**Oakland Raiders 2010 offseason Thread**
- Thread starter Joey
- Start date
By Bill Williamson
ESPN.com
For the second time in an otherwise quiet offseason, the Oakland Raiders are trying to resurrect the career of a former high draft pick who is best suited to be a 3-4 defensive player.
Quentin Groves told ESPN.com he has been traded from Jacksonville to Oakland. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Oakland sent a fifth-round pick for Groves. He was a second-round pick in 2008. If he doesn’t work out, it won’t cost Oakland much.
He was never overly productive for Jacksonville. The team moved him from linebacker to defensive end.
Last month, Oakland acquired former first-round pick Kamerion Wimbley from Cleveland. He is expected to start at linebacker for the Raiders. If these two youngsters produce results, Oakland’s defense could improve quickly.
Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. believes the Raiders may be tinkering with the idea of using the 3-4. Here is what Williamson had to say:
“Groves is like Wimbley. He is an undersized defensive end that is best suited to be an outside linebacker in the 3-4. They have a lot committed to Richard Seymour and he is best suited as a 3-4 guy. It seems everything they’ve done is to lean toward the 3-4. Using these guys in the 4-3 really wouldn’t bring out the best in them.”
ESPN.com
For the second time in an otherwise quiet offseason, the Oakland Raiders are trying to resurrect the career of a former high draft pick who is best suited to be a 3-4 defensive player.
Quentin Groves told ESPN.com he has been traded from Jacksonville to Oakland. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Oakland sent a fifth-round pick for Groves. He was a second-round pick in 2008. If he doesn’t work out, it won’t cost Oakland much.
He was never overly productive for Jacksonville. The team moved him from linebacker to defensive end.
Last month, Oakland acquired former first-round pick Kamerion Wimbley from Cleveland. He is expected to start at linebacker for the Raiders. If these two youngsters produce results, Oakland’s defense could improve quickly.
Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. believes the Raiders may be tinkering with the idea of using the 3-4. Here is what Williamson had to say:
“Groves is like Wimbley. He is an undersized defensive end that is best suited to be an outside linebacker in the 3-4. They have a lot committed to Richard Seymour and he is best suited as a 3-4 guy. It seems everything they’ve done is to lean toward the 3-4. Using these guys in the 4-3 really wouldn’t bring out the best in them.”
I was saying go to a 3-4 before the Wimbley trade and defnately see that happening or atleast some packages mixed in with our current personell on defense. If Kelly would earn his money, we may be good to go. Draft some 0-lineman and let's roll with what we got. I really feel the Raiders are going to be much improved this year. We are still a very young team. Lets face it, this is the most consistency we have had organization wise since Callahan. It will get better.
I have a bad feeling about tonight....Tony..You better not just draft speed agian fucker.....Dont take Spiller Tony....We need an OLINE....Make some trades and have top 5 ranked draft this year....We need a A- from mel Kiper this year TONY....make it happen...
EDIT: Tony if you draft Spiller tonight....You have got to change your name to what it really is (Al Davis)...This Alias you are using needs to go....Real talk..
EDIT: Tony if you draft Spiller tonight....You have got to change your name to what it really is (Al Davis)...This Alias you are using needs to go....Real talk..
I'm cool with Mike Bush but I am just about ready to give up on McFadden.... this dude was picked 4th overall and hasn't produced. He's either injured, fumbling, or getting tackled by the first defender near him. He doesn't make defenders miss and his running style is too high. We need someone that can run the ball a little bit lower and has the speed and the ability to make defenders miss in the open field.... that's Spiller for us.
LOL, man Spiller just isn't speed. He has vision and the ability to make defenders miss. He's a threat to score everytime he touches the ball. He's like a smaller version of Adrian Peterson and a bigger version of Chris Johnson. He's somewhat in between the two.
I think he'll be gone by the time the 8th pick comes around, if he's not gone, then we'll get him and McFadden may become expandable.
DHB was a huge gamble that didn't pay off but that was last year. That shouldn't deter us from drafting Spiller if he's there.
Then we can go offensive tackle or offensive line early in the 2nd round because this year is deep with offensive linemen.
I think he'll be gone by the time the 8th pick comes around, if he's not gone, then we'll get him and McFadden may become expandable.
DHB was a huge gamble that didn't pay off but that was last year. That shouldn't deter us from drafting Spiller if he's there.
Then we can go offensive tackle or offensive line early in the 2nd round because this year is deep with offensive linemen.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/print?id=12381&imagesPrint=off
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said on ESPN Radio Thursday morning that two high-profile AFC West players could be available during the draft. Mortensen said Oakland could move running back Darren McFadden and San Diego could trade linebacker Shawne Merriman.
The McFadden talk is surprising. He was the No. 4 overall pick in 2008. McFadden hasn’t made much of an impact and has often been injured. Still, as of now, McFadden and Michael Bush are expected to carry the load at running back for Oakland. Justin Fargas was released earlier this offseason.
If the Raiders want to trade McFadden, perhaps they are preparing to draft a running back. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller has the world-class speed that Oakland owner Al Davis craves, but so does McFadden. That’s why he was picked so high when Oakland had other glaring needs two years ago. Spiller would require Oakland’s’ top pick, which is No. 8 overall.
Perhaps the Raiders will look for a running back later in the draft. Still, I think dealing McFadden may be difficult because of his lack of production. Plus, this is a very deep running back class, so it would be surprising if a team gave up much for McFadden. There’s no way Oakland will get fair-market value in return. Oakland can’t just give away the No. 4 overall pick from two years ago. In the end, I’d be surprised if McFadden was traded.
I’d be less surprised if Merriman was sent packing, although I’m not necessarily expecting it. There has been talk of Merriman’s availability all offseason. Merriman would have to sign his restricted free-agency tender to facilitate a trade. If a team wanting to trade for Merriman is willing to give him a new contract, I’d imagine he wouldn’t have a problem signing his tender to kick start the trade.
Will these deals happen? We’ll see soon. It just adds to the excitement of the weekend.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said on ESPN Radio Thursday morning that two high-profile AFC West players could be available during the draft. Mortensen said Oakland could move running back Darren McFadden and San Diego could trade linebacker Shawne Merriman.
The McFadden talk is surprising. He was the No. 4 overall pick in 2008. McFadden hasn’t made much of an impact and has often been injured. Still, as of now, McFadden and Michael Bush are expected to carry the load at running back for Oakland. Justin Fargas was released earlier this offseason.
If the Raiders want to trade McFadden, perhaps they are preparing to draft a running back. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller has the world-class speed that Oakland owner Al Davis craves, but so does McFadden. That’s why he was picked so high when Oakland had other glaring needs two years ago. Spiller would require Oakland’s’ top pick, which is No. 8 overall.
Perhaps the Raiders will look for a running back later in the draft. Still, I think dealing McFadden may be difficult because of his lack of production. Plus, this is a very deep running back class, so it would be surprising if a team gave up much for McFadden. There’s no way Oakland will get fair-market value in return. Oakland can’t just give away the No. 4 overall pick from two years ago. In the end, I’d be surprised if McFadden was traded.
I’d be less surprised if Merriman was sent packing, although I’m not necessarily expecting it. There has been talk of Merriman’s availability all offseason. Merriman would have to sign his restricted free-agency tender to facilitate a trade. If a team wanting to trade for Merriman is willing to give him a new contract, I’d imagine he wouldn’t have a problem signing his tender to kick start the trade.
Will these deals happen? We’ll see soon. It just adds to the excitement of the weekend.
come on man...if the raiders had drafted Chris Johnson he'd be running it up the gut for 3 yards at a time too,sharing time with 2 other people, Russell, and playing with a sorry ass O-line. granted Dmac does get injured. Also, Cable sucks at play calling.DMAC should've been used in a wildcat package along with Bush. Cable had no creativity at all. His OC in college who brought the wildcat to the NFL when he became the OC in Miami utilized all his talents
I want O-line that should be the biggest concern
I want O-line that should be the biggest concern
taking Spiller would be a TERRIBLE move for the Raiders right now Tony
I don't understand your logic... take a RB in the first and get a subpar o-lineman in a later round... when o-line is a more pressing need
why not get a really good o-lineman in the first round... and MAYBE get another RB later (but probably not)
our running game will not flourish without an O-line!! it doesn't matter who we get... and if we get offensive linemen in later rounds... our line will not be improved the same way as it would with a first round tackle
the other thing besides o-line that has been killing this team is run defense... which is why I would also be okay with drafting McClain... because a beast MLB would solidify our D... it would be addressing a need
RB is somewhat of a need, but not really... strengthen the line and let Bush be our every down back... then if our running game sucks... maaybe draft someone next year depending on where we are as a team
only way I'd take spiller is if he fell to the 2nd round (which he won't) or if we could trade McFadden for a high to mid 1st round pick (of course that would never happen... teams would laugh at us) so no... we don't want spiller at number 8... not at all
I don't understand your logic... take a RB in the first and get a subpar o-lineman in a later round... when o-line is a more pressing need
why not get a really good o-lineman in the first round... and MAYBE get another RB later (but probably not)
our running game will not flourish without an O-line!! it doesn't matter who we get... and if we get offensive linemen in later rounds... our line will not be improved the same way as it would with a first round tackle
the other thing besides o-line that has been killing this team is run defense... which is why I would also be okay with drafting McClain... because a beast MLB would solidify our D... it would be addressing a need
RB is somewhat of a need, but not really... strengthen the line and let Bush be our every down back... then if our running game sucks... maaybe draft someone next year depending on where we are as a team
only way I'd take spiller is if he fell to the 2nd round (which he won't) or if we could trade McFadden for a high to mid 1st round pick (of course that would never happen... teams would laugh at us) so no... we don't want spiller at number 8... not at all