Good Oiler Article

Here's a good article by John McClain about the old Oiler drafts. Dang I miss the Oilers, and the Texans are no substitute:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1370065

Good or bad, Oilers made lots of noise during NFL draft
By JOHN McCLAIN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
Too many times during their 37 years in Houston, the Oilers' most exciting month was April when the draft became the highlight of the year.

Before they left for Tennessee after the 1996 season, the often-controversial, always-colorful Oilers produced some of their best and worst performances on draft day.

No matter how well quarterback David Carr plays during his career with the Texans, he'll never make fans forget 1978 when Bum Phillips plucked a Rose with the first overall pick in the draft.

Earl Campbell, the "Tyler Rose," was a genuine Texas legend when Phillips engineered the trade with Tampa Bay to acquire the top pick. Campbell, who won a state championship at John Tyler High School and the Heisman Trophy at the University of Texas, was the most popular player in franchise history.

Because Campbell was the centerpiece of the Luv Ya Blue era -- the most successful era in franchise history -- and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he'll always be remembered as the Oilers' greatest draft choice.

Through the years, owner Bud Adams' Oilers had a love/hate relationship with their fans.

At different times, the Oilers fell one step short of Super Bowls XIII and XIV, earned a well-deserved reputation as the biggest playoff chokers in NFL history and, as their loyal fans will attest, too often they left a stench in the Astrodome area that didn't dissipate for weeks. But through it all, boring drafts were few and far between.

During different eras, the Oilers had such first-class front-office executives as John Breen and Mike Holovak overseeing the draft.

Over the decades, some of the most distinguished players in NFL history were drafted by the Oilers: safety Ken Houston (1967), receiver Charlie Joiner (1969) and receiver Steve Largent (1976) are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, they played their best seasons after they were traded.

Guard Mike Munchak (1982) is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Guard Bruce Matthews (1983) will be. Defensive end Elvin Bethea (1968) should be. Running back Eddie George (1996) could be.

Some of the Oilers' best players came on draft day: linebacker George Webster (1967), cornerback Zeke Moore (1967), quarterback Dan Pastorini (1971), linebacker Gregg Bingham (1972), linebacker Robert Brazile (1975), defensive end Ray Childress (1985), receiver Ernest Givins (1986), receiver Haywood Jeffires, linebacker Al Smith (1987), cornerback Cris Dishman (1988), safety Marcus Robertson (1991), offensive tackle Brad Hopkins (1993), safety Blaine Bishop (1993) and quarterback Steve McNair (1995).

Through the decades, the Oilers employed a lot of general managers who made trades, none worst than Sid Gillman and none better than Ladd Herzeg.

Gillman, who resurrected the franchise during his short term as coach and general manager, did many things right, but he was a failure on draft day. After selecting defensive tackle John Matuszak and running back George Amundson in the first round of the 1973 draft, he traded five of his first six picks the next year.

At least Gillman got something for Matuszak, who was traded to Kansas City for nose tackle Curly Culp. Amundson was a dud who was dumped after two seasons.

In 1974, Gillman traded first- and third-round picks to Dallas for receiver Billy Parks and defensive end Tody Smith. The Cowboys ended up with the top pick in the draft and selected defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones. They used the No. 3 selection on quarterback Danny White.

Herzeg, who was promoted to general manager in 1980 after Phillips was fired, hired Mike Holovak as his personnel director, and the Oilers had some of their most prosperous drafts.

From 1982 through 1985, their No. 1 picks were Munchak, Matthews, offensive tackle Dean Steinkuhler and Childress. In 1986, Herzeg made what turned out to be a shrewd pick when he selected quarterback Jim Everett, even though Warren Moon was firmly entrenched as the starter.

After the trade, Herzeg dealt Everett to the Rams for what turned out to be a windfall that helped catapult the Oilers to seven consecutive playoff seasons.

Not only did the Oilers get defensive end William Fuller and guard Kent Hill in the Everett trade, but Herzeg parlayed the draft choices into other deals that ended up getting Dishman, Jeffires, defensive end Sean Jones, running back Spencer Tillman and punter Greg Montgomery.

Fuller, Dishman, Jeffires, Jones and Montgomery made the Pro Bowl for the Oilers.

Through the decades, the Oilers drafted some players with colorful nicknames that became part of franchise lore: kick returner Billy "White Shoes" Johnson (1974), running back Don "Jaws" Hardeman (1975), defensive end Mike "Mongo" Stensrud (1979) or linebacker Robert "Captain Video" Lyles (1984).

During the AFL/NFL war before the merger, the Oilers also wasted some No. 1 picks on such players as tight end Mike Ditka (1962), running back Charley Taylor (1964), offensive tackle Ralph Neely (1965), running back Donny Anderson (1965) and linebacker Tommy Nobis (1966) -- none of whom signed with them.

It cost Adams $25,000 to bring pro football to Houston. It cost Bob McNair $700 million. McNair won't see the quick return on his investment that Adams did.

In 1960 and 1961, the Oilers won the first two AFL championships. They would not win another championship of any kind.