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Probably means that Justin Fargas manages to stay in the league a little longer also.
Definitely... Lamont has a shot at closing the door on Rhodes. It'll be interesting to see if he is up to the task.
Well stated...
From what I've seen the Raiders are not rushing Bush back AT ALL. I can't see them stepping on the gas now and risk further injury. There has even been some talk about Bush not even playing this year or starting the regular year on the PUP list (and thus having to miss the first 6 games).Long story short, I don't think anyone knows for sure what will happen with Bush and what his availability will be.
thanks, I wonder if this will generate more interest in Bush in a rookie dynasty draft then it would have otherwise. I was hoping to get Bush at 2.2 in a 12 man league but I think he will likely be long gone by then.
If your league is close to average scoring and lineup requirements, he'll be long gone before that pick. He's going mid first (maybe a few picks after that but certainly not the end of the first).
i get ya here, but what im wondering is how a similar back in rudi johnson has all world talent in QB, Oline and WR, gets 3.8 ypc and everyone screams how he is underrated.
(random drunk hijack of the night)
The Art Shell experiment is over, so an improvement is a realistic expectation. However, nobody is drafting Jordan or any Raiders to be their primary starters. Jordan can be a good #3 RB and maybe even a decent #2 if that team concentrates on other positions early on, such as taking Manning, a couple of top WRs and/or Gates early. Also, Bush isn't going to see the field in 2007 because he is injured, not because it's a rebuilding year. He is young, so experience would be good for him. If he was healthy he would definitely see the field even if it is a rebuilding year. He isn't healthy and that is why he won't see the field, not because of the team's playoff aspirations (or lack thereof).
He was arrested for DUI in February, later pleaded down to reckless driving. NFL Network was saying in early March they expected a 4-game suspension to start the year, and Antonio Bryant was suspended 4 games beginning late last year under similar circumstances (DUI), so there is no reason this should have come as a surprise to anyone following the story. Goodell has been clear that he's in get-tough mode concerning guys who tarnish the league's image, and these are easy situations for him to go after.
I think Bush might see the field later in the year. Once the team is presumably out of it, if Bush is not on IR, then team brass may give him a long look to see what they have for 2008.
Why did you cut out the previous 2 sentences of the post you quoted where I said almost exactly what you are saying? It's possible he will see the field in 2007, but my point is that is depends completely on his health and not their playoff chances.
Oakland - great first three game SOS for RB. Not a bad play as rb3/flex possibility after locking in solid wr1/2 and rb1/2
I think Rhodes was impressive during the playoffs and Super Bowl. Once Rhodes suspension is lifted, it will be interesting to see how he is plugged in.
If I was Jordan I'd be busting my hump to come in in the best shape of my life and lock down the gig.
I think this is an interesting statement that illustrates the differences in talent and opportunity. As well as the perception of talent.I think Lamont Jordan and Domanic Rhodes are of equal talent as football players although they have slightly different skill sets. I do not think either of them are talented enough to be clear cut starters for an extended period of time and both are better suited in backup/COP roles or being used in a rotation. Similar to a long list of backup caliber RBs who can be effective starters when given the opportunity but who's teams will always be looking to upgrade if they can.Other RBs of similar talent:Kevan BarlowLadell BettsChester TaylorAdrian Peterson (Chi)DeShaun FosterAnthony ThomasReuben Droughns Julius JonesMarion BarberTatum BellChris BrownTJ DuckettCorrell BuckhalterNajeh DavenportBrian LeonardMichael PittmanMike AndersonRudi JohnsonTravis HenryNow the Raiders obviously thought differently about Jordan when they signed him to be thier starter in 2005. A move that puzzled me at the time but it is not the only or even the most specious management decision made by this francise over the last decade.In 2005 Jordan proved capable of handling the workload of a feature back with 342 total touches. However his YPC of 3.8 was sub-standard and most of his value came from the 70 catches he got. Now keep in mind that when he did this the Raiders had Moss who defenses respected with double coverage much of the time as well as Porter and other recievers they had to cover deep. Defenses allowed Jordan the outlet pass because they did not think this would beat them and it didn't.So while Jordan had a very effective 2005 season I see that being more a product of the opportunity than a measure of his talent. And other RBs I listed above have or could have similarly productive seasons if the same opportunity presented itself to them.That is not to say that all of these RBs have the same skill sets, they don't. Jordan has soft hands and is a better reciever than most of the RB on the list above. Jordan is not very agile however and not as effective finding the hole and changing direction as many of these RB above. Jordan does run with enough power to score TDs. Really I think 2005 was a situation where all the stars aligned for Jordan in that the recieving yardage he got was over 2 times as effective as his rushing yardage and 36% of his total yards came from those receptions. Also 11 TD on an offense starved team. I do not expect Jordan to ever be able to repeat that success again.Of the other RBs I listed above as being in a similar category some have not ever gotten the opportunity to prove it. And they have a skill set that may not allow such an opportunity to pay off as well as it did for Jordan in 2005. Some have proven to be better than Jordan such as Henry and Rudi. However I think Rudi has exceptional toughness and Henry is a much more gifted runner in terms of vision agililty and breaking tackles. There are most likely some other RBs I have missed that if the opportunity presented itself could be similarly successful as Jordan.Rhodes has allready proven he can be as effective as a starter as Jordan although no team wanted to give him that opportunity when he was a free agent before. He may have lost some of his talent due to injury since then however. And it does not take losing much for these RB who are borderline starters for them to become below average.Holy Schneikes said:
I agree with other posters that Jordan represents very good value this year withan ADP that let's you draft him as an RB4 (which will probably start moving uptoward the RB3 level ADP with this latest news of Rhodes).While I'd like to think that the Raiders offense can't be any worse than last year(Raider fan here that would love this to be true) I can't really think of more thana couple of teams that will end up with worse offensive stats than them this year.Do they really have nowhere to go but up? Sideways is definitely an option fortheir offense this year.David Yudkin said:
I think Rhodes is not as good as he once was due to injury and therefore Jordan may have more talent than he does now.That being said I do not think Jordan would have been much more effective in the Colts offsense than he was with the Raiders in 2005. I watched many of those Raiders games (as a Moss owner looking for the big strikes) and Jordan did not impress me at all. He had huge lanes open for him (especialy in the flat on those dump off passes with the corners cleared out) that I think most of the RBs I listed above could have taken advantage of. His 3.8 YPC in that situation is not at all impressive to me. Many of the RB I listed above could have probobly ran the ball for a better average than this with the defense laying off so much. Fargas who is more of a pure speed RB instead of well rounded did as well as Jordan running the ball in the same situation. In 2006 defenses did not worry about Moss like they did in 2005 because they knew he was tanking it. Subsequently Jordan was not nearly as effective as a reciever and he really could have been considering how many blitzes the Raiders faced in 2006.In any case it wasn't really my point to compare Rhodes and Jordan in terms of talent now because I think Rhodes is no longer the player he was before his injury and that is why the Colts let him go. My point was more that there are many RBs like Jordan who have borderline talent and who's success is directly related to thier supporting cast and opportunity. I would never consider any of these players to be long term answers as starters for thier teams either as management will always be looking for an upgrade. I do think that the Raiders may have hoped Jordan would be the answer for them when they signed him. But now I think they realize he is not and I expect him to be replaced next season.For redraft Jordan does offer great value due to his ADP and opportunity. But I also will not be suprised to see him fall back into a time share with Rhodes when Rhodes returns from suspension.
I've never been a huge fan of either guy, but Jordan was hampered by injuries last year which likely contributed to his meh production. I did on a few occasions see the lanes that you mentioned that Jordan did not get through, but I also saw times when he was nailed in the backfield and had to fight to even get to the line of scrimmage.I just picked up Jordan as a RB4 which should be fine for my needs with certainly upside to be a RB2. I don't see him catching 70 catches again so I don't see a repeat of 2005. His opportunity costs are pretty low and barring another injury I don't see him being a waste of a pick.
I do think the Raiders Oline and offense will be improved because of the coaching alone. Better schemes and play calling. Thier Oline has a lot of youth that has not realized its potential yet as well and they may mature now with better coaching. So I would not look at this as being the same Oline that was a total sieve last year. The coaching alone should improve the pass protection. How much of an improvement remains to be seen...I am not expecting any raider skill position player to become more useful than a rotational player that could be used in a pinch.
I think those are big issues - a rookie QB learning the ropes with no major WR weapon to help out. Things can turn out unexpectedly, but it's not a good situation for any Raider RB.
