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Archive for March, 2010
Some say that a man is known by the company he keeps. Nnamdi Asomugha has been known to be in the company of great men in America and in Nigeria. He seems to be using those contacts to help students and others. He is seen as a man who cares for people. So much bad press is given to stars and professional athletes that it just makes sense to focus on those who care about students and people in general. Asomugha has a first name which is the same as one of the names of the airport in Abuja, Nigeria. How do ...
JaMarcus Russell should be in Oakland on Tuesday, said Hall of Famer Willie Brown during an interview on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Monday. Not only will he be showing up, but he will be showing up in shape. “You’ll be surprised when you see him,” Brown said. “It’s quite a bit of weight that he’s lost...I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared to last year." “The most important thing is he’s getting in shape. Not only losing weight, but getting in shape. He’s watching his ...
Normally I wouldn’t get too concerned over a rough spring training start, but in this case, I am very concerned. Oakland A’s pitcher Ben Sheets was roughed up for a third straight spring training start on Monday. Not only was he roughed up, but he was pretty much torched. Sheets gave up eight hits, 10 runs (nine earned), and didn’t record an out against the Cincinnati Reds yesterday. Sheets’ spring training ERA now stands at a healthy 31.15. One can make the argument that Sheets is getting the rust off, but this is his third start now, and it looks like he is ...
So much attention is being spent on the quarterback position with the Oakland Raiders. Let's change up a bit and spend some time looking at the cornerbacks.  The reports even tally the tardies of those who may be late to practice. Some say that JaMarcus Russell has not reported to practice at this time. The question is, will Russell come up to par and give us his best performance in 2010? When some of these young men were in high school, three tardies were counted as one absence. In college, most professors don't have time to count tardies. Some professors go so far as to lock ...
Al Davis finally got one right.  The Raider Nation has to be excited upon hearing that the Browns traded their 2009 sack leader Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders for a third round pick.  Wimbley, 26, has 26.5 sacks in four seasons of play to go along with a pick and 7 forced fumbles.   Drafted by Cleveland in the first round of the 2006 draft at No. 13, he played OLB in their 3-4 scheme.  He played as a pass rushing down lineman during his college career at Florida State, however, and it appears that he'll play left end for the Silver ...
Up until Sunday afternoon’s stunning trade that saw the Oakland Raiders acquire Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley for a third-round pick, things had been pretty ho-hum in Raider Nation.   You know, addition by subtraction seemed to be the prevailing thought in Alameda.   Pink slips for Javon Walker, Greg Ellis, Justin Fargas, and Gerard Warren signaled that Al Davis was tightening his belt—not trying to break the chains of a seven-year losing streak.   We’ll forget that. The Raiders have made a smart move by bringing the former Florida State pass-rusher to Oakland. And in my humble opinion, Davis isn’t done orchestrating the team's make over—not by a long ...
There is a lot of buzz going around Raider Nation this offseason. It almost reminds me of the movie Twilight's buzz between Team Jacob and Team Edward, but in Raiders land its Team Bruce vs Team JaMarcus. Cable has made it clear that it will be an open competition and he'll let the best man win. Exciting isn't it? Well, not exactly if you look at the reality of the situation. Having two quarterbacks compete can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the quality of the two players. The Raiders don't exactly have a Brett Favre vs Aaron Rodgers, or a ...
The Oakland Raiders traded a third round pick for linebacker Kamerion Wimbley yesterday in their first major acquisition of the offseason. There is little doubt that Oakland needed help at linebacker, or that they got good value in the trade, but the move itself raises some important questions as to where the Raiders are going defensively in the coming season. The first question is how they plan to use him. Wimbley was a defensive end in college, but since he was drafted he has been an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. Given that the Raiders already have a very similar player ...
At this moment in time there is more controversy surrounding JaMarcus Russell than any other player wearing Silver & Black. Some of it is harsh criticism; some of it is blind devotion. Those that criticize him are pointing to every aspect of his life. His game, his behavior, and spending habits. Those that are blindly supporting him are primarily using his unrealized physical potential and the color of his skin to make their case. I wrote an article called, "JaMarcus Russell: A Coach's perspective" that focused on his mechanics and nothing more. I was fair and objective in my assessment and never ...
Here is another Mock Draft for the Oakland Raiders.  Again, I will keep this relatively simple.  I decided to write another one because pre-draft information can be unreliable at best, and tends to change almost daily. There have been some ideas flying around on the net about what the Raiders should do to haul in a boatload of players. I'd like to keep this somewhat linear.  Some of the ideas I have read would rely on too many dynamics all lining up just right for the Raiders.  Realistically, many of the ideas are improbable. That's coming from me, and I often seek ideas ...