I never thought there would be a day when Randy Moss could be found on the waiver wire, languishing in fantasy purgatory with all the other spare parts and castoffs.

Yet by Week 10 in my fantasy league, there he was in the same talent pool with the likes of Cleo Lemon and Mack Strong. It was a sight that defied the senses. Moss wasn't even hurt — that came later. He was just useless, and what's worse is that so many people wasted a high pick on him. Moss was the eighth wide receiver taken, on average, in Yahoo! fantasy leagues this past season.

Moss was symbolic of a larger problem. Anyone who drafted an Oakland Raider this year probably wants to cover Art Shell in brown sugar and throw him into a shed with a wolverine. The Raiders will go down as one of the most inept offensive teams in recent NFL history, scoring an offensive touchdown once every 79 plays. It was a painful season for anyone who owned a Raider. The silver and black left many a fantasy owner simply feeling blue.

Let's start with Moss, whose 42 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns were less than most teams' fourth wide receiver. By comparison, New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer had 32 receptions for 360 yards and three scores — and he only played in eight games. Nine times this season, Moss had fewer than five receptions. And he had only one 100-yard receiving game. Moss was good for 50.65 fantasy points in my Yahoo league while Pittsburgh’s Nate Washington managed 55.

Of course, part of the blame has to fall on the quarterback situation and the offensive line. Not many receivers are going to put up stellar numbers when they are getting the ball from Aaron Brooks (0-8 as a starter, with 3 touchdowns and 8 interceptions) and Andrew Walter, who were sacked a combined league-worst 72 times.

Did we mention wideout Jerry Porter was less than useless? He demanded to be traded before the season opened, earned a team suspension and then Shell refused to play him. After posting-back-to-back 900-yard receiving seasons, Porter caught one pass for 19 yards in four games this fall.

As bad as Moss was, fantasy owners were hurt even more by the play of running back LaMont Jordan. With running backs being the most important commodities in fantasy football, Jordan was a first- or second-round pick in most leagues, largely due to his versatility.

Jordan hauled in 70 passes for 563 yards to go with 1,025 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 2005. Considering last year was his first as a starter, most people expected an even bigger numbers from him this time. Wow, were they wrong.

Injuries limited Jordan to just nine games. Even still, he caught 10 passes all season for 74 yards. His 434 rushing yards was decent for only half a season, but not what you would expect from a top draft pick, especially with only two touchdowns. How bad was Jordan? He had only one 100-yard rushing game and two runs of 20-plus yards.

Of course not being able to move the ball takes a toll on the kicking game as well, rendering Oakland's kicker Sebastian Janikowski useless. Janikowski kicked only 16 extra points all season, and was just 18 for 25 on field goal attempts.

How important are extra points? Well, Kris Brown of the Houston Texans kicked 26 more extra points but booted just one more field goal than Janikowski. Brown was worth 101 points, compared to Sebastian’s 86. In head-to-head leagues, that point differential can mean the difference between a playoff team and a losing season.

Defense was the only Raiders unit even remotely worth owning this past season. Despite being left in compromising positions, the D managed to finish among the upper half, putting up 34 sacks, 18 interceptions and giving up 318 points. They even scored four touchdowns, which considering Oakland only scored 12 offensive touchdowns, is a lot. Actually the Raiders would probably have been better off punting on first down and letting the defense go to work.

What about next season?

Fantasy owners will no doubt be treating Randy Moss like a leper if he remains in Oakland. A new coach, quarterback or trade — any of which is possible — may give gambling fantasy owners the strength to pluck him up.

LaMont Jordan also might find himself in a new uniform next year, as the talk is Oakland might not exercise his option. Either way, Justin Fargas emerged as a viable option in the backfield. So if Jordan returns, expect him to share the load.

But Shell was let go after a 2-14 season, good news for fantasy owners. The Raiders also locked up the top pick in the April NFL Draft. A franchise quarterback or building-block offensive tackle could only help. It's the first step in revitalizing the Silver and Black.

So what about next year? It can't possibly get any worse for the Raiders. Savvy fantasy owners may find some valuable pieces in an Oakland uniform. Just don't overpay.