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Archive for March, 2010
Oakland Raiders fans, are you enjoying the hiatus from this year-round thing called the NFL? Hey, it’s a good time to take a break—if your name is Tiger Woods. But not if you’re Al Davis and we’re into the first week of March.   Memo to Al: There’s this little thing called “free agency” and it’s passing your team by.   Usually, no news is good news, but not when it comes to the reshaping of a marquee franchise. Yes, I know, the Raiders have been there and done that and they flopped with free agency. Nobody wants to rehash the DeAngelo Hall story, so I ...
The temptation is too great. So, investing a little time in understanding some of the new talent that is being tested during the NFL's annual Scouting Combine is something I have to take a look at. This article focuses on potential wide receivers in the NFL, especially those who may fit with the Oakland Raiders. Since the list is long I decided to partition the 44 potential NFL players into four groups. Here is the first group with some of their statistics:   ht           wt    games   caught  passes         yds             td   Ajiroytutu 6'3" 211 46 129 1997 12   Alexander 6'4"  205 47 191 2778 22   Arnett 6'1" 186 27 78 1052 9 * Banks 5'7" 150 24 123 1754 10 2009 Bell 6'3" 210 11 51 958 13   Benn 6'1" 221 37 159 2221 7 * Boateng 6'1" 209 23 42 630 7 * Briscoe 6'2" 205 37 219 3240 31 * Brown 5'10" 183 41 305 3199 22   Bryant 6'2" 217 28 147 2425 29 * All of these guys aspire to become wide receivers. I have my preferences. For ...
The former Raider and penalty-prone offensive tackle Cornell Green has signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Buffalo Bills, according to Raiders beat writer Patrick Patterson. Green was a favorite of head coach Tom Cable, but nobody can argue that his knucklehead penalties at the most inopportune times will not be missed. This is just another step in the Al Davis youth movement. With the recent release of Justin Fargas, Javon Walker, and Greg Ellis, the Raiders roster just got significantly younger. “I've been in the league 10 years now and one thing they’ve encouraged me to bring here is the leadership I do ...
The first couple days of NFL free agency have come and gone. The big names are coming off the free agency board fast, and Al Davis and the Raiders have yet to make any big signings. Davis has made headlines by signing Sebastian Janikowski to a record deal, and by franchise-tagging Richard Seymour earlier in the offseason. These were very important to get done and they were the correct moves. Last year, Davis surprised everyone by keeping two other key players, Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler, on the roster. This shows that Davis' priorities are to keep and take care of his own ...
What constitutes a great game? That question can be answered in many different ways depending upon who you ask. For a Forty-Niner fan, Super Bowl XXIV was a great game. For a Bronco fan...not so much. I consider a great game to be a game that I can enjoy whether my favorite team is involved or not. To me, Super Bowl XXXVIII was a great game even if it wasn't for Panther fans . It had everything that makes football great. Back and forth, lead changes, one great play followed by another, culminating in a game winning ...
Michigan has a long history of getting some top high school prospects from the state of California and hoping they become college football stars. Michigan lost out on the 2010 version when Sean Parker headed to Washington, the 2009 version is Tate Forcier, and Donovan Warren became a Wolverine in the 2007 class. There was also a guy named Tom Brady that came from California to play in Ann Arbor.Michigan fans will remember a California football star in 1998 that came to Michigan with high expectations named Justin Fargas. Justin was the son of TV Star "Huggy Bear" from Starsky ...
This is the HARDEST pick bar none. Bar none! It is so hard because Al Davis is about as predictable as the lottery. You never know who he'll draft. This is a guy who drafted a punter in the first round of the 1973 draft who had a broken foot! Thankfully for Al, it was Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter of all time. Throw in Darrius Heyward-Bey last year at wide receiver over Michael Crabtree just because Bey had the fastest forty time coming out of Maryland. Well, after consulting with fellow colleague and Raider writer Jay Dee, I have come to a conclusion ...
Like many Raider fans, I eagerly awaited the start of the free agent signing period. I fully expected Al Davis to quickly make a big splash with a flashy signing. I'm still waiting. Are the Raiders showing a newfound discipline? Is Al out of money? Do they even have any players targeted? These are the questions that hopefully will be answered leading up to the draft. So far, I'm actually happy with our team's inactivity. Dunta Robinson is the only player who has signed, as of now, that I would have liked to see in silver and black. Playing opposite Nnamdi I ...
In some cultures a man's name somehow directs his destiny. What might the name "Bush" mean for Michael Bush, an Oakland Raider who managed to increase his statistics from 2008 to 2009? Let's take a look. Here is a portion of Bush's data: We certainly don't want to focus on "beating around the bush," which means that we don't get to the point. Here is what we want: In the 2010 season let our guys ambush the opponent and get touchdowns to the dismay of the opponent. That's stating it bluntly and directly. Also, we don't want to focus on "to beat the bushes for," which ...
Now that Justin Fargas is gone, the media and others believe that Darren McFadden will share playing time with Michael Bush since Tom Cable may use a two-back rotation. Darren McFadden was a No. 4 pick of the 2008 NFL draft. Injuries slowed him down during last season, but it is believed that he has the potential of becoming an outstanding Oakland Raider. McFadden has a number of indicators of great potential, including a Wonderlic score of 17. Before any of us make a judgement about a score of 17 on the 12 minute, 50 question Wonderlic Test, it is suggested that ...