OAKLAND RAIDERS OFFSEASON THREAD
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Free agent lull
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A few better-late-than-never notes on a Sunday night:
– Wide receiver Drew Carter, in town to visit the Raiders, carries the classic silver and black pedigree. He has classic size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and athletic skill, but has never quite fulfilled his promise either in college at Ohio State or in the NFL.
Carter is coming off a career-best season _ 38 receptions for 517 yards and three touchdowns, after catching 28 passes for 347 yards and three scores in 2006.
Those numbers could make him no less than a solid No. 2 receiver in Oakland. If you’re someone like Carter, looking to break out, there are worse ways to go than hitching your star to JaMarcus Russell.
Ronald Curry (174 receptions, 2,166 yards, 11 touchdowns) has the best career numbers on a team which in recent years had the staggering career totals of Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss in silver and black.
After Curry, the remainder of the receiving corps currently under contract _ Johnnie Lee Higgins, Will Buchanon, Drisan James and Todd Watkins _ has seven catches for 56 yards. Higgins had six of those last year for 47 yards, Buchanon had a single 9-yard reception in 2006.
– Free agent tackle Kwame Harris left Oakland Friday, traveled to Jacksonville, and may next visit Denver. Word is he has yet to solicit a serious offer and wants to closely examine each situation. He hopes to have something wrapped up this week.
Harris had many of the same problems in San Francisco that Robert Gallery had as a tackle in Oakland. If Harris is as smart as his Stanford education suggests, a year or two under Tom Cable might be the best thing for his career.
– Former Raiders personnel executive Mike Lombardi had this to say about Tommy Kelly’s gargantuan contract while serving as an analyst on free agency for the NFL Network:
“Let me just say I’m really happy I didn’t negotiate that contract because they’re going to have to live with that one for a long time.”
You could infer a couple of things from that statement: 1) Lombardi doesn’t think Kelly is anywhere near worth that kind of money; and 2) If Kelly doesn’t ascend beyond above average, then Al Davis is going to hold negotiators Marc Badain and Mark Jackson responsible.
– With Atlanta signing Michael Turner to contract with $15 million in guaranteed money, these numbers bear repeating.
In four years as the backup for LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner (5-10, 237 pounds) carried 228 times for 1,257 yards, averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns. He never carried more than 80 times in a season.
In four years as the backup for Curtis Martin with the New York Jets, LaMont Jordan gained 1,277 yards on 262 carries, averaged 4.9 yards per attempt and scored 10 touchdowns. He never carried more than 93 times in a season.
You simply don’t know if a running back can take the pounding until he takes the pounding.
Turner’s signing probably puts the Falcons out of the running in terms of running back Darren McFadden at No. 3 overall.
If McFadden is around when the Raiders pick at No. 4, Dallas owner Jerry Jones could come bearing gifts. Yes, the Raiders don’t trade down. But remember the Davis mantra “I’d rather be right than consistent.”
Dallas has two first-round picks (No. 22 from Cleveland and its own pick at No. 28) that it could offer up in a deal. (NOTE: Sorry, overlooked the Cowboys’ acquisition of the Browns’ draft pick in this original post).
Getting back to the first item regarding receivers, the consensus at the combine seemed to be that Cal’s DeSean Jackson and Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly were the top two available.
While Kelly would seem to be more of a Raider-type pick, Jackson _ especially with his return skills _ has more than a little Tim Brown in his game.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A few better-late-than-never notes on a Sunday night:
– Wide receiver Drew Carter, in town to visit the Raiders, carries the classic silver and black pedigree. He has classic size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and athletic skill, but has never quite fulfilled his promise either in college at Ohio State or in the NFL.
Carter is coming off a career-best season _ 38 receptions for 517 yards and three touchdowns, after catching 28 passes for 347 yards and three scores in 2006.
Those numbers could make him no less than a solid No. 2 receiver in Oakland. If you’re someone like Carter, looking to break out, there are worse ways to go than hitching your star to JaMarcus Russell.
Ronald Curry (174 receptions, 2,166 yards, 11 touchdowns) has the best career numbers on a team which in recent years had the staggering career totals of Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss in silver and black.
After Curry, the remainder of the receiving corps currently under contract _ Johnnie Lee Higgins, Will Buchanon, Drisan James and Todd Watkins _ has seven catches for 56 yards. Higgins had six of those last year for 47 yards, Buchanon had a single 9-yard reception in 2006.
– Free agent tackle Kwame Harris left Oakland Friday, traveled to Jacksonville, and may next visit Denver. Word is he has yet to solicit a serious offer and wants to closely examine each situation. He hopes to have something wrapped up this week.
Harris had many of the same problems in San Francisco that Robert Gallery had as a tackle in Oakland. If Harris is as smart as his Stanford education suggests, a year or two under Tom Cable might be the best thing for his career.
– Former Raiders personnel executive Mike Lombardi had this to say about Tommy Kelly’s gargantuan contract while serving as an analyst on free agency for the NFL Network:
“Let me just say I’m really happy I didn’t negotiate that contract because they’re going to have to live with that one for a long time.”
You could infer a couple of things from that statement: 1) Lombardi doesn’t think Kelly is anywhere near worth that kind of money; and 2) If Kelly doesn’t ascend beyond above average, then Al Davis is going to hold negotiators Marc Badain and Mark Jackson responsible.
– With Atlanta signing Michael Turner to contract with $15 million in guaranteed money, these numbers bear repeating.
In four years as the backup for LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner (5-10, 237 pounds) carried 228 times for 1,257 yards, averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns. He never carried more than 80 times in a season.
In four years as the backup for Curtis Martin with the New York Jets, LaMont Jordan gained 1,277 yards on 262 carries, averaged 4.9 yards per attempt and scored 10 touchdowns. He never carried more than 93 times in a season.
You simply don’t know if a running back can take the pounding until he takes the pounding.
Turner’s signing probably puts the Falcons out of the running in terms of running back Darren McFadden at No. 3 overall.
If McFadden is around when the Raiders pick at No. 4, Dallas owner Jerry Jones could come bearing gifts. Yes, the Raiders don’t trade down. But remember the Davis mantra “I’d rather be right than consistent.”
Dallas has two first-round picks (No. 22 from Cleveland and its own pick at No. 28) that it could offer up in a deal. (NOTE: Sorry, overlooked the Cowboys’ acquisition of the Browns’ draft pick in this original post).
Getting back to the first item regarding receivers, the consensus at the combine seemed to be that Cal’s DeSean Jackson and Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly were the top two available.
While Kelly would seem to be more of a Raider-type pick, Jackson _ especially with his return skills _ has more than a little Tim Brown in his game.
Here we go with another one of those "im the best... got em, rambles. you got my my balls...got em... you dont know hoop...got em"
The raiders have three superbowls and thats not the most but it damn sure isnt bad and anyone downplaying the raiders signifigance in this league is a fool. Like I said every team has thier slumps. Good shit with Gibril I went to school with ole boy in Oak Grove.
The raiders have three superbowls and thats not the most but it damn sure isnt bad and anyone downplaying the raiders signifigance in this league is a fool. Like I said every team has thier slumps. Good shit with Gibril I went to school with ole boy in Oak Grove.
I can't believe there's a whole page of arguing & bickering in a news thread.....
aye sol, what's the cap space looking like now with the signings of Gibril, Fargas, Kelly, & the franchise tag on Asomugha? Think they gonna hold on to Rhodes & Jordan for trade value on draft day or cut em? I'm not familiar with Bush, I've been too lazy to go on youtube and look at his college clips, but I do like Rhodes and think Rhodes & Fargas would be a nice little combination....
aye sol, what's the cap space looking like now with the signings of Gibril, Fargas, Kelly, & the franchise tag on Asomugha? Think they gonna hold on to Rhodes & Jordan for trade value on draft day or cut em? I'm not familiar with Bush, I've been too lazy to go on youtube and look at his college clips, but I do like Rhodes and think Rhodes & Fargas would be a nice little combination....
Bush was a freak in college and would have been a top ten pick if not for the injury so he very well could be the steal of that draft for the raiders if he becomes a dominate back. He has had a long time to heal his leg time to see what he can do and since fargas has not finish a season without injury his going to get his chance this year. Dont get me wrong like fargas has a lot of heart but his injury prone and wouldnt be surprise if he misses a game or two this year.
for the raiders, i honestly think gibril wilson could turn out to be a good pickup for the oakland raiders.
after seeing him play against the cowboys the past four years, i gotta admit he's a good player, although he's not a big name player at the safety position. i still remember to this day when he came in as a rookie, and made a few plays and made big hits.
over the years i've seen him play well at both the free and strong safety position, and he does an good job playing the pass as well as the run. he does a good job playing the run as an extra linebacker in the box and does a good job disguising himself as he creeps to the line of scrimmage without the quarterback seeing him before the snap. he's an effective blitzer and is willing to take on blockers.
maybe he'll finally be the strong safety the raiders have been waiting to pick up. especially after they signing donovin darius last year, only to cut him. i'd also honestly like to see mike huff work his way back to being the beast he was at texas...
after seeing him play against the cowboys the past four years, i gotta admit he's a good player, although he's not a big name player at the safety position. i still remember to this day when he came in as a rookie, and made a few plays and made big hits.
over the years i've seen him play well at both the free and strong safety position, and he does an good job playing the pass as well as the run. he does a good job playing the run as an extra linebacker in the box and does a good job disguising himself as he creeps to the line of scrimmage without the quarterback seeing him before the snap. he's an effective blitzer and is willing to take on blockers.
maybe he'll finally be the strong safety the raiders have been waiting to pick up. especially after they signing donovin darius last year, only to cut him. i'd also honestly like to see mike huff work his way back to being the beast he was at texas...
Everybody has been getting on the Raiders for giving him that contract but we'll see how it turns out. He (Kelly) knows he's the higest paid defensive tackle so he's going to have to show the world he was worth it. I say let's give him the benefit of the doubt and see how it turns out. Before he got hurt he was playing good football...
Kelly has the potential. He's a big guy 6'6'' 300lbs, and when has been healthy gets a lot tackles for a defensive lineman. With him, sands, and warren they should have pretty good tackles. I still think they should draft another defensive lineman though, either a tackle or end, chris long, dorsey and ellis might be gone so perhaps gholston from ohio state.