San Diego Chargers' All-Time Roster Dwarfs the Oakland Raiders'

By J.D. Harrison

Raider fans always seem to talk about their all-time players, as the greatest that ever played the game. But in all reality, when you compare them to their rival the San Diego Chargers, you see that not only is the all-time roster of the Chargers better than the Raiders, but in some aspects, they straight up embarrass them!

Comparing both sides CURRENT roster is a laughable thought, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and dig deep into the Raider's past they talk so proudly about.

Now I know by now any Raider fan reading this, will probably say something like the Raiders have three Super Bowls and we have zero.

This is not what this article is about! This article is about the sheer all-time talent that each team has produced, based on stats. I picked the best the Raider nation had to offer and compared them to the San Diego Chargers.

There are many reasons why a team can go to the Super Bowl, other than sheer talent. Bad referee calls can be made resulting in somebody advancing or not advancing, players getting hurt etc. Many times the Raiders have squeaked by in big games because of bad calls or just straight up cheating.

So I factored all of these hypotheticals out of the equation, and compared the two teams solely on sheer talent.

This article is not about talking trash. It's about comparing the best of each side!

So here we go! The top five star positions and their players.

Lets start with the QB position.

George Blanda is the only QB in the Hall of Fame for the Raiders. Ken Stabler is not in the Hall of Fame yet, but he was voted the number two greatest Raider of all-time by NFL.com. On the other side of the ball, we have Dan Fouts, also the only QB for the Chargers in the Hall of Fame.

After 26 years with the Raiders, Blanda retired with 236 touchdowns, 277 interceptions, 26,920 yards, 4 pro bowls and retired with a QB rating of 60.6.

Ken Stabler played for 16 years (only 11 years with the Raiders). Stabler retired with 194 touchdowns, threw for 27,938 yards, four pro bowls, and retired with a QB rating of 75.3.

Dan Fouts tops ALL of these stats, while shattering a few in the process. Not to mention, doing it almost as twice as fast as Blanda! After only 14 years, Fouts threw for 254 touchdowns, 242 interceptions, 43,040 yards, six pro bowls, and retired with a QB rating of 80.2!

Moving on to the TE position.

Dave Casper is the Raider's greatest TE and the only one in the the Hall of Fame. He played for 10 years and had 378 receptions, 5,216 receiving yards and was voted to the pro-bowl 5 times. Compare that to the greatest TE of all time, Kellen Winslow.

Even though Casper played two more years than Winslow did, he still couldn't catch up. Winlslow retired with 541 receptions, 6,741 receiving yards and went to the pro bowl five times. I won't even begin to mention Antonio Gates and everything he has and will accomplish.

Now the WR position.

Fred Biletnikoff was voted the greatest Raider of all-time by NFL.com and is the teams only WR in the Hall of Fame. He retired with 76 touchdowns, 8,974 receiving yards, 589 receptions and six pro bowls. Compare that to the Charger's greatest WR, Lance Alworth. He retired with 85 touchdowns, 10,266 receiving yards, 542 receptions and seven pro bowls.

Now moving to the DE position.

Howie Long is arguably one of the most famous Raiders of all-time. He sits in the Hall of Fame as the teams greatest DE. He played for 12 years and had a total of 9.5 sacks in 179 games.

On San Diego's side, we have the great Fred Dean proudly representing the position in the Hall of Fame for the Chargers. He only played HALF the time as Long did and still has better numbers.

In only six years, Fred Dean had 93 sacks, in 141 games. More sacks, in half the time.

Last but not least, the RB position.

The Hall of Famer Marcus Allen is by far the greatest RB the Raiders have ever produced. Ranked the No. 5 Raider of all-time by NFL.com and by some he is considered No. 1. He played a 16 year career and retired with 12,243 rushing yards, 123 touchdowns, six pro bowls and averaged 4.1 yards a carry.

Try and compare those numbers to one of the greatest running backs of all-time, LaDainian Tomlinson.

If LT stopped playing today he would be in the Hall of Fame, period. Arguably the greatest Charger of all-time, LT has only played half the time Allen did.

LT's current career stats: 11,760 rushing yards, 141 touchdowns, averages 4.4 yards a carry and has five pro bowls. Keep in mind that is only eight years, half Allen's career. Not to mention the 16 NFL records LT holds, including the most touchdowns scored in a single season by a running back, the most in NFL history.

Now days the once "great" Raider Nation has fallen from grace. The franchise has done a complete turn around and is now one of today's worst teams. The last record the Raiders set, was losing more games in a six year period than any other team in NFL history.

On the other hand, the San Diego Chargers have turned their franchise around, but in a good way. They are currently one of the top teams in the NFL. Shooting for their fourth Division title in a row and their 12th straight win against the Raiders this season, the Chargers are on their way to a Super Bowl.

So there it its. The star positions and their players. I'm sure the Raiders will throw some names out there that I missed, but even if they do, this article still proves that the Chargers are the dominant all-time roster. The stats speak for themselves.