We have a wide fanbase here on Snotap ranging from the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, and Indianapolis Colts. It might be pointless to do all of this because they might take away a couple of the games, I figure if I can provide a one-stop location for some fans than why not. I will leave my thoughts after each schedule
Green Bay:
9/8- vs. New Orleans (NBC) 9/18- at Carolina (FOX) 9/25- at Chicago (FOX)
10/2- vs. Denver (CBS) 10/9- at Atlanta (NBC) 10/16- vs. St. Louis (FOX)
10/23- at Minnesota (FOX) 10/30- BYE 11/6- at San Diego (FOX)
11/14- vs. Minnesota (ESPN) 11/20- vs. Tampa Bay (FOX) 11/24- at Detroit (FOX)
12/4- at New York Giants (FOX) 12/11- vs. Oakland (CBS) 12/18- at Kansas City (CBS)
12/25- vs. Chicago (NBC) 1/1- vs. Detroit (FOX)
Thoughts: Personally, I love this schedule. I mean I don' t like road games in Atlanta and Kansas City, but other than that? I really feel if the Pack have a season they can be 13-3 for sure.
Chicago Bears:
9/11- vs. Atlanta (FOX) 9/18- at New Orleans (FOX) 9/25- vs. Green Bay (FOX)
10/2- vs. Carolina (FOX) 10/10- at Detroit (ESPN) 10/16- vs. Minnesota (NBC)
10/23- at Tampa Bay (FOX) 10/30- BYE 11/7- at Philadelphia (ESPN)
11/13- vs. Detroit (FOX) 11/20- vs. San Diego (CBS) 11/27- at Oakland (FOX)
12/4- vs. Kansas City (CBS) 12/11- at Denver (FOX) 12/18- vs. Seattle (FOX)
12/25- at Green Bay (FOX) 1/1- at Minnesota (FOX)
Thoughts: The Bears start off with three straight playoff teams, they have a Jay Cutler Reunion in the Mile High, which is exciting. They also head to London to play Tampa, and Philly on Monday Night isn't fun.
Minnesota Vikings:
9/11- at San Diego (FOX) 9/18- vs. Tampa Bay (FOX) 9/25- vs. Detroit (FOX)
10/2- at Kansas City (FOX) 10/9- vs. Arizona (FOX) 10/16- at Chicago (NBC)
10/23- vs. Green Bay (FOX) 10/30- at Carolina (FOX) 11/6- BYE
11/14- at Green Bay (ESPN) 11/20- vs. Oakland (CBS) 11/27- at Atlanta (FOX)
12/4- vs. Denver (CBS) 12/11- at Detroit (FOX) 12/18- vs. New Orleans (FOX)
12/24-at Washington (FOX) 1/1- vs. Chicago (FOX)
Thoughts: If the Vikings can find a quarterback (see not Donovan McNabb), I like their chances to be successful. This isn't a brutal schedule by any shape of the imagination. The only tough road games are Atlanta and Kansas City
Oakland Raiders:
9/12- at Denver (ESPN) 9/18- at Buffalo (CBS) 9/25- vs. New York Jets (CBS)
10/2- vs. New England (CBS) 10/9- at Houston (CBS) 10/16- vs. Cleveland (CBS)
10/23- vs. Kansas City (CBS) 10/30- BYE 11/6- vs. Denver (CBS)
11/10- at San Diego (NFLN) 11/20- at Minnesota (CBS) 11/27- vs. Chicago (FOX)
12/4- at Miami (CBS) 12/11- at Green Bay (CBS) 12/18- vs. Detroit (FOX)
12/24- at Kansas City (CBS) 1/1- vs. San Diego (CBS)
Thoughts: The Raiders have a weird schedule with most of their home games in the front part of their schedule therefore they need to win early. If they want to be successful, it's a must for them to beat either the Jets or the Patriots because they aren't winning in Green Bay/Kansas City in December.
Indianapolis Colts:
9/11- at Houston (CBS) 9/18- vs. Cleveland (CBS) 9/25- vs. Pittsburgh (NBC)
10/3- at Tampa Bay (ESPN) 10/9- vs. Kansas City (CBS) 10/16- at Cincinnati (CBS)
10/23- at New Orleans (NBC) 10/30- at Tennessee (CBS) 11/6- vs. Atlanta (FOX)
11/13- vs. Jacksonville (CBS) 11/20- BYE 11/27- vs. Carolina (FOX)
12/4- at New England (NBC) 12/11- at Baltimore (CBS) 12/18- vs. Tennessee (CBS)
12/22- vs. Houston (NFLN) 1/1- at Jacksonville (CBS)
Thoughts: Peyton Manning hopes for a healthy team this year with road trips to the Big Easy and Foxboro plus home games against Pittsburgh and Atlanta. It always seems they have a tough schedule, and a primetime game against Houston to make the Texans relevant.
-Charlie.
Showing posts with label Oakland Raiders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oakland Raiders. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Robert Gallery Leaving The Black Hole
The guy the Oakland Raiders made the second overall pick in 2004, Robert Gallery, has decided to leave the organization and test his free agent waters.
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Robbie. Al Davis hung on to you much longer than a lot of NFL executives would have. You were a sure-fire, can't miss prospect at left tackle out of Iowa but showed immediately that you couldn't do it at an NFL level and were moved to guard where you were solid, but nowhere near a Pro Bowler.
The only thing that scares me about this however, is that he was a the main piece of our offensive line and his heir apparent, Bruce Campbell, needs a ton of work at guard.
With it being a very real possibility that the Raiders are going to lose lockdown corner Nnamdi Asomugha, Mr. Davis has been very active in keeping most of his other players despite the seemingly inevitable lockout. He's resigned defensive tackles Richard Seymour and Big John Henderson to two year deals each. He overpaid CB Stanford Routt (which Al has a tendency to do with somewhat unproven athletes, see Tommy Kelly) with a three year, $31.5 million dollar contract and placed the franchise tag on OLB Kamerion Wimbley who had a very good 2010, his first in Oakland.
Could Gallery, an Iowa native, be eying a return to the Midwest? Teams like the Vikings or Bears could use an upgrade to their offensive lines.
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Robbie. Al Davis hung on to you much longer than a lot of NFL executives would have. You were a sure-fire, can't miss prospect at left tackle out of Iowa but showed immediately that you couldn't do it at an NFL level and were moved to guard where you were solid, but nowhere near a Pro Bowler.
The only thing that scares me about this however, is that he was a the main piece of our offensive line and his heir apparent, Bruce Campbell, needs a ton of work at guard.
Could Gallery, an Iowa native, be eying a return to the Midwest? Teams like the Vikings or Bears could use an upgrade to their offensive lines.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Richard Seymour Signs For Two More
Richard Seymour and the Oakland Raiders have agreed to a two year deal making Seymour the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.
The deal is reportedly worth up to $30 million with $22.5 guaranteed. He earned a Pro Bowl spot this past year after playing under the franchise tag. Some would say that a deal of this size is idiotic but I like it for a number of reasons.
Richard Seymour makes the young Oakland Raiders defense soooooo much better. Tommy Kelly could have been a Pro Bowler last season and I think that speaks volumes to Seymour. People were ready run Kelly out of town two years ago, but now he's stepped his game up and might live up to that ridiculous contract that Al gave him.
Guys see him play and really feel like they have to play at his level. Easier said than done, in my opinion.
Seymour also seems committed to the Silver & Black. He has said how much of a great place it is to play, how the fans are fantastic and that he wants to "retire as a Raider". Lord knows I'd love to play DT for the Oakland Raiders.
Whatever deal he gets, the guy is worth it.
-Mitzy
The deal is reportedly worth up to $30 million with $22.5 guaranteed. He earned a Pro Bowl spot this past year after playing under the franchise tag. Some would say that a deal of this size is idiotic but I like it for a number of reasons.
Richard Seymour makes the young Oakland Raiders defense soooooo much better. Tommy Kelly could have been a Pro Bowler last season and I think that speaks volumes to Seymour. People were ready run Kelly out of town two years ago, but now he's stepped his game up and might live up to that ridiculous contract that Al gave him.
Guys see him play and really feel like they have to play at his level. Easier said than done, in my opinion.
Seymour also seems committed to the Silver & Black. He has said how much of a great place it is to play, how the fans are fantastic and that he wants to "retire as a Raider". Lord knows I'd love to play DT for the Oakland Raiders.
Whatever deal he gets, the guy is worth it.
-Mitzy
Monday, January 31, 2011
Best Packers Memory
For one of my classes I had to do a short statement on what my favorite Packer memory is. What's better than the Favre's game after his father Irvin passed away?
Here goes:
In my life there have been some good memories and bad memories of Wisconsin’s beloved Green Bay Packers. My first memory of the Green Bay Packers is the loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1995 (season) NFC Championship game. That would be considered a negative memory. I don’t remember the score exactly but I know it was a tough loss.
Then shortly after that, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots. That is one of the better memories but not the best.
Obviously, I could take the easy route and call last weekend’s victory over the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game (I don't really remember the score of that game either because of reasons I can not disclose) a great memory, but that is not the best in my opinion.
My favorite memory of the Green Bay Packers was Brett Favre’s game was in the 2003 season in which Brett Favre played the day after his father Irvin passed away. The Packers went on the road to face my Oakland Raiders and there was controversy about whether or not Favre would play. Well, he did start and he played probably the best game I’ve ever seen played personally. He had four touchdown passes in the first half and ended up with a nearly perfect passer rating of 154.9.
Even if it was against my favorite team, that was easily best performance I’ve ever seen from anyone in any sport. Just the sheer emotion of Favre and the way he performed in lieu of his father’s death made it a great memory.
-Mitch
Here goes:
In my life there have been some good memories and bad memories of Wisconsin’s beloved Green Bay Packers. My first memory of the Green Bay Packers is the loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1995 (season) NFC Championship game. That would be considered a negative memory. I don’t remember the score exactly but I know it was a tough loss.
Then shortly after that, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots. That is one of the better memories but not the best.
Obviously, I could take the easy route and call last weekend’s victory over the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game (I don't really remember the score of that game either because of reasons I can not disclose) a great memory, but that is not the best in my opinion.
My favorite memory of the Green Bay Packers was Brett Favre’s game was in the 2003 season in which Brett Favre played the day after his father Irvin passed away. The Packers went on the road to face my Oakland Raiders and there was controversy about whether or not Favre would play. Well, he did start and he played probably the best game I’ve ever seen played personally. He had four touchdown passes in the first half and ended up with a nearly perfect passer rating of 154.9.
Even if it was against my favorite team, that was easily best performance I’ve ever seen from anyone in any sport. Just the sheer emotion of Favre and the way he performed in lieu of his father’s death made it a great memory.
-Mitch
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Slightly Different Hue in The Silver & Black
Two weeks after letting former head coach Tom Cable go, Al Davis has decided on the man that most were expecting him to choose as his seventh head coach in eleven years. That man is Mr. Hue Jackson.
Jackson came in one year ago to be the offensive coordinator and the offense went from being absolutely futile and down right anemic. Also, there was a general consensus that Hue was a possible future candidate for the Oakland Raiders HC position. That day has come and it feels pretty good.
Al Davis naturally has a fantastic quote as he welcomes in Jackson:
"The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation."
I'll take that one with a grain of salt, but I still think it's a good hire and possibly the only hire Davis really had. Let's be honest, no head coach in their heart of hearts wants to be micro-managed by Al Davis. Davis really likes Hue and I think the players do to. He should have the respect of the players. He's probably not as liked in the locker room as Cable but I think after what he did for the offense last year, the players know that he knows what he's doing. It's not as if he's a random guy coming in to run the team like Lane Kiffin was. Hue Jackson is a familiar, respected face in that locker room. I think the promotion of Hue Jackson gives the Raiders a chance to bring back some key free agents like Michael Bush, Nnamdi Asomugha and Richard Seymour. I really like the hire.
The Raiders scored more than the double the amount of points in 2010 than they did in 2009 when Tom Cable was calling plays. RB Darren McFadden burst on the scene finally this year and has become a rising star in my opinion. I've gone as far as to say that if I were a GM, there's no one I'd want more than D-Dawg to build my team around. He's only 23 years old and runs with a purpose. Gotta love it.
Jason Campbell also played pretty well under Hue Jackson and you know Al loved that idea. Campbell had 13 TDs and just 8 INTs in fairly limited action. Campbell was Davis' pet and many feel that Campbell has the ability to lead this team for a while. I agree for the most part, but I would like to see the Raiders draft a formidable back-up in the later rounds of the upcoming draft. Bruce "Doc B" Gradkowski, though I really like the dude, just can't stay healthy to save his life. Kyle Boller is...Kyle Boller. He has a smokebomb of a wife (Carrie Prejean) but that's about all he can say for himself.
The official introduction of Hue Jackson will come later today in Alameda.
On another note, it is being reported that Oakland is likely to bring in Al Saunders for the now vacant offensive coordinator position. It'll be like the Packers OC position, mainly just a right hand man to the head coach and playcaller. Saunders is pretty respected name in the eyes of Al Davis and around the NFL. He should help the offense as well.
-Mikko
Jackson came in one year ago to be the offensive coordinator and the offense went from being absolutely futile and down right anemic. Also, there was a general consensus that Hue was a possible future candidate for the Oakland Raiders HC position. That day has come and it feels pretty good.
Al Davis naturally has a fantastic quote as he welcomes in Jackson:
"The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation."
I'll take that one with a grain of salt, but I still think it's a good hire and possibly the only hire Davis really had. Let's be honest, no head coach in their heart of hearts wants to be micro-managed by Al Davis. Davis really likes Hue and I think the players do to. He should have the respect of the players. He's probably not as liked in the locker room as Cable but I think after what he did for the offense last year, the players know that he knows what he's doing. It's not as if he's a random guy coming in to run the team like Lane Kiffin was. Hue Jackson is a familiar, respected face in that locker room. I think the promotion of Hue Jackson gives the Raiders a chance to bring back some key free agents like Michael Bush, Nnamdi Asomugha and Richard Seymour. I really like the hire.
 |
| "Ya get the best playas and the best coaches and ya tell 'em, Just Win Baby." |
The Raiders scored more than the double the amount of points in 2010 than they did in 2009 when Tom Cable was calling plays. RB Darren McFadden burst on the scene finally this year and has become a rising star in my opinion. I've gone as far as to say that if I were a GM, there's no one I'd want more than D-Dawg to build my team around. He's only 23 years old and runs with a purpose. Gotta love it.
Jason Campbell also played pretty well under Hue Jackson and you know Al loved that idea. Campbell had 13 TDs and just 8 INTs in fairly limited action. Campbell was Davis' pet and many feel that Campbell has the ability to lead this team for a while. I agree for the most part, but I would like to see the Raiders draft a formidable back-up in the later rounds of the upcoming draft. Bruce "Doc B" Gradkowski, though I really like the dude, just can't stay healthy to save his life. Kyle Boller is...Kyle Boller. He has a smokebomb of a wife (Carrie Prejean) but that's about all he can say for himself.
The official introduction of Hue Jackson will come later today in Alameda.
On another note, it is being reported that Oakland is likely to bring in Al Saunders for the now vacant offensive coordinator position. It'll be like the Packers OC position, mainly just a right hand man to the head coach and playcaller. Saunders is pretty respected name in the eyes of Al Davis and around the NFL. He should help the offense as well.
-Mikko
Monday, August 27, 2007
Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Steal The Raiders
Fantasy football is a fickle mistress. Every year the landscape changes, and the difference between first place and last place in your league depends on how you react to the changing climate. As a helper, Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet will guide you through some of the finer points of fantasy this year. Have a question or topic about fantasy football you'd like to see addressed? Send it to turnoverbattle@gmail.comThe Oakland Raiders had the worst offense in all of football last season.
That statement isn't news to any fantasy football player, especially anyone that was unlucky enough to take LaMont Jordan with a first round pick last year. Accordingly, the Raiders' offensive skill players are being treated like lepers in fantasy drafts this season. LaMont Jordan is going on average at the 76th pick in ESPN drafts. Jerry Porter is going 125th. Daunte Culpepper is going undrafted. So are these wise choices by fantasy owners to avoid the Raiders?
No.
Fantasy owners need to examine the context of last season's offensive debacle in Oakland before they write off the entire team. There was a perfect storm of factors that contributed to making the Raiders offense one of the worst in league history;
Shell And Company: Art Shell and offensive coordinator Tom Walsh embarrassed themselves last season. They showed themselves to be relics from a by-gone era two men that did not understand how to run an offense in the modern NFL, much less a team. Joe Gibbs had the same problem in his first season with the Redskins, so he brought in Al Saunders to take over the offense. Shell and Walsh were not afforded the same grace as Gibbs however, and were canned by Al Davis after last year's 2-14 campaign. The fact that the Raiders were employing the most inept head coach and offensive coordinator combo in the NFL last season was the first factor as to why the Raiders were so awful last season. The second reason was also Shell's fault...
WR Drama: Art Shell and Jerry Porter did not hit it off last season in Oakland. So much so that Shell inexplicably benched Porter for almost the entirety of last season. In addition to the loss of Porter, Randy Moss decided to effectively quit eight games in the season. A good coach would have trouble dealing with the loss of two WRs during the season; for a bad coach like Shell, the losses were catastrophic.
LaMont's Injury: Last year was supposed to be the breakout year for LaMont Jordan. He was coming off a 2005 campaign that saw him score 11 TDs and have over 1500 yards of total offense. So how did Shell capatalize on Jordan's talent? By barely running him and never throwing the ball to a back that had 70 receptions and 563 yards receiving the year before. The misuse of Jordan by Shell was downright criminal, and Jordan's season ending injury in the 10th game of the season was probably a blessing. After Jordan went out, the ball carrying duties fell to Justin Fargas. That's a bad thing in case you are keeping score at home.
There were a number of other reasons for the Raiders ineptitude, but those were the main causes. They are also three areas where the Raiders have vastly improved this season. New head coach Lane Kiffin comes from USC with a reputation for running a high powered offense. His offenses at USC also utilized RBs in the receiving game. Kiffin finds himself with a big time weapon in LaMont Jordan, and unlike Shell Kiffin will not waste the chance to use Jordan in the passing game. Kiffin's offensive philosophy will certainly garner more points than Shell's did last year. Also working in the Raider's favor is the vast upgrades in offensive personnel that have been made during the off-season. Consider; at RB last season the Raiders had a hobbled Jordan a plus Justin Fargas. Now they have a healthy Jordan and have added Dominic Rhodes through free agency and drafted Michael Bush out of Louisville. At WR Porter (who had back to back 900 yard seasons before last year's benching) seems primed to step into the #1 role after years of playing second fiddle to Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, and Randy Moss. Joining him is Ronald Curry. At TE the Raiders used their 2nd round pick on the dangerous Zach Miller to replace the unproductive Courtney Anderson. At QB the Raiders have ditched the cancerous Aaron Brooks and have added both Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown. Either of those new QBs signify an upgrade over last season. The Raiders did not stop there; they also signed one of the best FBs in the NFL, Justin Griffith, during the off-season. For the sake of comparison, lets see what these offseason moves look like take all together:
Lost:
Art Shell
QB Aaron Brooks
WR Randy Moss
TE Courtney Anderson
Gained:
Lane Kiffin
QB Josh McCown
QB Daunte Culpepper
RB Michael Bush
RB Dominic Rhodes
WR Jerry Porter
TE Zach Miller
FB Justin Griffith
The end result is obvious; the Raiders have signifigantly improved every single offense skill position since the end of last season. They also have a coach now that actually knows a thing or two about putting points on the board. The Raiders have also scored two offensive TDs in the first half of all three of their preseason games thus far. This isn't last year's Raiders team. In fact, it doesn't even resemble it one bit. So if you are looking for a steal in your fantasy draft, jump on Porter, Jordan, and Culpepper. They may not end up being studs, but they will end up being far more valuable than the price you will have to pay for them.
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Monday, July 30, 2007
As The Daunte Turns
Do you want to know the definition of a really bad day for an NFL QB?
It's when a team chooses to sign Tim Couch instead of you.
That is exactly what happened to Daunte Culpepper this weekend, as the Jaxsonville Jaguars decided to go with the NFL's version of Nikoloz Tskitishvili instead of Daunte. What is especially troublesome about this development for Daunte is that the Jaguars were assumed to be the perfect fit. It was a foregone conclusion that he was going there. So what went wrong? Evidently the deal fell apart because Daunte wanted a one year deal, and the Jaguars were looking for something in the 2-3 year range. In examining the situation, both sides were right to stick to their guns. The Jags want two things, 1.) security behind Byron Leftwich and 2.) someone to push Leftwich. A one year deal would not have really fulfilled either of those needs. For Culpepper, a one year deal will help him prove that he is truly healthy whil allowing him the ability to pursue a starting job next year, or at least get premium backup money. Any contract Culpepper will sign this summer will be at a large discount, so minimizing the length of this deal is to Culpepper's advantage.
Now that the Jaguars are out of the running, where does Daunte land this year?
If you trust John Clayton over at ESPN, Tampa Bay looks like a contender. If that were to actually happen, and the Bucs added Daunte to a stable that already hosts Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski, Luke McCown, and the rights to Jake Plummer, I would quit blogging and apply to become the new Bucs GM, since the current one is obviously an imbecile. All kidding aside, Clayton also throws out the Rams and Ravens as possible destinations for Daunte. I'm not sure where he came up with those two teams but hey, it's John Clayton, so I'll cut him some slack.
The momentum in signing Culpepper however, seems to lie with the Raiders. Culpepper is scheduled to work out for the Raiders in California today, and signing with Oakland just might be the perfect deal for him. JaMarcus Russell is still holding out, and with him unlikely the be ready to start at the beggining of the season the Raiders are looking at starting either Josh McCown or Andrew Walter at QB for the first 6-10 games of the season. Would an 80-90% healthy Culpepper be better than those two guys? Probably. Would starting for half a year be better for Culpepper's free agent chances next year than sitting behind Jeff Garcia in Tampa Bay? Certainly. Is there a better QB for Russell to learn from than Culpepper, the man he is a clone of? Not a chance.
Now...there is one other destination for Culpepper; Minnesota. Ok, maybe Daunte did not leave on the best of terms, but for goodness sakes, the Vikings are headed into the season with Tavaris Jackson as their starter with Brooks Bollinger as the backup. If the Vikings were a baby Zygi Wilf and Minnesota management would be charged with child neglect. Seriously, how can you not at least consider bringing in Daunte for a year? After seeing Jackson flee the pocket constantly and throw interceptions in the few games he played last season, does Brad Childress really believe that he couldn't use one more year of learning before being thrown into the fire? Maybe they are blind up in Minnesota, but Daunte looks like a good fit there to me. Wherever he lands, one thing can be for sure; he won't be looking to stay there long.
Friday, May 25, 2007
With Fans Like These...
Robert Comer was executed recently in Arizona. So why is this on a sports blog? Well...
"Comer brought a picture of his daughter with him to the death chamber and used his last words to say, 'Go, Raiders.'"
"Comer was convicted in a 1987 crime spree in which he killed a fellow camper at Apache Lake east of Phoenix. He also was convicted of repeatedly raping a female camper the same night, once in front of her boyfriend."
And you wonder why people think Raiders fans are so scary? My guess is the four tears tattooed on his face are for the Raiders' three Super Bowls and one AFL Championship.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Russell or Johnson? Value or Need?
If there is one thing that has been ticking me off more than anything in the days leading up to the NFL draft it has been this general sentiment: The Raiders should take JaMarcus Russell, because Calvin Johnson would be useless if the Raiders do not have a QB to get him the ball. The same people who espouse this opinion are then quick to point out that the Raiders have Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, and Ronald Curry to throw the ball to. While this reasoning is not without merit, it is the same type of thinking that led to the Texan's selection of Mario Williams last year. To wit, the Texans had a decent QB in David Carr that they had just signed to an extension, so it was illogical to select Vince Young. Likewise, the team had a, at the time, slightly above average back in Domanick (Davis) Williams, therefore lessening the need for selecting Reggie Bush. So obviously the correct choice was to select a prospect in Mario Williams that had less game breaking talent than either Young or Bush, but that had performed exceedingly well in pre draft tests and played a position of more perceived need for the Texans. So...the Raiders are poised to follow in that same vein, selecting a player that EVERY general manager in the league would say is less talented than Johnson, that has wowed scouts in pre draft tests and plays a position of more perceived need. And this makes sense?
The debate between whether the Raiders should select Russell or Johnson rests upon a fundamental divide in the NFL in terms of draft philosophy, the divide between need and value. Russell would indeed be the correct need pick. Johnson would be the correct value pick. The question remains then, which of the two approaches to the draft is correct in this situation? To answer, lets examine what the future might hold for the Raiders in each scenario, Russell or Johnson.
The Raiders were starting Andrew Walter at QB last season. Let that sink in for just a moment. Walter would be a third stringer at best for most any other NFL team. Go ahead, play a little game with it, name the backup QBs in the league that you would not put in before Andrew Walter. Done? So, QB is obviously a tremendous position of need for the Raiders, to the point where I would not pick them to win more than 3 games this season if they go into it with Walter at QB. The Raiders are thus presented with three options in fixing their QB situation, whether that be by the draft, trade, or the remaining free agent pool. The obvious free agent solutions are gone, as Jeff Garcia, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Patrick Ramsey, and Brad Johnson have all already signed elsewhere. This leaves the remaining QB crop to consist of...Tim Rattay? Ewwww. To put it bluntly, the Raiders missed the boat in free agency this year. Even if they have been determined all spring to take a QB with the first pick, their lack of activity has put them in a position to throw that QB to the wolves behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. We've seen how that has worked out for David Carr. And Joey Harrington. And Eli Manning for that matter. Whoever the Raiders put behind center this year is going to get rocked. Period. The Raiders have done nothing substantive to improve an offensive line that surrendered 72 sacks last season. So you want to throw a rookie QB behind that line? A rookie that at his most recent workout showed the ability to throw the ball a million yards from off his butt, while also showcasing an alarming inability to consistently throw an accurate 12 yard out pattern? A QB that nearly lost his starting job at LSU to Ryan Perrilloux before this season? Come on, you have to be kidding me. If Russell goes to the Raiders, he is going to get the same shell shock welcome to the NFL that Carr received in Houston. Except it will be worse, because Russell is not as good of a QB as Carr. Yup, I said it. I am extremely wary of Russell, especially since his agent is trying to pub him using the same sort of stupid human tricks with arm strength that fooled the Ravens into blowing a first round pick on Kyle Boller. While Russell, Mike Vick, and heck, even Michael Bishop have the ability to throw a football 50,60, or 70 yards off of one foot, while on the run, juggling stuffed teddy bears, eating a moon pie, how many times is that kind of throw going to be required in an average NFL game? Now ask yourself, how many times is a 12 yard out going to need to be thrown? In my view the Raiders should solve their QB problem in one of two ways. There are still a number of decent QBs available on the trade market for the right price, the likes of Trent Green, Josh McCown, and Seneca Walace, QBs who have seen NFL defenses before and would be better suited to step in as the Raider's starter for a season or two. Russell is a raw QB that needs time to adapt to the speed of the NFL game and polish his accuracy on medium passes and throws to the sidelines. Letting him sit for a year or two, which is what he needs, is not an option the Raiders would be able to afford him, which is why they should look elsewhere and let Russell go. Make a trade for one of the above players, and then maybe take Trent Edwards, Drew Stanton, Kevin Kolb, or Troy Smith to develop with a 2nd-4th round selection.
Here is the rub. Russell is not the best QB prospect to come along in a long time. Coming out of college, I would say that in recent years Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, and grief, Brady Quinn were all better and more pro ready prospects than Russell. Now, name a WR in recent drafts that was anywhere near Calvin Johnson coming into the pros. Done thinking? The last prospect that came into the league with Johnson's combination of size, speed, hands, and route running ability was in 1998, when Randy Moss hit the league. The difference being, Johnson does not have any of the character questions that Moss did coming out of Marshall. Johnson is a once in a decade type of talent at the WR position. Russell is a flavor of the month that nobody had on their draft radar before this past season. Johnson was ripping through the ACC last fall, stringing together 100 yard games while getting the rock from....Reggie Ball? If any of you watched a Georgia Tech game last year you would understand how unearthly bad Reggie Ball is, while at the same time realizing how insanely good Calvin Johnson is. To put it in perspective, Reggie Ball threw over 300 passes in all four of his seasons at GT. In all three seasons that he had Calvin Johnson with him, he completed less than 50% of his passes. So you are trying to tell me that Calvin Johnson can't impact a game while playing with a bad QB? That he could not make an impact with the Raiders while getting the ball from a QB the likes of Trent Green or Josh McCown? Come on.
The real trick of this situation is that the Raiders are going to be bad this year no mater what they do. The offense is going to remain bad next season no matter what the Raiders do in the draft, because the Raiders do not have a good line, have no real feature RB, and have an aging pair of WRs in Moss and Porter. So the Raiders are going to find themselves back in the top 10 of the draft next year. That is a lock. Write it down, take it to the bank, spit on my face if it does not end up being true. So the Raiders need to avoid putting themselves in the situation where the Vikings, Redskins, and Lions find themselves this season, where past draft mistakes are hindering them from making the best pick. How so? The Vikings traded up last year for Tarvaris Jackson, and therefore are not going to take Brady Quinn, even if he is sitting there at the 7 pick. Likewise, the Redskins would also pass on Quinn because of their reach on Jason Campbell. And the Lions of course are scared out of their minds of taking Calvin Johnson, since they are already millions in the hole on draft mistakes Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. So lets look ahead to next season. At the top of the QB draft chart are prospects such as Brian Brohm, Chad Henne and John David Booty. So if the Raiders just hold out for a season, they can have Calvin Johnson, plus perhaps Brohm (who is better than Russell), Henne (also better than Russell), or Booty to throw the ball to him, or even a free agent QB. The other option is to have Russell plus....Limas Sweed? Point being, taking Russell ties him to the team like an anchor for the next 5 years. If I were piloting that ship, I would much rather tie my hopes to Calvin Johnson.
The debate between whether the Raiders should select Russell or Johnson rests upon a fundamental divide in the NFL in terms of draft philosophy, the divide between need and value. Russell would indeed be the correct need pick. Johnson would be the correct value pick. The question remains then, which of the two approaches to the draft is correct in this situation? To answer, lets examine what the future might hold for the Raiders in each scenario, Russell or Johnson.
The Raiders were starting Andrew Walter at QB last season. Let that sink in for just a moment. Walter would be a third stringer at best for most any other NFL team. Go ahead, play a little game with it, name the backup QBs in the league that you would not put in before Andrew Walter. Done? So, QB is obviously a tremendous position of need for the Raiders, to the point where I would not pick them to win more than 3 games this season if they go into it with Walter at QB. The Raiders are thus presented with three options in fixing their QB situation, whether that be by the draft, trade, or the remaining free agent pool. The obvious free agent solutions are gone, as Jeff Garcia, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Patrick Ramsey, and Brad Johnson have all already signed elsewhere. This leaves the remaining QB crop to consist of...Tim Rattay? Ewwww. To put it bluntly, the Raiders missed the boat in free agency this year. Even if they have been determined all spring to take a QB with the first pick, their lack of activity has put them in a position to throw that QB to the wolves behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. We've seen how that has worked out for David Carr. And Joey Harrington. And Eli Manning for that matter. Whoever the Raiders put behind center this year is going to get rocked. Period. The Raiders have done nothing substantive to improve an offensive line that surrendered 72 sacks last season. So you want to throw a rookie QB behind that line? A rookie that at his most recent workout showed the ability to throw the ball a million yards from off his butt, while also showcasing an alarming inability to consistently throw an accurate 12 yard out pattern? A QB that nearly lost his starting job at LSU to Ryan Perrilloux before this season? Come on, you have to be kidding me. If Russell goes to the Raiders, he is going to get the same shell shock welcome to the NFL that Carr received in Houston. Except it will be worse, because Russell is not as good of a QB as Carr. Yup, I said it. I am extremely wary of Russell, especially since his agent is trying to pub him using the same sort of stupid human tricks with arm strength that fooled the Ravens into blowing a first round pick on Kyle Boller. While Russell, Mike Vick, and heck, even Michael Bishop have the ability to throw a football 50,60, or 70 yards off of one foot, while on the run, juggling stuffed teddy bears, eating a moon pie, how many times is that kind of throw going to be required in an average NFL game? Now ask yourself, how many times is a 12 yard out going to need to be thrown? In my view the Raiders should solve their QB problem in one of two ways. There are still a number of decent QBs available on the trade market for the right price, the likes of Trent Green, Josh McCown, and Seneca Walace, QBs who have seen NFL defenses before and would be better suited to step in as the Raider's starter for a season or two. Russell is a raw QB that needs time to adapt to the speed of the NFL game and polish his accuracy on medium passes and throws to the sidelines. Letting him sit for a year or two, which is what he needs, is not an option the Raiders would be able to afford him, which is why they should look elsewhere and let Russell go. Make a trade for one of the above players, and then maybe take Trent Edwards, Drew Stanton, Kevin Kolb, or Troy Smith to develop with a 2nd-4th round selection.
Here is the rub. Russell is not the best QB prospect to come along in a long time. Coming out of college, I would say that in recent years Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, and grief, Brady Quinn were all better and more pro ready prospects than Russell. Now, name a WR in recent drafts that was anywhere near Calvin Johnson coming into the pros. Done thinking? The last prospect that came into the league with Johnson's combination of size, speed, hands, and route running ability was in 1998, when Randy Moss hit the league. The difference being, Johnson does not have any of the character questions that Moss did coming out of Marshall. Johnson is a once in a decade type of talent at the WR position. Russell is a flavor of the month that nobody had on their draft radar before this past season. Johnson was ripping through the ACC last fall, stringing together 100 yard games while getting the rock from....Reggie Ball? If any of you watched a Georgia Tech game last year you would understand how unearthly bad Reggie Ball is, while at the same time realizing how insanely good Calvin Johnson is. To put it in perspective, Reggie Ball threw over 300 passes in all four of his seasons at GT. In all three seasons that he had Calvin Johnson with him, he completed less than 50% of his passes. So you are trying to tell me that Calvin Johnson can't impact a game while playing with a bad QB? That he could not make an impact with the Raiders while getting the ball from a QB the likes of Trent Green or Josh McCown? Come on.
The real trick of this situation is that the Raiders are going to be bad this year no mater what they do. The offense is going to remain bad next season no matter what the Raiders do in the draft, because the Raiders do not have a good line, have no real feature RB, and have an aging pair of WRs in Moss and Porter. So the Raiders are going to find themselves back in the top 10 of the draft next year. That is a lock. Write it down, take it to the bank, spit on my face if it does not end up being true. So the Raiders need to avoid putting themselves in the situation where the Vikings, Redskins, and Lions find themselves this season, where past draft mistakes are hindering them from making the best pick. How so? The Vikings traded up last year for Tarvaris Jackson, and therefore are not going to take Brady Quinn, even if he is sitting there at the 7 pick. Likewise, the Redskins would also pass on Quinn because of their reach on Jason Campbell. And the Lions of course are scared out of their minds of taking Calvin Johnson, since they are already millions in the hole on draft mistakes Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. So lets look ahead to next season. At the top of the QB draft chart are prospects such as Brian Brohm, Chad Henne and John David Booty. So if the Raiders just hold out for a season, they can have Calvin Johnson, plus perhaps Brohm (who is better than Russell), Henne (also better than Russell), or Booty to throw the ball to him, or even a free agent QB. The other option is to have Russell plus....Limas Sweed? Point being, taking Russell ties him to the team like an anchor for the next 5 years. If I were piloting that ship, I would much rather tie my hopes to Calvin Johnson.
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