The Official Oakland Raiders 2012 Offseason Thread

[nrodgers]

reports are philly is only looking for a 5th or 6th rounder for asante samuel. do you think the raiders should take a look at him since our secondary is lacking?/

 

[Unk1ne]

sure why not

 

[REACHTMO]

Take a look yes, pay him a bunch of money no. IF we can someone how convince him to play in oakland on the cheap, thatd be cool, but it aint gonna happen

 

[MaC A$$ ViC]

i dont see it happening, not with our cap room situation, we barely have wiggle room and we still need to sign draftees. i think bartell and spencer will start, with the young bucks learning behind them.

 

[Unk1ne]

i think we should jus keep what we got untill next year

 

[REACHTMO]

Yeah, hopefully we'll have a lot more money to work with next year's off season. We wont be making any crazy multimillion signings in the middle of the season on dudes who are sitting on the couch with reggie in office.

 

[Chree]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/23/nfl-tries-to-forget-jamarcus-russell/

LOL
NFL tries to forget JaMarcus Russell
Posted by Mike Florio on April 23, 2012, 3:49 PM EDT
JakeLong

If you’re in New York for the draft this week and you happen to pass by the NFL’s store in Manhattan, look up.

A reader passed along a photo of the images above the shop, which was opened earlier this month in advance of the draft.

The display contains shots of the first overall picks from 2005 through 2011. Except for one: JaMarcus Russell.

And here’s what makes it even more glaring. The display identifies Jake Long as the first overall pick in 2007.

It may not have been an accident. Three faces appear on one side of the display, and three appear on the other, with the 2012 NFL Draft logo in between. And so it goes Alex Smith in 2005, Mario Williams in 2006, Jake Long in 2007, draft logo in the middle, Matthew Stafford in 2009, Sam Bradford in 2010, and Cam Newton in 2011. By putting “2007″ next to Jake Long, the absence of 2008 is less noticeable in the symmetrical arrangement of photos.

As to the omission of Russell, it could be that the league has no authority to display his image, now that he is no longer party to the group licensing arrangement between the NFL and the NFLPA. Regardless of the reason, he’s being treated as if he never existed.

Raiders fans have been trying to do that for at least three years.

 

[REACHTMO]

LOL. Last time i seen jamarcus was at the andre ward fight in one of the earlier rounds of the super six toruny. He got booed and a few people threw shit at him, I dont think he even stayed in the front rows for the main event.

Hes not accepted round these parts ya here

 

[corinthian]

almost 100% turnout for the first voluntary mini camp

Coach Allen gets impressive turnout at mini camp

By Steve Corkran
Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 5:23 pm in Oakland Raiders.

The media were not permitted access to the Raiders first mini camp last week. First-year coach Dennis Allen declined to divulge the size of the turnout, other than to say he was “pleased.”
A scan of numerous pictures on the Raiders website revealed the following 50 players in attendance for some or all of the three-day affair in Alameda:

SPECIALISTS
Shane Lechler
Sebastian Janikowski
Jon Condo

QUARTERBACKS
Carson Palmer
Terrelle Pryor
Rhett Bomar

RUNNING BACKS
Darren McFadden
Taiwan Jones
Mike Goodson
Lonyae Miller

FULLBACKS
Manase Tonga

WIDE RECEIVERS
Denarius Moore
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Louis Muphy
Eddie McGee
Jacoby Ford

TIGHT ENDS
David Ausberry
Richard Gordon
Brandon Myers

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Mike Brisiel
Alex Parsons
Cooper Carlisle
Jared Veldheer
Khalif Barnes
Stefen Wisniewski
Zach Hurd

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Richard Seymour
Dave Tollefson
Lamarr Houston
Desmond Bryant
Jamie Cumbie
Mason Brodine
Travis Ivey
Hall Davis

LINEBACKERS
Rolando McClain
Travis Goethel
Aaron Curry
Philip Wheeler
Carl Ihenacho

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Michael Huff
DeMarcus Van Dyke
Mike Mitchell
Matt Giordano
Ron Bartell
Curtis Taylor
Shawntae Spencer
Pat Lee
Brandon Underwood
Chimdi Chekwa
Bryan McCann

As you can see, that’s quite a turnout for a “voluntary” mini camp. Notable exceptions include defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and fullback Marcel Reece. Neither player showed up in any of the pictures scanned.
Reece’s absence isn’t a surprise, given he hasn’t signed the one-year tender as a restricted free agent. Not sure if Kelly was there, and he just didn’t make it into any of the pictures.
The big surprise was the presence of defensive lineman Desmond Bryant. He, too, has yet to sign his one-year tender. However, he signed a waiver and opted to participate.
That’s the kind of dedication Allen no doubt is looking for.
“I thought we had a great turnout. We had two weeks of an offseason conditioning program and today was the first day of the voluntary minicamp,” Allen said in a conference call last Tuesday. “Overall I’ve been very pleased with the turnout. Guys are working very hard to try to get better.”

 

[corinthian]

good read here on reggie:


Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie seeking students of the game

inShare




Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie seeking students of the game

By Jerry McDonald


Set aside the usual standards for assessing talent in the NFL draft, and the difference in approach for the Raiders under first-year general manager Reggie McKenzie can be distilled into a single sentence:
Only self-starters need apply.
Dating back to 1963, when the draft was first run by late owner Al Davis, the Raiders were known for coveting the biggest, fastest and strongest athletes. As for the more intangible qualities of work ethic and attitude, it was up to the staff to coach it out of them.
McKenzie loves speed, strength and size, but is confident in his ability to measure heart and zeal as much as a time in the 40-yard dash or a series of reps in the bench press.
"You can find that in guys pretty easily," McKenzie said. "Because if they don't love football, it shows up."
In a sense, it's a "takes one to know one" approach.
That's the picture that emerged through Interviews with those who have known McKenzie well dating back to his days as a high school and college athlete in Tennessee through his NFL career and eventual gradual climb up the ladder in Green Bay as a scout and personnel executive. The character traits McKenzie will be seeking in the draft are the same ones he possesses in abundance.
They happen to be the same qualities the Raiders have been lacking over nine consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance, with the high-water mark being 8-8 records in 2010 and 2011.
Raleigh McKenzie,
Reggie's twin brother, is a 17-year NFL veteran and an elementary school teacher and high school football coach in Herndon, Va. "I wasn't sure what Reggie was going to do when he was done playing," his brother said, "but I did know he'd be doing something in football because he loved it so much."
In contrast to the combative Davis, Reggie McKenzie, 49, rose through the ranks in Green Bay with an understated integrity.
"Reginald has always been as rock solid as you could ever imagine," said Sam Anderson, a retired former coach and school administrator from Knoxville who has known McKenzie since the eighth grade.
"He'll never change, said Seattle general manager John Schneider, who worked with McKenzie in Green Bay from 2004 through 2009. "He's very grounded, spiritual. A very, very sound individual."
A 10th-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1985, McKenzie started 32 games in his first two seasons before being slowed by a leg injury. He left the Raiders following the 1988 season, didn't play in a game with the Phoenix Cardinals while rehabbing in 1989-90, then played briefly with the 49ers in 1992.
Working as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1993, McKenzie ran into Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf, who was scouting Charlie Garner and Heath Shuler. Wolf was a personnel executive with the Raiders when McKenzie was drafted.
A week later, Wolf called and offered McKenzie a job in scouting as a pro personnel assistant. He stayed for 17 years, becoming director of pro personnel in 1997 and director of football operations in 2008.
"I wasn't going to be a scout," McKenzie said. "It came knocking on my door."
When Raiders owner Mark Davis was looking for someone to run the football side of the organization after his father passed away on Feb. 8, he sought Wolf's input. McKenzie interviewed with Davis and former Raiders coach John Madden and got the job. No one else was interviewed.
"Reggie has the rare ability to determine who can and cannot play, and it's a skill he had very early on after I hired him with the Packers," Wolf said. "He was my right-hand guy there. I had a lot of faith in him as a personnel evaluator and relied on him heavily."
With the Raiders not having a pick until the third round, No. 95 overall, and having five total selections, it will be up to McKenzie to unearth production from non-premium picks.
Eliot Wolf, the son of Ron Wolf, joined the Packers in the scouting department in 2004, and said McKenzie's skill as an evaluator goes beyond identifying motivated players.
"He's one of those rare guys, and hopefully I'll get there some day, who can watch a short amount of film on a guy and you now what he is right away," Eliot Wolf said. "He'll watch more, but his first inclination is usually right on."
Larry Marmie, linebackers coach at Tennessee when McKenzie was a junior and senior, expects him to find players that mirror his own set of values.
"Any player will tell you they love playing football, but some of 'em love it on their own terms," said Marmie, a former head coach at Arizona State and NFL assistant. "Reggie's going to be looking for guys who love to play the game, love the preparation and the challenge.
"Because that's in his own makeup; he'll be good at recognizing those things."
McKenzie has been described as deliberate, methodical and laid-back. Raiders coach Dennis Allen joked that one of the first things he realized about his new boss was "he'll never die of stress."
At the same time, McKenzie managed to be an instant starter on a star-laden Los Angeles Raiders team loaded with big personalities simply by the way he carried himself.
"You realize very quickly that he's one of those guys you can immediately trust," said Vann McElroy, a former Raiders safety and now an NFL player agent. "It's hard to define that, but you find it in people who aren't arrogant, who don't make it about themselves, and who show up every day in a quiet way but don't put up with doing anything halfway."
Said former Raiders teammate Jerry Robinson, who served as an usher in McKenzie's wedding: "I remember Reggie being very studious, taking notes, doing film study. Now that I look back on it, he was doing more than just getting ready for a game. There was a purpose to it. Now we know what it was."

 

[corinthian]

We drafted cooper carlisle's replacement, bergstrom probably won't start this year unless someone gets injured. then take over next year.


also, looks like we're signing matty lionheart. lol, he'll do as a 3rd string qb. pryor better beat him out for that number 2 spot.

 

[MaC A$$ ViC]

I won't be surprised if he starts at LG from day 1. Hes 26, was the team leader and would fit nicely between wiz and veldheer.

 

[corinthian]

got a OLB, fuck yeah! miles burris from sdsu, wouldn't be surprised to see him starting this year. as week as our linebacking corps has been, this was a huge need.

From Greg Cossell, NFL films:

Diamonds in the rough.

Miles Burris:

The San Diego State linebacker was one of my favorite players to watch on tape. I loved his intense, urgent playing style.

He primarily aligned outside on the right, almost always in a two-point stance, but was at times utilized as a movable chess piece all over the defense.

Burris was not a quick-twitch, sudden athlete, but he played with balance, body control and play speed. He was more of a speed/power rusher than a bend-the-edge/quickness rusher.

I’m struggling to transition him to a specific position in the NFL.

Can he be a rush linebacker? He might be too small, and lack flexibility and burst off the edge. Is he a strong-side linebacker in a 4-3 base defense? A middle linebacker?.

I don’t know yet, but Burris will play in the NFL.

sorry ravens, we got your boy!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ould-make-miles-burris-the-steal-of-the-draft

 

[corinthian]

Jerry McDonald ‏ S @shitface mcd Close
Raiders traded pick No. 148 for No. 158 and No. 230 . . . whoever they liked at 148 they must think will still be around . . .

 

[corinthian]

so we got a project DE jack crawford from penn state. I doubt this dude ever cracks the starting lineup. seems like a special teams pickup, possible he'll be moved to pass rushing linebacker whenever we run 3-4.

 

[MaC A$$ ViC]

he's only played football a few years, doubt he'll be something other than a backup, but hopefully he continues to improve

 

[MaC A$$ ViC]

juron criner wr arizons

i didnt think he would go after a wr but we'll see, our last 5th round receiver wasnt too shabby

 

[corinthian]

I don't get that pick at all, we don't need any more young receivers. then again, reggie did pick donald driver in the 7th when he was with green bay. so who knows

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

I like how we are getting smart players and not just athletic bodies. It's the intangibles that make the difference...

 

[corinthian]

that WR we took may end up being the steal of the draft:

04/04/2012 - I really enjoy asking some retired football people to grade some players for me this time of year. They aren't tainted by the media reputations formulated about players, They simply watch a lot of game tape without former knowledge and then we discuss what they watched. This week I had an old secondary player/coach watch many of the wide receivers in the 2012 draft class. I knew he would like Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon and Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, but who else would jump out at the old pro? As my old boss, the late Dick Steinberg would say "pay attention to the scout that has a different opinion than all the rest of the evaluators. Maybe we should restudy the guy and try and see what he sees.

"What if I told you there is a wide receiver that at 6'3", 225 lbs. and could jump 39 inches vertically, which in basketball terms means his elbows are above the rim. He has bigger hands than Justin Blackmon, and even though he has 209 receptions and 32 touchdowns in his career, he is thought of as a fourth- or fifth-round pick because of a 40 time. The former scout/coach came to me for discussion with the following report: The wide receiver has good hands, good open field skills, quick feet, plays hard, gets open, competes for the ball and is more than a willing blocker. He is a good fit as a 'Z' in a west coast system. I had my old scout also evaluate Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd during the same session and he was still high on the mystery man. The receiver's name is Juron Criner from Arizona, and his draft status ranges from the 10th-best receiver to not even in the top 20 according to some draft analysts. Some describe him as a guy with subpar straight line speed, relies too heavily on his size down field and inconsistent hands. Go back and look at the report on Marques Colston of the Saints from 2006 and it's similar. That report was wrong and damaged Colston enough.

-Pat Kirwan, CBS Sports