While talking to former Raiders’ great linebacker Phil Villapiano for our feature on the best Raiders’ team never to win a Super Bowl, our conversation veered to the college-like atmosphere of NFL teams in that era.
The Raiders maintained their standing as an elite NFL team for most of the 1970s, even winning the Super Bowl to end the 1976 season.
For the most part, the core of the Raiders’ roster was the same for much of the decade ... that doesn’t happen anymore as there is major turnover on a yearly basis for almost every NFL team.