Tag Archives: oakland raiders

NFL, ufl

Washington, Lionel

pset91 lwashingtonCards: ProSet 1991, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Work
Sent:  8/10    Received: 8/20    (10 days)

A fourth round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, during the darker days of the franchise- Lionel Washington went on to have sterling career for the Cards, Raiders, and Broncos over 15 seasons. A solid DB for the Tulane Green Wave, and a four-year letterman for the Wave from 1979-82, Washington helped Tulane to 26 wins and appearances in the Liberty Bowl (1979) and Hall of Fame Bowl (1980) during his career.

flr90 lwashingtonWashington spent the next 4 seasons in St. Louis. His rookie season was impressive, as he recorded 8 interceptions, 67 tackles, and a fumble, in only 8 games, but perhaps playing in the shadow of St. Louis’ mediocrity and lack of national exposure, didn’t win him the defensive rookie of the year award.  After the 1986 season, Washington was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders. There he’d go on to endear himself to fans in one of the most formidable secondaries alongside guys like Eddie Anderson, Stacey Toran, Vann McElroy, Mike Haynes, and Terry McDaniel. He’d be enshrined in Tecmo Super Bowl lore in 1991 with one of the most feared defensive backfields. It was not uncommon to intercept 2-3 passes a game or return one for a long TD with that secondary. In 1989 Washington had 3 picks and a 3 fumble recoveries for 2 TDs. Thanks to the advent of true free agency in 1993, the Raiders ran out and signed Kansas City rival CB Albert Lewis.  Washington lost his starting job to him and signed with the Denver Broncos in 1995. After a two season stint, Washington returned to the Raiders for one final season before retirement.

A venerable coach, Lionel has coached extensively at the professional level with the Packers (1999-2008), Raiders (2009-2010), and Virginia Destroyers (UFL 2011).  As of 2015, he’s returned home to Tulane where he’s not only the defensive backs coach, but the co-defensive coordinator.

Lionel Washington’s 1991 ProSet card (and the 1992 ProSet Platinum) are some of the reasons why I really appreciated ProSet’s choice of photography. The above shot is just perfect, and it illustrates why the landscape card made its reappearance in 1991. To top it off, Washington has an elegant autograph, that perfectly encompasses his number into a swoosh that curves back upon the W.

G/Gs  204/164      Tac  N/a       Sac 1.0       Fum 7
Int  37     Yds 418       Avg  11.3      TD 4     Lg 48t

NFL

McFadden, Darren

sco09 dmcfadden FCard: Score 2009 Franchise RedZone (#32/100)
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o The Dallas Cowboys
Sent: 9/28   Received: 10/24  (25 days)

Killer catch here in the name of Darren McFadden- a player at Arkansas who frequently drew comparisons to Adrian Peterson and Ricky Williams. The first Sophomore to win the Doak Walker award (2006), McFadden did so in stellar fashion running for 1647 yards and 14 TDs .  He then became the first 2 time winner rushing for            1830 yards and 16TDs  in 2007. In both years he was a Heisman Trophy Runner Up. McFadden’s draft measurables were equally sizzling and buzz surrounded his unofficially timed 4.27 40.

The Raiders selected McFadden with the 4th pick of the 2008 draft, and although he played sparingly his rookie year he drew high praise from coaches in teammates alike. It has always seemed that Darren’s best games have come at the expense of the Denver Broncos during his time with the Raiders, including a 16 carry 165 yard performance with 3 TDs in 2010.  2010 was considered McFadden’s banner year. He ran 223 times for 1157 yards and 7 TDs to go along with 47 receptions for 507 yards and 3 TDs. Over his career in Oakland, McFadden had not been able to clear a full 16 game slate. After the 2014 campaign he was allowed to walk.

Darren signed with the Dallas Cowboys where he has slowly moved into the role as the bellcow back replacing departed starter DeMarco Murray. Facing a crowded backfield and dealing with nagging training camp injuries, Darren has put together 5 solid 100 yard rushing efforts against the Giants (152 yards), Eagles (117 yards), Dolphins (129 yards), Packers (119) and Jets (100) in 2015, and in the last game of the season crossed the 1,000 yard rushing plateau for the first time since 2010.

NFL

Huff, Michael (2)

pp06 mhuffCards: Press Pass Big Numbers 2006
Acquired: IP, Aaron Williams Lone Star Showcase 2015
See Also: Michael Huff

I attended the Aaron Williams Lone Star Showcase in 2015, and was really happy to knock out Michael Huff in person- as opposed to the box breaker. He signed this really nice Big Numbers card for me from Press Pass. Although Press Pass had some uneven releases, sometimes I really appreciated their audacity, especially with simple die cuts like this one.

Huff looks like he’s starting to settle into the retired life. He lives in Austin and is a regular visitor to UT sporting events. For all that Vince Young meant to the Longhorns offense, Michael Huff was all that for the defense, pacing the team with 12 tackles, a TFL and a fumble recovery in UT’s victory over USC. In 2015, he was inducted into the Texas Longhorn Athletics Hall of Honor.