorted one AFC GM, "so I expect Al Davis to outlive us all."
Davis forced his way out of the hospital by Friday. His employees encouraged him to convalesce, but Davis' stubborn streak won out as always.
Davis laid down an ultimatum: the draft plan had changed. "We were taking JaMarcus Russell," Lombardi confirmed. "We knew how much work had to be done to rebuild and we were willing to wait for JaMarcus Russell to learn the ropes." All of that went out the window when Davis faced his Maker and, against all Davis' expectations, his Maker didn't flinch. The team philosophy sharpened: "Just win now, baby."
An unlikely series of events spun into motion. Phone calls went out to Mike Sullivan, David Carr's agent, to bring in a quarterback that wouldn't require time. Randy Moss was gone in 24 hours, getting more offensive line help in return.
"I didn't know what to think," Calvin Johnson said. "I thought the Raiders might trade out to get another veteran or... [heck], I don't know." On draft day, Calvin Johnson smiled, waved to his mom, and donned the silver-and-black baseball cap.
Only two weeks after shaking Calvin Johnson's hand at the Raiders' press conference, Davis was back in the hospital with pneumonia. A week later, the creator of the American Football League and progenitor of the Super Bowl was dead at 77.
Everyone pulled together around Mark Davis, Al's son, in honor of his father's single-minded pursuit: a Super Bowl. "Everyone just wanted to finish the job he started," Mark Davis said. "I think maybe he even pushed himself too hard after the stroke to get it."
While everyone did pull around the Davis family, the Raiders' success in 2007 can be directly correlated to two men: Calvin Johnson and David Carr. Carr was only barely more protected than he was in Houston, despite Carr's famous claim after the second preseason game in Oakland that any Powder Puff offensive line would have held the pocket better than the Texans' o-line unit.
However, he gained confidence in the pocket from Calvin Johnson, who looked like the second coming of Michael Irvin with his ability to catch any ball thrown near him. The Raiders offense exploded, dragging the rest of the team to a 9-7 record and an unexpected playoff berth.
From there, Calvin Johnson shone even brighter, culminating in an AFC Championship game performance in Denver (187 yds, 4 TDs) that was all the more impressive because of the groin pull he incurred in the second quarter. Unfortunately for Calvin Johnson, the injury turned him into a spectator-in-pads for Super Bowl XLII. "That was tough. It was just a bad time," Calvin Johnson sighed.
Since then, the Raiders have gone 9-7, 4-12, 8-8. However, Calvin Johnson's career has only gone up. He has never achieved less than 1,200 receiving yards in any year. He nearly pulled off the receiving TD record in 2009 with a 5 TD day in the last game of the season.
Carr and Calvin Johnson have become inseparable both on and off the field. Their impromptu version of "Ebony and Ivory" on the plane to New York in 2009 was the most popular video on Joost for three weeks.
They'll be even more marketable, of course, when the franchise continues its yo-yo trip through California, becoming the Los Angeles Raiders yet again in 2012. Davis' passing likely removed the final emotional obstacle to re-opening the Los Angeles market for the Raiders.
"Oh, yeah," Calvin Johnson beamed. "I love the fans in Oakland, man. This city is great. Still, man... L.A."
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