The teams of the 1970s were thoroughly dominant teams, with eight Hall of Fame inductees on the roster and a Hall of Fame coach in John Madden. The 1970s Raiders created the team's identity and persona as a team that was hard-hitting. Dominant on defense, with the crushing hits of safeties Jack Tatum and George Atkinson and cornerback Skip Thomas, the Raiders regularly held first place in the AFC West, entering the playoffs nearly every season. From 1973 through 1977, the Raiders reached the conference championship every year.