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Oh yeah. Don't be too optimistic about the D this year. Al will never give up that side of the ball. That said, he has accumulated a lot of beasts on that side, even if Nnamdi leaves. Loving the depth and quality of the DL and I'm hopefully McClain will look better in his 2nd year. But same old boring predictable play calling that leaves all the beasts at the mercy of creative OCs. Single high safety on most downs with the four man rush and the prevent shell whenever leading.That said, I'm optimistic that Huge Action can lead the offense to a ton of points again this season. That guy is a stud play caller and I love his offense because it makes use of all offensive players as weapons from RB to TE to FB. I've wanted Al Saunders on the Raiders for years b/c he uses the same offensive approach and now we have him too. If they find a true WR1 to carry the passing game this could be an explosive offensive unit - they were #6 in the league last year w/out one. A lot of that also depends on Campbell and that's suspect of course at this point, but I'm optimistic about him too. This will be only the first (maybe second) time that he's had the same OC from one year to the next in his entire career, including college! I'm willing to give him some slack, especially since he played much better late last year. I love our RBs and Jacoby Ford is a force. OL needs seasoning, but maybe they'll add an FA to help.
Best first round pick in a long time by Al.
I will always feel that our defense has to have better players to be a great defense, that we are never going to out-scheme anyone. We've been running the same ####### D since 1985. I feel like Marshall probably got fired for being too much of his own man, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he said, "screw it, I am blitzing this week", and pissed off Big Al. Whereas I think Bres is a toady that won't ever be his own man.
He had Romotackle, Charles Woodson, and Rod Woodson last time he coached our defense. Best of all, he had Gannon and one of league's best offenses to save his rear end when he let the lead slip away. Yes, Bresnahan is overrated. I like having Woodson on the staff though.'massraider said:
Speed jumps out at you. But the frame and stick legs concern. At the pro level, to be a good DB, you need to be either a physical thug who disrupts the WR's patterns off the snap. (WR's hate this more than anything). Or you need to have speed and mirror the play. And there a handful of CB's on the planet who get by on mirroring and ball instincts. Senior production of only 2 int's concerns also. Got anyhing on Chekwa?
I agree that Zach Miller will be a wealthy man when Al Davis re-signs in FA. I think Satele should be re-signed because we don't know if Wiz II is ready for the starting job on day #1. Higgins is out of here. Agreed. Bush may be lost to FA, but that could open up room for TJ to get more touches. Al did overpay to keep his guys, and time will tell if they were good moves, but when the wild FA period finally opens, Al Davis will ahead of the curve as teams will eventually end up overpaying to get the prime FA's. So in the end, it may be that Al by overpaying outsmarted them all.
Not worried about Miller. Al will pay him to keep him. I'm a little worried about Bush though because he could be offered starter money to go elswhere. I love Bush and he is an excellent change of pace back and can fill in great if McFadden were to go down. I would be extremely worried if Taiwan Jones was our main backup if McFadden went down. Don't get me wrong I like what Taiwan Jones could bring but he is unproven at this point.'Garrett said:
There are a few starting gigs out there and I'm sure he will get some looks. I think he is more valued then your giving him credit for. That being said if Al Davis wants him bad enough he will sign him.
The first and third tender may not be in the mix after the next CBA is finalized.
SD really wanted him last season. I think he has perhaps more value in real NFL than in fantasy. He is at a minimum a short yardage and goalline back who can fill in for a starter, and at best, he is quite capable of being a four down back. I think if he is a Free Agent and not a RFA, Oakland will have a hard time keeping him.
That's not at all clear. He has four years of NFL service. It depends on whether they count his first year when he was on injured reserve. I am not a lawyer, but if he contests it, I suspect he wins that court case.
The new CBA is being negotiated right now. He wont have to hire a lawyer. All he can do is call the union rep. He can blame the NFLPA if he isnt given credit. If he even cares.
The list of deep throwers headlines Peyton Manning with the most deep throws in the NFL, but his completion percentage ranks him as 22nd. Alternatively, Vince Young has the best deep throw completion percentage, on roughly ¼ of the attempted passes by Peyton Manning. Any list that attempts to use any statistical analysis breaks down when you compare a Peyton Manning to a Vince Young. All the numbers don’t mean squat in the face of that comparison. No GM or armchair GM would trade a Manning for Young. That being said, no one will argue that Jason Campbell is anything but an ordinary NFL QB. But let’s also acknowledge his above average completion percentage, his mobility in the pocket, and ability to find the outlet receiver when he gets in trouble. Which can also be frustrating to see him checkdown in the face of phantom pressure, but it moves the chains. I’ll also acknowledge that Campbell doesn’t have the prettiest deep ball, but at least some of the blame has to go to the inconsistent wideouts who run poor routes and can’t get separation, or poor hands and “alligator arms”. Campbell zips a flat ball many times because he lacks trust with his receivers. He needs to know that he can put some air under the ball and the receiver will be able to fend off the DB if it is underthrown. It makes the long pass a low percentage throw, because it is inherently a conservative throw, (i.e., one that can’t be picked). His pass protection has been very poor at times, and some of those throws are really throw-aways, and that skews the percentage as well. He’s had to scramble out of broken protection too many times, and for long late passes to work, a combination of: (1) the perfect throw, (2) a receiver who has a great chemistry with the QB, and (3) timing have to be spot on. Campbell is a QB that thrives behind a solid run game. Give him that, and he is a good efficient component of the offense. When the ground game is working, he makes the throws that need to be made, and avoids the ones he shouldn’t. When the ground game is not working, you will see the worst of Jason Campbell. In that sense, he is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He certainly is not elite, and cannot carry any team with his play. At best, he is just good enough to be a game manager that facilitates the true offensive weapons to gauge a defense. At worst, he is an anchor to the offense, and sinks them with costly turnovers and field position blunders. There’s a real need for a good backup QB for the Raiders. Kyle Boller isn’t it. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good available QB’s out there in free agency. Or let’s just say that the list is uninspiring. Jason Campbell is at least an average, competent field general, and he has the tools in place to lead this team to the playoffs. He gives the Raiders a fighting chance, in the face of other teams who actually have franchise QB’s. He is highly underrated for what he does, and his criticisms go too far.
How would you feel about grabbing Pryor with a supplemental?He seems like potentially a good fit for Oakland as he wouldn't be a threat to Campbell in 2011 but he has some upside for 2012 and beyond. As a guy who has watched a lot of Pryor, the underestimated impact he has on the game is in the respect opposing DEs have to give him. They have to stay outside even on run plays because if Pryor fakes the handoff and bootlegs, he has legit 4.3 speed. I think he'd really help McFadden out if he ever got a chance in Oakland.
I would be excited to have him, if the price was right. I agree he has more NFL qb potential than he is getting credit for right now. I would rather have Pryor than Tebow as a prospect.
Mitchell should be ready to start at SS. Having Branch and Eugene compete at FS would likely give us simuliar production to what Huff provided there. I wont miss him.I read somewhere that some rule and Huff's contract would cost us over 6 million to retain him (before becoming an UFA). Huff aint worth half that much. Huff wants to come back but the money will be better spent elsewhere. Davis is letting his underperforming former first round picks like Russell and Gallery go for good reason. Our cap situation wont be known until the new CBA is out, RFAs are factored in, and high priced vets are cut. Aso's price tag wont be known until free agency is underway. If Aso leaves and we can somehow resign Huff for 3m I'd then be ok with him returning. Definately not a priority and I expect another team to make him a better offer anyway.Priority signings include Miller, Aso (try anyway), Barnes or M Henderson, Marcel Reece, Bush, and Ricky Brown. Yeah, Huff is pretty far down on my list.
I agree with your thoughts on Hue, but what scares me a great deal this season is the defense. I think last season we finally saw some flexibility in the scheme in regards to mixing things up and blitzing to create pressure. Davis is pretty well known for letting his head coach run the offense, but I have heard time and time again that he gets more involved on the defensive side. I don't really have any indication that Hue has ever been involved on the defensive side of the ball, and I am scared to see what Bresnahan and Davis come up with scheme wise (especially with Asomougha likely gone).I am really, really excited to have this team in Hue's hands. I think he's a bright and clever guy.
I'm already prepared to lose Aso, but losing Miller would suck big time. However, I have a feeling Al Davis will overpay for Miller to keep him here.
) to a deal, making him the first rookie to sign.
