Interior investments crucial in stopping the run
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 8:56 am in Oakland Raiders.
Third in a series of concerns regarding the makeup of the 2008 Raiders with the reporting date approaching on July 24 at the Napa Marriott:
During a practice during the Raiders’ mandatory minicamp, Terdell Sands could be found with one arm propped up against the hydraulic lift, gasping for breath during a team session.
The temperature was in the 70s _ a beautiful Alameda day _ and players are not allowed to wear full gear or engage in scrimmage-style contact.
Tommy Kelly, meanwhile, was hanging out with his defensive line mates, watching them go through drills as he continues to rehab the torn ACL which halted his season after seven weeks last season.
Since it was only June, it was no cause for major alarm, but it’s fair to question whether the Raiders’ attempts to stop the run in 2007 have a solid foundation.
The Raiders made big investments in both men to make sure they didn’t reach free agency. Sands, after a promising 2006 season, got a four-year contract and a $4 million signing bonus even though he wasn’t a fulltime player.
Kelly’s deal _ with $18.125 in guaranteed money _ caused jaws to drop around the league, in part because he has not yet proven he is an elite player and because of the ACL tear.
His contract was comparable to the extension Tommie Harris signed with the Chicago Bears. Harris was coming off an eight-sack season and a trip to the Pro Bowl. Kelly had one sack before going down with an ACL tear.
The Raiders are convinced Kelly’s move from end to the three-technique spot vacated by Warren Sapp will make him a premiere defender. Coach Lane Kiffin contends moving Kelly to various positions across the line hasn’t enabled him to settle in and become a dominant player.
Kelly will be watched very closely and be compared on a weekly basis with Glenn Dorsey of the Chiefs, for one of the reasons the Raiders passed on Dorsey was their commitment to Kelly.
On the surface, assuming Kelly’s knee rehab is going as planned, he would seem to be an upgrade over Sapp with regard to the Raiders’ biggest defensive weakness.
You’re probably as tired of reading the numbers as I am writing them, but the inability of the Raiders to stop the run was their biggest problem last season. Only Miami gave up more yards per game than Oakland’s average of 145.9. No one had a worse average per carry than their 4.8.
Oakland gave up 100 yards rushing to 10 different running backs, and while defensive coordinator Rob Ryan would like to think the stats were skewed by big runs, the fact is the Raiders were gouged on steady 4- to 5-yard gains as well.
Sapp was of little help against the run, doing as he has always done _ shooting the gap and attempting to destroy blocking schemes, even at the expense of a runner going past him. It’s the same thing that made him a probable Hall of Fame player in Tampa, where Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin devised a scheme which allowed him to do what he did best.
The Bucs were able to protect him with linebackers that fit into gaps and a hard-hitting safety named John Lynch. Raiders linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard, while two of the best pass defending linebackers in the NFL, had their problems shedding blocks against the run and the tackling and hitting of Michael Huff, and Stuart Schweigert in particular, was atrocious.
While regarded as a player who held the point of attack as an end, it’s worth noting the Raiders surrendered fewer yards per carry (4.5) in games Kelly missed than in the ones he played (5.2).
Ryan said Sands’ problems had to do with not getting low enough to use his leverage and be an inside force along the lines of San Diego’s Jamal Williams. Kiffin later referred to family tragedies which affected Sands’ offseason preparation and caused him to show up last season out of shape.
Kiffin said Sands is doing better this year, so we’ll assume maybe he simply wasn’t feeling well during the minicamp practice where he was obviously out of breath in a non-contact team session.
Ryan was retained as defensive coordinator by Davis even though both he realized it was probably in his best interests to move on and told Kiffin as much.
Any chance he has of sticking around past this year will depend on how much he can get out of Kelly and Sands. Davis’ 79th birthday is today, and assume a dominant interior defensive line is near the top of his wish list.
One less day
The Raiders have moved up their reporting day to July 23 and will hold their first practice July 24.
Lombardi’s blast
In his new role as a columnist for CNN-SI.com, Mike Lombardi has been careful in what he says about his former employer, but he opened up a bit when writing about Warren Sapp’s contention that “the phone rings quite a bit on that sideline” when discussing Sapp’s tenure with the Raiders with the St. Petersburg Times.
Wrote Lombardi: “Having worked in that “black hole” for eight years, I know exactly what Warren is talking about. And those calls to the sideline are from one man and one man only. At times I have been the reluctant messenger on a few of them myself. They are never pleasant.”
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July 4th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Happy Birthday AL!!!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Happy Forth of July Raider Nation
July 4th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Oh yeah!!! and BTW 3rd!!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Come on Raider Nation wake up! Chile Relleno is having a field day being the first up and in the sandbox already. Twenty three days and Football starts. MuHaHaHa, that’s for our good friend LMN!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Happy Birthday GodFather!!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:40 am
On the fourth a prayer for ALL of our soldiers and their families. God Help America. Peace to ya all today.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:43 am
It feels great to be in the sandbox already and just goin to town without all the little children who are normally in here playin the little games that children play.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Sands and Kelly are definitely the keys to this season.
A new attitude must take over the mind of Mr. Sands and the understanding that this is his place to shine and take some pride in having this job and the money that always goes with the expectation. Get after it. You have been gifted with this talent, use it!
Mr. Kelly has it all, just needs the body to hold up. Don’t see any problem with his tenacity or mind set. Just needs to play without worrying about the knee. That’s the only way it will work out right. Go with the “Force” Tommy, trust.
Let’s get to the football, ya! I’m in and excited again.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Chile Relleno for breakfast on the fourth and Howiedoin all my Raider brethren. Are we all partying Thurs, night and can’t get up or are we just not used to getting a post this early??? Hellloooo, everybody WAKE UP. RISE AND SHINE. It’s almost 10 a.m. It’s fan training camp time, hello can you say two a day’s. Hello, Hellloo, Hellllooo, Helllllloooooooooooooo? Nobody up I guess.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:03 am
On the subject of interior linemen, Bill Williamson of espn.com is reporting that “word around the league is that the Raiders are looking for some veteran depth at defensive tackle”.
He thinks we may look at former Raiders Grady Jackson and Sam Adams.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Am I on the Dark Side Of the Moon? MuahHaHaHa LMN, Happy Fourth.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Ah, Top o the mornin to ya Marley, it’s good to hear some football talk.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am
happy Independence day NATION…..
July 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Here´s something on Sam Adams from Bill Williamson:
“Sam Adams is dead set on not letting it all end the way it did last season.
Adams, who’ll turn 35 next month, is working out with intentions of signing with an NFL team and prolonging his NFL career. Adams, a first-round pick of Seattle’s in 1994 who has played for six NFL teams, was cut by Denver last December. The three-time Pro Bowl player and a Super Bowl champion with Baltimore wants another crack.
“I don’t want it to end like that,” Adams said, “I have more football in me. I can help a lot of teams.”
Adams said he played at 355 pounds last season. He said he is down to 340 pounds and plans on playing this season in the 320s.Perhaps teams such as Tennessee, Oakland or Seattle would be interested in Adams.
“I can still dominate,” Adams said.”That’s what I plan on doing.”
espn.com´s Bill Williamson, May 7th 2008.
- I don´t know about “dominating”, but he seems to have the desire and if he has enough left in the tank to draw a double team on run downs he´d help.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Grady Jackson, also 35, did play a role for Jax at the end of last season after Petrino released him from Atl, if you remember that´s when trouble started for Petrino as Jackson was a team leader and still productive.
The one thing I worry about Jackson is he always seems to be nicked up while Adams is very durable.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Jerry as a change of pace leading up to the camp, can you also sneak in positive (realisticlly positive) post on what you think are the good things going for ourselfs? We have a real good idea of the negatives and concerns, just wondering what are seen as our real strengths. Other that the running game.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Happy B-day Unkel AL now sign Nnamdi …… Kellys gonna be fine IMO its sands we need to worrie about
July 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I never knew why we releades Grady Jackson and Sam Adams in the first place.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Happy 4th Nation & Happy Birthday Al. As everyone knows, I’m not a fan of this defensive scheme and I feel that a number of people are playing out of position on the defensive line (now that we got Huff to FS where he should have been in the first place). This is still a rebuilding year, but we’ve certainly turned the corner, especially on offense. Jerry Porter was never a #1 WR, so if Javon stays healthy, we’ve got QB, WR, RB, TE, and both OG positions set. We could still use a premier center and ROT, and we’ll have to see how Harris adapts to this system, but we’re only one more draft and FA period away from being totally rebuilt. I’m convinced that this unit will put up 22+ points per game, an increase of 4.5 points, with the addition of McFadden and JR starting with some WR’s who can get deep. This alone will net us 7-8 wins no matter how our defense performs against the run because points will force teams to pass against us, which plays to our strength.
Our projected starting D line all have talent at one thing across the board - rushing the passer. Kelly will be an upgrade over Sapp who only had one pro-bowl caliber season in Oakland but definetley lost a step. Kalimba Edwards brings us a speed rusher at one DE and Burgess is the same type of player (but better obviously) at the other DE. The interesting thing at the NT position would be to start Gerrard Warren, who played very well as the three technique but not so great as the NT and just use him as a second 3 technique, meaning just let him penetrate and disrupt. Our run game would get gashed again, but I gaurantee that enough plays would be made behind the line of scrimmage with all that penetration that we will force teams into 2nd and 3rd and longs quite a bit, which then gives us the advantage by forcing teams to pass.
If Ryan tries to play it straight up again, with Sands at NT, our D line will stink it up against the run for the 5th straight season. The reason is quite simple, Sands is a below average player with no pass rush ability, Edwards can’t stop the run, Burgess can’t stop the run, which only leaves Kelly, who at the 3 technique isn’t supposed to stop the run. What we should do is start the following people:
DE Burgess (move him to the rush end)/Edwards
DT Warren (play him at his natural position)/Joseph
NT Sands (ideally we would have drafted someone else)/?
DE Kelly (move him to the strong side end)/Richardson
Al as a GM and Ryan as a coach have put all of these people out of position, no decent NT’s, and a bunch of 3 techniques at DT playing NT. It’s a total mess personnel wise on the D line. Even Joseph is a 3 tech. But I’m sure Burgess enjoys getting his cheap sacks from the left side and will refuse to move and they’ve already committed to Kelly at 3 technique. So with all that in mind, I just hope they put the best penetrators on the field at each position and try to create negative plays and turnovers through pressure. If we can put up points, the current projected starters at DL will do just that and we could win 10-12 games this year with our easy schedule.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:08 am
GREAT entry, Jerry. Terrific analysis. Especially the review of Sapp’s style and how that worked in Tampa.
I like how I actually learn stuff from this blog, which so rarely happens when I read sports articles.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Time is Right for Winning, here’s something positive: Uncle Al turns 79 today, which means in another decade or so the franchise may turn around. Team’s still a mess with huge holes on DL, OT, C, WR, no run stuffing LB. Six or seven wins would be an improvement.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Happy 4th!
Sands big problem last year (according to Kiff) was reporting out of shape. This year he seems out of shape. He has had one season (2006) when he played (by NFL standards) average. He has done nothing during 8(?) other seasons. “Cause for concern” is putting it nicely.
Kelly through 7 games last year had 1 sack for the DE position with mostly 1-on-1 blocking. The run D was worse when he was playing. Yes, Richardson was a run D upgrade and Clemmons was a big pass rush improvement when Kelly went down. The coaches are talking up his move to the 3 (what else are they going to say) but if he is slow to come back from his knee, can you say “scholarship”?
Okay. Time for the deductive reason portion of our program. The Raiders had 6 blown 4th quarter leads last year. If the sideline phone keeps ringing than is it Al’s in-game changes that are causing the problems? “You’ve got the lead so play soft. We should be able to rush 3 and get to the QB. Howie used to.” The Lions (blown lead #1) pointed out the D “suddenly backed off after they got the lead”. Al’s call? Hopefully another year wiser, Al will realize the best chance to preserve (or revive) his legacy would be by showing he is smart enough to let people do their jobs and stay out of the way long enough for them to rebuild a winner.
Thank you Founding Fathers - This Freedom of Speech and Press deal rocks! Every blogger should say a thanks to the powdered wig guys on your money.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:37 am
untill they start over on defense, im pretty sure it will be more of the same. The additions on offense hopefully will cushion or take some of the pressure off the D but honestly, we need a complete rebuild of the d line and olines, decent guys but burgess getting old and others are 2nd tier players
July 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Nothing new with that post, next.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Nice post JediRaider…
I like what you said about Warren and Sands, if Sands won´t perform the duties we need from him (hold his ground, command two blockers and clog the middle) then we might as well start Warren and let him rush upfield.
Last year, with Sands getting pushed around and Sapp´s inexplicabe decision (from a team standpoint) of dropping over 50 punds, the middle was wide open.
Sapp was never an anchor vs the run, but at his usual 330 or so, he was decent sometimes and he was much harder to block. He seemed much less effective without the weight and turned from barely decent to awful vs the run. In fact, Sapp´s combination of size and agility is what made him such a rare player, without the weight and at 35 he turned into the kind of quick but underzised DT that are a dime a dozen.
We´ll have Kelly instead of Sapp now and while Kelly´s game is much different than Sands, he´s almost as big at 6´6 and 315-320, which is the weight Kiffin said he´ll play, Warren is big too at 6′4 330, a combination of Kelly and Warren is bigger and quicker than what we started most of last season where a small 6′2 280, 35 yr. old Sapp would often struggle vs bigger OL and the big, but slow Sands would seemingly just stand there.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I should say that while I look forward to watching Kelly and Warren start, as Jedi suggested, I´m not expecting miracles, as bad as Sapp was last year he still made some plays when he was able to blow past his guy, it wasn´t that often but no one else seemed to be able to do it.
And of course, this problem goes back a few years now, why would Rob Ryan´s last shot be any different than the previous 4 years?.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
First!!! Again.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
The issue with the run defense that no one seems to bring up is the defensively linemen are mainly designed to stand up the point of attack allowing the linebacking corp to come in and clean up. As Jerry points out in the article, the LB corp does a great job in pass coverage but is sorely lacking in cleaning up on running plays. Once opponents get to the 2nd level there seemed to be little to stop them from then reaching the goal line. Kirk and Howard HAVE to improve their run defense responsibilities. Now they are young players, but they really have to improve this year
July 4th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Happy Birthday Big AL!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Sands played surprisingly well…….at times. In the game at KC he played well. If he could play better for longer stretches, he would be a good player. Again, and it seems we talk about this waaaaaay too much with Raider players is you have to question his work ethic and commitment to the game.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
BTW, Happy Birthday Mr. Davis!!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
HAPPY BERRDAY MR DAVIS!- THANKS FOR THE GREAT MEMORIES
July 4th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Happy 4th!!! Let the drinkin’ begin!!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Work-ethic and commitment to the game? Thats all changing under Kiffin. All Kiffin’s players are hard ass workers (Fargas - yes I now consider him Kiffin’s player, JR, MB, DMc, ZM, et al) and there’s no doubt about their passion for the game (save Henderson who has been questioned)
July 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Shoot BJH, this is America. We began drinking heavily early on the 3rd!!
July 4th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Welcome back and nice article, Jerry. And Happy 79th Birthday to owner Al Davis.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Raider Nation 2008 Jerry’s Kids awards
The List now accepting nominations:
Most knowlegeable Raider Fan/draft guru
The most reliable Raider Fan/inside scoop
The Crustiest Raider Fan
The most annoying Raider Fan
The most comedic Raider Fan
The most boring Raider Fan
The highest football IQ Raider Fan
The lowest football IQ Raider Fan
Favorite Euro Raider Fan
Biggest Die Hard Raider Fan
Vote early and often!!!!
The results will be posted on July 18th
Raider on.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Most annoying…. MR/MaddenRaider… and all his AKA’s =)
problem is, I don’t think he is a raiderfan, he said chargerfan over niner fan… so he is a niner fan to me… but annoying, that he is =)
July 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Happy Birtday, Al. Here is my birthday wish to you:
RETIRE!
July 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Can we vote MR off the planet??? Or maybe we could come up with a new list. One entry. “Raider” fan we all most want to walk the plank.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Nation and Jerry,
The Raiders’ problem stopping the run last year was gap discipline, as Jerry points out — but does not take far enough. The Raiders played predominantly a 73-52 line scheme. Burgess and Richardson lined up in the 7 and 5 gapes (outside the TE and LT), so had to keep outside contain. The rookie outplayed the veteran in this respect, which is a bad thing.
Sapp was in the 3-gap, which in this scheme calls for him to be a penetrator, but with his weight loss he was a little too light to be able to penetrate, look and go after the ball — once he stopped he could not really move an NFL G or T. Sands at the 2-gap was a disaster. His job was to occupy both the C and LG, freeing either Morrison or Huff to make a play on anything up the middle, but as mentioned his leverahe was such that he could be moved by the LG and the C was free to seek out Morrison (or Huff). When Warren got in there, he has the body size to play the 2-gap but has a 3-technique mentality. (Last year, the Titans gave up an average of 18.6 ppg for the season, but gave up an average of 31.4 the three games their 2-gap guy — Albert Haynesworth — missed.) — That’s how key a good 2-gapper can be.
As mentioned, Morrison and Howard didn’t shed blocks well, but they had big men on them more often than they should because of the play of the DTs.Singling the DBs on WRs outside left us very vulnerable to plays outside when the DE failed to maintain contain.
73-52, we’ll likely play it again next year. From L-R the responsibilities will be:
7– Burgess
5– SAM LB
3– Kelly
1 — Morrison/Wilson
1 — Wilson/Morrison/Howard
3 — Sands (should also occupy the C which pinches the 1 gap shut)
5 — Richardson
Watch the exhibition games to see if we maintain gap discipline with all units. If we don’t expect a long season. This is Pop Warner stuff.
Peace.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Favorite Euro Raider Fan…
that would be Scottish Raider or El Tato..
July 4th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Yeah NG is center piece for defense vs the run and Sands was less than what you would like. It appaears that Warren would be starter so far with Sands in reserve. Kelly is what you look for talent wise as 3tech. But stopping the run is a comprehensive effort. And is best accomplished with the entire defense concentrated effort. Your NG wont stop the run but will anchor the effort. It takes your entire working together ith discipline and desire to be a consistent run stopping unit.
My guess is we will be better but to be great you must tackle, tackle and tackle some more. That’s what stops the run. Consistent gap responsiblility, stay true to the scheme and TACKLE……..period
Sands and Kelly I think will play well for the most part. I personally think Kelly could be dominant but even if they are great if your safties take bad angles and LBers can’t get of blocks and make the play… what good is it? So the defensive unit must play the run well to be successful.
So Jerry when you point out stats and attribute those to the effectiveness of one or two players I think your not fairly assessing their talent. Kelly IMO was hands down the best player n our defense when he was healthy but we weren’t very good as a unit.
I can’t speak for Sands, so I’ll wait and see. But I defenitely think there is talent on our defense, now can we help them with an effective offense to give them a competitive edge?
July 4th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Bob Marley, the reason this year’s defense would be better than previous years is, TALENT………..period
Rob Ryan doesn’t play he coaches, something that’s somewhat misunderstood in here. Ryan doesn’t miss assignments or tackles nor show lack of effort. HE COACHES……now if you have a problem with that (and please do so with some accuracy) Then we have something worth descussing. Most in here have very little knowledge or understanding of what it is they’re looking at. They’re just very unsatisfied with the results and so rant and rave without real facts.
I’m not so much as defending Ryan as much as I am stating that I feel there will be a marked improvement and why.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
BHP, it’s the results, stupid. Defense never improved under 4 years of Ryan. Only reason pass defense looked good on paper in ‘06 was due to teams not passing the ball at all against us, because they didn’t need to. Are you in this much denial about everything, or just Raiders issues?
July 4th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
# Johnny Rebel Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 3:21 am
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/raiders/
………
Jason Jones is a thug, living the life.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
So are all black people. All thugs, living the life. Bill Cosby’s nothing but a thug, living the life. Happy 4th, fellow white men!
July 4th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Al Davis and George Steinbrenner have the same b-day. How ’bout that.
BHP: Why are they telling Sands 10 months later that he’s too high (playing)? That sounds like an easy fix that should have been done in Aug/Sep … but july of the next year????
July 4th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
So, Al Davis was born on the 4th of July. Something almost poetic about that.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Most knowlegeable Raider Fan/draft guru:
n/a
The most reliable Raider Fan/inside scoop:
n/a
The Crustiest Raider Fan:
????
The most annoying Raider Fan:
Oakglenn
The most comedic Raider Fan:
“AI”, and aka’s
The most boring Raider Fan:
Bob Marley
The highest football IQ Raider Fan:
Coach on Wheels
The lowest football IQ Raider Fan:
Dakota
Favorite Euro Raider Fan
n/a
Biggest Die Hard Raider Fan:
Guamanian Raider
July 4th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Look who just jumped out of the closet, our friend MR. How bout dem SF Whiners MR!!! And Dude, you are hands down head and shoulders the most annoying person on the planet, not just on this site. Nice to know tho while everyone is out celebrating the fourth, you’re here posting on this site.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
C.O.W., great post again, as usual. Love your reenactment of crazy Al calling the sideline. “Rush 3, Howie could do it!” LOL!!! You’re a beacon of light in this place. If we could get “AI” into rehab or something to kick his norco problem, you two would run this blog. AI’s smart and one funny guy but he just gets too cruel sometimes. He shouldn’t have went after Riverside the other night. Stick to Oakglenn, AI. He’s the true retard, here. Riverside Raiders seems like a cool guy.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Got a long drive tomorrow, Oaklgnenn. Getting up at 7. I should be in bed. Celebrated the 4th earlier today. Got started this afternoon. Had a great day. Hope you did, too, pulling your chicks and all. But I have to say, it is humorous to see you calling someone out for being on this blog tonight. I mean, what, are you supposed to be on your lap top at the block party right now? That’s why I call you a retard, Oakie.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I agree with Oakglenn 100% about MR
“Dude, you are hands down head and shoulders the most annoying person on the planet, not just on this site”
Well put!
July 4th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Thanks 666. I’m glad MR just told us his life story. Like anyone here cares.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:48 am
[...] investments crucial in stopping the run Interior investments crucial in stopping the run - Inside The Oakland Raiders - A look inside the wo… __________________ *The proceeding link is not affiliated by this site, nor the provider. listed [...]
July 5th, 2008 at 3:23 am
if you didn’t know Al was born on july 4th, you’re not a raider fan!
July 5th, 2008 at 3:42 am
First off I direct your attention to Warren Sapp. He dropped the weight in an effort to provide more pressure in pass rushing situations.
He initial role was to play 65% of the snaps @ the “3″ technique. this truncated P/T philosophy was also supposed to be employed in 2006.
Due to injuries to Gerard Warren & the out & out ineffectiveness of “Turdell” Sands Sapp saw much more of the field than the original design dictated.
On to the Raiders other ‘achillies heel,” the OLT debacle presently known as Kwame Harris.
Keep an eye on the Jason Peters situation. Peters, whom garnered a Pro Bowl berth in 2007 for the Buffalo Bills is currently holding out in hope of a contract renegotiation. His relationship with Bills management has not only become contentious but the Bills have recently awarded an OG & a DT with new contracts. This has got to chafe the hide of the accomplished Peters, a collegiate TE that went undrafted in the 2004 college entry draft.
If the Raiders offer a conditional secound round pick to the Bills that could morph into a first round pick via agreed upon performance clauses this could prove to be a feather in the cap for the Raiders.
If Peters’ accompanying performance nets the Raiders anything reminiscent of a playoff berth it’s all good for the silver & black. If Peters performance portrays that of an ordinary level the Raiders could still direct their attention in the first round to another OT (albeit sans second round pick).
I believe the former is more likely than the latter. Thus the risk should be less than high.
Hope all had a great fourth. back to the old salt mines!
antispy3
July 5th, 2008 at 3:51 am
I would rather keep our line and pick for next years draft than waste it on a former TE turned Guard!
July 5th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Hopefully, we can stop the run this year, its been a major concern of ours over at http://tfdssports.com as well.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:52 am
This is my first visit to this blog. Found it very interesting.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:10 am
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/828893/oakland_raiders_gm_al_davis_how_he.html?cat=14
Good reading for all the morons in this blog, mainly MR.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Hey coach on wheels, nice to hear from you. coach I agree with you, not only last year the raiders couldnt stop the run, but for the last four years, add a bad offense to that and we our current record. We need to blitz. We need to be less predictable on defense. We need to stop the run. I dont agree with the scheme on defense, think its too much of one mans ego, question is which man ryan or davis. Always nice reading your posts. Havent heard from scottish raider in awhile, he has insightful posts as well. So let me end it with, lets stop the run this year,score ten more points per game,and hopefully that will translate to a eight or nine in the win total.
July 5th, 2008 at 6:26 am
“”"”"”"”"”"”"” HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR.DAVIS “”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
July 5th, 2008 at 6:32 am
—”Former Chargers safety Terrence Kiel was killed after he was thrown from a Chevy sedan he was driving, police said Saturday. Friends had tried to keep Kiel from driving home from the party, and witnesses told police he appeared to be driving in the wrong direction when he crashed. Kiel had been released by the Chargers last off-season after he pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor drug charges for shipping prescription cough syrup to Texas.”—
thats just too young, 28 years old, a 2nd round pick… What a waste…
July 5th, 2008 at 6:34 am
La Milicia Negra;
Jason Peters is a LEFT TACKLE! Perhaps you neglected to read the bio, or perhaps you are bereft of knowledge of personnel around the NFL but Peters is held in high regard around the league. So, for your sentiment to come across as it did (some of my co-workers were equally set back) displays a certain naivete projected by those lacking vision. Myopia sighting!
I do believe I detect the importance of a LEFT TACKLE as opposed to a GUARD, which we have manned in the capable presence of Robert (I finally found myself!) & Cooper Carlisle.
So, wake up & smell the cappucino! Kwame Harris will not become the long term answer @ OLT! Time to protect our long term future @ QB before he winds up on the endangered species list (see last season’s home finale against the lightning bolts)!
And please come with a better response than the terse one you provided!
Also; time to dump Lamont Jordan. With a glut of available RB’s awaiting the certainty of the training camp injury express the Raiders are not doing themselves any favors holding our false hope of fleecing another NFL team of a (low) future draft pick; not when the cap space should be earmarked for Nnamdi Asmougha (or Jason Peters).
antispy3!
July 5th, 2008 at 6:47 am
“This has got to chafe the hide of the accomplished Peters, a collegiate TE that went undrafted in the 2004 college entry draft.”
I guess I put to much into this then?
I still think we should keep our 1st round pick, and definitely our 2nd, because we need a bundh of 2nd round and 3rd round picks next year, I know it won’t happen, but I hope we’ll trade down our 1st rounder…
July 5th, 2008 at 6:48 am
cut terdell sands sign grady jackson & sam adams they know & do there job.terdell may know but he dont do.2 good players 4 the price of 1 bad one.if ed hartwell plays like he use 2 we just might be the team 2 beat.
July 5th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Furthermore, we are in ‘08 a run team not a pass team, Kwame will be really good in run situations, but I agree I have my doubts about his passprotecting skills, but I have trust in Cable
oh yeah, I don’t give a flying rats ass about your co-worker…
July 5th, 2008 at 7:05 am
The fact of the matter is, we’re still going to get punked by good pass rushing teams and won’t be able to stop the run!
Great that we picked up another corner (who is being converted to a back up safety) in the 4th round instead of Dre Moore or Red Bryant.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:10 am
CopenhagenFan… True…
July 5th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Schemes will take us just so far. Ryan has tried multiple schemes with similar results because we do not have enough talent on the Dline.
Forget about linebackers and defensive backs making plays. Our defensive line is getting pushed around and if that does not change we will again not stop the run.
We also have the problem of pressuring the passer.
I am content with the McFadden pick given his unusual talent and how much of a help he will be to Jamarcus.
We need to get some young talent on the defensive line in the 2009 draft.(Forget about aging retread free agents). In the meantime, let’s hope that moving the chains on offense and a healthy Kelly staying in one spot can make us a bit better on defense than last year.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:43 am
9/21/08
Raiders venture to Buffalo for a matchup against the Bills.
Jason Peters furthers his (Pro Bowl) legacy by shutting out the Raiders combined RDE’s to the tune of no sacks & no tackles. Marshawn Lynch becomes the second NFL RB to torch the Raiders to the tune of 100 yards rushing.
Kwame Harris allows Bills RDE Bo Schobel to impersonate a Pro Bowl DE as Buffalo plays eight in the box, shutting down the run & forcing the Raiders to pass (not exactly their strength).
Hopefully this doesn’t occur but hanging ones fortune on players whom opposing DC’s have to be licking their chops over can’t harbor a favorable outcome. I can just visualize the accompanying traffic accident resembling the Raiders new OLT.
Again; here’s hoping against hope. I just think the opposition has access to the Raiders 2007 game films & those representing Kwame Harris’ ‘49er career. I just think the likes of the ‘bolts defensive staff, among others (see; Raiders 2008 opponents) have the advantage in this scenario.
Sieve-like pass protection + less than mediocre interior run defense = bad things happening, man. Bad things. Especially when the Raiders have the resources to do something about it. before the season even starts!
Also; who cares about the fate of a player cot by the opposition who never got it? I could care less how young he was; talk about wasted space!
antispy3!
July 5th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Thank you gentlemen for having a football conversation today instead of the weird crap that’s been going on lately! Football talk seems to have kept most of the freaks away. KEEP IT UP so the idiots stay away!
Raider Football talk only
July 5th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Antispy….In full agreement with your doom and gloom fantasy for the Bills game. The off-season has actually been very fruitful with a significant number of good additions to the roster. However, the guys we acquired do not address the real glaring needs that we had after last year.
Problems last year:
1) Lousy LT - Harris is a question mark and has NOT demonstrated that he is better than Sims. Not a successful move by the GM to improve the problem.
2) No run stopping DT’s - Sapp gone, Joseph in. Kelly moved inside and has a bum knee and is grossly overpaid. GM takes the same ineffective players and just pays MORE money than last year.
3) Weak WR’s - Jerry Porter gone - Crack Smokin’ Jevon Walker with a broken jaw, bum knee and paid MORE MONEY than Jerry Porter. Addition : Drew Carter, 3rd WR from a team that was not overly effective in passing the ball. No track record for Carter that suggests he’ll be anything better than Curry. No significatant moves by the GM to fix the hole.
OK we got a good safety that allows us to move Huff over, but Wilson could be a Desmond Howard and Huff still has to prove himself….good move by the GM but they have to PRODUCE to make it real.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Antispy3…
sorry to have pissed you off… hope you’ll mellow up soon =)
I just cant see how you can give a 1st round pick for a undrafted player… I think we could do more with that pick than give it away to a team we will compete with in the off season in a few years…
we could hope Lynch still gets a suspension =) but I doubt it…
July 5th, 2008 at 8:18 am
sacbee.com/100/story/1061816.html
Brad Roll is just as important as Cable… Never liked Jeff Fish…
July 5th, 2008 at 8:30 am
LMN yeah Antispy got so hot under the collar about your dismissal of Jason Peters as a useless OG that he went off on a anti-Raider fantasy in Buffalo ha ha ha
July 5th, 2008 at 9:00 am
CopenhagenFan…
yeah, and that I missed he was a tackle, and that I assumed he was a guard…
I can see that is major stuff, and that him and his coworkers think very little about me =)
July 5th, 2008 at 9:20 am
We need a mean badass coach that yells…”grab, grab, grab!!” when our poruous run defense misses tackles and gets juked or just plain run over……
July 5th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I watched buffalo play NE last year twice. If we lose to buffalo we should end our season! Besides didn’t their runningback hit and leave an old lady or something??? nice. I once had a very loud argument w/bill fans in a sports bar. They were talking how great their CBs are and that their the best. top Buffalo BIll (drew bledsoe), tossed another one of his accurate passes to Philip Buchanon who brought it back for a tD. it was great! they shut up so quickly.
Although… i still think trent edwards and calvin johnson but i’ll that to myself.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:46 am
jim…
yeah that was my thoughts too that year… but I stand by Jammy nonetheless as I know all other fans do =)
July 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am
COW
So AD is now responsible for ordering the defense to play soft with a lead?.
I thought AD´s problem was that he was adamant about playing man to man, 4 man rush defense without any flexibility, at least that´s what most people here complain about.
I have my doubts about that, AD has always talked about being agressive and not letting the opponent dictate what you do on your end, his beloved man to man coverage being proof of it.
On top of that, we all know how much he loves his CB´s and to have them step back into soft zones when it matters the most doesn´t make much sense.
I don´t think we can blame AD for both the man coverage and the soft zones.
BHP
Ok, Ryan is not on the field, we get that. But as far as I understand, players missing assignments and tackles goes back to coaching in the first place.
Ryan runs practices, he´s supposed to make sure players tackle properly, execute their assignments and play disciplined football, right?.
At some point you have to hold Ryan accountable, you can´t fire the whole defense, if a new guy comes in, shakes thing up and we still have the same problems, then you´ll be proven right and we´ll shift the blame on the players.
I´m rooting for Ryan, always said so, I´d love nothing more than have our D step up and for me to eat crow, but you can´t blame people for having major doubts after 4 years, even with the we´ve changes made in the offseason.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am
My nomination for the most ridiculous thing I’ve read here in quite awhile. (I’ll give the benefit of the doubt, though, and assume you’re kidding):
# La Milicia Negra Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 3:23 am
if you didn’t know Al was born on july 4th, you’re not a raider fan!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Oh and as far as Sapp´s motives for losing 50 pounds between 06 and 07, I´m not saying he was wrong to do it, it´s his body and health.
But in 06 at his usual 334 he had his best season in years with 10 sacks, he was snubbed from a Pro Bowl invitation according to some. Bottom line is his game declined without the weight, I don´t blame him for it, but it ended up being counterproductive for us.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Peters would be a steal for a future 1st, and would be worth a 1st and 2nd. it is harder to find a pro bowl lt than it is to find a pro bowl nt. Just as sands aint the answer neither is Kwame.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Speaking of Al Davis, here´s what Bill Williamson the former Denver beat writter who now works for espn wrote about AD´s health yesterday:
“Happy birthday, Al Davis. The owner and czar of the Raiders turns 79 today.
Davis has slowed down some physically, but I had the chance chat with him briefly last month and he is as energetic and sharp as ever.
Say what you want about Davis, but he is still one of the great characters of the game and his passion for his team is still off the charts.”
From Bill Williamson of espn.com
“energetic and sharp as ever”….I´m guessing many people will cringe and many others will be thrilled.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Sign Fat Sam Adams? We ran him out of the league last season when he and Denver came to town. He wants more money than he weighs and has lost his ability to slow down, much less stop, the run. Gravy Jackson might work out for us, but he can be fragile.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:28 am
“I´m guessing many people will cringe and many others will be thrilled.”
Yes, and some — or one, at least — will say Williamson is nothing but a Raider shill, until, of course, he writes something negative about Al or the Raiders, at which point he will be help up as a shining example of clear thinking and honesty.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am
kelly will be a marginal upgrade at the 3t. Warren will be average at nt. Burgess will continue to be bad against the run, but make up for it by getting to the qb. Richardson will improve in year 2. I see the raiders going from being really bad against the run to being below average to somewhat bad. If the offense scores, this will alleviate the burden of teams just settinmg out to pound the ball. if the offense is avaerage, the defense will be in the middle of the pack against the run. the passing defense is very good. two good corners, two safeties that can cover, two ball hawking lb’s. opposing offenses will not find mismatches in the passing defense which means you have to make plays against the raiders passing defense.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:30 am
that’s ‘held up’, of course….
July 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Agreed on Jason Peters, a 26 year old Pro Bowl starting LT is definitely worth a 1st round pick that statistically has a 50% chance of playing up to expectations.
Read that he´s looking for a 10 million a year payday, Faneca got 8 million per and the best paid LT´s Pace and Jones make 7.5, but their deals were signed in 05.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:41 am
“If not, he can only play for the franchise tender of $9.765 million for the 2008 season once he signs it.”
BS. You can still renegotiate the contracts after it is signed. You can renegotiate anything if the two parties agree.
Sign Adams, hopeully will help mentor Turd-L.
I like Grady also, but he can tend to be a bit Lazy.
I think Adams and Sands will make a great rotation at the ‘big-tackle’ spot, and be some serious beef in short yardage.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:50 am
all franchised players have a little under two weeks to work out a long term deal per the cba. once the mid july deadline passes no deal can be worled out until the 09 fa periods begins.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I would take a flyer on Grady, but big Sam has been a joke the past two seasons. Grady eats space, and might form anice rotation with Sands, warren, kelly. keeping those big boys fresh will help out the run d a lot.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Statistics. You can bend ‘em anyway you like. One major reason the Raiders gave up as many rushing yards as they did was the ineptitude of the OFFENSE. Don’tcha get it? Don’t let ESPN make you into a sports CPA. When teams are in the lead they run. I’m not saying we are great at rush defense, but everything is relative, and something that will help the rush defense will be scoring more points.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Bentley….I only support Al when he wins…winning is the only thing that matters.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
We are also in a division with LT, LJ, and DEN who has a good running system. 6 games.
Lies, Damn lies and Statistics. Mark Twain
July 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
No way on Sam Adams. Dick V is exactly right. First off, Denver is in desperate need at practically every defensive line position and they’ve given up on him. What does that tell ya?? 2ndly, do you really want that out of shape fat fu** mentoring your young interior linemen?? The only thing Sam Adams has shown in the last three years is his uncanny speed to make it to the buffet table.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
If Al Davis signed Sam Adams this afternoon, by tonight Oakglenn would be telling us how great he is.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Put Rob Ryan’s fat arse in the middle…teamed with Sands, that would be like those 2 fat Blobs Siragusa & Adams from Baltimore’s 2000 defense.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
“I see shades Reggie Kinlaw in Sam Adams. Plus, the last time Sam was here, I believe we went to a Super Bowl. Hello…”
- Oakglenn, if were to sign Sam Adams.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
“Sam Adams is a proven winner”
- Oakglenn, if we were to sign Sam Adams.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Sam Adams is washed up.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Definitly sign Gravy Jackson. Keep him away from the all-you-can-eat buffets though.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
SIGN GRAVY JACKSON!!!!!!!
July 5th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Sam Adams has been a back up on two of the league worst run defenses: Donkeys & Bengals. The guy is a fat joke.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Bob - Al TALKS about being aggressive. He is a well-known opponent of the blitz.
Either way, it is Al’s call. Take your pick:
1) Al dictated to Ryan his play soft philosophy and Ryan complied.
or
2)Ryan has his own play soft philosophy and despite 6 blown 4th quarter leads, Al insists on keeping him.
Ryan’s continued employment is proof that Al sees no problem with letting teams come back on you every week.
BTW -Playing Man does NOT mean you’re playing aggressive. Jon Kitna remarked how the Raider CB’s backed off in the 4th. Playing off your man 10 or 15 yards is not aggressive.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
MR is a certified moron
-Oakglenn
July 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Nice to see MR coming out of the closet to join us.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
JS -
The offense provided the defense with 10 4th quarter leads and the D blew 6 of them.
The offense won time of possession but the D was tired?
The offense was a top 5 running team all year and above average all year. The D was the worst at stopping the run.
One game proved how bad the D was / is. The first half ended with a Raider possession. The Raiders start the 3r with the ball and chew 7 or 8 minutes off the clock and score. The defense has been friggin resting for 45 minutes of real time anmd what do they do? Get marched on all the way down the field. Too tired?
Keep making excuses for our D. Losers hide behind excuses and our D fits the bill.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
One thing about Peters is he plays in a system that fits guys like Langston Walker. Would he fit in here? Don’t know.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
COW, first off, If the game you are talking about is the Colt game where McCown drives 99 and a half yards for a score only to have the defense turn around and give up the lead I Can’t argue you being upset with that. But the reality is the defense only gave up one touchdown to Manning that whole game. The other TD was scored off special teams, and they got 2 FG’s and two point conversion. If your defense gives up 13 points to Peyton Manning and the Indy colts you should win the freaking game.
On another point, everyone here remembers the great Raider defenses where you couldn’t have driven an 18 wheeler thru that defense. But the reality in todays NFL with all the rule changes favoring offense is that’s no longer realistic to expect your defense to go out there and completely dominate. And if you don’t believe me, just rewind back to the last Super Bowl where you have BOTH TEAMS, BOTH TEAMS, get marched right down the field and scored on!!! BOTH TEAMS!!!! In the freaking super bowl!!!!!! With everything on the line!!!!! And you have Spagnola and Bellichik as the defensive playcallers. Arguably the two best in the league!!!!
Bottom line, you better be winning by more than 6 late in the fourth quarter if you expect to win games in this league.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
oakglenn: how many possessions were each team given in the superbowl? It was a ridiculous amount of 3 and outs and not getting first downs. At the end… teams get tired but also remember those were two of the best offenses… not every team in the nfl. THose defenses were absolutely great in the bowl. However, when your offense is always 3 and out (which ours wasn’t last year) then you should have something left. Also, our defense was over rated the year prior. Do you remember all the opening drives we gave up points only to see the opponents run out the clock from the first quarter. we gave up a td every time we needed a stop. when we didn’t need a stop… we got a bunch because the opponents’ O went conservative.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Jim, I don’t quite know what you’re saying here, yes both defenses played incredibly well, but then folded at the most inappropriate time. And the NY Giants offense was pretty average other than their running game. As a matter of fact Giant fan was ready to run Eli out of town on a rail early in the season.
The one point you say is when our offense was not three and out last year, I was like huh??? Our offense went three and out a ridiculous number of times. Waaaaaay too many times. Hence the drafting of Dmac, instead of a defensive lineman which is well documented on this site as being my preference.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I was wondering why we didn’t sign Grady Jackson last year when Atlanta cut him…
Oakland’s restaurant owner’s community could use the boost.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
COW…post 108
I´ll go with option number 2, thank you.
Why AD insists on keeping Ryan, specially after last season, is beyond me.
I never bought the perceived improvement after 06, I posted my doubts here way before last season started. I can see why he was brought back for 07, but I didn´t like it back then and I certainly don´t like it now.
I just hope AD knows better, but I´m not gonna stand here and call it a good move, I think it´s a mistake.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
wheres lincoln kennedy when u need him
July 5th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I think Link is up in the stands of old Mile High punching some gutless Bunco fan in the grill
July 5th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
As an independent 3rd party observer of this blog, I have noticed:
1. MR is an A-hole, and not a Raider fan;
2. Oakglenn is a troublemaking A-hole, and as dumb as a rock;
3. La Milicia Negra is two faced and can’t admit when he is wrong;
4. Mistabrown is a grumpy person that just likes to point out other people’s mistakes;
5. RaiderDogg is neutral and just here to observe;
6. CT Raider is bi-polar;
7. Dakota is entertaining as hell;
8. BlackHolePriest is knowledgeable;
9. Coach on Wheels knows what he is talking about;
10. Bob Marley is usually right.
The rest of you are just role-players and mean pretty much nothing to this blog.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
3rd party we care about your opinion why now??
July 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Yes! I’m on the list =)
July 5th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
3rd party is probably MR stirring s**t up>>happy 79th AL
July 5th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
# 3rd Party Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
As an independent 3rd party observer of this blog, I have noticed:
1. MR is an A-hole, and not a Raider fan;
2. Oakglenn is a troublemaking A-hole, and as dumb as a rock;
3. La Milicia Negra is two faced and can’t admit when he is wrong;
4. Mistabrown is a grumpy person that just likes to point out other people’s mistakes;
5. RaiderDogg is neutral and just here to observe;
6. CT Raider is bi-polar;
7. Dakota is entertaining as hell;
8. BlackHolePriest is knowledgeable;
9. Coach on Wheels knows what he is talking about;
10. Bob Marley is usually right.
The rest of you are just role-players and mean pretty much nothing to this blog.
……
GREAT POST!!
I agree, whole heartedly. Hey, I can take being called an a-hole. Although you’re wrong about me not being a Raider fan.
There’s nothing else there I don’t agree with, except that I would emphasize the word USUALLY when saying that Marley is usually right. Last week when the Sapp comments went public Marley first said that Sapp was referring only to Turner and Shell, then in the same breath said that Sapp was lying. I agree, Marley is usually right, but he’s usually accentuating irrelevant positives to counter the most important and current negative issues, like us being a perennially losing team anymore and Sapp saying something that was not only backed up by former employee Mike Lombardi, but that has also essentially been common knowledge for years. In short, Marley’s USUALLY a Raider shill.
Sincerly,
A - Hole.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Oakglenn, let Marley debate with Coach on Wheels. C.O.W. will make a bigger ass out of you than what you already are. You do not have the IQ for it. Trust me.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Oakglenn, rule of thumb:
If Marley, your mentor and pimp, can’t take C.O.W., you don’t stand a snowball’s chance. It looks like Marley just conceded to C.O.W. on Ryan, which by default puts you into the losing column as well. Your diatribes in your feeble attempts to rebuke C.O.W. are nothing more than piss in the wind. Nobody’s even reading them. As soon as someone sees that you’re even attempting to address C.O.W., they stop reading. It’s like watching a 10 year old kid throw on the gloves and challenging his old man to a fight. It’s cute, if you have the time to watch. But nobody here does. Give it up, Oakglenn. You’re a die hard Raider fan, I’ll give you that, but you’re not a smart football x’s and o’s guy. It’s just not you. Do what you do best and just continue to call negative people out for not being “real fans”. Let Marley handle the x’s and o’s stuff. He’s a spinmeister but he’s got a brain. You don’t, Oakglenn. Know your limits.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
For the guy who said that Al Davis is still “sharp”, I challenge you to name anything he’s done in the past 5 years, aside from hiring Kiffin, that would demonstrate he’s sharp when it comes to the modern day NFL game.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
That from a guy who has been certified by literally hundreds of different posters here that he is ignorant, stupid, reviled, and moronic. By definition I win again. The classic fool calling others fools.
The saddest part of all of this is maybe we should use this as a scientific experiment of some sort. I mean the most simple of Gods creatures know that after they’ve been pissed on and shat on, over and over and over and over again, they move on. The simplest of organisms know that. Oh but not MoRon. Oh no….shoot MoRon thinks if he keeps returning he is somehow salvaging his dignity, when in fact it’s just the reverse. If MoRon wasn’t raving and drooling all over himself, talking to himself thru his multiple personalities, no one would even look his way. We only gander at him because of the car wreck style of attraction.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
LOL
He nailed me..
# 3rd Party Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
As an independent 3rd party observer of this blog, I have noticed:
1. MR is an A-hole, and not a Raider fan;
2. Oakglenn is a troublemaking A-hole, and as dumb as a rock;
3. La Milicia Negra is two faced and can’t admit when he is wrong;
4. Mistabrown is a grumpy person that just likes to point out other people’s mistakes;
5. RaiderDogg is neutral and just here to observe;
6. CT Raider is bi-polar;
7. Dakota is entertaining as hell;
8. BlackHolePriest is knowledgeable;
9. Coach on Wheels knows what he is talking about;
10. Bob Marley is usually right.
The rest of you are just role-players and mean pretty much nothing to this blog.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
MR,
Well I’d say taking McFadden was a good move…..
July 5th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
3rd party, you obviously been on this blog regular so whats your other screen names ?
July 5th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
gfm975,
Sure. McFadden. Why not? He’s produced, let’s see…..zero wins for us thus far.
Try again.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Oakglenn, I beat you to the punch months ago, delusional one, when I suggested there should be a scientific experiment done on that metal plate in your head that blocks you from seeing how bad Al Davis is at building teams anymore. We’ll let Marley look it up. He’ll probably have it in less than a minute.
Oakglenn, just a word to the wise, I’m here partly to get news from Jerry, and partly to make fun of the Davis believers, like you. It’s impossible for me to be “shat” on when I’m here to “shat”, plan and simple. 3rd party nailed it: I am an a-hole. That’s not by accident. It takes an a-hole to shake you kool aid drinkers into reality.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Hi Nation.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I like the Raiders running game this season. I like it when teams run to set up the passing game. Thats a good strategy. I also like punters to aim for the coffin corner. I also like an onsides kick once in a while. I like goin for it on 4th down when they dont expect it, as in a fake punt. I like eating pink popcorn on game days with a lemonade. And I like to yell at people to please sit down so I can view the game unobstructed. And I dont like alot of noise fromthe fans during crucial times of the games. And I dont like using the toilets without a nice ass-gasket.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Oh, and I like eating McDonalds food at our tailgate, I prefer not to be bothered with the fuss of a bar-b-q pit. And I dont like any rock n roll music at our tailgates. I prefer reading.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I have to go for now. Im watching Lonesome Dove on the tv.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Yawn yawn yawn with the cry baby mess. Bad coaching, awful scouting, terible free agent signing, blown draft picks, and just of lack of overall talent is what did everything in. As one blogger said it is all relative. You have to score in this league but you also stop the other team from scoring. In every NFL season the defense catches up with the offense by November. Neither facet of the game carries more importance.
Kelly and Sands are just excuses for having soft safeties and one dimensional linebackers on the field coupled with harldy any pressure on the opposing qb. Offensively we have stunk with trash at QB, zero talent at RB, lack of speed and hands at WR and invisible men on line.
What this team has been lacking is obvious… Stability at coach and QB. That is always number one. Also we lack a franchise LT to protect the blindside! Last but not least the Raiders havent had true pressure from the RDE spot in years……many years. You can talk about RB, WR, TE, DL and all the other spots but key ingredients to bringing a winner have lacked. But there is room for optimism now with what Kiffin is trying to do. We have added some better pieces to make ourselves more competitive. Last but not least the Raiders need thier drafted guys to step up. You can talk this free agent crap and trades but championship teams have the drafted players asthe foundation. Until this happens we are doomed.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
MR if you really examine your post, I’m not sure you’re convinced of your own assessment of Al Davis. Because hiring Kiffin and acquiring the players is really all he does.
De Angelo Hall, Nnamdi Asoughma, Derrick Burgess, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush, DMC and several others in the last 5 years isn’t too bad even in your own cockeyed book.
And if you think for one second that the other coaches, Cable, Rathman etc, come here based on what Kiffin says alone you’re crazy. They also come based on their own conversations with Mr. Davis. After all he negotiates their pay and signs off on all newhires.
You can’t have it both ways, he’s done bad and he’s done very well in some instances. Just like everyone else.
He’s just different than everyone else………….period. Most owners don’t know if the balls blown up or stuff ie. Eddie D’Bartolo.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
yawn
July 5th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
And don’t forget Jamarcus BHP. Everyone seems to forget how good Jam is going to be. The problem with all of MoRons discussions is he only wants to discuss the last 5 years. Funny thing, the year before that and the years before that the Raiders were in the hunt for a world championship. It’s disingenuous to only want to discuss losing unless a) you’re a whiner fan, b) you’re a loser c)you want to come here and cause problems. Moron happens to be all three.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Facts are overall………players play and coaches coach……….But a coach doesn’t miss block assignments, miss tackles, misread coverages or zone packages, give up sacks, drops passes, give up receptions or ETC…………Basically this game still does rely on people’s talents and we haven’t had the talent. I’m amazed we didn’t go 0-16 a few times
July 5th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Glenn why worry……….I think Jamarcus has the talent and has the work ethic to get things moving…..shoot last season we saw a change and we got a favorable schedule I doubt we stink it up
July 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
BHP,
We haven’t won more than 5 games in any particular season with the players you named.
Al Davis has not done good in some instances and bad in others in the past 5 years. It’s been ALL bad. 19-61. I mention Kiffin because he did establish a running game. But to be fair, he didn’t produce jack, either. Just two wins more than Shell. I like Kiff, but I think he let Al push him around way too much.
But I will agree that Al is different from everyone else. I also don’t care. Wins are all I care about.
So, I ask again, in the past 5 year what has Al Davis done that would demonstrate he’s “sharp”, other than hiring Kiffin? I’ll spot you one: Fargas. Now you’re on your own. What else?
July 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
I’ll tell you this………we are in deep dog crap if Jay Richardson is the RDE. No way he wil get consistent pressure on QB’s blindside
July 5th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Oakglenn, I’m not addressing you anymore. I’m just addressing Marley. I don’t deal with hoes. I go straight to the pimp. I’ll debate this issue with Marley. You just sit back and cheer.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I’m sorry, BHP, you mentioned Fargas already. My mistake. But other than Fargas and Kiffin, what?
It’s kind of a trick question, guys, because I’m asking about the past 5 years, and there isn’t much sharp about 19-61.
The reason I bring this up is to address all of those (except Oakglenn. I go straight over his head to Marley, from here on out) who are insisting Davis is still “smart” in their b-day wishes to him. He’s not when it comes to football. But I’ll admit, he is when it comes to business. You guys are proof of that.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
MRS argument reminds me of what people were saying before the 2000 season and licked off Al’s crack when the winning came about….Al got a young coach, for the first time in like forever a young franchise QB and he also has a playmaker at the RB slot………..He is doing enuff to ride us of that bad five year taste
July 5th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
LOL at anyone who actually believes Farglasss is worth a damn……the guy is subpar
July 5th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Will you silly Willies please tell me if they will ecer bring back the pink popcorn to the coliseum on game days?,,….I really enjoy them,…but they didnt have them last year,…those dumb dumbs!….they should stop sellin beer and bring back pink popcorn!!!!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
pink popcorn is sold at a little convenient store…there you happy?
July 5th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Hiya Brien!!!…I agree with you,..its gonna be a splendid season!!!…i got my tickets,..I cant wait!!!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
No Brien…those poopypants at the gate will frisk me…I dont like people touching me,..especially girls.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
You guys watchin Lonesome Dove on the tv tonight like me?
July 5th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Very 5th grade of you my friend……at least your act could be funny
July 5th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Fair enough, Brien. Fargas isn’t good. Then we’re down to one: Kiffin’s hiring. You’re not doing these guys any favors.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I never liked girls is “AI”. Guess tonight it’s my turn. I can take it. I do think he’s funny.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
You guys boozin it up tonight?..Im havin a icee cold glass of good ol buttermilk!!!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Are you tellin me that my real name is Artificial Intelligence??????????…oh boy I love that movie,..I have it on dvd!!!!!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
AI, how’s the norco thing going? Starting to kick, or still under the influence? It’s saturday, and you’re home, too. Hopefully this is by choice for you. Hope you’re not wearing an ankle bracelet, or anything…
July 5th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
LOL he rushed for 1,000 yards in half a season, that aint subpar in my book. Production is what counts not wether we like a guy.
Listen when it comes to winning and losing I’m with you. I want to win………period.
we haven’t done that and until we do I’ll agree with the point that the results have not been good. To say it’s completely and totally his fault is questionable we just haven’t had the consistency at QB. As Oak pointed out very few people really realize how critical that is to overall production of the entire team. The lack of consistent head coach is directly his fault. That I blame him alone.
Now let’s see what the coming year brings. His Legacy isn’t done yet the next 5 years could produce a couple of championships and even if he doesn’t live to see them, we will have to say that he was influentual in those as well.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Im home because I love my home,..why would I want to go out in public? Why would I wear an ankle bracelet? Are you saying Raider fans wear them because they are unlawful? You shouldnt be like that MR.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Blackholepriest. Are you really a priest? What church?
July 5th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Alright, BHP, you and Brien make up your minds as to rather or not Fargas counts as a sharp move by Al. In the meantime, it’s still just Kiffin’s hiring. Like I said, he didn’t do you any favors. The idiot was so hellbent on disagreeing with me that he set you back.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I attend a church online. They cant pass around the plate b