THE OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 OFFSEASON THREAD
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Five Qs with Khalif Barnes
NFL.com
New Raiders left tackle Khalif Barnes.
New Raiders left tackle Khalif Barnes wants to apologize for not calling right away for a previously scheduled phone interview.
"I just get caught up in training and it's like tunnel vision, that's all I see," Barnes said after coming up for air three weeks into offseason voluntary workouts. "Sorry 'bout that, it won't happen again."
He also wants everyone to know that he's here to play left tackle, as opposed to the widely assumed right. So if Mario Henderson wants to be the starter at that position, he'll have to go throw Barnes, a four-year starter with the Jaguars who signed a one-year deal with Oakland last month.
Barnes took some time to answer five burning questions as the Raiders prepare for the NFL Draft.
Q: Any experience with the zone blocking scheme?
A: A ton of experience. That's all we did in Jacksonville. I've been going through a few plays here already and like what I see. It's something I'm very good at and something I can get better at. It gives you a chance to get running off the ball. Looking around, we've got a lot of athletic linemen here."
Q: Tom Cable, the offensive line coach turned head coach?
A: "He's a player's coach. He's an offensive line guy. He understands how we work, how we think. He sees things I can already fix so I can become more explosive. I can see and feel the difference already. At one point, you get comfortable playing in a certain stance and a certain way, but the guys coached the positon ... little nuggets here and there can help you out and elevate your game."
Q: With a one-year deal, plan on sticking around?
A: "I know I have a lot of work to do and a lot of individual goals I want to accomplish. I can be one of those tackles thay can stay there for another nine years. You look at guys like Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden, guys that stayed in one place for 13 years. I've started four years but I know I have a lot more to do and have a chance to be really good."
Q: Tom Cable said you'll compete at left tackle, but some think you'll be on the right side. Your plans?
A: "I'm so determined to be this franchise's left tackle for the next nine years. I know that's a big challenge but that's my goal. What better place to be a dominant left tackle than with the Raiders? I get a chance to come in here and start I'm not going to let it go."
Q: Any fearless predictions for next season?
A: "This is the year the Raiders can change things around. I know they haven't had the best of years here the past few years but that can all change. Who would have thought Arizona would have gone to the playoffs coming off the season they had? It doesn't matter about the previous records. I'm excited about the players we're playing with. There's going to be some good ball played."
NFL.com
New Raiders left tackle Khalif Barnes.
New Raiders left tackle Khalif Barnes wants to apologize for not calling right away for a previously scheduled phone interview.
"I just get caught up in training and it's like tunnel vision, that's all I see," Barnes said after coming up for air three weeks into offseason voluntary workouts. "Sorry 'bout that, it won't happen again."
He also wants everyone to know that he's here to play left tackle, as opposed to the widely assumed right. So if Mario Henderson wants to be the starter at that position, he'll have to go throw Barnes, a four-year starter with the Jaguars who signed a one-year deal with Oakland last month.
Barnes took some time to answer five burning questions as the Raiders prepare for the NFL Draft.
Q: Any experience with the zone blocking scheme?
A: A ton of experience. That's all we did in Jacksonville. I've been going through a few plays here already and like what I see. It's something I'm very good at and something I can get better at. It gives you a chance to get running off the ball. Looking around, we've got a lot of athletic linemen here."
Q: Tom Cable, the offensive line coach turned head coach?
A: "He's a player's coach. He's an offensive line guy. He understands how we work, how we think. He sees things I can already fix so I can become more explosive. I can see and feel the difference already. At one point, you get comfortable playing in a certain stance and a certain way, but the guys coached the positon ... little nuggets here and there can help you out and elevate your game."
Q: With a one-year deal, plan on sticking around?
A: "I know I have a lot of work to do and a lot of individual goals I want to accomplish. I can be one of those tackles thay can stay there for another nine years. You look at guys like Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden, guys that stayed in one place for 13 years. I've started four years but I know I have a lot more to do and have a chance to be really good."
Q: Tom Cable said you'll compete at left tackle, but some think you'll be on the right side. Your plans?
A: "I'm so determined to be this franchise's left tackle for the next nine years. I know that's a big challenge but that's my goal. What better place to be a dominant left tackle than with the Raiders? I get a chance to come in here and start I'm not going to let it go."
Q: Any fearless predictions for next season?
A: "This is the year the Raiders can change things around. I know they haven't had the best of years here the past few years but that can all change. Who would have thought Arizona would have gone to the playoffs coming off the season they had? It doesn't matter about the previous records. I'm excited about the players we're playing with. There's going to be some good ball played."
Five Qs with Ike Ekejiuba
Raiders special team star Isaiah Ekejiuba didn't have to come back to this place, he really didn't.
SFGate.com
Raiders special team captain Isaiah Ekejiuba.
As an unrestricted free agent, he was unsigned and free to leave when the market opened Feb. 27. By midnight, his agent Steve Wasielewski had fielded several calls and had multiple offers on the table in no time.
The Raiders delivered a deal that showed how badly they wanted Ekejiuba back, making it easy for the team co-captain to re-sign by offering him a three-year, $5.4 million deal with a $1.25 million signing bonus and $2.45 million frontloaded in the first year.
That's a record deal, by the way, for a pure special teams player outside of kickers and punters. It's a whopping deal considering Ekejiuba has played 18 defensive snaps in four years.
"The Raiders wanted him back and Isaiah wanted to stay," Wasielewski said. "They made an offer that made it easy for him."
With the ink well-dried on the deal, Ekejiuba took time out from voluntary offseason workouts in Alameda to answer five burning questions.
Q: The Raiders re-signed every core member of a very strong special teams unit, most recently Sam Williams. Thoughts?
A: "It's wonderful. It gives us that extra year we played together. I don't have to worry about what Sam Williams is doing because I played 16 games with him. Our core guys are back and we going to be just that much more dangerous."
Q: The NFL passed several rules that make certain special-team fixtures illegal. Let's start with the abolishment of three-man wedges on kickoffs.
A: "Me running down on kickoffs, I'm glad. I don't want to run into a wedge. But some of the smaller returners need a wedge to protect themselves. Guys may be taking open shots at them. The whole protection issue with the wedge is why they did it, but if you don't have thaqt wedge of protection, somebody's running full speed at an 180-pound returner. It's give or take. Are you going to protect the guys smashing into the wedge and hurt the returner? One way or the other, you expose somebody."
Q: What about the rule that doesn't allow teams to load up on one side for onsides kickoffs?
A: "Onsides kicks have won or lost a lot of games. This is something you practice every day. I didn't think it was that bad. Now, if you have five people to one side and have a good kicker like we do, it can work to our benefit. (Sebastian Janikowski) can onside kick to both sides. But for some teams, sometimes five people might not do it. I don't know why that special teams' rule came about but the way it was was fine with me."
Q: How nice is it to be on a win streak that will last at least eight months for a change?
A: "It's crazy. It's been awhile since we even won a December game, period. It's been awhile since we ended the season on a winning note so it's a good feeling. You can go into the offseason knowing what you need to fix but you have momentum."
Q: Eighteen-game season: good idea?
A: "Man, I don't know how I feel about it. It's a very long season already, so if you have a few more games ... and if you're in the playoffs, you're tired. The more games you play, the longer it's going to take for your body to recover in the offseason, so I don't know."
Raiders special team star Isaiah Ekejiuba didn't have to come back to this place, he really didn't.
SFGate.com
Raiders special team captain Isaiah Ekejiuba.
As an unrestricted free agent, he was unsigned and free to leave when the market opened Feb. 27. By midnight, his agent Steve Wasielewski had fielded several calls and had multiple offers on the table in no time.
The Raiders delivered a deal that showed how badly they wanted Ekejiuba back, making it easy for the team co-captain to re-sign by offering him a three-year, $5.4 million deal with a $1.25 million signing bonus and $2.45 million frontloaded in the first year.
That's a record deal, by the way, for a pure special teams player outside of kickers and punters. It's a whopping deal considering Ekejiuba has played 18 defensive snaps in four years.
"The Raiders wanted him back and Isaiah wanted to stay," Wasielewski said. "They made an offer that made it easy for him."
With the ink well-dried on the deal, Ekejiuba took time out from voluntary offseason workouts in Alameda to answer five burning questions.
Q: The Raiders re-signed every core member of a very strong special teams unit, most recently Sam Williams. Thoughts?
A: "It's wonderful. It gives us that extra year we played together. I don't have to worry about what Sam Williams is doing because I played 16 games with him. Our core guys are back and we going to be just that much more dangerous."
Q: The NFL passed several rules that make certain special-team fixtures illegal. Let's start with the abolishment of three-man wedges on kickoffs.
A: "Me running down on kickoffs, I'm glad. I don't want to run into a wedge. But some of the smaller returners need a wedge to protect themselves. Guys may be taking open shots at them. The whole protection issue with the wedge is why they did it, but if you don't have thaqt wedge of protection, somebody's running full speed at an 180-pound returner. It's give or take. Are you going to protect the guys smashing into the wedge and hurt the returner? One way or the other, you expose somebody."
Q: What about the rule that doesn't allow teams to load up on one side for onsides kickoffs?
A: "Onsides kicks have won or lost a lot of games. This is something you practice every day. I didn't think it was that bad. Now, if you have five people to one side and have a good kicker like we do, it can work to our benefit. (Sebastian Janikowski) can onside kick to both sides. But for some teams, sometimes five people might not do it. I don't know why that special teams' rule came about but the way it was was fine with me."
Q: How nice is it to be on a win streak that will last at least eight months for a change?
A: "It's crazy. It's been awhile since we even won a December game, period. It's been awhile since we ended the season on a winning note so it's a good feeling. You can go into the offseason knowing what you need to fix but you have momentum."
Q: Eighteen-game season: good idea?
A: "Man, I don't know how I feel about it. It's a very long season already, so if you have a few more games ... and if you're in the playoffs, you're tired. The more games you play, the longer it's going to take for your body to recover in the offseason, so I don't know."
I think he just has bad hands
I remember watchin him play last season and seeing him drop plenty of easy passes that went right through his hands
and like someone else in here mentioned... Russell has a fuckin cannon... which is gonna make it harder for him to catch his passes
I mean don't get me wrong... I wouldn;t mind having him on the team... but I just wouldn't wanna give up too much for him
I remember watchin him play last season and seeing him drop plenty of easy passes that went right through his hands
and like someone else in here mentioned... Russell has a fuckin cannon... which is gonna make it harder for him to catch his passes
I mean don't get me wrong... I wouldn;t mind having him on the team... but I just wouldn't wanna give up too much for him