‘Where’ Still Key Raider Question : Pro football: Davis’ team improved a little in record and a lot in value, but it still missed playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

If it’s a late December day in the last half of the 1980s, the Raiders must be on vacation.

So they are, having missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, breaking their previous record, set last season.

It’s time for the postseason commendations and recriminations. They have some things to fix, but a more pertinent question arises:

Why should anyone here care?

Until Al Davis decides whether he will play in Oakland, Sacramento or the Los Angeles Coliseum, they are silver and black lame ducks.

Their most important change this season was not so much the one from Mike Shanahan to Art Shell, or the rise from 7-9 to 8-8, or the fall to their lowest average attendance here (49,631). It was an off-field enhancement that dwarfs anything in California real estate; in seven months of auctioning, Davis saw the worth of his franchise increase by $50 million.

In talks last spring with Oakland, the Raiders asked for a $30-million “relocation fee” but were told the financially strapped city couldn’t come up with that much.

Now, Davis, in effect, has $50-million offers (plus $200-million stadium package offers) from all three bidders and has only to make sure they will stand up. For his willingness to listen, his Raiders have increased their value by, say 33%.

Of course, he retains Irwindale’s non-refundable deposit of $10 million.

The question now: Is Davis still as good at running his club as he is at moving it?

In case the football situation will again mean anything locally, here it is:

Management--Improved, seeing as how it was civil war starting the season.

Ordinarily, you’d just say “coaching,” but with Davis helping Art Shell get his feet on the ground, there’s little difference between the front office and the coaching staff.

The move to Shell was highly positive, since Davis’ hiring of Shanahan was such a disaster--at least partly because Davis didn’t back him up.

Shell handled his first-modern-black-NFL-coach status gracefully and his public role well. His players seemed to go all-out for him.

It’ll be a while before anyone knows what kind of an X-and-0 man he is. Last season, quarterback coach Tom Walsh called the plays. Reports of tension between Walsh and another assistant, Shell-loyalist Terry Robiskie, were denied, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t exist. If they do, Davis needs to do Shell a favor he never did Shanahan and let him choose his own staff.

Several decisions--cutting Matt Millen, renegotiating Vann McElroy’s contract downward--puzzled even longtime Raider loyalists.

A source says Davis decreed after the Phoenix victory that Marcus Allen get no more plum Air Marcus calls at the goal line.

Indeed, the next time the Raiders got to the goal line, at Seattle, they tried Bo Jackson, who dove over the top and didn’t make it. They settled for a field goal.

Perhaps Davis has always done it this way: ordering the advancement of his favorites and the exile of those who crossed him and damn the consequences to his team. But before 1986, it worked and looked like genius.

Now it fails and looks petty and mean.

Quarterback--Improved.

The franchise that tried old Jim Plunkett, whip-sawed Marc Wilson, hyped Rusty Hilger and nose-diving Jay Schroeder got its best sustained quarterbacking since the ’84 Super Bowl from the ebullient Steve Beuerlein.

He came back with a bad knee; fought out of a slump; persevered in the face of pass rushes that all but overran his line; finished without much of a running game to take the heat off him, and threw a respectable 13 touchdown passes against nine interceptions.

There are still Raider officials who write him off as limited. Indeed, he’s no John Elway or Dan Marino. But he’s young, learns fast and is still coming, which is more than you can say for any other recent candidate.

Does someone dream they can do better? It’s only a year since they traded a star tackle, Jim Lachey, for Schroeder, an unknown quantity--and that’s the going rate.

Running game--Improved?

It was Bo Jackson, as always, only better: an even more incredible start, but then the usual distinct fade. He was more tenacious this time, but he still faded.

After five games, he was averaging 114 yards and 6.7 per carry, putting him on a pace for 1,254.

When minor injuries hit, he fell off, as he had in his first two seasons. In his last six games, he averaged 63 yards and 4.3 a carry. He finished with 950 and a 5.4 average.

For his career, Bo has a 5.3 average, the highest in history, beating Jim Brown’s 5.2. However, there’s far less temptation to confuse Jackson with Brown. Half the time Bo looks like the best there ever was, but then he falls off. Sorry, in this game they pay off on the fourth quarter.

Will Bo be back?

The annual rumor that he won’t was passed around (thanks, Bobby Beathard). Shell says he expects him back. Jackson’s pay next season would be $1.476 million and one of the few things we haven’t seen Bo do since he first spurned Tampa Bay is walk away from money.

But it’s Bo, so who knows?

Will Marcus be back?

Allen, the last of the great Raider leaders, missed half the season with a knee injury. He said he didn’t want to play fullback for Jackson and was relegated finally to backing him up.

Allen will be 30, earns $1.1 million, has been injured annually and hasn’t gained 800 yards in a season since 1985. Never a Davis favorite, he was less so after holding out during camp.

Passing game--Good and getting better.

Willie Gault had 28 catches, making him an official bust. Shanahan has been fired, Shell hired, Schroeder benched and they still can’t locate “Will,” whom Davis dotes on. What more could Davis do, short of returning to the sidelines?

Mervyn Fernandez (57 catches, 1,069 yards, nine touchdowns) became the first Raider wideout to reach 1,000 yards in 13 years. First-year man Mike Dyal made a late quantum leap with 27 catches and an 18.5 average, highest ever for a Raider tight end, eclipsing Billy Cannon, Ray Chester, Dave Casper and Todd Christensen. No. 3 wide receiver Mike Alexander had a 19.7 average.

The best of them all, Tim Brown, missed the season after major knee surgery. His return would cause some problems--who starts?--but mostly for opponents.

Offensive line--Improved a little.

The line cut its sacks a little (46 to 44) and blocked for the league’s No. 9 running game--even if that was largely because of Jackson’s early explosions.

The right side of center Don Mosebar, rookie guard Steve Wisniewski and tackle Bruce Wilkerson, looks promising, with No. 2 pick Wisniewski a real Davis coup.

The left side of guard John Gesek and tackle Rory Graves needs work. They finished 1-2 in holding calls and had trouble pass blocking.

Defensive front--Still rebuilding.

Howie Long’s return made it respectable again, but that’s not dominating, is it?

Nose tackle Bob Golic was a Plan B prize, but the promising Scott Davis may have flattened out. Greg Townsend did what he always does--get 10 sacks, miss the Pro Bowl.

Linebacker started as a joke and was still a problem at season’s end. Group B signee Tom Benson was OK, but Linden King had to be brought out of retirement. Jerry Robinson was supposed to be great in the middle but may be better suited to the outside.

Whose responsibility were all those draws and cutbacks that carved up the Raiders?

Veterans still wonder how they could have cut Millen.

“That’s a good question,” said a Raider player. “I would raise it if I were you.”

Secondary--Improved.

It overcame the tragic loss of Stacey Toran and the demotion of McElroy. Free safety Eddie Anderson is a big-play man and a tremendous hitter. He needed help in getting everyone lined up, or lining up himself, but got it from Mike Harden.

Harden, a find, finally took over strong safety after another Davis tab, Zeph Lee, went from starter to the waiver wire.

Most important, the corners were solid. Lionel Washington had a decent season, which is a good grade for someone playing a lot of man-to-man. Terry McDaniel did better than that and looks like the comer they thought he’d be.

Special teams--Shaky.

Stefon Adams, another Davis favorite, was great at covering kicks, poor at returning them in Brown’s absence and made the season’s worst error, fielding a punt at his two-yard line against the New York Giants.

Coverage in general was sub-standard, with opponents scoring three touchdowns on returns. In the spirit of the season, Shell says he foresees no staff changes but it would be a surprise if special teams coach Pete Rodriguez, a Shanahan appointee, returns.

Look for the return of fired San Diego Charger General Manager Steve Ortmayer as special teams coach, and Chet Franklin, the backfield coach Ortmayer took to San Diego.

Will Alex Gibbs stay? The respected offensive line coach is close to Shanahan and thought of quitting when he was fired.

Get ready to bid a fond Raider farewell to Hall-of-Famer-to-be Mike Haynes (he got old); two-time Pro Bowler McElroy (he was forced to sign an injury rider to his contract and talked about it, although the club subsequently paid him his entire salary); and last season’s outstanding-lineman-by-teammates-vote, Bill Lewis (holdout plus court suit). Lewis didn’t play a down, maintained a gag rule but didn’t even fly home from New York with the team.

Aside from replacing them and choosing a place to settle silver and blackdom for the ‘90s, it should be another quiet off-season.

Times staff writer Chris Baker contributed to this story.