Bruce Gradkowski is “punctual.” That’s the word used by KNRB 680/1050 AM’s The Razor and Mr. T Show.
“We are a good football team and the only thing we have to work on is being consistent and that’s going to be the number one goal this year,” said Bruce Gradkowski, the fan favorite choice to be the starting QB for the Oakland Raiders this year.
“I know no different than to be a blue collar guy, to work hard…but if you just keep working hard, good things will come, and you’ll get what you deserve,” said Gradkowski.
“In my heart, I wanna be ...
Many Raider fans are under the train of thought that the Khalif Barnes re-signing means the Raiders won't draft an OT in the first round. They are assuming Mario Henderson and Khalif Barnes will be the Raiders starting tackles.
But is that a good idea?
There are a fair share of arguments for and against Barnes, here's a look at some of them.
First the good.
Barnes was a great offensive tackle in college and has near ideal size at 6'5'' 325. He was good enough to be picked in the second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars starting 13 games as a rookie.
Barnes quickly ...
When it comes to the Raiders QB competition you keep hearing that Bruce Gradkowski has the heart to be the starting QB. You also hear that JaMarcus Russell lacks heart, and the work ethic, and the ability to read defenses.
Sometimes I wonder what the definition of having heart really means, and why people like to say that Russell lacks heart. From what I have seen the last three years, Russell has shown that he has more heart than he is given credit for.
Before Russell became the full time starter in 2008, the Raiders had a five-year streak of losing 11 ...
The NFL Combine is behind us and it was very interesting in many ways. There were a number of players that really showed what kind of athletes they are.
We have also entered into the first part of free agency. There have been some big signings. I was hoping for a few of them to be with the Silver and Black.
Here is a new mock draft with big twist. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think of it. Without further ado, here we go.Begin Slideshow
Here we go again, Raider Nation.
Another year of anticipating whether Al Davis will have a moment of clarity and hit a home run in the draft rather than squander top picks.
I say top picks because despite popular perception, the Raiders have done well in later rounds, but they have had some high-profile blunders.
Well, in this day and age of the NFL, many fans give up on players after half a season, when the reality of the NFL is that most NFL players still need two to three seasons of playing before they can be adequately assessed.
This, though, is my mock ...
While most teams are making headlines by adding players to their rosters, the Raiders have made headlines by doing the opposite. In a weeks time, the Raiders have released Justin Fargas, Javon Walker, Greg Ellis and have lost Cornell Green to the Buffalo Bills via free agency.
Fargas led the Raiders in carries, and was tied for most rushing touchdowns. Greg Ellis was the starting defensive end, and was tied for the team lead in sacks. Cornell Green was the starting tackle, and Javon Walker was, well nobody knew where he was.
In most cases when you lose players that contribute that many ...
Creating depth at positions of need.
The eighth pick in the draft is high enough that it will produce a quality player. However, it is far enough out of the top five that it may not yield a player at a position of need that is worthy of a top 10 pick.
The consensus among fans and experts seems to suggest that the Raiders most urgent needs are offensive tackle, defensive tackle, middle linebacker, and cornerback. There are some good players at these positions that will be available when Oakland gets their turn at the podium, but most of them ...
I also contemplated the kids game "Red Rover, Red Rover, send the A's offense on over!" The last few years I'd say the offense has bounced harmlessly off of the locked-together arms of the opposing side.
Spring training is the time where hope springs eternal. There's always, "We got a new hitting coach!", or "We added some big bats!", or "Eric Chavez will finally be healthy this year!". I've been amongst the group of A's fans that have been saying each year, "Well, the offense couldn't be worse than last year!". Ever since 2006, A's fans have consistently been disappointed. The ...
Darrius Heyward-Bey was a huge reach and colossal mistake as the No. 7 pick in last year's NFL Draft. Everyone but Al Davis knew it at the time.
DHB has always been a better physical specimen than football player and his production has never matched his talent level. I'm not going to suggest that he's a superstar in waiting. At the same time, I've done a couple dynasty startup drafts in the past month and I'm wondering if his value has slid to the point where he might actually be a good buy low candidate. I just got him ...
Oh, what might have been.
Oakland today made the news pretty clear that, when the Raiders had signed Javon Walker for Randy Moss-like money, they were hoping more than predicting good things.
Javon, who had decent seasons in Green Bay and Denver before his personal demons unraveled his life, was supposed to be our go-to guy in Oakland. Ronald Curry was playing out the string and Jerry Porter was an afterthought. Javon Walker was in the right place at the right time.
Wrong.
Besides the episode in Las Vegas and his conflicting problems with the coaches, Al Davis gave Walker a chance that first ...