Legend of Raiders' No. 25 still alive

In the dogmatic domain known as Raider Nation, Fred Biletnikoff who hasn't played a down in the NFL since 1978, remains a revered, almost mythical figure.Even Raider fans not old enough to have seen Biletnikoff gobble up quarterback Kenny Stabler's left-handed darts during his 14-year career or become the Most Valuable Player from Super Bowl XI are aware of the legend of No. 25.Biletnikoff, who moved to Roseville with his wife Angela late in 2003 and has served as Raiders receiver coach since 1988, was far from the fastest and nowhere near the flashiest receiver during his playing days. Yet, he still managed to compile 21 regular season games of 100 or more yards receiving and four more in the postseason."Fred was a hard worker and it showed in his game," said Willie Brown, former teammate of Biletnikoff and a Hall of Fame defensive back. "The most important thing about Fred was that he ran great routes. He didn't have a lot of speed, but he beat you with his precise routes and his great hands."Biletnikoff took time out from his busy schedule of preparing for the April 23-24 NFL draft for a look back at his illustrious playing career and to reflect on his role today as an Oakland coach.One of Biletnikoff's favorite assignments as a coach is developing a receiver who comes to the Raiders without previous experience at the position. Two Biletnikoff understudies, Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry, had virtually no experience at receiver before joining the Raiders.Curry played quarterback at North Carolina in college and Porter was mainly a defensive back at West Virginia."They're both so athletic," Biletnikoff said. "They have natural ability to catch the ball. The thing I try to teach them is pass routes."When pressed on how he teaches them, Biletnikoff was candid."Repetition, just running the routes over and over again ... and lots of bitching and moaning," he said with a laugh. "No, really they're good workers and very intelligent. They're getting to the point where when something's wrong with their routes, they know how to correct it."Speaking of talented receivers, Biletnikoff embraces the opportunity to coach five-time Pro Bowl receiver Randy Moss, who the Raiders acquired from Minnesota during the off-season. Moss earned the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the nation's top college receiver, in 1997 while playing at Marshall University."He's the first Biletnikoff Award recipient I've ever coached," Biletnikoff said. "I first met Randy right out of college. I've visited with him since he signed with us. He's a nice kid. He's really looking forward to being with the Raiders and getting a fresh start."Biletnikoff insists the Raiders are not concerned with Moss's controversial reputation. Moss gained national attention last season with stunts such as mock mooning the crowd at Lambeau Field and walking off the field before a Vikings game had ended."We talked to all the coaches for the Vikings and there was not one bad word about him," Biletnikoff said. "He just wants to go out and play football. He's a quality guy and he makes a difference in a game."Moss is in the same mold as Tim Brown and Jerry Rice, two of the most productive receivers in NFL history, according to Biletnikoff who admitted there isn't much coaching involved with players of that caliber."Those guys are automatic," Biletnikoff said. "The game starts and they play. You talk to them after the game."Biletnikoff said today's receivers in the NFL, because of rule changes eliminating contact by defenders beyond five yards from the line of scrimmage, play a different style of game."In my era, defensive backs hit you all over the field no matter where you were," he said. "It was constant physical contact with the defensive backs. You had to really battle all the way up the field. It was physical battles all the time."Biletnikoff was asked how different his career might have been if he played under the new NFL rules."I wouldn't have got knocked on my ass as much, that's for sure," he said.Biletnikoff said the toughest defensive back he faced was two-time Pro Bowl selection Jim Marsalis of the Kansas City Chiefs."He would play in your face all the time," Biletnikoff said. "He was the size of a middleweight fighter and just a really tough street guy. Every game against him I would be in a battle from beginning to end."The hardest hit Biletnikoff said he ever took was from another Kansas City player, Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier."Willie Lanier just teed off on me one game. He caught me with a good forearm and broke my nose," he said. "To this day, I still don't know how he got there from clear across the field."No doubt, Lanier probably grew tired of Biletnikoff catching pass after pass from quarterback Stabler. The Stabler-Biletnikoff duo is still considered one of the most productive pass-and-catch combinations ever to play the game."Kenny was the type of guy who was a real team player," said Biletnikoff, who shared a house with the lefty quarterback for two years. "He was always in control in the huddle and he called his own plays."Biletnikoff said the infamous wild party stories from the days when the Raiders held training camp in Santa Rosa are a bit overblown. The Raiders had a reputation for late-night carousing in those days."We were up there (in Santa Rosa) like six or seven weeks every summer," Biletnikoff said. "After about 10 days of camp, (head coach) John (Madden) would tell us to go out and have a fun night together. Phil Villipiano and Dave Dalby would get it organized and we'd have air hockey tournaments or bowling night, just building camaraderie through all of us hanging out together."Brown echoed similar sentiments about players in his generation - and especially the Raiders - spending plenty of time together off the field."We did a lot of things together as a team. We took pride in sticking together," said Brown, whose 39 career interceptions in 12 seasons with the Raiders is still a team record. "We developed camaraderie. We'd go out as team like on Thursday nights and if you weren't there, you'd get the evil eye. There was no excuse for not being there."Brown said today's players have a different agenda and both he and Biletnikoff believe a strong-team chemistry is no longer a priority.Biletnikoff sited a recent example of the Raiders team chemistry suffering a meltdown, admitting Oakland's 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2002 season took its toll on the entire team."After the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, a lot of people on the staff were affected by it," said Biletnikoff, who held Raider career receiving records for receptions, yards and touchdowns when he retired in 1978. "A lot of them didn't know how to get over it so the chemistry on the team wasn't working. Players respond to what they see from the coaches."A year later, Bill Callahan was fired as head coach and replaced by Norv Turner, who guided the Raiders to a 5-11 record last season."Norv has such a good feel for what plays he wants," Biletnikoff said. "Running the offense is just a natural thing for him."Biletnikoff believes the Raiders are quite capable of rebounding from back-to-back disappointing seasons."The way things go in the NFL these days, if one play a game goes the other way, that can be the difference between winning and losing," he said. "If we get a couple of things to go our way, with everything else we've got this season, we've got a shot to go pretty far."