Saturday, March 15, 2008

Here Comes DeAngelo?

Sorry that I’ve been out of circulation. I’ve been locked in my garage with a bottle of Jack Daniels, mourning the departures of Jerry Porter and Barry Sims. Ha, ha, ha. Just kidding.

I’ve just been awakened by the news that cornerback DeAngelo Hall is headed to Oakland for a second round pick, pending contract negotiations in the neighborhood of $50+ million. This is according to the guy who wrote the story about Mr. Davis ghostwriting Lane Kiffin’s resignation letter, so take it with a grain or two of salt until the ink is dry on Hall's contract.

By the way, can we shave the contract by about $1 million and put that money toward more porta-potties in tailgate territory? DeAngelo can spare a little extra for our beleaguered bladders, can’t he?

Seriously, though, I’m excited to have Hall’s talent headed our way, if not his reputation. We’ve now assigned $100 million total to DeAngelo Hall (if this report is true) and Javon Walker, two guys with character baggage. I know, a lot of that is funny money, but it’s staggering nonetheless.

Will Hall’s arrival be a slap in the face to Nnamdi, who’s looking, and waiting, for his own pot of gold in Oakland? And is DB the best place to be spending tons of money on free agents right now? Is Hall worth a second-round pick in addition to all that money, given our other needs?

I’m not sure about the answers to those questions, but I can tell you that I’m starting to get excited by our personnel activities—not just incoming players but outgoing as well. At this point in time, different automatically equals better in my book, especially at positions like receiver and safety.

We are clearly upgrading our talent and potential. If we can upgrade our chemistry along the way (from the locker room on up), then we might see some rather minty fresh performances in 2008.

206 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post, bro.

It looks like our FA period is splashy and active, at the very least. We won't know for a while how successful it is, but it looks good right now.

---Jeff

4:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Best secondary in football, formidable pass rush, lightning fast linebackers-hopefully SOB doesn't screw this up.



RaiderMike

4:22 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

RT - Does this mean we won’t be drafting a DB whose top qualification is his 40-yard dash time?

I have to admit that I too am excited about the turnover of our roster, both outgoing and incoming. My concern (mostly on D), however, still rests with scheme. Filling our team with all-pros won’t matter if the scheme isn’t solid.

SOB needs to solve a problem that has plagued him during his tenure with the Raiders, with largely the same personnel up front, i.e., run D. And, if we can’t get to the QB with a consistent pass rush, it won’t matter that we have the best pair of corners in football.

That said, trading for Hall and signing Kevin Carter would bolster an already impressive off-season thus far.

Say what you want about the players the Raiders have (or will) sign, and the price paid, but you can’t argue that needs have been identified and some of the best available players have been pursued to fill those needs.

And the prospect of drafting a top-five talent, or initiating a blockbuster trade for our #4 pick still looms large for us.

4:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trade, shmade. It'll be Mcfadden or fastest player availabe! ;o)

4:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey boss - glad you're back!

I'll wait on the hall deal but I would not like having one pick on day one.

I did look at McFadden on You Tube and he is amazing. No way AD passes on him.

4:58 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

We have now spent all our "Cash" on the "D" and a few "O" players like 2-"WR"s-n-1-"OT"...So I believe it's about time to send a bunch of money toward a "RB" called "Run-DMc....Or as I like to call him..."McFabulous"....

Boy oh Boy...I can't wait for the season to start now and we haven't even drafted yet...I wonder how "Turner is looking at this down there in SuckDick-e'go....And back "E" in MuleHigh-n-the State-o-Misery....

Pantyraider...Go-For-"O"!!!!!

5:35 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Oh!...By the way....When Fitz was re-signed I removed him from my "Wish-List" and added two others as posted on the last thred...Now it appears I have gotten both players...."WR" Drew Carter-n-"CB" DeAngelo Hall...ThankYou "MrD"....

Now my "Wish-List" is down to 1 player...."Run-DMc"...."McFab"...

I also made mention of a "QB" Gray and a "FB" Jerome Felton that I would like to have but I will not put them on my "Wish-List" just yet....

PantyRaider...Happy-Postah!!!!

5:53 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

The Falcons are close to trading defensive back DeAngelo Hall to the Oakland Raiders for second- and sixth-round picks in the April draft, according to a person close to the negotiations.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons
/stories/2008/03/15/dhall_0316.html

The deal should be that we also trade picks in the 1st rd....Atlanta wanted a 1st rd pick and I had made the statement earlier that our early 2nd might be just as good...That has now turned into a 1st-n-6th...They now have 3 picks in the 2nd rd....

Look out....This maneuvering by the "Birds" tells me they would be very willing to trade down from the #3 for the "CowGirls" 2 1st rd picks....That would give them (5) picks in the first 2 rds....#22-#28-#35-#38-#49....#69 in the 3rd....They have a lot of holes to fill....

Sense they are looking for the "QB" we should offer Walter in exchange for swapping 1st rd picks...Do something because it smell bad to me if the "Birds" have a chance to make a deal with Dallas...Miami may not want to trade all the way down to the late 1st rd but with the #3 pick the "CowGirls" could offer a 2nd rd pick to swap positions from 1st to 3rd and Miami may go for that...High price to pay for the "CowGirls" but "JJ" scares me...He is just that stupid...."Ya'll know....bein a Texan -n- all"....

PantyRaider....Smellin-a-Rat!!!!

7:20 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

The Raiders last week received permission to speak with Hall's agent, Joel Segal, about the prospect of a deal that would satisfy the Falcons, the Raiders and Hall. By week's end, Hall was in Alameda at the Raiders' training facility for a physical and meetings with managing general partner Al Davis, Coach Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, among others.

Did you notice the name "Kiffin" in this news report....

http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/
ci_8587500

PantyRaider....Kiffin-Lives!!!

7:34 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Let me sleep on this one. My mind is spinning. My first thought is why roll out the brinks truck for a shady character who plays a position that is at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of need. More coherent thoughts to follow after I clear my head.

11:13 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Raider Mike: "Formidable pass rush" ... huh? We had one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL last season (what 27 sacks?) ... we lose Clemons (8 sacks), Sapp retires. How is our pass rush now formidable? Who exactly did we add to the equation to spark a "formidable pass rush"?

11:17 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

CalicoJack:

I have some info that might help to clear your poor aching head Bro..

“The Inside Scoop”

I received info from my bartender’s niece who use to date a janitors son who was an understudy to “Custodian International” who had bid on but failed to acquire the maintenance contract for the Raiders Training facility in Alameda California….That is to say on the Island of Alameda….That would be on the south side….Anyway…I knew her from my shipyard days as a “YardMonkey” working for the Alameda Ship Yard way back in the 1990‘s….That would be on the north end of the Island of Alameda….Use to be Todd’s but later it became “Bay Ship & yacht Co. Inc”….Well she ate too many burritos and became so fat her boyfriend left her for someone else…but she still gets the news threw the “Gossip Mill”…So now to get to the info it appears that a young janitor overheard a conversation that DeAngelo Hall had with one “MrD” and the consequential meeting which took place later at the training facility on the south side of Alameda Island last Friday night….that would be 3/14/08.…That evening….

Sorry but they did not have a recorder so I will have to paraphrase what went down at the training facility Friday evening the 14th day of this month….March….

“DeG” calling….“Now lookie here….I ain’t a fixin ta escape one mess fer another….ya hear….So hows about ya’ll meetin wit me somewhere sos I can put a eye-ball on whoever I’ma gona be workin fer….Hearin those romers and all got’s me worien….”

“Fridah night, ya boss, I can be thar fersure….”

Meanwhile back at Raider Headquarters “MrD” -n- Lance are giving the “Evil-Eye” at each other across the hall….”SOB” acting as the “Go-Between” is trying to get them both to sit down in the same room without overturning the tables….

Now DeAngelo Hall is brought into the room and given a safe place to sit a far distance from the two combatants….

“MrD” speaks….”DeG” you would look damn good in “Black”….

“Well now I tell ya “MrD” I’m all about playin hard…I ain’t about doin no lay down thing….ya hear what I’m sayin….”

“Ya we hear ya “DeG”” say’s Lance….”I came here to build a winner and you are one of my missing pieces and “SOB” here has been demanding that you be brought in and given a contract so that’s why were all here tonight on the same page…”

“Well now that sounds real damn good ta me after bein round all them damn “Birds” -n- all….I’ll do ya’ll real proud me warin that “Black”….Speaks “DeG”….

“Caveman” tells him…”You see all that money the big boss has been throwing around….why…You may as well come in here and get your fair share too while it last….”

“Hell….Where da ya’ll want me ta sign….”

“MrD” says….”We will prepare the paperwork and send it to your agent….Hows say….$20 mil garenteed on a $60 mil deal sound to you….I got lots more where that came from and I can‘t take it all with me….”

“Yo “MrD”…Now that’s what I’m talkin bout…”

“DeAngelo steps out into the hall and closes the door….Lance picks up some sugar lumps and throws them in “MrD”s coffee…..”MrD” says “Why you damn young PUNK….Sign that damn piece of paper I gave you….the one that says Resignation on it” and he throws his hot coffee -n- cup at lance….

Lance ducks as the cup -n- coffee splatter on the wall….

“I’m not going anywhere you senile “Old Coot”….I came here to do a job and by damn I’m going to stay right here and see it threw…”

“SOB” escapes the room with his hair all a flying and shaking his head looking like a “CaveMan” and sees DeAngelo still standing in the hall and listening….

“Hell….It’s all one big happy family around here “DeG”….don’t you worry about a thing…”

“No sir….”SOB”….Why I recon it’ll be great hangin here afta putin up wit all dat “Cherpin” from them damn “Birds” and all….Why…a little con-fern-tation never hurt my feelins….Not a bit…”

So now you know….That’s just the way she said it to me….I didn’t change a word…Swear….

PantyRaider...."Raider-Gate".....

11:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What Goodell will say this April 26th...
"With the 4th pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders select.... Darren McFadden, running back, U of A.

If Hall comes on board, we will have "enough" for the defense to do their job. It's a huge gamble (ie: Kelly) but we just may have enough to make it through games and win. Which leaves me with my point.

The offense will need to score points and lots of them. Russell needs help. This running back situation isn't as secure as you might think. If and I mean IF Hall comes over, we won't have any more picks as was previously mentioned. Davis needs to make a huge splash with this ONE and ONLY first day pick.

IT'S MCFADDEN. Davis is putting all his chips in the middle of the table. Jordan will be cut, Rhodes and or Fargas will be traded. We will have a McFadden/Bush 1-2 punch.

Come on now.... we ALL know Davis loves speed. 4.27 40? Panty, you will be a very happy man!

11:53 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

OiprocsR8r....

Yes I will Bro....Very happy indeed...

Run...Run...Run....and then let "JRus" dump one over the middle and Run...Run...Run....Than let "JRus" throw to the left flank....Run....Run...Run...."TD"...

OK Boys....Let's play it again....

Now the "D" can take a few risks and pin their ears back and bring the heat...They don't have to be so conservative and worried about an "O" that can't score....

PantyRaider....#1 Rushing-n-#10 Passing "08"...

12:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
Agree totally, Calico... formidable pass rush? I don't see it. And our LB's are atletic but not getting the job done from a physical or run stopping standpoint. So we'll go grab another good CB? If we take Hall, it is official.. the Washington/Routt draft was a COMPLETE BUST. You take two CB's in Rd 1 & 2 of a draft and neither guy is starting three years later? That fellas, is a busted draft. And what about the track relay/hurdle king, Bowie? We got his great talent for Moss. Is he not a possibilty to start at CB?
So far on D it's just not adding up to anything logical. I hop eit works becasue I love the S&B, but it seems stupid top to bottom.

7:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That little shit shifter called it late last week with the "blockbuster trade" announcement.

I don't get it either. I would have rather traded a 2nd rounder to fill a need.

BUT maybe they are not done...

8:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Two lock-down corners isn't going to help one iota if teams simply steamroll through our defense again on the ground.

I say with Hall it makes it even MORE imperative to use the first pick on DL.

Number one D vs the pass and number 32 against the run means 6 wins tops... regardless of what the offense does with a flashy rookie RB.

9:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Al better hope we don't have a cap after next year...

Otherwise we're looking at salary cap HELL in a few years. It can't be a mid-life crisis, would you call it an end-life crisis?

Hall is an outstanding player and it's definately going to be interesting, if nothing else.

Psycho

9:49 AM  
Blogger Raider Take said...

Geez, Gary, can I call you an IAAFer now that you are disappointed or puzzled by the news of the day, and that you had a take about it?

Just kidding.

Like you, I'm concerned about our priorities. I'll hope that this is a piece in larger master plan, as opposed to just another chapter in our serial fixation with speedy DBs.

10:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
Agree, psycho, memdf, Gary.
I also think two FA defensive players that could REALLY help with our problems is Kevin Carter and Takeo Spikes. Save the money on Hall and get these two guys and we'd be much more physical & improved.
Hell, go with Routt, Washington or Bowie at the other CB... see if one sticks and if they don't 86 all of them.
The Joseph DTR we signed has put up good numbers when healthy... maybe we'll get lucky with him.
Is Warren coming back?

10:17 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Oh! My!....

Am I one of the few who sees this signing as a "Plus" and a view of things to come....If our team scores points this year and the other "O" has to abandon the "Run" to play "Keep-Up" or "Catch-Up" we are going to need an excellent "DB" option...Keep fresh legs...

Starting "DB"s...

Awesome CB
Hall CB
Huff S
Gibril S

Nickle-n-Dime packages...Back-Ups

*Fabien....CB Still Developing
Routt......CB
Schweigert.S
Bowie......CB
Carr.......CB
Eugene.....S

We now have so much depth that 1 or 2 of these players will be "TradeBait" for Picks....Several teams have needs at the "CB" position but this draft is very very thin at the position and so was "FA"....Don't be surprised if we get good value out of a Routt or a Schweigert....Both have veteran experience....This is a "Premium Position" this year same as the "DT"s...

Take a look at what the hated "Donko"s are doing in "FA"....Don't stand still in the "Back-Field"...

John Lynch (S) Re-Signed
Marquand Manuel (S)
Marlon McCree (S)
+ who they already have
+ "OLB" Boss Bailey and they are adding "WR"s...."TE"s....

I like our additions better...Don't you...

PantyRaider....Check-Mate!!!!

11:29 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Correction....It was the "S" position that is extremely thin this year in the draft and "FA"s...
1-premium pick***** and 4 second tier**** picks...

"CB"s have 4 premium picks***** and 10 second tier picks****

According to scout.com

11:56 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Bucs Offer Contract To C Newberry

"C" is a hard position to fill this year....There are very few "C"s worth drafting....same as the "G"s....so Newberry is getting attention....But in TB he will sit on the bench....He will start in OakTown so I expect him to be back...

Well it seems we have some new "HateTrippers" in the NFL...

Those poor "SB" Champion Giants....Are they angry because the Raiders took their "S"-n-"DT"....Well they are also angry that they don't get DeAngelo Hall because that rotten "MrD" jumped in and stole him....So they bad-mouth "MrD" for always taking every "Misfit" in the NFL and not leaving at least one for them to have...Ha! Ha!...Too Bad...So Sorry....Just Enjoy your "Trophy" for crying out loud...We here all wish we had it...

PantyRaider....Player-Thieves!!!!

12:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

seem strange to think that two lock down corners wont help your run "D" you can move your safety closere to the line and stack the box it also opens up all kinds of run blitz packages


Topher

1:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>>
Geez, Gary, can I call you an IAAFer now that you are disappointed or puzzled by the news of the day, and that you had a take about it?
>>>


Lol... not yet.

This could be a fantastic move if he drafts someone that could make an immediate impact on stopping the run with the first pick. If he chooses McF without any picks after it? WTF... all he'd accomplish is improving the two area's that weren't even close to the main problems last year... RB and CB.

Now THAT would be "crazy Al" time!

1:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was "Crazy Al" time when he wasted every single one of those picks from the Gruden trade. It was "Crazy Al" time when he drafted an erratic kicker 16th overall in the first round. It was "Crazy Al" who drafted Brayton, Routt and Washington. Shall I proceed on?

Getting McFadden wouldn't be the "craziest" thing Crazy Al has done.

2:09 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

I'm beginning to think that if we don't take SOH or Gholston with our #4 pick then Kelly will need to play a fair amount of reps. at DE.

Currently we have the following DT's under contract:
> Kelly
> Warren
> Sands
> Joseph
> Shaw

We only have these DEs under contract:
> DBurg
> Richardson
> Kelly (DT/DE)

If we take SOH or Gholston, our 8 man group is excellent. If we don't take SOH or Gholston, it is fairly weak at DE.

DE1: DBurg + SOH/Gholston
DT1: Kelly + Warren
DE2: Richardson/Kelly
DT2: Sands + Joseph
DT3: Shaw

2:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>
It was "Crazy Al" time when he drafted an erratic kicker 16th overall in the first round.
>>>>

Whom should he have drafted instead, and more importantly, why?

>>>
It was "Crazy Al" who drafted Brayton, Routt and Washington. Shall I proceed on?
>>>>

Well considering you prolly called him "Crazy Al" when he drafted an unknown CB with a funny name... Asumugwha... no.

>>>>
Getting McFadden wouldn't be the "craziest" thing Crazy Al has done.
>>>>

Uhh, only if you don't think it's important to draft team needs... which is pretty much what you said above, so pardon me if I discount this.

2:29 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

I dare say that free agency is more important to the Raiders than most teams, because, it’s no mystery the Raiders struggle in the draft. Since our 2002 SB appearance, we have amassed only 9 starters out of 41 total picks (22%). That may not seem criminal at face value, but when you consider too that we have routinely drafted in the top ten, then it’s pretty bleak.

If you look down this list, only Morrison and Fargas were picked after the 2nd round, and no starters have been selected after round 3. Also, don’t bother looking before 2002, because only Ronald Curry (7th Rd) and SeaBass (1st Rd) still exist on the Raiders roster.

2007 (11 picks, 2 starters)
1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2. Zach Miller, TE, Arizona State

2006 (7 picks, 2 starters)
1. Michael Huff, S, Texas
2. Thomas Howard, LB, Texas-El Paso

2005 (7 picks, 2 starters)
2. Stanford Routt, CB, Houston
3b. Kirk Morrison, LB, San Diego State

F. Washington was our 1st round pick and is now Routt’s backup.

2004 (8 picks, 1 starter)
1. Robert Gallery, OT, Iowa

Jake Grove was picked in the 2nd, but couldn’t beat out “no-knees” Newberry as starter.

2003 (8 picks, 2 starters)
1a. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, California
3b. Justin Fargas, RB, USC

We also drafted Tyler Brayton in Round 1.

2:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>
Since our 2002 SB appearance, we have amassed only 9 starters out of 41 total picks (22%).
>>>

That does look horrible... but my guess is it's about average if not above average. I took a quick peak at how many starters NE has drafted since 2002, and saw less than 9.

3:03 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

NYRaider -n- Others....

The Draft is an unproven "Crap-Shoot" and no-body knows anything...But the "FA" market is proven veterans who have shown over time what they can or can't do...Therefore I don't mind spending all of "MrD"s Cash on X-Pro Bowl players like "CB"-n-"WR"-n-"S"..."DT"-n-"DE"...."QB"-n-"TE"..."OT"-n-"C"...

But now about the RB"s....It seams as though this is more difficult to figure with the veteran players...We have brought in "Vet"s that we expected a lot from and have gotten very little in return....But in the Draft it appears very productive when we have taken "RB"s in the first 3 rounds....or as in the case of "BO"...He was a 7th rd pick...

Also the "LB" has been a problem....We have drafted a couple good ones and also some very lousy ones and the same goes with the "FA"s....Tough position to fill....

We have drafted several Poor "CB"s-n-"S"s who looked very good at the time....And as for the "DE" in the first prior to the "CB" Awesome....Everyone said Tyler was a great pick and Awesome was a stretch and a mistake....That is what "EveryOne" reported at the time....Bunch of "Crazy-Old-Coots"...

Take the surest player on the board...."RB"..."DMc"....That is without a doubt the absolute lowest risk pick....Even with "Slow-Speed" Cris Long....

PantyRaider....Sure-Thing???.....

Who the hell knows....When we find a scout that can actually tell how a player will perform in a specific system on a specific schedule for a specific team we need to sign him to the most lucrative contract in history....just for fun go back and look at the reports given on last years draftees....It's still posted On-Line if you do a "Google" search....You will be surprised by all the foney "Hype" and out right "Bull-Shit"....Just like the 2 "WR"s from USC and taken in the second rd....15 catches for less than 150 yds total for the two....Go figure...

3:59 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

NYRaider....

M Bush may be a great 4th rd pick for us....give him a chance to come out....

4:00 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

We signed 3 "RB"s who are not starters for us...Jordan...Rhodes...Eche....

The 3rd rd pick is the starter....Fargas...and the 4th rd pick will become a starter....Bush....And if we take "McFab" in the 1st rd he will also be a starter....

Guaranteed....

4:04 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

"2000" NFL Draft...Jano was #16 1st rd....

There are 12 Pro-Bowl players from the first rd out of the 32 players selected....10 were taken before the Raiders selected...2 came after...RB Shaun Alexander #19....LB Keith Bulluck #30....

In the second rd there were 5 "PB" players taken...The Raiders took WR Jerry Porter at #47....@ #59 Marcus Washington became a "PB"er...The rest were picked before the Raiders....

In the 5th rd we finally got a "PB"er with Shane Lechler "P"...

So now...Please pick on all the teams that year who did "NOT" draft a "PB" player....we got ours...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_NFL_Draft

PantyRaider...Draft-History!!!!

2007 has produced 3 "PB"ers....#3-#7-#11....

2006 has produced 3 1st rd...3 2nd rd...1 6th rd....Out of 208 players drafted in the first 6 rds...

NOW...Go Figure....Sure-Thing????

Foolishness....

4:48 PM  
Blogger Raider Raza said...

I'm excited about the Hall trade, but at the same time wasn't Kiffin background supposed to give us an advantage in the draft.

SO far we have 3 picks in the upcoming draft and big question marks surrounding Russell, Bush, Henderson, JLH and the CB we traded for Moss and only two solid players from last years draft O'neil and Miller.

Anyways our secondary will be all-pro, but we still need to stop the RUN. Teams are killing us with the run!!!

I hope we trade the pick to Dallas and get some more picks.

6:33 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

2007 Draft...

1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, Late saeson Starter -w- 36/66 55% 2"TDs 4"Int"s...

2. Zach Miller, TE, Starter -w- 44 catches/444 yds 3 "TD"s...

3a. Quentin Moses, DE, Cut...

3b. Mario Henderson, OL, 1 game played...

3c. Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR, Late season Starter -w- 6 catches/47 yds...

4a. Michael Bush, RB, IR did not play...

4b. John Bowie, CB, Played in 2 games no stats...

5a. Jay Richardson, DE, Starter -w-33 tkls-n-1 sk...

5b. Eric Frampton, S, Cut..

6. Oren O'Neal, FB, Late season starter -w- no stats..

7. Jonathan Holland, WR, Cut...

11 players drafted....5 starters....3 Cut....1 IR....2 reserve....

Projection: "08" Starters...

JaMarcus Russell, QB...
Zach Miller, TE...
Michael Bush, RB...
Jay Richardson, DE...
Oren O'Neal, FB...

Reserves....

Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR, 3rd-4th slot...
John Bowie, CB, Nickle-n-Dime Packages...
Mario Henderson, OL, Back-Up...

Not so bad for his first draft ever...Hitting about 50% and that could rise if the reserve role players develop....5-to-8 starters out of 11 draftees....How did the other teams do this year....

PantyRaider....Trust-in-Kiff!!!!

7:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Psycho... thats a good point... and it makes this deal seem even stranger. Why trade away any picks when Kiffin has demonstrated he has an eye for young talent, and with our staff fresh off the Senior Bowl and its inside scouting?

I don't think this deal is happening... nothing to it makes a lick of sense. Al giving up on his draft picks of Fabian and Routt already?

I just saw that we are over the cap on PFT... where will the money come from?

This is a very strange story, and most of them lately have not been true.

I have to see this to believe it.

8:55 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Gary....

We will still release or trade Jordan and possibly trade Walter...Also we may trade a "S" or "CB"....Depending upon the draft another "RB" may go By-By...so that will clear up some cap room...

Where did you see we were over the Cap...We were still way under after signing "WR" Javon Walker and the other signings were cheap...WR Drew Carter and DT William Joseph....I would question the report that we are over the Cap as bogus...

Was this the info you saw...Oakland Raiders: $121,070,000/$116,729,000 allowed....it says this includes estimated Roster Bonuses...Jordan alone has a $5,000,000 Roster Bones which will never be paid along with his salary for "08" if he is traded and most of it will not count if Cut and he signs with another team....

According to that report Detroit and Houston are the only teams under the Cap by about $4,000,000 and $1,500,000....I don't believe it....Bogus reporting...Very Unrealistic...Scrap that Crap...I hope it ain't true....Just say it ain't so....Ha! Ha!...

PantyRaider...Sign-em-All-Al!!!!

12:38 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

McFADDEN FACES CIVIL CLAIMS
Posted by Mike Florio on March 16, 2008, 12:29 p.m.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=
16702745&postID=6803292449298534063&page=1

What a Freaken Joke....Punks will do anything to get money now days...This is in regards to the fight that "McFab" was in at a bar...They want to sell the security video tape for $500,000...

I hope the hell it damages his draft stock and he is there at #4 for sure....

PantyRaider....Thanks-ScumSucks!!!!

12:49 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

LOMBARDI GOT NOTHING FROM RAIDERS
Posted by Mike Florio on March 15, 2008, 1:08 p.m.

He does not get paid by the Raiders or Broncos for "07"....How beautiful is that....

Same thread from PFT...

12:58 AM  
Blogger H said...

DeAngelo Hall - Don't like it.

Talent wise he is worth a second round pick. Attitude wise - no.

He is not like Randy Moss in that he doesn't sulk. However, if things are going bad for the team, he will finger point. It's not the same as calling out a teammate who is under performing. His finger pointing is to deflect criticism from himself.

The only way this makes sense to me is if we are looking to unload Washington via trade for extra picks or a third rounder.

Plus with the money involved, it makes the possibility of trading out of the 4th spot more likely.

Just my humble opinion.

H

4:52 AM  
Blogger nyraider said...

PantyRaider- your take on our 2007 draft is pretty generous. The only proven starter to come out of 2007 is Zach Miller. J-Russ will start, but has yet to prove he’s the 60-million dollar man that we ALL hope he is. Other player starts have been situational at best, or by default. But, in fairness, there’s still time for some of these players to make a mark.

Now, as pointed out by others, trading for Hall will pretty much negate any value from our 2005 draft (leaving only K.Morrison a starter).

I believe many teams are successful building from the draft, just not the Raiders. And, like it or not, this year looks like we will be “one and done” in the draft. Let’s hope the #4 pick is a good one.

As far as cap space, Jerry Mac recently reported the Raiders were $6+ mil under the cap still. I don’t know if that accounts for Nnamdi.

7:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's the PFT list of cap numbers:

http://tinyurl.com/2qh3fg

Oakland Raiders: $121,070,000.

And NY... Kiffin drafted 11 players last year and 5 of them ALREADY have a good chance to be impact players this year... Russell, Miller, Bush, Richardson, and O' Neal.

What more can you ask for?

8:41 AM  
Blogger H said...

Please read the following quote:

"This is truly an organization in deep chaos. Its leaders must be accountable for decisions that have caused the downfall. There is no character on the team. Players are 'scared' of 'the man.' How can you feel comfortable in an organization that has had so much change? Who takes responsibility for the poor draft selections from 2000-04?"

This was posted by a Mile Low Mule fan speaking of Shannarat.

Just my way of cheering everyone up.

H

8:46 AM  
Blogger H said...

By the way. I think we should start refering to Denver as Geldings since most of their testicular fortitude is now missing.

H

8:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

H,
Yeah I read a lot of negative responses to what ShinyHand is doing over there. Denver is beginning to hate him. As they should!

Psycho

9:09 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

My take on Hall.

First, one has to consider the source. And BSPN said that the Raiders would make that trade at the start of the off season. Nothing has come of it until now.

Second, while Hall supposedly has been here for a meeting, he denies talking to anybody about it. If he were just trying to keep the irons hot, he'd just say that he'd talked, but nothing was settled yet. I can see no reasonable motive for Hall to deny he's been here. So, until there is something more, consider this just another BSPN initiated rumor.

It's not that I don't believe the Raiders haven't explored the possibility, and Atlanta, with all of their current turmoil and turnover is a sieve of leaked information. And BSPN is more than capable of turning every phone call into an imminent signing.

If true, it could give the Raiders the most dominant CB team in the NFL. That didn't hurt us when we had Hayes and Haynes. And Lester never complained about bringing in Haynes. There are two truisms in football. Your best WR is only as good as the WR on the other end, and your best CB is only as good as the CB in the opposite corner. The caveat here is that H&H were both class acts.

On the bad side, this leaves us with only one first day pick. Rather than this being an indication that the Raiders will grab McFadden, to me the indication is that the Raiders will trade down to acquire another first day pick. With the WR depth and the D-line depth in this draft, that would seem to be the prudent move, because we have no players to trade for a first day pick with the possible exception of Russell.

9:11 AM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Gary- I certainly would feel better knowing Kiffin was behind our draft (as you point out)... as opposed to the alternative.

As far as the 2007 draft, I agree there is still hope. You've identified 5 real possibles, but remember, we had 11 picks (4 more picks than rounds), with 3 picks in round 3, and 2 picks each in rounds 4 and 5. We don't have that luxury this year, which leads me back to my central point, the Raiders must depend heavily on free agency.

H- how many readers here would you guess thought that quote was directed at the Raiders? I'm just saying.

9:26 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

NYRaider, I think part of H's point was that the gripes directed at Davis happen league wide, but the Raiders are always the ones singled out for "dysfunction." The call a couple of seasons ago was to bring in Patrino to cure the dysfunction here, but now look at Atlanta and Patrino.

9:31 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Oh, and the thing in that quote that says it's not about Davis is that the players do not fear him. In fact, I think the players feel, at times, that they can go over the HC's head and convince Davis to be on their side. Generally it's coaches and executives that fear Davis.

9:59 AM  
Blogger H said...

Blanda,

While I too am taking a wait and see attitude on the Hall episode. I was against the Moss trade and am against this one coming to fruition for my previously stated reasons.

The Atlanta media, on the other hand, are all over this like William "Refrigerator" Perry at a free buffet. They want it to happen.

If he does come in and Nnamdi gets more money, he will stomp he feet, hold his breath and threaten to hold out unless his contract is re-written.

NYRaider,

Blanda has it mostly right. All you hear when it comes to dysfunction and chaos is the Raiders. BSPN and other outlets are enamored with ole Rat Face, so you will not here anything close to that quote outside Denver.

The Geldings are in deep chaos, the Chefs may not have hit bottom yet, and the Dolts may start their slide next season.

The only team in the AFC West making moves to actually improve is us. Yet, the primary BSPN report is we will regret the Javon Walker deal, and that Al Davis only signed Walker to "stick it to" Shannarat.

Before the free agency period started they were saying we couldn't attrack any of significance. Now that we have some special spin has to be applied.

The media is even comparing the Wilson siging to the Larry Brown muck up. Even though Wilson was far and away the man Giants fans DID NOT want to get away. Larry Brown had one very good game, Wilson has had back to back seasons.

H

10:04 AM  
Blogger H said...

One more thing. Yes, on the surface without looking closely one would think the quote was about the Raiders.

H

10:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Funny how shifter isn't breathless reporting donkey related problems, the rat - dog that he is...

Blanda-
I agree on the greatness of the Haynes/Hayes combination. Better than any other such combo for my money.

However, during the four years they played together, here's who else was on defense:

Alzado
Long
Millen
Reggie Kinlaw (I loved him)
Mike Davis
Rod Martin
Sean Jones
Vann McElroy
Jerry Robinson ( I loved him too)
Pickell
Squirek

to name some of the more notable.....

Ah, for those thrilling days of yesteryear!

10:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm hoping that Hall and his agent are cleverly manipulating the media to use the Raiders as a tool to get a good deal somewhere else. The deal just doesn't make any sense... we already have one CB that is looking for a top of the line contract, why bring in two?

I guess one should expect the unexpected with Al, but I still think this is more smoke than fire.

10:36 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Gary, if it's true, it is one of the things that Al would definitely do. Anyone whoever heard him gush over Hayes and Haynes would know that. And there's a certain amount of truth that he's been looking for that type of combination ever since.

While I feel that Nnamdi is very similar to Hayes in the way he plays, Hall does not compare to Haynes. He is, however, better than anyone we have outside of Nnamdi.

Consider that opposing teams only challenged Nnamdi 31 times last season. With a better corner on the other side, they'd have to increase that number which would mean more INTs for Nnamdi. So Nnamdi wouldn't complain. If Hall is sane, he wouldn't either.

The problem with being the only shut down corner on a team is that you are destined to become very bored. If you want real playing time, the other team has to be equally as fearful when throwing to the other side.

Another consideration is that a 3 WR set is almost becoming the norm in the NFL. Two good CBs are no longer good enough. Now you need three.

10:49 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

NYRaider....

Bro...The #'s I posted were from raiders.con showing that those players had already become "Starters" for the team....Some late season starters and some started early....Are they Great yet...NO....but usually Greatness takes time to develop....

Look at the #'s I posted for "PB" players....Early on there are only maybe 3 players a year who make it....later in year 3-4-5 there may be 12-13 who develop into "PB"ers....This a list of the 3 who made it from the "07" draft...Notice there in NOT a "DL" player listed...."DL" was drafted at #s 4-8-10...

Cleveland Browns Gargan, JoeJoe Thomas Offensive tackle
Minnesota Vikings Peterson, AdrianAdrian Peterson Running back
San Francisco 49ers Willis, PatrickPatrick Willis Linebacker

"06" Draft 3 1st rd "PB" players..."DE" was first selection..

Tennessee Titans Vince Young Quarterback
San Diego Chargers Antonio Cromartie Cornerback
Indianapolis Colts Joseph Addai Running back
2nd rd....
Houston DeMeco Ryans Linebacker
San Diego Marcus McNeill Offensive tackle
Chicago Devin Hester Cornerback
6th rd
Indianapolis Antoine Bethea Defensive back

"05" has now produced 5 "PB"ers from the 1st rd....No "DL" players have made the "PB"...But 2 "RB" have...

It appears to me that it's much faster for a "RB" or "WR" to develop into a "PB"er than a player on the "DL"..This why I say it will take longer than one season to solve our "DL" problems if we are going to use the draft as the tool...."DB"s-n-"LB"s are quicker also...

I made my projections about starters based upon who we now have and who I think we will draft....

The only way we address our "DL" and fix it this year is if we trade with Dallas for their 2 1st rd picks and give them to Tenn so we can sign Albert Haynesworth...Everything else is just another unproven risk...

Sorry for the bad rap but reality is reality....We need to take some of the pressure off our Run "D" by forcing the teams to pass to play "Catch-Up" because they can't stop our "O"....There is only one player in this draft with value at the #4 pick that could and should bring immediate help for us to do that this year..."Run DMc"....NO "DL" player is going to turn this team around in one season....Just Ain't gona happen...

PantyRaider....Facts-are Facts!!!!

10:53 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Now that Newberry has been offered a contract by a couple of teams, I think Davis will pick the highest and match it.

http://www.pewterreport.com/articles/view/3991

I could be wrong, but it does seem to me that Newberry is the best option we have this season.

10:58 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

memdf....

Just to through something out there...

How would the other players you mentioned have looked if we had NOT had the Great "CB"s on the field...

Could it be that the play of the "CB"s and "S"s made the "QB" hold the ball longer waiting for an open "WR" and thus giving more time for the "DL"-"LB"s to get the pressure on him....

PantyRaider...Just-a-Thought!!!

10:59 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Here is an NFL Draft trade value chart if anyone is interested....Interesting to look at....Our #4 pick is worth 1,800pts....Dallas has 2 1st rd picks worth a total of 1,440pts...so we also would get their late 2nd rd and late 3rd rd picks to have the same value....That's only an estimate...

http://www.fantasyfootballxtreme.com/nfl-draft-
info/nfl-mock-draft/#tradevaluechart

11:14 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

What if we traded our #4 for one of Dallas' 1st rounders, their 2nd round pick, and TO? Actually, I don't think we could afford to do that and keep Nnamdi and bring in Hall. But I bet we could do it if we didn't bring in Hall.

Walker wouldn't complain. Frankly, I don't think Curry would either. I know that JRuss wouldn't complain.

I don't think we'll do that, but it's beginning to look like one additional huge signing or trade could make us into a monster.

11:26 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

BlandaRocked...

Wow...Now that would really up-set a lot of folks in the "S&B"...Not me....But all the fans who want a stable NON-Dysfunctional environment...But to me...Wow!...And add my "McFab" to it and we would the "O"....But the big question is...

Would we have enough "Ball"s...That is to go around....

Pantyraider....Love-It!!!!

11:34 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Oh!...Sorry I forgot...Without the #4 we don't get my "McFab"....So on second thought....

Can we sabotage "Run DMc" so bad that he falls to the #22 pick...

11:36 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Panty, it wouldn't work. The only reason that Dallas would go for our #4 is to get Run DMc. It's likely Jerry Jones who has been busily reducing McFadden's stock so he won't have to make that trade.

But the more I think about it, the more I think we need to shore up that defense. We'll be in the Rushing Top Ten whether we have McFadden or not.

The way I look at it, we have to put a defense on the field that can keep opponents below 20 points a game, and we need to put an offense on the field that can score 20 points a game.

I still think we're currently closer to putting that offense on the field than we are that defense.

11:50 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

I also think we may well incorporate a defense that was looked into last off season, but abandoned.

Remember last year they discussed abandoning SS and FS and using a kind of hybrid cover 2. Under this concept both safeties would have duo roles, and their coverage would depend on where the TE lined up. Since both Wilson and Huff are more or less "tweeners" that might be a good plan.

As for defense, we still need to fill the LE position and the Sam LB position.

12:00 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

To me, there are so many things wrong with article. But it is BSPN after all, where reporters don't really have to know anything, they just need to pretend like they do.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3295209

First of all, Walker's contract has been pretty well analysed by people who do know what they are talking about. They contend that if Walker doesn't perform, while it may cost the Raiders a lot of money in '08, they can extricate themselves shortly thereafter.

He goes on to say that Walker is still living on his reputation earned by one good season, and has never matched it. The problem with that is that he was well on his way to matching it in his first year in Denver, but then had a knee injury which continued to keep him out through the next season. As we've seen with Curry, that's typical with that type of injury, but Curry was able recover over a couple of years while limiting his playing time. Shanarat has already limited Walker's playing time, and according to the Raiders own doctors, Walker is fully healed.

The other unmentioned topic is that we all know how Shanahan abuses his players. He'll run them into the ground if he can, healthy or not. If Shanahan were a baseball manager, he'd be the type that would run his Ace pitcher out to the mound continually on 3 days rest, and have him pitch 9 to 12 innings each time out (like Billy Martin did with the A's staff years ago).

My prediction for the Geldings this coming season? 7-9, at the end of which Shanarat loses his job. Further prediction - Raiders win both games in the season.

12:21 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Also, last year's western was based on Gunsmoke. This year is completely different, because there is no question Davis is gambling and he's put a lot of money on the table.

If we have a western this year, it will be based on Maverick. I always prefered that western anyway.

12:26 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Also, be it remembered... There was no greater celebrity Raider fan than James Garner, who used to prowl the Raiders' sideline on a regular basis.

12:28 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Other die hard Raider fans of note:

Tiger Woods
LL Cool J
Larry King
Snoop Dogg
Jamie Foxx

12:32 PM  
Blogger H said...

Blanda,

To your point, I posted in the previous take the quickest way back to the top is defense.

We've signed two goodly sized targets with good speed for Russell. We've brought in a tackle who is known to be very good in the running game. Perhaps cable can perform some magic with him in the passing game. He seems to be the prototype Cable and Knapp look for.

Fargas had 1000 yards, Rhodes started two games and went over 100 yards each game. Bush is ready to take snaps in practice. And, Miller broke Tim Browns rookie receiving record.

The main thing we need now is more three and outs from our defense, though I'm still a little worried about left tackle.

Also Blanda, correct me if I'm wrong, but in the far reaches of my gray cells it seems to me the original intent of the 3-4 defense in the 70's and 80's was to stop the run. That may be where we are headed.

H

12:51 PM  
Blogger H said...

Blanda,

I like a good game of poker, my grandmother taught me how to play and appreciate a good beer.

Fare thee well Annabell, luck is the lady that I love the best.

H

12:55 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

You're right, H. And one of the things I think I've seen in the mill is that the Raiders don't plan on moving exclusively to the 3-4, but to mix it in with the 4-3.

It wouldn't surprise me to see them give Burgess some work at Will, run out of the 3-4, with Kelly moving outside to LE. If this is true, it does tend to make me a bit nervous. Running experiments during the season is always risky.

During the 1976 SB run, the one team that gave us trouble was NE because that game was right on the heals of switching to the 3-4.

I just have this nagging feeling that we're going to be trying a little bit of everything. It should be one complicated year for SOB, and it may be the reason he's still here - because of his willingness to try things that haven't been tried.

1:03 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Traveled from New Orleans, livin' on Jacks and Queens, Maverick is the legend of the west.

1:10 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

There is a lot of James Garner in Al Davis. Garner spent more time in law suits agains Warner Bros. than any other actor, because they frequently breached contracts with him, and didn't pay him all he was owed. You might think the following quote is by Davis (who has actually said something similar).

"About everything I ever have done, in the way of lawsuits against studios, I've won them all, because I was right every time."

1:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can anyone confirm the following?

Aso. has clearly stated he doesn't plan on playing for the Raiders after 08. That's the reason that Hall has been brought into play. Also Aso. has yet to sign his franchise contract. Maybe the Raiders are using Hall to let Aso. know that either sign or you'll be gone?

But if Aso. is offered a large contract he'll stay. WOW, so money is the only thing that will make him happy, huh? Or maybe its just because we've been losing? Who knows?

Mr. Duva

2:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>
If this is true, it does tend to make me a bit nervous. Running experiments during the season is always risky.
>>>>


Ummm... could it be any WORSE than last year? ANYTHING but last years defense. All I wanted to do last year was reach into my teevee and strangle SOB... I don't want to relive that... no siree. lol

2:21 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Mr. Duva, I haven't heard any of that. All I've heard is that he has not yet signed his franchise contract. But that would make sense because many have stated that the Raiders are attempting to negotiate a long term contract with him. If he signed it, both sides would be committed to that contract through 2008.

If he wanted out, he'd be more likely to follow Woodson's example. Sign the statement, take a huge paycheck from the Raiders, then negotiate a long term deal with a different team next year.

In fact, I've heard the opposite of what you're saying, that Nnamdi loves being a Raider and is looking forward to returning. I'd think if he was saying that he doesn't want to be here, BSPN would be climbing all over that. "The best players can't stand being on the same planet with Al Davis!"

3:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blandarocked said
"The way I look at it, we have to put a defense on the field that can keep opponents below 20 points a game"

But RaiderMike said our pass rush is already formidable!

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just playin' RaiderMike!

3:25 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Reading JMac, he confirms the Hall visit. From Hall's statement one might get the impression that he has the right to refuse trades, and he's waiting for the trade offer that includes the biggest long term contract incentive. But on the other hand, since he has the option to walk away from his current contract in 2009, I wouldn't think that's true. So I'm not sure what's going on with Hall.

As Jerry says, he could work under his current contract this year and go after the big payday next year. In fact, I'd suffer under a couple of years of poverty, working for 4.5 million, until the contract fully expired at about the time that the cap comes off and negotiate for my own country somewhere.

But you know youngsters. They can't wait for anything.

4:33 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Well, apparently there have been discussions, but the impediment seems to be that Al doesn't want to drive up Nnamdi's 2008 salary, nor do they want Hall to only come in for one year. They want a deal that will keep Hall around for awhile, but will not use up all of the remaining cap space.

Doesn't look like Al is that big a spender after all. In fact, perhaps we should change Al's name to Prudence. PFT is reporting that, according the Schefter (that paragon of truth), the deal won't likely happen.

4:43 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

No doubt that Schefter will explain that Al just canceled the deal because Schefter was the first to report on it.

4:45 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Off-Season Workouts Underway
see @ raiders.com very nice to see this program in place....


If anyone goes back to when Awesome-n-Fargas were drafted they would re-discover that the 2 were RaiderFans from ChildHood and love being where they are and have no intentions of leaving....When Awesome was drafted the "Mediot"s said it was because he was a RaiderFan and "MrD" was drafting loyalty not talent so it was a waisted pick....Now they want to pimp him as a "HateTripper" against "MrD"...Go figure...But why would I listen to any of that total "Crap"...

I can't see anything that would have changed the guys mind about playing for the Raiders...

BlandaRocked....

I agree about the Donko's and ShanaRat...I was posting about their collapse before the season started last year and now it will surely continue....what a nice thought...Spank da Bastards...Or stick-em with a "Hot-Shot" and watch-em Buck....Ha! Ha!....Lot's of fun....He-Ha!..He-Ha!...

I agree that we need to fix the "D"....BUT....It ain't happening fast threw the Draft...The "DL" maturing is a slow process....look at the players in the past that we gave up on too soon and they became dominate later with another team....Sean Jones..Lance Johnstone-n-La’Roi Glover who we drafted the same year...Neither player was dominate early on....

Now if you look back the Raiders have not been very successful at drafting for the "DL"....Chester-n-Darrel are two vulgar words associated with that position....So if there is a position in the draft that "MrD" would be afraid to select at #1 that one is it...Remembering all the Projections last year that he would not take another "Q" in the 1st rd....

Howie was great though....But we had mostly failures....

PantyRaider...."SOH" is-Family!!!!

4:56 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Now the "Donko"s traded a "C" Chris Myers to the Jets for a 6th rd draft pick...a 3rd yr player who was their starter all last year...

"ShanaRat" desperation moves...

5:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry Calico (been away for a couple of days)- I beleive Tommy Kelly, D Burgess, Warren with the addition of Joseph (and possibly even a blue collar draft choice) is a pretty good pass rusing d-line. Ofcourse stopping the run remains to be seen. For a team that never blitzes we got after the QB pretty good last year and the addition of a healthy Kelly and Burgess for a whole season (hopefully) will more than off set the loss of Clemmons. Like I said, stopping the run is a whole other story. Don't confuse the inability of Ryan to call blitz packages and the sorry state of the run-d with a formidable pash rush.

RaiderMike

5:27 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

BTW, I side with RaiderMike here. You don't count the number of sacks because we almost never blitzed. And still we were able to pressure QBs. That is the Davis ideal. It's not so much abandoning the blitz as it is being able to pressure with only your front four.

When these guys stayed in their lanes and went all out for the QB they were very effective. The problem with our D-line wasn't that they couldn't provide pressure, it was that they couldn't stop the run.

5:46 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

And of course, now that Schefter is saying that the deal for Hall won't happen, Jason Jones is saying it will (from the folks he's talked to).

Of course, Davis cancelled the deal after Schefter reported on it. Then Schefter said it wouldn't happen, so Davis re-instigated the deal. (Of course, this all in Schefter's paranoid fantasies about being stocked by Al Davis.) So if Schefter goes back to reporting the trade will happen, the deal will be off again. Eventually, some time this week, when the stars fall in place for Schefter and Davis, the trade will be completed.

6:14 PM  
Blogger H said...

Blanda,

I don't mind the multiple defensive sets. Offenses do it. Just as long as they don't become predictible. One set just against the run, another against the pass.

Also, our base defense has to be versitle. Some teams will be trying the no huddle.

H

6:52 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

RaiderMike & BlandaRocked:

These are the facts regarding the Raiders pass rush.

Our pass rush was one of the worst in the league last season (27 sacks, ranked #28 in the league).
If you can show me any data that demonstrates we had decent QB pressure, please show me.

I realize that if Ryan blitz more in 2008 there will be an opportunity to tally more sacks.

However, insisting our pass rush is "formidable" as it is currenly constituted is laughable.

Here are the stats of our current squad:

DBurg: 8 sacks in 2007, 11 sacks in 2006; 16 sacks in 2005

This trend of his numbers going down each season can be partly attributed to constant double teams. Take away our 1 true pass rusher and there is no real threat elsewhere.

Kelly: 1 sack in 2007; 13 total for career; career high 4.5 2005

Richardson: Rookie with 1 sack

Joseph: DNP 2007; 2 sacks in 2006
7 total for career

Sands: 0 sacks in 2007; 2 total for career

Warren: 4 sacks in 2007; career high 5.5 in 2003

Shaw: Practice squad player most of career; 0 sacks 2007; 1 total caeer

Howard: 1 sack 2007; 1 for career

Morrison: 1 sack 2007; 2 for career

Thomas: 0 sacks 2007; 2 for career

Huff: 1 sack 2007; 1 for career

Wilson: 0 sacks 2007; 6 in 4 years

Asomugha: 0 sacks 2007; 2 for career

Besides DBurg, we don't have any players who have had a significant amount of sacks in ANY season in their entire career.

My point was simply, what has been added to the equation to make anyone think we have improved our pass rush.

Clemons alone accounted for 30% of our sacks last year.

What really pissed me off last season (and the past 4 seasons) is that we simply don't play an aggressive, unpredictable defense. Ryan refused to turn the dogs of war loose. Whether or not we see more blitzing this year is debatable. With our current personnel, our base 4 will cause very little havoc.

Clearly we need another pass rusher to add to the DL (SOH, Gholston) AND we need to mix things up on D with Howard, Morrison, Wilson, and Huff being turned loose on ocassion to get the QB to the ground.

A fierce pass rush creates turnovers, sacks, and imcomplete passes. If your base 4 is unable to get to the QB then you need to add an additional blitzing player to the mix.

My sincere hope is that Ryan will keep the QB guessing in 2008 as far as where the pressure is coming from. If he sticks with the base 4 to create the pressure alone, we will be in a world of trouble.

7:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Blanda. I hope Aso. does want to continue being a Raider. Al really needs to buckle down and sign him for like 7 years or so. I mean come on, he signed Kelly to a huge backloaded contract, right?

It's hard to find "True" shut down corners in this league. Once again Al is playing his JEDI mind games with the players, coaches and the NFL.

" I will rule, that I will," says "YODA" Davis. LOL

Mr. Duva

7:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm with Calico here... for gawds sake SOB needs to make things less predictable and more aggressive. I can only imagine how ham-stringed the defense felt not ever being let loose. We have a lot of quick aggressive players that overpursued in their responsibilities but would prolly be maniacs in killing the QB.

Aggravating.

8:40 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

I'm with you Gary ... boy that sounded weird. J/K!

Thomas Howard is arguably one of the fastest and most athletic LBs in the entire NFL. Jimmeny Christmas, is it asking too much to have him blazing off the edge drawing a bead on the QB once or twice a game?

On obvious passing downs, the way I look at it is you've got 7 guys who could potentially blitz. Our secondary has 4 outstanding athletes (Routt, Asomugha, Wilson, Huff). All of these guys are somewhat interchangeable for the purposes of disguising coverages and being utilized on the blitz.

Both Howard & Morrison are smart, athletic LBs who should be turned loose...Howard off the edge and Morrison on delayed blitz up the middle.

Both Williams/Thomas are worthless in pass coverage so why not send them in on ocassion?

The point I'm trying to make is that with 7 potential blitzers, there is an opportunity for Ryan to keep the QB on his heels by mixing up his blitz packages from different players from different areas of the field.

With 65+ defensive snaps per game and roughly 20+ obvious passing downs per game, is it asking too much to blitz each guy one stinking time per game? If 1 blitzer is effective, use it more than once.

Even the NY GMen, who have arguably the best front 4 in football with 3 pure pass rushers (Straham, Osi, Tuck) used a consistent blitz package. Our front 4 has one good pass rusher, DBurg. We need to have 5 guys rushing the passer on obvious passing downs.

9:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Calico... hopefully if the Hall trade goes down and with one of the best secondaries in the NFL, SOB can be creative and aggressive. If not.. I dunno... I give up.

The guy would need to update his resume.

I think he turned Morrison loose maybe a handful of times last year and he knocked Griese into another planet on one of them.

9:34 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

The "08" draft "Mags" have started to come out....According to "Lindy"s "SOH" is the highest rated player in the draft..8.6..."McFab"..."OT"-n-"DT"...Come in at 8.5....Surprised....I was ..I expected my "McFab" to be the best at a "9"...

That does not change who I want....But it just put's a feather in some of your hats....The Rag is not wort reading as far as team need goes...Nothing is up-graded and they still have Portster as our #1 "WR"....And our big needs are "S"..."OT"..."DE"...

10:14 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Falcons' Hall, Raiders close in on deal
New contract for cornerback almost finalized


http://www.ajc.com/falcons/content/sports/falcons/
stories/2008/03/17/dhall_0318.html

Another story has us trading Fabian to Cleveland but I don't know for what....The Browns don't have a #1st or 2nd or 3rd rd pick....

10:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My point is that the problem is Ryan not the players. We got guys who can get a push and put some pressure on the QB. Warren and Kelly are the type of players who although don't get alot of sacks will be in the QB face 75% of the time, many times taking on 2 OL. Without the incorporation of blitz packages on occasion our sack numbers will always suck.

RaiderMike

4:30 AM  
Blogger H said...

This just in:

According to sources in the Atlanta area the trade for DeAngelo Hall is all but done, but is contengent on Hall and the Raiders agreeing on a contract extension.

My gut feeling, might just be bad pizza, is this contract will be the model for Nnamdi's.

The only difference from the last few days I'm hearing is it is for two picks. My assumption is one is a conditional pick from next years draft.

It's time to play let's make a deal. I'm still not crazy about it, but I had a bad weekend so I may as well have some fun with it.

H

5:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

NFL.com is reporting the Hall talks have stalled. Jerry & Jason say don't bet on Al letting him go. When he wants something, he gets it.

Psycho

6:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just Win Baby

6:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Bucs signed DE K.Carter for much less money than we'd offered him.

Psycho

6:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

100!!!

Psycho

6:27 AM  
Blogger H said...

Must have been the pizza. Now I'm hearing it's a 2 and a 6 from this years draft.

Also, Jevon Walker's agent was contacted by almost half the teams in the league.

Before his injury he had back to back games that totaled over 200 yards and burned Pittsburg's best corner for two TD's.

He didn't become a washed up has been until Shannarat said so and the media lapped up the kool aid.

H

6:36 AM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Calico & Gary- I wouldn’t hold your breath on blitzing.

Our D is built purely on coverage. That’s why we’re so hot on D.Hall; and that’s why we send 11 guys into coverage with time expiring against the Browns, instead of pressuring the QB into a mistake.

Honestly, if we sign Hall, where are we going to get the money to sign one or two free agent DEs, or how can we even afford to pay the #4 draft pick?

Hall has stated he doesn’t want to play for a losing team, which could make him an expensive time bomb on the Raiders. I guess it’s safe to say that Hall is NOT one of Kiffin’s choices?

Plus, I read this morning that DE Kevin Carter signed a one-year deal with the Bucs for less than the Raiders offered.

IMO, we should back off pursuit of Hall and give Routt, Washington and Bowie a chance to step up (blitzing on occasion would certainly help them in coverage).

Then, unless McFadden can rush the passer (among his many talents), we should select either SOH or Gholston with our #4 pick. Also, I would closely watch the wire for a solid DE.

6:46 AM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Psycho- you beat me to the K Carter report.

H- I have to believe that part of why we signed Walker was to use him against ShanaRat. This is classic Al Davis, trying to kill one bird and one rat with the same stone.

6:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
I hate that we lost out on Carter. We should have spent whatever it took...using some of the money from all the other guys we've signed so far. We lost out on a true football player in Carter. Something we need in a BAD way. So far, defensively I am totally unimpressed with every move we've made. The safety might be decent but to be honest I'd never heard of him until the superbowl and he was in the SEC (so I should have known about him, but didn't). We've done nothing. Al still puts all D emphasis on the CB's and ignores the importance of a physical front seven. It is beyond absurd... it equals shitty defense. And that's what we'll get once again. Al has been like that since around the early 90's. I do not know what happened to him... why he is so clueless defensively now. He puts no value in having an Alzado, Ray Lewis or Hendricks anymore. He used to like those types once upon a time but something happened to the man and all he cares about now defensively is how fast a guy is. He is obsessed with reincarnating W Brown, Hayes and Haynes. It is sick and sad.
With the D we currently have in place, we will not be any better on D this year. Maybe will get lucky with a DT or DE in the draft and that will help, but until then we have done NOTHING to improve the defense (and we've spent a ton of money doing that nothing). I wouldn't put it past Al to pull the trigger on Calais Campbell De from Miami... the guy is really tall, a physical specimen (though I fear not very productive). Guessing Al is really not as hard as people think. You just look at who is the "unusual" pick. Like Fabian tearing up the 40 at the combine a few years ago and Al making him a #1 when he was pegged as #2 or #3 before the combine. Calais "the giant" would represent a chance for to reincarnate Hendricks, Ben Davidson, tooz etc. And if I remember correctly didn't Hendricks play at Miami?
Please, please sign Takeo Spikes.

7:13 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Calico, Gary, you're both arguing with things that RaiderMike and I didn't say. I specifically said you can't count the sacks because the Raiders didn't blitz. Blitzing is not the issue that either of us were discussing. We were only talking about the ability of the front four to provide pressure. They did a pretty decent job of that. I don't need stats to tell me that. You know me. I agree with Sapp in regards to stats. And pressure is not always the same thing as getting sacks! It is taking the QB out of his rhythm, making him throw on the move, etc.

9:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

uh oh. Bama never heard about him, must be a bust.

9:41 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Bama7, if you read the articles, Carter was offered much more from the Raiders than he received in TB. The decision was made purely because he wanted to stay where he was. It wasn't for lack of effort or money.

9:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>>
Bama: So far, defensively I am totally unimpressed with every move we've made.
>>>>


Well there's a surprise!

10:24 AM  
Blogger H said...

One of the things I'm reading about Brad Roll, the new strength and conditioning coach, is his emphasis on flexibility.

His reasoning is to cut down on soft tissue damage and injuries. This is good news considering Kelly, Walker and Fargas. These are three main cogs for the team.

If, and that's a mighty big if, he can keep these three healthy the entire season, we're in for an exciting ride. For if he can do it for those three and the ramainder of the team we will challange for the west division title. Teams that succeed are normally those that can keep their core players healthy.

H

10:28 AM  
Blogger H said...

Bama,

"The safety might be decent but to be honest I'd never heard of him until the superbowl and he was in the SEC (so I should have known about him, but didn't)."

Some players come out of the sixth round and make All Pro. Bart Starr was taken in the 17th round.

Quarterbacks have come out of the Arena Leage and won Super Bowls.

Wilson was far and away the free agent player the Giants fans did not want to get away. And he was the best safety on the open market. You've been whinning and complaining along with the rest of is about the play of our safeties.

Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean squat. Sometimes you let your ego get in the way.

H

10:41 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

NYRaider....

Hall said he will not go back to the "Birds" for another loosing season....That's because they drag their feet about improving the team....He was NOT talking about another team....Although he may become that way if he signs with the Raiders and we keep loosing...

Pressure on the "QB"....

If the secondary causes the "QB" to hold the ball longer because of coverage it will give the front 7 more opportunity to get to the "QB"...That was the Raider-Way...Elway was a problem because he could scramble and buy time for his "WR"s to get open...But against most "QB"s that system works very well and I'm glad to see it coming back with the addition of Hall...

PantyRaider....Coverage-Sacks!!!!

10:47 AM  
Blogger H said...

One more thing on Hall.

Don't be surprised if Al doesn't pull the deal if Hall doesn't agree in the next 48 hours.

He doesn't mind putting out the money, but he doesn't like being jerked around either.

H

10:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
I hope Wilson is good. The point I was trying to make is that we've spent a lot of money (and possibly a lot more if we add Hall) and we'll really not have addressed our defensive problems which is that we are soft. Carter could have been had, Blanda, it just wsn't ENOUGH money. Yet, we'll pay out the heiny for Kelly like he's the best DT in the nfl, when he's not, and also pay high $$'s for several other non physical football players with gimpy health histories. Not a good strategy. Teams that suck against the run are soft and not physical. We have not corrected that.
I am intrigued however by Joseph because he is big, and when he's played (which is much) he has been productive. Hope he stays healthy.
If it's no surprise that I find Al's moves questionable, then it is also no surprise that many on this blog cheer Al's every move as if it is brilliant, when in affect it simply keeps us from getting any better. Until we get mean on D we'll be no factor.
Al is so predictable: take the superbowl winner and sign players from it (al la Larry Brown, Maryland, Rhodes et al)... just like a trader buying yesterday's hot stock. A poor investment
And classic Al, overvaluing the CB position in today's nfl where the front seven make the difference.

10:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
meant to say Joseph has NOT played much.

10:54 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

"Chicken-or-da-Egg"

The arguments will continue as to who makes who on the "D" and the "O"...Does a great "DL" make the secondary or does a great Secondary make a "DL"...or Front 7...

Does the "QB" make the "WR"s-n-"RB"s or does the "RB" make the "QB" and "WR"s...

I have my answer but I am very partial...I played 2 positions in school..."RB"-n-"CB" and consider them to be about the most valuable positions in the game...So look back at our Raiders...

"BO" made his "QB" (Schrader) and took so much preasure off the "WR"s that the "Bomb"s were working..."BO" goes down and the "QB" sucked and the "WR"s could not get to the ball..."BO" also forced the other teams "O" to play aggressive football and throw the ball to keep up on the score so he helped the "D" who were built to stop the pass...When "BO" went down the "Bill"s just ran threw us like a hot knife threw butter and we could not stop the bleeding...Meanwhile the "QB" was throwing "Int"s galore...."BO" had Marcus and Allan looked damn good playing with "BO"....How well did he play when "BO" went down...

We had the "NO Passing Zone" in LA...They caused the "QB"s to hold the ball longer and that gave our front 7 more opertunities to get to the "QB"s...We had a good "DL"...But I believe the reason that "DL" was great was because of the greatness of that secondary...I believe the secondary helped to make that "DL"....NOT the other way around...

If now we bring in Hall and we already have the "S"s and 2 "CB"s who can almost shut down the passing game...We will have that "NO Passing Zone" in OakTown and our "Good" "DL" will again look "Great"...We will have the players for the Nickel-n-Dime packages and completely shut down their passing game...

It will be our strong "O" that helps the "D" against the run by scoring enough points that their "O" has to abandon the run and throw to play catch-up...which forces them to go against our strength...

PantyRaider..."RB"s-n-"CB"s!!!

11:41 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Hall close to finalizing deal with Raiders
Two-time Pro Bowl CB to sign contract with Oakland Thursday

will finalize a contract with Oakland by Thursday morning and that a trade between Atlanta and the Raiders will be consummated shortly thereafter.

Hall said he is scheduled to fly to Oakland Wednesday to meet with team officials and sign a new contract.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/falcons/
stories/2008/03/18/halltradeburst_0319.html

11:47 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

By making many expensive moves this offseason, Al Davis has made it clear that he's tired of losing.

Davis, impatient about the team's football fortunes (only 19 victories over the past five seasons), is going against the financial bottom line to improve the team's football bottom line

BSPN statments...

11:52 AM  
Blogger H said...

Bama,

We don't all cheer Al's every move. I was not happy with the Moss trade with Minnesota, and feel the same way about the possible acquisition of DeAngelo Hall. But, if it happens I will do what I did with Moss, hope he proves me wrong. Unfortunately Moss proved me right.

You tend to paint people who dissagree with you with a broad brush.

I'm glad Kelly was re-signed, but it remains to be seen, base on past performance, if he is worth the money and I've stated so. Same goes for Walker.

My point in the post concerning our new strength and conditioning coach makes me believe he was consulted on both signings about his ability to design a program to cut down on these injuries. Specifically with the core players that were recently signed.

Brad Roll is a big time key in all this also. I'm especially looking forward to his work with Fargas to see if he can keep him healthy.

H

12:02 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

I think it's apparent that "MrD" is making every move possible to bring this team back to it's winning ways...And he doesnt give a damn how much it's costing him out of his own freakin pockets...

What amazes me is how many "Fan"s who were complaining about the string of losses that now can't get on-board with all the moves to improve our team...We may not agree with each individual that "MrD" and his coaches what to bring in....But we should all be on "On-Board" and see all the effort that is being made to improve the "Crew"....

Will every move work....I don't know....But it sure as hell should be better than last year and the year before and the year before and.....

Time to look ahead NOT backwards...There is a Future with this team now and lookie here....we now get some continuity by have the same coach for 2 seasons in a row.....and more if this thing works out....

PantyRaider..."Al" Big-Spender...Spend a little more cash for me....On "MvFab"....

12:18 PM  
Blogger H said...

Panty,

I'm with you on looking forward. I think everyone brought in thus far is an upgrade. I'm just leery about Hall. I hope he proves me wrong.

H

12:26 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3/18 Marques Douglas (DE) signed/unrestricted free agent.

Carter has not signed yet...Just a report so let's see what happens...

It does not make sense to me because he will come in as a Back-Up for lees money than last year....If he signs with the Raiders he will most likely start...This may be because the Raiders offer was withdrawn because of the cost of signing Hall....That will all come out later when we get more word...

12:31 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

"NO-Passing-ZONE".....

Back in RaiderVille....OakTown...

Anyone remember the first game last season...The "PussyCat"s sent out their "Cub"s and "Clawed" the hell out of our Secondary....

"Wake-Up-Call"...Improvement Needed...Well it's here boys and in a big way too....We now have 2 new veteran "PB" "DB"s in our backfield....Can't wait to see how that plays out in the AFCW....

PantyRaider....Post-Pre-Season Excitement!!!!

12:43 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Where do I get my official Raiders' money tree? I couldn't find that link on their website.

Panty- everyone knows the egg came first.

Coverage sacks are nice, but not really the bread and butter of an elite D; just ask the Bears, Ravens and Giants. QB pressure creates endless opportunity, particularly for turnovers.

And adding all-pro DBs isn't exactly the answer to our run D problems.

I would have put a much greater priority on signing Kevin Carter, or other suitable DE.

Can we even afford a #4 pick after this?

12:56 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Bama7, you argue yourself into these tight little corners where I'm surprised you can even breath.

Carter is 34, Kelly is (what?) 24. Carter, even though he's still effective, is at that point where most teams wouldn't offer him any more than league minimum for one year (precisely what he's getting from TB). Davis' offer was for two years with incentives, and a guaranteed of far more than the league minimum.

If Carter had accepted Davis' offer, we would be inundated again with comments on how Al is emptying Fort Knox.

And you wonder why people believe that it doesn't matter what Davis does, Bama7 will say it was the wrong move.

You pull every Davis poor draft pick out of a hat, and ignore every pick that has been truly great - and the same with free agent signings. Do you honestly believe that Al Davis has the worst success rate for draft picks in the history of the NFL?

Of all of the players who are drafted, the vast majority don't last in the NFL more than a couple of years. Most draft picks go bad. It's a percentage game always.

As for free agent signings - Do any of these names ring any bells.
Jim Plunkett
George Blanda
Jerry Rice
Dave Casper
Mike Haynes
Charles Garner
Lyle Alzado
Rod Woodson
Ted Hendricks

These are just off the top of my head. Want me to do a little research? I could compose a list that would hang down around your feet.

1:04 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

I believe that when Kevin Carter left Raiders HQ without a contract, Davis knew that once Carter thought about it, he was heading back to TB. That's the kind of loyalty Al really appreciates.

I think if the Raiders had landed Carter, Davis was going either trade or offense with that #4 pick. When he understood that Carter wouldn't be a Raider, he went after Hall, and expects to go DE or DT with that pick.

Frankly, while there are certainly gambles here, by and large we've done very well for ourselves. Of course this could all blow up in our faces and all of these signers will wind up on the DL. But it has been said many time lately, and those who say it are right, you don't get better without taking risks.

Frankly, I hope that's a lesson that both Kiffin and SOB take to heart.

1:12 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

lincoln Kenedy
Greg Townsend's return
Hostetler
Dickerson
Lott
Harvey williams
Turner "S"
Woodson
Wheatley
Jerry Rice
Jeff George who threw for 4,000yds 29 TDs-n-9 Ints
Gannon
So many name escape me...

1:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
I've always said Al used to be good, so quit throwing the 70's-80's out there. We all loved those times . It's what made us fans.
Something happened to Al around the time of Marc Wilson and he's never really recovered.
My thoughts on Carter is that regardless of age he is a better D-lineman than anyone we have on the roster. His age is irrelevant. We sorely need some toughness on D. Where can we get it? Has Spikes signed anywhere? Spikes is perfect for us, but not Al's cup of tea anymore.

1:16 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

1980
1. Marc Wilson, QB, BYU
2. Matt Millen, LB, Penn State

Now just what the damn hell is he talking about....That was the Freafin "80"s....

1:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Screw the last-gasp aging veterans strategy... the pay-off is too short lived and the risks too high.

It's what sent us down the frigging five year abyss that has turned many a Raider fan into insufferable knee-jerk cry-baby's.

I'd rather see Al gamble on injury prone YOUNG talent than aging veterans looking for their one last payday.

1:33 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

1981
1a. Ted Watts, CB, Texas Tech
1b. Curt Marsh, T, Washington
2. Howie Long, DT, Villanova

1982
1. Marcus Allen, RB, USC
2a. Jack Squirek, LB, Illinois

1983
1. Don Mosebar, T, USC
2. Bill Pickel, DT, Rutgers
3. Tony Caldwell, LB, Washington
4. Greg Townsend, DE, TCU

1984
2. Sean Jones, DT, Northwestern

Yap!!!...Just lost it and went "Brain-Dead" after drafting "Mark"...Who by the way married Al's niece....

1:34 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Gary...

I agree 100%....a young player can come back from injury but and "Old-Cat" like me is past his prime and all the "Roids" in the world will never bring me back....

1:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Psycho.. exactly. The only team even close to doing it lately with last-gasp veterans was the Raiders, and that was mostly because Gannon had a MVP season... and then we fell short, everyone got injured, and we got left holding the bag in salary-cap hell for 5 seasons.

The Redskins tried to do the same thing when Snyder came aboard and they even had LESS success.

You build a team around a great QB and putting good YOUNG talent around him.

Al is learning, IMO.

1:54 PM  
Blogger H said...

Rich Gannon, Charlie Garner, Tyrone Wheatley, Eric Allen, Jon Ritchie, Greg Biekert, Steve Wisniewski, Derrick Burgess, Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, Zach Miller. Yep, you're right. He hasn't done squat since Mark Wilson. Or, do you mean the current Mark Wilson occupying a roster spot.

Oh yeah, some guy named Tim Brown.

H

H

2:06 PM  
Blogger H said...

Panty,

One thing about the roids, after a while the Cortisone (a legal steroid) stops working.

I'm getting to that point with my back.

H

2:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like the Hall thang is goin thru - This #4 pick had better be a HOME RUN!

2:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this trade for hall only makes sense if the raiders feel that either dorsey, or soh will be there when they pick on draft day.

otherwise our front four is looking very weak. will not rush the passer, will not stop the run.

not many draft picks for us, and little cap cash left.

is there any plan here ???

2:50 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

H...

It only gets worse Bro...

I went down 5 times but would never stay down....Just something left in me from playing sports...

Finally after accumulating 4 herniated and 8 bulging disc Cervical-Thoracic-Lumbar spine....3 knee surgeries...2-time broken nose and subsequent surgery...Broken left shoulder...Trigeminal nerve damage from the cortex left side...Torn biceps mussel tendons in right arm...Separated tendons left elbow...and of course born "Brain-Dead" because a smart man would never have put himself threw such hell....I have been listed at "Total Disabled" by the VA-n-SSA....

Guess what...I still look like I could play...5'10" 195#s and solid muscle...but that's because no-body sees me trying to get out of bed...

But here is the treatment...I gave up "ALL" the drugs the Doc's put me on and wanted to put me on (including a Morphine Pump in my back) and instead started my own "Hormone Replacement Therapy"...HGH really works...I have been on the "Juice" sense I turned "50"....Now I am "57" and everything still works...Along with Vital HGH Liquid Sublingual I use DHEA....Chromium Picolinate...Vanadyl Sulphate....Yohimbe Bark...Germanium Liquid Sublingual...But NO overdose crap...This shit works and is designed for the "Over-da-Hill" gang....Nothing else goes in my body except food and I eat what ever I want and continue to exercise, workout in the gym...

Man..The Doc's want me to be an Invalid but I just can't and wont live that way....

Pantyraider....Health-Physical-Nut!!!!

I would like to meet the Raiders new trainer....I'm sure I could learn me a thing or two...

2:56 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Raider00...

The return of the "NO PASSING ZONE" is the plan Bro....Wait and see...It will have a profound effect on how well the "DL" plays...

That is....If the "O" scores enough points to make the opposing team throw the ball...

I'm totally looking "O" at #4...You know who...No other player in this draft could spark as much production as that addition....

Mark-My-Words....

3:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm with you on that pantyraider.

3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

D.Hall Update?

I see Panty already reported the Wednesday meeting. Not sure what else you guys said but....

The deal is said to be an average of about $9 million per year and is long-term (NFL Network).

Also my friend said ESPN reported "7 years/ $70 million".

My guess is, it will get done early Thursday morning. Yo know Al does his best work during the wee hours.

Psycho

Psycho

4:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Chris Long,

Please stop being so perfect! You're supposed to say something offensive, or maybe limp a little bit, test positive for weed, something!

I must say I'm extremely dissapointed with your Pro Day showing. Freaking pathetic!

How the hell are we supposed to get the steal of a lifetime at #4 if you make it so irresistable to pick you in the top 2 ?!?

PS: I heard Chris Long kidnaps kids and feeds them to dogs before fighting them, and his best friend is M.Vick! Spread the word

Psycho

4:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PantyRaider,

you might be right, but what if the opposite is true ?

without a pass rush, can the db's cover forever ?

and if a team can chew us up on the ground, no need to even pass that much.

i think we've tried all this db crap already, signing db's, drafting db's, and it hasn't worked.
we ignore the front four, and it comes back to bite us.

plus, last time we had "no fly zone", we had howie, lyle, pickel, townsend, up front.

so what came first, the chicken or the egg ?
just wondering.

4:53 PM  
Blogger RaiderCat said...

"...but that's because no-body sees me trying to get out of bed..." - pantyraider

ROFLMFAO... Ain't it the truth??!!

Sounds like quite a pummeling you've endured... Crash Test Dummy comes to mind...!

Although I appear to be in my early 30s (thanks, ma & pa!), I'm definitely feeling all of the 44 aching, pounding years of gravity!
Gotta say, though, I totally believe in flexibility from my years (ago) of martial arts.

Whether or not the DBs v. DLs theory pans out this season, it is plausible when other facets of a team fall into place. NO INJURIES...!

4:56 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

If there’s one player on our D line that could dial it up a notch when needed, it was Warren Sapp. Now that he's gone, who's going to pick up that slack? Hall? McFadden?

Folks, our run D isn't going to miraculously correct itself. Please don’t tell me pass coverage will save us, because that’s not our leading problem. And scoring more points won’t stop teams from running the ball down our throat after we score.

Then there’s the little problem of money. There is none. According my simple math, we’re about $10-15 mil over the cap after Hall signs.

We still have to pay mega-lottery money to the #4 draft pick. Plus, we need another QB, and at least one more DE. I’m no capologist, but we seem pretty tapped out, and still haven’t addressed some very important needs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a player of Hall's skill. I’m just worried that the philosophy of employing elite CBs in man coverages is somewhat antiquated and that the money would have been better spent in the front 7. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how elite a CB is, because it’s hard to cover even my mother for 7 seconds.

5:04 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Our backfiels on D will now be Nnamdi, Hall, Wilson, Huff. Speed and coverage. We still have a whole to fill at Sam and LE. If we can fill those holes we can dominate on D. But there's plenty of time to make a few more moves.

On O we need QB depth and possibly WR depth, but I don't' think well look any further for WRs. We're gambling on the ones we have remaining healthy. We're solid at FB, and reasonably solid at RB. We still have questions at OT.

While I'm pointing out our weaknesses, I see masterful improvement. At the end of 2007 we here barely had a clue as to where to begin. It looks to me like Davis, Kiffin, Ryan have taken the bull by the horns.

With all of the money that Al is spending, I'm thinking he does the thing that people say he will never do - TRADE DOWN. Ahhhhhhh. I'm not prepared for the world to come to an end!

5:36 PM  
Blogger RaiderCat said...

"'Grab the bull by the horns,' the old adage goes
Nobody tells you where to go from there..."- Atreyu


Seemed fitting...

5:56 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Raider00...

The stork came first and dropped off a chicken or two who laid the eggs...

"MrD" is the "Stork" and our "D" is the "Chickens" who laid big ass "Egg"s all over the freakin field so now we wait for the "Egg"s to finish hatching and we will have a.....

NYRaider...

I don't disagree with you Bro at all...But as I stated at the beginning of the "FA" market...The "DL" positions are a scarce commodity in "FA"s and the Draft...So who did you want to spend all that money on...As I said before....Other positions are there now so go after what is available to rebuild the team and finish the job next season when the other needed players may be available....I don't see any point in getting into a "Feeding-Frenzy" over players who are "Old-n-Inadequate"....

I posted the way to fix the "DL" in one season...Trade the #4 pick to Dallas for 2-#1s and give them to Tenn to sign Albert Haynesworth...Anything short of that is just "Splashing around in the Labor Pool"....If we don't go for that than we should go for the best damn player available that can help...Sorry but I believe that will be "McFab"....

Most likely any "DL" player we select will have to have time to develop into a dominate Line-Man...That's just the way the patterns have been....So we are looking at next season or after before our Woes are gone....A top quality "RB" like "McFab" would help the "O" imeadiately and thereby also "Indirectly" help the "D"....

That's been my argument all along and nothing is changing this season...Look...I understand that you don't want to hear this but you will have to go all the way back to the "04" Draft to find a "DL" player who has developed into a "PB"er....

#14 Chicago Bears Tommie Harris Defensive tackle
#18 New Orleans Saints Will Smith Defensive end
#21 New England Patriots (from Baltimore) Vince Wilfork Defensive tackle Miami (FL)
#64 Arizona Cardinals Darnell Dockett Defensive Tackle
#126 Kansas City Chiefs Jared Allen Defensive End

There is not a single player at the position who has developed from the "05"-"06"-"07" drafts...NOT yet...They take time to "D"evelop...

PantyRaider...."DL" History!!!!

6:29 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Here is a sort look at the "Best-of-Class" from the "05" to "07" Drafts...You look and decide if it is worth the pick and see how long it takes to develop...

"07" Draft Class

Gains Adams was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 4th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He signed a six year deal with the Buccaneers on July 26th 2007 worth $46 million, with $18.6 million guaranteed. He registered his first solo sack against the Atlanta Falcons in week 11 of the 2007 season. At the end of the 2007 season Adams had 35 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 2007, he lead all 2007 rookies with his 6 sacks. This performance gained him a place in the 2007 NFL All-Rookie team.

"06" Draft...

Mario Williams DE 1st

It has been reported that more than $26 million of the contract will be in guaranteed money, and provided that Williams lives up to performance goals listed in the contract, the deal could be worth more than $60 million all together

"06" season...47 tkls....4.5 sacks..pass D= 1
"07" season...54 tkls....14 sacks..pass-D= 4....

"05" Draft..

Castillo was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft by SD and was the 4th "DL" taken...

Castillo was a second alternate to the 2006 Pro Bowl

"07" out with surgery...

The first 3 have done "Squat"...

Everything you don't want to hear about the "DL" you want to pick...

6:58 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

I haven't checked but I bet ya if you go back and read the "Scout-Reports" on the top players selected in those years it will be similar to the reports we read now about the 3-4 top "DL" in this class....Do you have some old draft "Rag"s from years past....Do yourself a favor and go look....I don't have any....But I bet it will be about the same and several have been "Bust"s....

7:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PantyRaider,

i have to correct you.
the "stork" was not mr. D, it was ted hendricks, and he was "mad"...lol.

7:09 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Raider00....

My mistake...I forgot....But didn't lay any eggs on the field...

"Mad Stork"-n-"Crazy-Al"....Those were the days....

7:22 PM  
Blogger H said...

Looks like the Hall deal is all but signed. One of the things he said was he thought the Raiders had a better chance of winning than the Parakeets. I'm still withholding judgement on this one.

The article I read said it was heavily back loaded and was actually closer to the deal that Asante Samuel got.

Maybe they will put the same deal on the table for Nnamdi and get it over with.

Pantyraider,

I'm on my heating pad as I type. Herniated degenerative disc at L4 complete with bone spurs. Have to crawl to the bathroom on occasion. Totally rebuilt left ankle, still have the pin and screw in it. Makes great looking xrays. Not to mention my hearing aids.

I'm currently going back and forth with the VA on my disability level. It's all service related. But hell, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

H

7:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am late to these takes because I am on vacation and not at work. That infers if I were at work I would be able to spend more time at RT. That is correct. Understanding my madness, my boss knows it too, and would not dare interfere with any activity Raider related.

Add Romanowski to the FA list.
As much I hated him as a donk, he was a mad man on the 2002 SB team. He also played his best against his old team.

Coverage Smoverage-
Unless there is more to our current run defenders that I don't see, signing Hall doesn't have me jumping up and down.

Plus,if the D scheme doesn't change neither will the results. But that 's life in the big city...

Other sites have Washington out as trade bait. If we got back an early pick for him maybe the Hall thing might not be so bad.

7:47 PM  
Blogger H said...

At best we would only get a third round pick for Washington. We may be loosing Carr, so Washington may take over return duties.

I'm just waiting for all the experts to pick us for last place.

I look at the primary reason for the Hall trade is to get us to the plus side on the turnover ratio. But, if we can't stop the run we won't have the chances for interceptions.

H

7:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to Wiki, the following teams are currently running the 3-4 defense.


Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rankings of these teams vs. the run:

Cle: 27
SD: 16
Dal: 6
NYJ: 29
NE: 10
Pitt: 3


One thing seems to be pretty clear... it either works well against the run, or it sucks ass.

Hmmm...

8:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a March 5, 2008 article from Glenn Dickey's blog. As usual, he's right on with regards to OLD MAN Al.

http://www.glenndickey.com/_gd.php?
view_one=yes&which=717&PHPSESSID=
2962055519b41dd3937aabdc9745862b

8:55 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

With the recent signings on D (Wilson, Joseph, and soon to be Hall) and our current personnel, the absolute key to our success on D lies in the hands of Rob Ryan.

For the Raiders D to improve upon it's key deficiencies, Ryan will need to employ his personnel aggressively and in a more creative, less predictable fashion.

It starts and ends with shoring up the Run D. Here are our key weaknesses that need to be improved upon:

(1) Run D: Dead last ranking in the stat that really matters; YPC
(4.8, #32)

(a) With Hall/Asomugha on an island, the other 9 defenders (and in particular the SS) should have more latitude to play closer to the LOS in run support.

(b) I think it is imperative to draft either SOH/Gholston or Dorsey/Ellis. All 4 of these guys would improve our Run D. Before you totally rule out Dorsey/Ellis, please factor in Kelly moving to DE.

With SOH/Gholston:
RDE DBurg/Richardson
DT Kelly/Sands
DT Warren/Joseph
DE SOH or Gholston

With Dorsey/Ellis
RDE DBurg/Richardson
DT Dorsey/Ellis + Sands
DT Warren/Joseph
LDE Kelly

Without a DL at #4:
RDE DBurg
DT Kelly/Sands
DT Warren/Joseph
LDE Richardson/Kelly

(2) Create Turnovers: #21 ranked (18 Ints; 8 fumbles)

The greatest benefit of signing Hall, IMO, will be the opportunity for more INTs AS LONG AS the Run D is sufficient.

(a) QBs will need to pick their poison in terms of who to go after... Hall's side of the field or Asomugha. Both CBs will be engaged throughout the game.

(b) Huff at FS; I personally feel that Huff has the type of ball hawking skills that should lead to more INTs at FS as opposed to SS.

(c) Hall himself; we are banking on him utilizing his playmaking and return skills.

(3) Sacks: #28 ranked (27 sacks)

(a) With Hall/Asomugha it is critical for Ryan to use Howard, Morrison, Huff, Wilson liberally in exotic blitz packages. Obvious passing downs WE MUST send 5 defenders.

(b) Hall/Asomugha's great cover skills should force the QB to hold on to the ball a second or two longer giving our pass rush a better chance of hitting paydirt.

My conerns with the Hall signing:
(1) Cap ramifications that impact 2008 and beyond

(2) Our ability to resign Asomugha to a much deserved long term deal

(3) the character baggage and me first attitude of Hall. Is he the type of guy who will sour the locker room when things aren't going well?

(4) the prudence of sinking a huge amount of $$ into CBs (roughly 17% of total dollars spent in 2008) when by most accounts we were fine with Asomugha/Routt.

9:44 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

H..

That's the problem with people like us...Live life fast and hard like a "kamikaze-LB" and worry about the little-shit if it happens...If I went back it would be the same outcome and I know it...Even now I don't know how to take it easy...

Why I must be out of my freakin mind hanging out with a young Khmer teen and still trying...Riden Motorcycles and Deep-Sea Fishing...And now she says she wants me to have a second...WoW!!..Give me a moment to catch my breath....

Back to sports....

Looked at the SportingNews Rag and that Crap ain't worth reading....But...They do have "SOH" as the top listed player..."OT" Long is listed as the #3 at his position...

The funny thing is some guy named Brown has us with the #1-n-#3 picks and taking "SOH"-n-Dorsy...I have no idea how we get the #1 pick but it should make most of you very happy....

CalicoJack....

In Hall's defense he was sticking up for a player when he pissed all over the "Birds"....His leader...Vick....So he may be a good locker room guy....He was NOT the "Lay-Down" type....He voiced his disdain for a coach who did not put the team in a position to win and he was fired....Damn....Sounds like Portster-n-Shell....

Kiffin seamed to handle Portster very well so that gives some hope...

11:02 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

OiprocsR8r....

I posted part of this earlier...Here it is again....The only thing good from the article is we get proof that LamBard was the "Mole"...


The last proven personnel man to work for the Raiders was Michael Lombardi, who became so frustrated with the ineptness of the Art Shell regime that he leaked information to critical media.

I posted from another artical about his trying to get money from "MrD"....But he had NO contract so he did not get paid for "07" at all....He also did NOT get paid by the "Donko"s for the same reason according to that "Rag"...So now just how smart of a man was he....Nagociating contracts but had none of his own...Go figure....

"MrD" can I work for free
I wont send you on a spending spree...
I'll just piss on ya when you set me free...

Holding hands with "ShanaRat"...

11:14 PM  
Blogger H said...

Quote from Glenn Dickey,

"When Randy Moss had his record-setting season with the New England Patriots, Davis blamed coach Lane Kiffin for telling him to get rid of Moss."

This is what irritates the crap out of me about these clowns. Dickey's statement is written as if this were fact. The facts are:

- It was a rumor.
- Dickey was NOT present during any exchange between Davis and Kiffin
- His article indicates a fondness for Mike Lombardi

It indicates to me he is still relying on Lombardi for his information.

He can't have it both ways. If Big Al is in total control and didn't want Moss traded, it wouldn't have happened.

We are told over and over that Al Davis doesn't listen to people, now we are told Kiffin TOLD Davis to trade Moss. I took out my calculator and tried my best, but it just didn't add up.

I wonder sometimes if these clowns actually read what they write. At some point it needs to make some logical sense.

H

4:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

H:

I don't care is Moss caught 50 td in NE. When a guy quits on your team and his mates you gotta dump him---period. You don't gotta be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Dickey should know better.

RaiderMike

5:05 AM  
Blogger nyraider said...

As long (pun) as we have no money (wink, wink), how 'bout trading our #4 to Parcels for his #1? Tuna is reported to want out of the #1 spot. That way, we get Chris Long and shore up our D line.

BTW, the knock on SOH is that his playing level has peaked. BS!

#4, Washington, and another pick.

Then we can hope the CBA falls apart and the salary cap disappears. Otherwise, we can expect a financial implosion by 2010.

5:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
To me, the best thing about signing Hall is we'll now see how good Namdi really is. Teams will be going at him now and if he's just been an "above avg" cb on a squad that had tons of problems all around him, allowing him to be avoided simply because there was no need to test him, then we may have made a mistake signing him to a long term deal. Now, he'll audition for an expensive year with teams going right at him each week. That is of course, if other teams don't just play it smart and attack our achilles heel by simply running the ball down our throat for 4 qtrs.
Chris Long would help with our run woes but we need more than just him.
Is Warren signed to play? If not, then the Kelly signing to me signals a move back to 3-4 (I think Gary and/or H have been talking about this). The only way you bank on paying Kelly the amount of money he was given is if he will be playing one of the end spots in a 3-4. If that's the plan then it would seem we'll be taking either Dorsey or Ellis, whichever falls to us. Though Calais "the giant" still looks like an Al pick to me.
Rd 1 draft conventional wisdom:
A left tackle or D-lineman.
Rd 1 shocker:
McFadden, a WR or the best Db on the board.

6:58 AM  
Blogger H said...

RaiderMike,

That's my point. If anything, Al Davis admires loyalty. Moss showed zero.

Bama,

Something we can agree on. This may, in fact, be part of the plan. You perform, you get the big long term contract.

Also, last year we went with conventional wisdom, at least in the first two rounds. On the surface it appears to have been good strategy. I think it will be DL if the right one is available. Otherwise, this may be the year we trade down.

Since all the FA's we've brought in are in their mid 20's (I know Walker is 28, but I think everyone else is younger) we could look at this as the draft class from two to four years ago finally coming into their own.

It's a gamble, but it looks like we are going ALL IN this year.

H

8:04 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

It's funny because on his web page, Calico compares the '83 Raiders' defense with what is showing up for 2008. I think that comparison may be more apt than any realize. Maybe not when broken down by skill v skill at each position, but apt none the less in terms of what has historically been a Raider concept (perhaps a Davis concept).

One of the reasons Davis like pure athletes is because of their potential versatility. The Raiders have always been big on moving defensive players around, and lining them up against the opposing players where they are likely to have the most success.

Think back to Ted Hendricks who had the ability (and the authority) to freelance from the OLB position. Sometimes he'd even drop down to four point stance and line up outside the DE, converting a 3-4 to 4-3. Think back to Howie Long, who would choose the man he wanted to challenge along the offensive line, shifting between DE and DT.

Now Burgess has the ability to play DE, or to stand up and play WLB. Both Kelly and Joseph can play either DE or DT. Howard is fast enough to play safety. Both Wilson and Huff should be capable of slipping to outside coverage if we execute a corner blitz.

Al isn't going for 7-9. He's gambling for the playoffs.

8:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama... thats a great point that I hadn't thought of at all. Bring in Hall so teams will have to challenge Asum. so we see what he has before we lock him into a long term contract.

If true, the person that thought of it is pretty sharp ;)

9:45 AM  
Blogger H said...

Normally I'm not a fan of John Clayton. Let me correct that. I am not a fan of John Clayton. His latest piece is no exception. While he is critical of Davis for going against the grain of more "bottom line" conscious teams he did have the following quote:

"Of course, Davis has always believed in getting the best players to win, and he's showing an aggressiveness reminiscent of the Al Davis of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s."

For all us old guys this should warm the cockles of our collective hearts.

I feel we are attempting to build a "shutdown backfield" (feel free to utilize the term), as opposed to just shutdown corners. Also, Wilson has a reputation of being fairly good in run support.

Since we now have a shutdown backfield our linebackers should be freed from as much coverage responsibilities. Having said that though, I've seen Grady Jackson in coverage.

Our linebackers should now become running back seeking, ball hawking, fumble causing missiles.

There should be no reason for us to not have five and maybe six players seeking out the quarterback on passing downs.

Adding a player like Takeo Spikes or SOH would complete the moves and take away all excuses from SOB.

Include a top ten or top five running game and bingo, we are talking playoffs.

As for the bottom line, winning will help that also. Ticket sales, promotions, advertisment revenue, merchandise.

One of the biggest complaints I've heard from sports fans is why won't my team go out and spend the money it takes to build a winning team? Stop being so cheap. Show some consideration for your long suffering fans.

Well, agree with all the moves or not, Al is doing his part.

And I leave you with Clayton's closing sentence:

"But Davis isn't thinking about the green. He's thinking about the silver and black. He's just trying to win, baby."

H

10:08 AM  
Blogger H said...

Personally I would have capatialized Silver and Black, but what do you expect from BSPN.

H

10:14 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

The "Silver-n-Black"....
Ready to attack
Don't turn your back
On a "QB" sack
The Raiders are back
Waring their "Black"
Ain't no time for looking back

11:12 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

http://www.thephinsider.com/story/2008/
3/19/113651/119

VOTE now....Don't be shy...."McFab"s my guy....

Here is a fan pole and you wont guess who is winning....Who do the Raiders select with the #4 pick...

11:20 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

Panty, if we were going for McFadden we wouldn't have re-signed Rhodes. Unless we were re-signing him for trade value, but I don't think we'd get enough for him to make it worth the effort of re-signing him.

Although I can definitely see the value of having Bush and McFadden fight it out for a position, I don't think this will happen. My guess is we take SOH if he's still on the board, Gholston, or we trade down.

We might be able to pick up a 3rd round pick by trading Washington. We could probably get the Jets 1st and 2nd round picks by trading our #4 to them. We probably have the ability to pick up 3 to 5 draft picks through trades right now.

11:32 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

'Back of the future
Raiders aligning themselves to nab McFadden at No. 4

That brings us back to McFadden. A source close to the player said McFadden is expected to meet with the Raiders in the next couple of weeks. He visited Tuesday with the Jets, who have the sixth pick, but it's possible he won't be around when New York is on the clock.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/
writers/jim_trotter/03/19/raiders/

11:39 AM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

This is base on an assertion I read in one of today's articles (can't remember which one) where a team official, when asked if the Raiders might pick DMc, said that it was possible.

If a team official said that, you can bet that the Raiders won't pick McFadden.

On another note, watching this off season, I've considered the possibility of stating that from now on I'll defend some other team's owner unless Al signs me to a 5 year contract.

11:44 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

BlandaRocked...

We re-signed Rhodes to cut his money down or he would be released...Same like we did to Jordan last year...I can see us trading Jordan-n-Rhoads....Also we may trade a "DB"...say Schwaigart...Rout-or-Washington....But Washington has the big contract so he will be harder to move....There is still a posibility of moving Walter if Culpepper comes back or we sign Gray....

Draft picks will follow...The big thing is all the money has been spent on the "D" this year and most likely the rest will be spent on the "O"....Which brings me back to "McFab"....

PantyRaider...Dream-Team!!!!

11:47 AM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

BlandaRocked>>>

I don't get it...

"On another note, watching this off season, I've considered the possibility of stating that from now on I'll defend some other team's owner unless Al signs me to a 5 year contract."

11:50 AM  
Blogger H said...

Blanda,

"a team official, when asked if the Raiders might pick DMc, said that it was possible."

As a wise man once said, "All things are possible except skiing through a revolving door."

I love these reporters who ask stupid questions. Asking a team who they might pick is akin to asking Eisenhower when Operation Overlord will commence.

H

11:54 AM  
Blogger H said...

Just had a cogent thought and man did it hurt.

One trend we seem to be overlooking is the length of the contracts. With few exceptions we seem to be locking up relatively young talent for three to five years.

It appears, on the surface at least, we are looking for continuity as well as talent. I realize that some contracts are basically for one year, but there are options that could keep them around for up to three years.

H

12:05 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

H...

Two reasons for the long contracts...

#1) If the cap goes so does the restraints on the size of the contracts....Bug money now will be small money later...Another team will not be able to through money at our players and take them away....

#2) The players want stability as has been reported by several who are looking for a long term deal...They don't want to be shifting around from team to team and coach to coach....The big money makes them feel secure and difficult to move....And wanted...

PantyRaider...Value of Commitment!!!

12:40 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Looking around at all the draft boards I can find there is one consistency..."McFab" goes at #4 or at #6 to the jets....I saw only one where he falls to Cinn....

Most likely the best "DE"-"DT"-"OT" will already be off the board at #4....According to almost all projections except the scenario that the "Bird"s take a "QB"....So the Raiders can chose the 2nd rated player at one of those positions or chose the highest rated "RB" in the Draft for several years...

"What am I bid...McFab-McFab-MvFab-Mcfab...Going #1....Going #2....Going #3...."SOLD" to #4...."What the hell do you mean ya got no money left"...

PantyRaider...."MT"-Pockets!!!!

1:13 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

Just remembering back to this time last year I was in Thailand-n-Cambodia and posting when I got a chance....

I was "Pimp"ing "JRus" while several were talking the "WR" Calvin Johnson...or the "RB" Adrian Peterson...They went at #2-n-#7 and the "WR" burned our "D" for 4 catches and 70 yds his first game in the NFL...The "RB" Peterson became a "PB"er in his first season....

So now the tables have changed and here we are in a position to take another "RB" similar to the one we missed last year...There is NO "WR" that fits the bill...And so many who were against the Raiders taking that "QB" are now against taking that star "RB"...Ha!...Go Figure....

Last year I said the most difficult position in football to fill is the Franchise "QB"..."WR"-n-"RB" are #2....I also said take the "QB" now while he's available and look for the other players next season....So now here we are at "Next Season" and I am very consistent....I want my Damn "RB"....Give him to me Damn-It...NOW....

So hope y'all don't mind but I am going to keep "Pimp"ing "MvFab" until he is a "Raidah!"....

PantyRaider...Just-da-Pimp!!!

1:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well I see the clique on this blog has dwindled significantly, and predictably.....I wonder what happened to all the other regular posters from a year ago??
Rhetorical question....they got as fed up with the "so called" insiders as I was.

Heartland Raider Fan

1:57 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

2007 NFL Draft Prospect - Scouting Report
Peterson appeared to waffle a bit with his decision, but ultimately he made the right one and declared for the NFL Draft. He has been anything but durable throughout his college career and Peterson does not want to risk an even more significant blow than the one he suffered this season. Furthermore, Peterson is clearly the best running back of this year's draft class. Had it not been for the unfortunate injury midway through the season, Peterson could have given Troy Smith a run for his money for the Heisman and most likely would have finished second. If drafted into the right situation, Peterson can step in and make an immediate contribution. With amazing vision and cutback ability (to go along with great size and speed), the former Oklahoma Sooner is ready for the next level. Peterson should not go any lower than No. 8 to the Houston Texans.

"AP" had a time of 4.38 as his fastist and the rest were 4.4's..."McFab" 4.33 with a reported 4.27-n-4.29...

2:09 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

HeartlandRaiderFan....

We weathered the storm of "Crap" and are still standing Bro..."Commitment" to the truth is to not listen to those lying "Mediot"s....Trust in the Raiders to come threw again...

Me...I like to remind everyone about what was said before....See you like the same thing...Welcome back....It will pick up again when we get closer to the real deal...

PantyRaider....Intestinal-Fortitude!!!

2:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

H... your point about long term contracts for YOUNG players. I know I sound like an "Al-jocker" but I wonder if this isn't a bit by design. Remember last year when we didn't sign hardly any free-agents? I wonder if Al was waiting to clear out cap space for going all-in this year by rounding up all the young players he can get his hands on?

This is pretty much the same as the Gruden model that almost got us a ring, although the difference is that we rounded up all the best OLD talent we could get our hands on. They all played great until they all got too old, and the entire thing collapsed. This time around he is getting players well under 30, and making the contracts so if they perform, he still has them locked up while they are in their PRIME! No need to go after more veterans later because they are already on the team.

It could work!

The problem is he is rounding up players that have injury histories, and he is gambling most of them can stay healthy... and it could all collapse again if they can't.

I kinda like the gamble!

2:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Psycho.. I think thats the thing, everyone is hoping McF will be the next AP, but are forgetting the "can't miss" RB before him was Reggie Bush... and he isn't exactly lighting up the league. Remember.. the Vikings have one of the best run blocking lines in the NFL, and Taylor? also did pretty well when he was injured.

WE NEED RUN DEFENSE SUPPORT.

2:59 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Gary said - “Remember last year when we didn't sign hardly any free-agents?”

You’re joking right?

2007 FA signings before the draft

04/20/2007 DT Josh Shaw
04/20/2007 DB Kris Richard
04/13/2007 OL Cooper Carlisle
03/30/2007 T Cornell Green
03/26/2007 QB Jeff Otis
03/21/2007 QB Josh Booty
03/19/2007 DB Chris Johnson
03/13/2007 DB B.J. Ward
03/10/2007 TE Fred Wakefield
03/10/2007 FB Justin Griffith
03/10/2007 TE Tony Stewart
03/09/2007 RB Dominic Rhodes
03/06/2007 OL Jeremy Newberry
03/05/2007 LB Charlton Keith

2008 FA signings thru 3/19

03/14/2008 DT William Joseph
03/12/2008 WR Drew Carter
03/06/2008 T Cornell Green Re-Signed
03/05/2008 WR Javon Walker
03/05/2008 T Kwame Harris
02/29/2008 S Gibril Wilson

In 2007, we addressed some critical needs at RB, FB, TE, OL, and added some depth at DB. This year, we have addressed critical needs at WR, OL and S, and have added depth at DT. Hopefully, we’re not done.

3:26 PM  
Blogger BlandaRocked said...

NYRaider, you're right, but I think what leaves the impression that we did less was that we held off on the early rush. We only made spot improvements and the rest was basic camp fodder.

Al didn't get out the check book like he's doing this off season.

4:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

One thing you guys should know is that Al is going to take the best football player available w/ the #4 pick. Anf if McFadden is there thats who we will be taking (assuming SOH is gone). You can bet the mortgage on it.


RaiderMike

4:16 PM  
Blogger nyraider said...

Blanda- I just hope the big guy is not writing checks his cap space can't cash.

Raidermike- I'm ok with McFadden if that's who Al picks... although I would much prefer DL help.

Based on my earlier post exposing a complete void of success drafting in mid-late rounds, I now believe we should stick at #4 and not trade down... quality over quantity.

I'd rather pick a player that will have immediate impact over the notion that we need to add bodies. IMO, a top 4 player in this draft is an immediate starter on the Raiders, thus, an immediate upgrade at that respective position.

4:34 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

NYRaider....

I agree 100000% Bro....Right-On....

Run "D"....

If I remember correctly it was not very good in "06" and became much worse in "07" with a few injuries and the aging of a starter....So what did we expect...I know....Our secondary was rated #3 and our "D" was also rated high....Statistically speaking....But we were a 2-14 team and NO-Body had to play all out to whup-up on our asses...

In "07" the "O" played better and their "O"s had to put forth a little more effort and they did...Our secondary was shown to be weaker than we thought and the run "D" collapsed...Thus the moves to shore up the secondary now...and I think these are great moves and very important...On paper..We now have the best in the NFL or damn close to it....

Attack the problems with the "DL"...OK...We start healthy and younger....That's a ++++ right off the bat...Some younger players now have more experience...add another +++....The "DB"s will have tight coverage and force the "QB" to hold the ball longer...Add some ++++.....The "DB"s will be able to cover the "WR"s and "TE" so now the "LB"s are more free for run "D"...Add some more +++...With the "O" maturing and having more weapons they will score more points and force the opposition out of their conservative running games into passing which plays into the strength of our "D"....Add some ++++...."SOB" is feeling the pressure and will turn the dogs loose more this year to keep his job....Add some ++++....We may still be able to add an additional player threw the wire or the draft or trades....Add some possible +++....Now lets add up all the pluses...++++++++++++s

What is the ------s....We sucked last year...we did not get who some wanted....An old player retired....We gave up huge money...we lost a young sack man to "FA"...We may pass on drafting a "DL" player-----.....We signed some players with injuries----....Some don't like the way it looks on paper----......Add up all the -----s

So now how do we look....I think we are improved because the arguments for the ----s are very shallow and unimportant for the most part....But the arguments for the ++++s are substantial....

PantyRaider...Realistic-View!!!

4:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>>
You’re joking right?

2007 FA signings before the draft

04/20/2007 DT Josh Shaw
04/20/2007 DB Kris Richard
03/26/2007 QB Jeff Otis
03/21/2007 QB Josh Booty
03/19/2007 DB Chris Johnson
03/13/2007 DB B.J. Ward
03/10/2007 TE Fred Wakefield
03/10/2007 TE Tony Stewart
03/05/2007 LB Charlton Keith
>>>



Who the hell are these guys?

Please.

6:56 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

Heartland Raider > 1747 comments on the last 5 posts by RT ... I would hardly call that a "dwindling" of regular visitors.

What about the idea of swapping picks with the NY Jets? Our #4 for their #6 and a 2nd round pick. If the Jets want Run DMc badly enough and are worried about the Cowboys moving up to get him, we could slide down to #6 and hopefully Gholston is still on the board. If Gholston isn't on the board, we could take Dorsey or Ellis and move Kelly to LDE. Just food for thought.

7:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Calico... I like the trade with the Jets better than the trade with the Cowboys.. and think it is MUCH more likely.

I think Al will still want to be part of the blue chip action, and yet also doesn't want to sit with his finger up his ass until round four after it.

8:54 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

CalicoJack...

I don't believe "MrD"-n-Kiffin would move behind the "Squaws" @ #5 for anything short of a land-slide deal....hell...We wouldn't even release "RB" Lamont Jordan last season out of fear he ends up playing against us....

Paranoia Strikes Deep....Into Your Heart It Will Creep....Begins When Your Always Alone....Step Back Of The Line They Come And Spike In Our End-Zone....Hay! Hay! What's That Sound...."KC" Scored Another "TD"....

Falcons' cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis spent much of Wednesday afternoon at Raiders headquarters meeting and negotiating a contract that could lead to Hall being traded to Oakland for two draft picks.

PantyRaider....Fear-Inspiring-Deal!!!!!

8:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bama7
Anyone think Mike Rucker, DE would be a good pick-up? Rucker has pretty good stats, as does Takeo Spikes. How about Clark Haggans OLB for the steelers? These are three guys that seem to know how to tackle and play rough. Why can't Al sign a defensive player that is tough?

9:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gary,
I've been busy and not able to post much at all.

I saw a few times where I was mistaken for someone else (Panty?). I'm not sure if it's a connection issue or something but it might be a display issue.

As far as McFadden goes; I think he's extemely athletic and intriguing. But I wouldn't rate him better than 2007 Peterson. And assuming need is equal, I'd take SOH, Ellis, Doesey, J.Long over him.

Psycho

9:35 PM  
Blogger PantyRaider said...

"PsychoPanty"....

What a scary thought...

10:00 PM  
Blogger Calico Jack said...

PR: The last thing the Raiders need to worry about is KC. It was foolish not to cut Jordan. It would be equally stupid and short sighted to concern ourselves with KC's needs.

At #6 we will have the option of either Gholston, Ellis, and Dorsey. If the Raiders and KC coveted the same player, which by all accounts they don't, I would think twice about swapping with the Jets.

The fact is that KC is targeting the best available OT. There would be an outside chance they would take QB Ryan. DE & DT is not a priority for KC.

If KC drafted either Gholston, Ellis, or Dorsey to "spite" the Raiders then they are more F'D up than I could ever imagine.

The reality is that even if KC drafted Gholston, Ellis, or Dorsey, 1 of the 3 would still be available at #6 anyway.

Bottom Line:
The draft stategy should center on our needs. The hell with worrying about other team's needs. Being able to draft Gholston, Ellis, or Dorsey at #6, pay less money, AND get an additional draft pick is the smart move to help our fortunes rise in 2008.

10:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008
/writers/jim_trotter/03/19/raiders/
index.html?eref=T1

Yep. None of the backs we have are game breakers. They are OK when you need a few yards here and there and they are team players but not game breakers like McFadden is.

11:57 PM  
Blogger H said...

The Chefs are very thin at running back. They have Larry Johnson and not much else. Supposedly his foot injury is 100% healed.

I don't see where they have gone out and gotten him any help. So they have to keep him healthy somehow. And, they appear to be giving Croyle full control this year.

To me that means they need blocking. So, worrying about who they take makes little sense. Especially since they have done very little in free agency.

The only reason drafting McFadden makes any sense is if Bush is not coming back from his injury. All reports I've heard say he was 100% back in November.

Conventional wisdom says Al takes the best available player. The way he's gone about free agency kind of throws conventional wisdom out the window.

I've also read reports that Mark Jackson is heavily involved with Al on the necotiations. He's made first contact and hammered out the preliminaries with Al being the closer (my interpretation).

By the way, here's a quote from Kiffin from the end of last season, "We will ATTACK free agency". I thought he was just a paper weight on Al's desk.

H

5:07 AM  

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