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I have was saying it before the start of the season last year but we have some talent at D and mostly young talent. The difference in play after Norton was fired really does hint to what the Raiders can be with good coaching. I don't think they are too far off from being a very good defensive team. And if we have a good defensive team to add to the good offensive team we have then we will do some damage.
Not trying to bust your balls, just trying to understand your post. What is meant when you say "its time to put in time and effort?"
Any major defensive improvements are going to come from players already on the team. Players drafted here need to step up.
All that being said, there will be two new starting corners this season. And the safeies are unsettled as well. Yeah we expect Joseph at SS, but how does the new regime feel about Launi and Nelson? What If Fitzpatrick falls to them?
Conley didn't get a good chance last year with distraction and injury that kept him from learning and playing. He showed a bit when he did play. Enough to expect more given health and time learning the NFL and Guenthers system.
I completely forgot about Obi. Where he fits in is a huge question mark (if at all). Conley will get every opportunity to lock down one CB spot. If he can get past his mysterious "shin" injury. I've never been a fan of Sean Smith, I do recognize the fact he played better under Pagano, but he is gone and I wonder if he could beat Orlando Brown in the 40... Add his off field issues, I say cut him and move on like they did with Amerson.
I believe it was the Apache who had a saying: "Ik aa'ye iidenka ashii nadndaal. Ei nanlwogo aniile shiiyii'ii."
And it doesn't happen until it happens but strong rumors that Trumaine Johnson is headed to us or Niners. If us that goes a long way to shore up the secondary. I think if we sign him Smith is gone and they go in with Johnson/Conley at CB and I am thinking their preferred safety lineup is Joseph/Obi. Of course, we never know how things may change with FA coming up and then draft.
honestly i dont have the answers ....all i know is every year ,no matter who we draft on Defense, we suck....something isnt right and they need to figure out what....they seem to have put some great pieces in place to make the offence click....just cant seem to do that with the D
There are going to be lots of D players available at the 10 spot I prefer LB, DT then CB but as long as that player drafted at 10 is a good starter from day one, I will be happy.
I don't think you can say Conley was a miss. Things got started late with him then he had that injury that kept him out and he got shut down quickly.
Agree, Conley and Obi will get a Mulligan, as well as Lee and Vanderdoos due to injury. On the other hand, I bet Gruden puts James, Calhoun, Ward and Edwards on notice from day one.
Boy, isn't this the truth, especially the first line and the last. The Raiders have Mack who could start for any team, Irvin who could start for some teams and Bowman who could start for a few. That's it. 3 down, 8 to fill. Hopefully Conley comes to camp healthy and ready to play like the first round pick he was. He could be huge. He needs to be huge. A long, long way to go with that unit.
Good breakdown. All 4 players appear to be playmakers at positions of need. I don’t have a strong preference, I just want a playmaker.
Interesting. This is the kind of data it would be interesting to have a whole lot more of (statistical data concerning the type of players Reggie targets, aggregated from his time as a front office decision maker), to see how heavily the arrival of Gruden has impacted the draft strategy (i.e., how far off from McKenzie's statistical average does our draft go this year). It could be true that McKenzie discounts sub 6' DBs, but maybe Gruden is won over enough by Ward to force that decision? Will be interesting to see if there are noticeable, "non-Reggie" picks this year.
Very interesting. This would obviously change our draft strategy if we had him in pocket. I would certainly feel better about going LB/DB with our first two picks, at least.
The talk of him being a locker room problem -- coming in late to meetings, not showing up at all, etc. -- doesn't sit well with me. We need less guys like this, and more team-first players. Yes, he plugs up a big need at DT, but injuries aside, after his initial Pro Bowl year and earning a big 5 year contract, has he really shown consistent production?
The Raiders don't have to re-sign Lynch and Crabtree they are already under contract, unless you mean re-structure their contracts?
The Raiders could use WR help since their WR corp is thin but Watkins is probably going to be somewhat out of the Raiders price range. Watkins is not without risk though. He has been a mystery since he entered the league. He has all the talent to be a WR1 but it has never quite shown up on the field.
Agreed -- Watkins is super intriguing as the talent seems to be there. But I'd rather take a shot where we've seen that talent on the field in places. Can't say I've seen that from Sammy, whether because of injury or not. He just doesn't seem to live up to the hype. I do hope Crabs can get some of his 2016 form back because we definitely need him. Our cupboard is bare there.DocHolliday said:
Great call-out.
Would rather go after a solid CB like Johnson than a bigger ticket item up front like Wilkerson/Richardson -- we need much more help in the defensive backfield as we learn more about our current safeties' abilities to stay healthy and nasty all season.
Patterson has the speed but I can't remember them using him as a downfield threat much last season or with the Vikings. Patterson has the speed for sure but I think maybe because of his use in the past with the Vikings and us- I think he is that gadget/throw a wrench into a D scheme guy. Maybe they don't go sniffing a WR in FA. I don't see us spending a high pick on one unless the value is just blatantly obvious.
Good info. IIRC Kirwin said a team needs around 5 million for the rookie draft and signings off the street. Assuming that is correct and Kahlil is resigned that doesn't leave much for FA shopping. They need to renegotiate some of the existing deals to get cap room to compete for the top FAs. I imagine Carr's contract is consuming a lot of their cap space. Can they get him to redo his deal along the lines of what Berady does?
I think there is no way we have Smith and Lynch on our team with their current deals. Crabtree would be a prime candidate for restructuring since it seems we are leaning towards keeping him. Most likely some other deals as well and some more cuts.
Well, you really never know what was attempted and what was not attempted in terms of trying to sign players. As for the CB, strong rumors have Trumaine deciding between us and the Niners. He is the cream of the crop at CB this year and I am sure it is not coming with any discount.
I think cutting Nelson is a given.
I agree, but more because I don't think we have a viable and dependable replacement right now than my love of what Autry can do on the field. He's kinda indispensible -- or at least a risky cut given the uncertainty behind him.
Zac Brown signed for a little over 3 million. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/washington-redskins/zach-brown-9862/ He would have been a much better upgrade then Bowman IMO. It illustrates what I am saying about Reggie. He may be too frugal to compete for the top tier FAs.
