What happened to the Oakland organization that always left me on the edge of my seat, defying logic and common sense at every turn?

The Raiders drafted well, made the deal to bring Jason Campbell in from Washington and now jettisoned Russell to the scrap heap. He made off with $39 million in this three years with the squad, so there’s a compulsion to list him at or among the league’s worst busts of all time. I can’t argue about his placement on the list, as the numbers speak for themselves. Russell’s final stretch of games in the 2008 season, where he seemingly found his stride, was just a mirage. I don’t know that an adjective exists to describe precisely how terribly Russell played last season. His work ethic, or lack thereof, is a thing of legend.

Can I offer this in his defense … he was playing for the Raiders! Russell stands as the poster boy, the most prominent face of the Oakland Mount Rushmore, representing years of illogical moves, bad signings and unfulfilled promise from draft picks. It became a running joke since that Super Bowl appearance against former coach Jon Gruden and the Buccaneers.

How did a man who was a football genius and helped build the league into its current state suddenly forget how to run a team?

Somehow, someway, a new world order began in Oakland this April. Who is at the controls? What happened to Al Davis?

Could a rebirth of Raider Nation be on tap for 2010?

Fans will sit and criticize or laud the efforts of their respective GMs. Shrines will be built to the expected “saviors” of a franchise. You don’t think that more than a few sites have been built to welcome Sam Bradford to St. Louis? “Sam 1 Am” See. Instead of the I, we use the number one for him being the first pick ….

The Lions are building the “Unstoppable Ndamukong” or “Sweet Suh” or something of that ilk.

There are one million and one pitchmen in Denver trying to find the magical formula to get Tim Tebow onboard. I know it certainly sent the blogosphere and talk radio buzzing, and will captivate us through training camp as Tebow finds his role.

The Draftniks return to their basements to begin work on their 2011 masterpieces. Jake Locker, Andrew Luck and the other 2011 draft hopefuls are working on their games with anticipation of hearing their names called in primetime next year.

I’ll spend considerable time watching and analyzing the college game this fall on the Dome in addition to my usual vigilance on the NFL and MLB beats.

Over the next couple days, I’ll be breaking down the good, bad and ugly from the 2010 NFL Draft, including thoughts on the myriad trades that shook up the landscape.

Is the JaMarcus Russell era over in Oakland with Jason Campbell’s arrival (Campbell said flat-out that he expects to start)? Did Pete Carroll’s trade push the Seahawks back toward the top of the NFC West?

The time to break down our new heroes is at hand. Did your team do enough?

Look for new podcasts w/ special guests from around the league, Vlogs and a ton of blog posts to get you buzzing around the water cooler.