Unwelcome aboard
By Charles Ybarra
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 11:21 pm in Oakland Raiders.
There is another Skywalker?
Javon Walker?
Eck..
I think that’s the overall opinion of the Nation right now.
Curry is respected and will hopefully be effective again.. but Javon?
That’s the best we could f#&$#*n do, Al??
Eck..
I still keep dreaming of a series of surprises on draft day…
“And with the 4th pick..WHAT? The Raiders have traded their #4 pick for Chad Johns-!!!”
And the crowd interrupts by going bonkers. Boos and Bellows follow…
The Nation takes victory shots..
mayhem erupts…
I get on my blog immediately and write you all I told you it would happen!!!!
and……..
yeah….
sure…
and maybe Brett Farve will unretire to play in the big O.
I suggest everyone not to look at Javon Walker’s 2007 stats….it’s depressing.
If you want to look at any stat, proceed to his glorious year of 2004 were he caught 89 passes for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Packers.
So..he’s capable!!!!!
Yawn..
May the force be with us.
I’d rather write about our new Safety: hard hittin’, Gibril Wilson.
In his rookie season, Wilson instantly became a fan favorite in New York for his tenacious speed and hitting abilities. He also recorded three interceptions before his season was cut short due to injury. He was named Rookie of Month in October 2004.
Wilson continued his strong play in 2005 and looked to enhance his status as his team improved.
Wilson and his Giants won the NFC Eastern Division Title in 2005 before being eliminated in the Wild Card round. He led the team in tackles in 2005 with 110.
In 2006, he was second on the team in tackles with 102 and tied for the team lead in interceptions with 2. He has played the most games out of any New York Giant on defense with playing 31 of the possible 32 games the last 2 seasons.
In 2007-2008, Wilson helped the Giants receive a Lombardi trophy.
What more could ya ask for ??!?!????!?!
How about a REAL left Tackle??!?!
Kwame Harris actually signed???
Triple Eck.
I’m sorry, kid. I don’t even really know too much about you besides the fact you were not good enough to play for (sigh) the San Francisco Forty Niners.
Eh, maybe we’ll get lucky.
Tom Cable even made Robert Gallery look good at times.
No, really…
So if were trying to sign Cornell Green again that could possibly mean we’re definitely going for DT or DE in the draft.
Yeah, I’d be happy with that. Now the only problem is which one? I already wrote you how I feel about Howie’s Padawan. But what if he’s taken early like most mock drafts say he’ll be?
And we all know Dorsey was injured recently..
So does that lead us to take another USC D lineman high in the draft?
A little more insight on Sedrick Ellis…
In 2007 Ellis was a 2-time All-American first teamer, started for his third season at nose tackle as a senior in 2007 and was as dominant as ever. Overall in 2007 while starting all 13 games, he has 58 tackles, including 12.5 for losses of 75 yards (with 8.5 sacks for minus 67 yards), plus 7 deflections, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble. He was 1 of 15 semifinalists for the 2007 Bednarik Award and 1 of 8 semifinalists for the 2007 Lott Trophy. He was named to the 2007 AP (unanimous), Football Coaches, Football Writers, Walter Camp, The Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com, Collegefootballnews.com and Pro Football Weekly All-American first teams and Phil Steele’s All-American second team. He was named the 2007 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (USC’s fifth such selection) and Pac-10 Morris Trophy winner (for the second year in a row), he was a unanimous choice on the 2007 All-Pac-10 first team and he made the ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team, Collegefootballnews.com All-Pac-10 first team (he was its Pac-10 Player of the Year), Rivals.com All-Pac-10 first team and Phil Steele’s All-Pac-10 first team. He was USC’s Co-MVP and also won USC’s Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year Award and Co-Lifter of the Year Award. He also dominated in the Senior Bowl.
Not convinced are you???
Haters….
That’s why I love you all…
Have a great week, Nation!!!!
DR
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
March 5th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Come on Darth. Show a little love to the new family members. Lets hope they all work harder than their predicessors. Although the signings are not blockbuster in name, these players add excellent depth and still leaves us lots of cash to make deals and we also have #4 pick. Picking up Walker could be a good thing especially if he comes back sound. Show the love. We can always be negative, lets get positive
March 5th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Your opinion of Walker is shared by many. Unfortunately, not many players were willing to come play here- so the money is just a necessary risk.
I will say, however, that I do not believe that we needed to sign ANY receiver. We have a young QB and need him to grow into our young receivers. If anything, we should draft another receiver in the fourth round. Or with a comp pick if we get a third rounder. Everyone knows that a wide receiver is only as good as his chemistry with his QB…
IMO, we are in a perfect position. We still have some young offensive linemen who are finally working together. With one more day one offensive line pick in the draft, we can be set for several years. How does this draft sound- McFadden, (DT) Pat Sims and (OT) Tony Hills; Or Ellis/Dorsey, (OT) Sam Baker and (WR) Adarius Bowman. Either way, we are going to solidify our offensive and defensive lines in the draft- and boost our offense. Go Raiders.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:22 am
Look. Gerard Warren was called a huge unproductive cancer in Denver, My best friend from Denver called me and gave me all kinds of sh!t when we traded for him. And look how he turned out…he kicked major A$$!!! SO lets drop the judgmental bu11$h!t shall we and wait and see how things go???
March 5th, 2008 at 2:24 am
I am ofcourse talking about the Walker signing.
and ENOUGH OF THE DRAFT McFADDEN CRAP! WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER RUNNING BACK NATION!!!
March 5th, 2008 at 5:37 am
RaiderAtownMatt… DUDE, I’m with you man. What’s up with this McFadden crap… We don’t need to waste the 4th pick on something we don’t need.
Cedric, Dorsey or hopefully Long Jr. are the targets. Everything else is just mental mastur… Well, you know!
And lets wait for Walker to 1st put on the uniform before we start roasting the guy…
I don’t know if you guys are aware of it but… the deal is DONE! Your approval is not required so take a chill pill and try and see the positive even if for a second…
I promise it won’t kill you and maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to release some of that pent-up energy you have more naturally and less violant. instead of complaining about things YOU have absolutely NO power to change!!!
RAIDER NATION baby!!!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Javon Walker, if healthy, was the best WR in the market. Porter, Berrian, Stallworth, Andre Davis,… they never reached the 1000 yards, and they all received about 10 million in guarantee money.
Losing them in free agency made us to over-pay to bring Walker, the last starting WR still a free agent.
Walker as #1 and Curry as #2 is a good starting tandem, and any WR selected in the draft will have more time to delevelop behind them.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:43 am
We don’t need McFadden, we should try to trade down, if not, we have to take a DL (C. Long, Dorsey) or T Jake Long.
We have Fargas and Michael Bush, and perhaps Rhodes.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Is this REALLY Darth Vader or is it Nancy Gay with a bucket over her head? Why so down Darth? I think that the moves thus far is directed to specific needs with football players. I could care less about what makes what as far as money. Last year I was a little bent that we still had a spot on our roster and we were UNDER the cap. WTF? If you have money and room, get help if you want to win. I’m tired of all the beat writers and TV blow hards slamming the Nation. With these signings (and non-signings), I love the direction - it will pay off.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:32 am
We know that there is an injury clause with JW, there always is. KH is another story, he must have the physical attributes to be a more worthy lieman in Tom Cable’s system and he may be a steal if he is truly motivated to prove to all the whiner fans that he was worth keeping. So did we spend too much money on them? Only if the money spent prevents us from signing better players.
“Unsung Heroes”
March 5th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Walker is a huge upgrade over Jerry Porter and if healthy gives us a big play WR and deep threat. Walker can go deep and is very good over the middle. Walker is also not afraid to block. I think if healthy he was a great pick up. There were at least 10 other teams that were after him.
Wilson the Safety was also a great pick up for a position we have needed to upgrade for years. As for the OT pick up I will trust our O line coach on that one after what I saw him do last year.
With the signing of our players and the new pick ups it can only make us better and we still have the draft.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:36 am
DR,
Big Al is smarter than you think. I’ll bet there are specific clauses in the contracts of these two new Raiders. If Walker can stay healthy he and JR could become a good combo. As for Harris maybe he can excel in the blocking system that Cable has brought to Oakland. Let’s give them a chance.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Did we really not go after the 3rd Arizona WR, Johnson? Isn’t he a better young talent than Walker?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I hope Mcfadden falls to number 4 and we hold it under jerry Jones nose until he caves in and gives us his 2 number 1’s this year, and a 3rd rounder. I can dream right?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Dude, This is pretty good news and you still wanna be negitive?? There were PLENTY of teams that would LOVE to have Walker. He was the best and only true starter left in the FA pool. You wanted better than that?? I say if the only comments you have are negitive then do us all a favor and shut the FUCK up!!
March 5th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I am getting sick of all the negativity I am reading. The Raiders are trying to make this a better team and think they have done it. So what if they are paying big money to these guy’s. Do you think they would have signed Walker to that contract if they had not tested the knee and were comfortable with it being ready. The Raiders beat out 10 other teams who wanted him. If you are going to keep posting your negative comments, albeit you do have that right, then shut down this column, I am one Raider fan who is sick of it!!! We signed a great WR and a OT that is going to flourish with Cable, not to mention the hard hitting run stopping safety in Wilson. Why to go Raiders, keep it up.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Hahahaa..it’s amazing to witness how many more “passionate” fans come out with a little more negativity written than usual. Of course I’m positive!!!
I mean, LOOK AT ME!
Come August and September, I’ll be there cheering for the guys taking the field..regardless of my opinion. I just wonder where in the hell will you all be?
Respect has to be earned in the eyes of the Sith.
How about this guys..I’ll hold judgment until I see Kwame hold some impressive blocks and Javon make a good catch…HAPPY?
I thought not…
March 5th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Been a Raider Fan for over 30 years and will root for whoever they sign and put on the field regardless of the results.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I’m exciyed about this season I know that Harris played for a wack team last year & from what I hear he hasnt played to his ability but we definitely have the best line coach hell look what he did w/Gallery Walker if not injured is going to do his thing cant wait to see him in action against the Broncos
March 5th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
The long and short of it is, the Javon Walker signing was a panic move as he was the only FORMER #1 WR left on the free agent board. Will he be more productive that Jerry Porter? Without question. Is there still a need for a #3 WR? No doubt.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Enough already — proponents against all this negativity are right on. Maybe we would have liked a better free agent, but one was not available or at least willing to come here. Only question on Walker is whether he has recovered from injury and whether he can stay healthy. If so, losing Porter and picking up Walker is a good thing, especially since — because of Mike Shannarat dissing his knee — he is extremely motivated to beat Denver and show that it wasn’t him and they gave up on him too early. I’d rather have someone who is not bitching and is motivated to beat one of our division rivals than a guy that has never produced big numbers in many years of effort. Porter was always an intriguing project — I remember all the comments when we drafted him that he was a project that had the physical tools to have good upside, but that he had not played enough receiver to be considered a polished receiver. Consider what Porter has done for us and then compare it with a motivated Ronald Curry — there should be no doubt who you want to keep. Curry’s attitude did not rub off on Porter who always considered him subordinate; maybe Walker will gel with Curry — at least its a possiblity. We must always believe, even when we don’t always agree. Magic will come. We have a new strong armed potential franchise QB, a RB who has a chip on his shoulder (Mr. Bush) and wants to show his skill, a RB who gave stellar effort and gained over 1,000 yards in much less than a full season, a good blocking tight end with good hands, an improved O line from the matador line we had under Shell (with a very capable O line coach), an upgrade in our already talented secondary, good to great linebackers, and the number 4 pick in a draft that is stocked with what we need — D Line and receivers. Hopefully we still have a motivated coach who wants to show why he should weild power to an owner who definitely weilds power. Like AD or not, he is not trying to stay way under budget (like some owners), but trying to improve the team. “I’m Still In!”
March 5th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
With what they paid Kelly, would it make sense to pay a Ellis at #4?
March 6th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Mcfadden will be a great player - take him . This team will stink for 2 more yrs anyway (until they find out if Rusell can play) Take your DT and OL 2,3, 4th rounds.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:34 am
c’mon chuck,the last i saw the w.r. class in this years draft aint all that great,the free agent class is about the same,with the exeption of berrian who never made it out of minnesota.so now we look at the walker deal,did we give too much for a guy that’s been hurt alot in the last 2 yrs.?probably,is he better than what we lost in porter? definatly,will he get curry more looks just being there?yes. so with green and rhodes resigning and kwame harris singing,along with mario henderson who we really know nothing about and mike bush,who the raiders say is healthy and ready to play along with all the plyers currently under contract,it does’nt look nearly as bad as you make it look.now lets look at the draft,i can see al dreading the b.s. he went through last year signing a top five pick although if jake long,is still there at #4 he will probably take him,even though kiffin and ryan will be chirpin in his ear about ellis,but in the end i really believe that with the moves made thus far the raiders have set themselves up to trade the #4 to dallas for their 2 first rounders and a third and a fifth,which according to the value value chart from rivals .com is about right.the reason i think this is a strong possibility is that jerry jones loves mcfadden and he’s quite possibly the only owner who has’nt been absolutly fleeced by al davis,lol.if this deal flies the raiders have a chance to get 4 player in the first 100 or so in the draft.now lets go more in depth about who they could get with the 2 first rounders,w.r.’s,early doucet who russel played 3 yrs. with at lsu,james hardy, andre caldwell and devin thomas come to mind first.d.t pat sims,kentwan balmer.o.t.gosder cherilas,jeff otah.d.b. aqib talib,kenny phillips,rogers cromartie.so dont fret just yet and dont forget ther will be alot of cap casulties around june one along with all of the roster bonus castoffs coming.so all in all it will be o.k.have another toddie and some patience.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:09 am
HAHahaha Chuck don’t do toddiez. True, guys..there’s not a lot of Wr’s anywhere these days…
it just gets me pissed off that Walker and Harris are our only solutions. Hey, i would LOVE to be wrong. Prove me wrong, Javon n Kwame..prove me wrong!!!!
BTW Dr loves the new contracts given to Green and Rhodes. To me, that’s more bigger than J and K.
The biggest concern? What we receive in the draft!
Lord, I should fly to NY this year…
March 6th, 2008 at 9:45 am
lol “more bigger” I think its the biggerest!!
March 6th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Like ANY Raider fan has any use for proper grammar, Foo..
Even the great Jerry M needs to use spell check!!
March 6th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I agree.
He’s the best receiver we can get???????
What happened to getting the best athlete?
March 7th, 2008 at 1:17 am
DR, Just for the record my comments were not ment as criticism towards you. I am extremely frustrated with all the negative stuff coming from the bay area press.
I think its safe to say we are all frustrated in so many ways as Raider fans. We all have our opinions on how our beloved Raiders should be turned around.
Javon Walkers displeasure in Denver should be motivation enough for him to kick some major ass!! I mean after all his last team…the DENVER DONKEYS??? Mike hard ass Shanahan?
And for all the McFadden fans…dream on! we can not afford a RB at first round..not the price tag that comes with him. we have a quality running back COMMITTEE!! IF anything Jordan will be gone and Bush plugged in! BUT hey you all can keep dreaming right???
I just hate for you McFadden fans to get your hopes up!
Better to be suprised then dissappointed I say..
so…get used to the idea of an 0-line but more than likely a D-line player!
I have a good strong feeling about Howie Longs boy Chris.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:46 am
We have to trade down in the draft. Chris Long will be an excelent pick, but he won’t be there at #4.
We don’t need McFadden (Fargas, Rhodes & Bush will return in 2008), I don’t see us taking Jake Long (T Kwame Harris fit our blocking scheme and Long doesn’t, and after Gallery failure…), Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis: both undersized and injury prone, and Sedrick Ellis could be there between picks 8-12.
We need to trade down and get more quality players. I know it doesn’t depend only on us, but if there is a posibility the coaching staff have to study it. I think Dallas could try it.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:50 am
I counted to infinity. Twice.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:29 am
A great running back (McFadden)with breakaway speed immediately opens up your passing game . Look what Peterson did for Minnesota (with no QB).
If you can’t afford to sign great players then you shouldn’t have a team in the league - when did the raiders become the Pittsburg Pirates of Baseball.
Chris Long is probably the safest pick, but probably won’t be there. At least with McFadden thay would be fun to watch while Russell is learning to play.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:27 am
If we can’t get C.Long draft McFadden and wait for the best offer available. Dallas will bend over and let us drive to get McFadden and several other teams will covet such an impact player. If an offer does’nt come along we have the best RB in the draft. We can’t lose. We can draft a DT in the second rd. I believe an offer will come for a #4 pick is much less than a #1 so sit back and listen Al and please don’t screw this up like the Walker and Kelly deals, nothing personal but no way we had to spend that much money.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:19 am
We do NOT need D-Mac. Trade down with NYJ for the 6th pick and a 2nd rounder. We can select Ghoulston and then OT Baker in the 2nd plus a WR with our won 2nd rounder. The remainder of the draft is for depth at OLB, DE and possibly a QB to back up JR.
If Walker is healthy he is capable of 1000 yds and 10 td’s. Fargas will open up the passing game with the young O Line coming together. PLEASE, do NOT take D-Mac.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
We overpaid on free agents that were either injured or benched last season (with the exception of SS Wilson). I would think that we will need to drop kick Lamont Jordan to reopen up some more salary cap for additional needs. The signings so far have “filled needs” however, like Darth, I don’t have the warm fuzzy that they will make this team significantly any better. The Raiders should trade out of the 4th pick, obtain multiple draft picks to rebuild and obtain depth, and let us know what in the hell is going on with their head coach. I would think that the top quality free agents are staying as far away from the Raiders as they can as long as there is once again Al Davis coaching drama going on.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Kelly should be played at DE, and after the last 5 years, I think we all know how important the D line is - we need gods, not studs across the line in our scheme - Kelly will be a pro-bowl caliber DE - we need a pererinial (sp?) pro-bowler at one DT, and another stud at DE as well - burgess isn’t the guy - we need to trade him for a #2 or a player and get a DE that can rush and defend the run - The Giants are the same blueprint we need. Big DE’s that can hold the point of attack against the run and rush the passer, and studs at the DT. I would take Long or Gholtson at DE #4 pick if we can grab a #2 for Burgess and tap into this deep class of good DT’s - I think Gerard Warren will be a big upgrade over Sapp at the 3 technique DT position, which means we just need the run stuffer that Sands was supposed to be. One way or the other, we need to boost our D line with that #4 pick - if we can’t stop the run out of our base 4-3 man D, we’re screwed because we have to bring extra guys up in the box which kills us against the pass. The D line is the single most important position to address with this draft, and with the Walker signing (good signing, his knee is in good shape according to him and the docs), I would devote the first two picks to the D line. Kwame Harris is an upgrade in the run game over Sims, and with this being Russell’s first year, we’re going to be very run heavy and work off that to develop play action for the deep balls which will mitigate the pass blocking issues - Russell will also do well rolling out of the pocket because Daunte didn’t have any real mobility left and Josh couldn’t throw on the run farther than 15 yards so the D collapsed on them. In order to really have a shot this year (the Patriots are the only team on our schedule that is “unbeatable” by the way), we must stop the run. Long/Gholston in Round 1 and DT in Round 2, or DT Ellis/Dorsey in Round 1 and a SLB in Round 2 unless a stud DE slips. Nobody wins in this league if you can’t stop the run, so if we’re serious about winning this year, we need to be able to pressure the QB to give our secondary a fair shot against the pass since we don’t blitz much philosophically, and our front 4 has to stop the run or disrupt it to allow our LB’s to flow to the ball and plug the gaps.
I can live with the Raiders going DT/DE in round 1 and OT in round 2 b/c that’s also a need, but that’s not going to solve our problems stopping the run. I’d like us to grab Gholston and Trevor Laws (DT, Notre Dame) or Kentwaan Balmer (DT, NC state) in round 2. That would solve our problems (assuming they pan out) - dump burgess and grab another pick for an OT in round and we’re looking good!
March 7th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Vernon Gholtson = Delawrence Grant 2.0
Trevor Laws = Tyler Brayton 0.5
March 8th, 2008 at 5:25 am
ESPN just said Oakland and Washington are the front runners in DeAngelo Hall trade. About 6 teams are interested.
Also there are rumor about Oakland trading for Anquan Boldin. I don’t know what can we offer to Arizona, but Boldin would be huge for us. Still, I don’t see that happening.
Go Raiders.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Hey
March 12th, 2008 at 10:15 am
raiders fans i got it someone get this to al quickly…. trade with the jets to move back to number 6 taking df and there 3rd round pick …. now we have dline back up … then we take gholston with the number sixth pick …. then we trade our number 3rd round pick with the falcons to take d hall… that secures our defense… then with the second pick we can take a reciever… to help out walker … or trade it to the cards…or the bengals… for there wideouts ..cmon people someone’s got to be with me now ….and with our fifth and six picks pick up o line men and maybe a dend ….and thats it now lets go al bust a move … do and keep kiffin even if you feel as though he messed up by trading randy…. lol he didn’t win a super bowl …. hahahahahaha