Stephen Davis LaMont Jordan

In the absence of LaMont Jordan, Zack Crockett rushed the ball 15 times for 27 yards in Week 17 last season-a painful 1.8 yards per attempt.That pain should end in 2006. The remedial pill could come in the form of a mid to late-round draft pick; however, the draft is always a crapshoot, especially in the later rounds. The last thing Oakland needs is another three-year Justin Fargas experiment-an experiment that always had the seeds of potential planted, but never grew to become anything.Instead, the remedy should come in the form of a six-foot, 230-pound veteran named Stephen Davis. Davis is by far the preeminent runner remaining on a once very deep list of 2006 free agent halfbacks. Potentially solid backups like Najeh Davenport and Michael Bennett are off the market, leaving a very limited selection of reserves on the table.Last season, LaMont Jordan was the sole castaway on the island of running backs in Oakland. For yet another season, Justin Fargas was badgered with injuries that kept his helmet off and the medical tape supply low. Throughout his career, the former third-rounder out of USC has been hit with knee, hamstring, and toe injuries. And at the age of 26, it's often hard for a runner to fully conquer early career injuries and make a full recovery.After a long season with fullback Zack Crockett filling in at the number two spot, Oakland may not want to gamble on a sudden Fargas renaissance. Instead, they should look to someone who is an already proven Renaissance man. Perhaps, someone who has been around the game for a decade-someone who has started in over 100 games-someone who has a handful of 1,000+ yard seasons under his belt.Well, that wasn't planned, but Stephen Davis can raise his hand to all of those. And although he is a ripe 32 years old, the ex-Redskin and late-Panther still has some gas left in the tank-certainly enough gas to backup workhorse LaMont Jordan. Last season in Carolina, Davis ran the ball 180 times for 549 yards and 12 touchdowns. In fact, his 12 touchdowns in 2005 were good for fifth in the NFL. However, this offseason, Davis has seemingly been overlooked by most ballclubs. He unquestionably has lost a step or two and may not be as versatile as his 1999-2003 form, but Davis is as solid as they come in terms of a backup role. His 2005 double-digit touchdown total is just a small indication of that.Despite that, however, the ten-year veteran is still very quietly sitting untouched on the free agency shelf. But, if the Raiders were wise, they would at least pick him up and take a quick look at his career nutrition facts.If they did, they would see 7,875 rushing yards, 65 touchdowns, and a 4.1-yard rushing average. His game values would also read something like 20% of the carries, 90% bruiser, and 95% backup-equipped.All Oakland needs to do is mix some color additives into the player's ingredients.