Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 8,458
- Reaction score
- 546
Take it for what it is worth...
Mike Carlson
This week C2C travels into another dimension, where strange humanoid creatures show zombie-like devotion to an inter-galactic warlord with glasses on a silver chain. It was odd that they left the ‘silver’ out of the title of the movie ‘Men In Black’, because I was sure most of those creatures Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith encountered were Raiders’ season-ticket holders, only not in costume. Yes, we’re heading to Oakland, and if Gertrude Stein said of the city, ‘there’s no there there,’ well, she never met Al Davis.
After experiments with Chucky’s west-coast style game, and Norv’s modified Zampese attack, Al has returned to Raider roots. Recognising over a decade too late that he probably never should have fired Art Shell in the first place, he brought back the former Raider great as head coach. In as offensive coordinator comes long-time Davis crony Tom Walsh, who goes back to those Sid Gillman-LA Charger days in the early AFL, and who signifies the return of vertical football to Oakland. Davis’ version of what was the original west coast offense has always been less concerned with timing patterns and more with getting deep. This should be OK with Shell, whose Raider teams featured Tim Brown and James Jett on the flanks. Of course this year’s version will feature one R. Moss, and getting him the ball will be Aaron Brooks.
Seemingly born to wear the modern version of silver and black, the one where you get all of the attitude and none of the results, Brooks might be best remembered from his antics last season as he clowned for the cameras as New Orleans lost on national television. There’s no question he possesses the attributes of a top-flight NFL QB: good arm, quick feet, and the ability to make things happen. But he’s never shown the ability to make good decisions consistently. Of course a Raider good decision is drop back and throw to Randy. You could think of Brooks as a more mobile version of Kerry Collins, who had some success with Oakland when they protected him, or a somewhat softer version of Daunte Culpepper. Either way, he could make things happen, or he could provide opponents with enough gifts to make their Sundays.
Backup Marques Tuiasosopo seems to have proven he’s not an NFL starter, so presumably last year’s draft pick Andrew Walter, born to play vertical football, will be groomed as Brooks’ eventual replacement. If he’s not ready, the Raiders will pay the price for passing on Matt Leinart in the draft. They signed Kent Smith from Eastern Michigan to bring to camp, and he’s a good guy to bring along as a project: big with a strong arm but slow and very raw.
Any quarterback would love to throw to Oakland’s receivers, although route-running discipline is not one of their strong points. Jerry Porter, whose brief foray into politics left him wishing he had Jerramy Stevens to criticise instead of George W Bush, has a size/speed combo that would make anyone other than Moss or TO jealous, while Doug Gabriel is a good sized athlete and Ronald Curry fits the mould. Both Moss and Curry are coming off injury-riddled seasons, and as we know, Moss plays only when he wants to play. Whether Shell’s kick-ass appeal to silver and black glory will have any effect on generation X remains to be seen. I really like Carlos Francis, both as a slot receiver and kick returner. If he doesn’t fit the Raiders’ plans I can think of half a dozen teams he might help, starting with Jacksonville. Interestingly, the Raiders used the last pick in the draft to make Kevin McMahan of Maine Mr. Irrelevant: McMahan is a 6-2 196 receiver who’s run a 4.35 40. You’d think he’d be worth a flyer for most teams, but he’ll run into a logjam here.
Plus, Oakland went out and signed three more wideouts with potential: Jason Boyd of UTEP is the son of CFL Hall of Famer Jeff Boyd, and goes 6-3, 205 with a 4.47 time and attitude problems. Born to be a Raider? Jacob Brown is the son of former NFLer Monty, and was Smith’s favourite receiver at Eastern Michigan, but as a 6-2, 215 tight end. Perhaps they’ll try to build him up into an H-back, which is what they’ve been doing with James Adkisson, a former NFL Europe bench player with size and speed: though I doubt he’s got the lower-body foundation to carry tight end weight. Finally, they signed John Madsen, who at 6-4 ½, 225, brings basketball skills for conversion to TE/H-back; maybe they‘re trying for a Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates of their own.
If they are, that isn’t really the way to do it. The point is to find one in-line tight end with downfield receiving skills. The Raiders’ Courtney Anderson and Randall Williams are primarily blockers, and they signed Marcellus Rivers who’s another H-back type. This is typical of the Raiders’ philosophy, which always seems to be getting stuck between things.
To play vertical football you do need a running game, and although much was made of Lamont Jordan’s 1,000 yard season, Oakland ranked 29th in the league in rushing.
Backup Justin Fargas is better known as Huggy Bear’s son, but is an injury waiting to occur. They signed Rashard Lee and Walter Williams from the Packers and Rod Smart from the Panthers; rumours that Smart will wear ‘He Hate Al’ on the back of jersey are definitely untrue. Though Smart could help on special teams none is likely to ignite a ground game. Undrafted rookie JR Lemon from Stanford is a guy they didn’t have to travel far to see, and spent most of his senior year injured. He could be an effective back, especially in a one-cut system, but he’s doesn’t show any special elements to his game.
Of course a big part of their run problems were traceable to the offensive line, and if you can’t pass-block you can’t throw downfield. This is probably the year Robert Gallery finally beats out ex-Claymore Barry Sims at left tackle; Sims could shift inside to guard, as injuries have really hurt his mobility. They say Jake Grove will stay at center this year, which is where he is much more effective, which leaves utility man Brad Badger and Langston Walker to fill the other two spots. They drafted for offensive line help, though it’s hard to see Paul McQuistan or Kevin Boothe being ready to play this year. McQuistan may remind them of Sims, and might be tried at right tackle; Boothe looks to be a guard in the NFL. Chris Morris of Michigan is an over-achieving center who might well be an emergency measure that forces Grove back to guard. They also signed a massive under-achiever in Jabari Levey of South Carolina, who’s got the physical attributes at 6-5, 315 but plays lazy and soft. If Shell and line coaches Jackie Slater and Irv Eatman don’t have every possible style of play and attitude adjustment fully covered, then no one does. But I suspect this line is a year away from getting a solid run game down.
Defensively, the Raiders are tweener heaven. The team can’t decide on a base defense: Rob Ryan tried to make them a 3-4 team: which failed because Warren Sapp wasn’t a 3-4 end and Tyler Brayton isn’t a linebacker. They tried 4-3, and though they got an NFL-leading 16 sacks from Derrick Burgess, they didn’t have three linebackers who could play, so they wound up in 4-2-5 which, if you play two pass-rush ends, leaves you vulnerable against the run unless your tackles can clog the middle and linebackers can both fill the holes and move side to side. The rover back is key, and with Renaldo Hill and Charles Woodson both gone, they drafted Michael Huff to play the ‘5’ rover position. To a certain extent, in a division with Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, this formation makes sense, and Ryan, who’s more a Bill Belichick than Buddy Ryan type guy, will vary looks. Since Huff is the key to the defense, he was probably a pick you can justify passing on Leinart for, especially once you’ve signed another quarterback, even if that is Aaron Brooks. Huff certainly can play.
cont'd...
Mike Carlson
This week C2C travels into another dimension, where strange humanoid creatures show zombie-like devotion to an inter-galactic warlord with glasses on a silver chain. It was odd that they left the ‘silver’ out of the title of the movie ‘Men In Black’, because I was sure most of those creatures Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith encountered were Raiders’ season-ticket holders, only not in costume. Yes, we’re heading to Oakland, and if Gertrude Stein said of the city, ‘there’s no there there,’ well, she never met Al Davis.
After experiments with Chucky’s west-coast style game, and Norv’s modified Zampese attack, Al has returned to Raider roots. Recognising over a decade too late that he probably never should have fired Art Shell in the first place, he brought back the former Raider great as head coach. In as offensive coordinator comes long-time Davis crony Tom Walsh, who goes back to those Sid Gillman-LA Charger days in the early AFL, and who signifies the return of vertical football to Oakland. Davis’ version of what was the original west coast offense has always been less concerned with timing patterns and more with getting deep. This should be OK with Shell, whose Raider teams featured Tim Brown and James Jett on the flanks. Of course this year’s version will feature one R. Moss, and getting him the ball will be Aaron Brooks.
Seemingly born to wear the modern version of silver and black, the one where you get all of the attitude and none of the results, Brooks might be best remembered from his antics last season as he clowned for the cameras as New Orleans lost on national television. There’s no question he possesses the attributes of a top-flight NFL QB: good arm, quick feet, and the ability to make things happen. But he’s never shown the ability to make good decisions consistently. Of course a Raider good decision is drop back and throw to Randy. You could think of Brooks as a more mobile version of Kerry Collins, who had some success with Oakland when they protected him, or a somewhat softer version of Daunte Culpepper. Either way, he could make things happen, or he could provide opponents with enough gifts to make their Sundays.
Backup Marques Tuiasosopo seems to have proven he’s not an NFL starter, so presumably last year’s draft pick Andrew Walter, born to play vertical football, will be groomed as Brooks’ eventual replacement. If he’s not ready, the Raiders will pay the price for passing on Matt Leinart in the draft. They signed Kent Smith from Eastern Michigan to bring to camp, and he’s a good guy to bring along as a project: big with a strong arm but slow and very raw.
Any quarterback would love to throw to Oakland’s receivers, although route-running discipline is not one of their strong points. Jerry Porter, whose brief foray into politics left him wishing he had Jerramy Stevens to criticise instead of George W Bush, has a size/speed combo that would make anyone other than Moss or TO jealous, while Doug Gabriel is a good sized athlete and Ronald Curry fits the mould. Both Moss and Curry are coming off injury-riddled seasons, and as we know, Moss plays only when he wants to play. Whether Shell’s kick-ass appeal to silver and black glory will have any effect on generation X remains to be seen. I really like Carlos Francis, both as a slot receiver and kick returner. If he doesn’t fit the Raiders’ plans I can think of half a dozen teams he might help, starting with Jacksonville. Interestingly, the Raiders used the last pick in the draft to make Kevin McMahan of Maine Mr. Irrelevant: McMahan is a 6-2 196 receiver who’s run a 4.35 40. You’d think he’d be worth a flyer for most teams, but he’ll run into a logjam here.
Plus, Oakland went out and signed three more wideouts with potential: Jason Boyd of UTEP is the son of CFL Hall of Famer Jeff Boyd, and goes 6-3, 205 with a 4.47 time and attitude problems. Born to be a Raider? Jacob Brown is the son of former NFLer Monty, and was Smith’s favourite receiver at Eastern Michigan, but as a 6-2, 215 tight end. Perhaps they’ll try to build him up into an H-back, which is what they’ve been doing with James Adkisson, a former NFL Europe bench player with size and speed: though I doubt he’s got the lower-body foundation to carry tight end weight. Finally, they signed John Madsen, who at 6-4 ½, 225, brings basketball skills for conversion to TE/H-back; maybe they‘re trying for a Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates of their own.
If they are, that isn’t really the way to do it. The point is to find one in-line tight end with downfield receiving skills. The Raiders’ Courtney Anderson and Randall Williams are primarily blockers, and they signed Marcellus Rivers who’s another H-back type. This is typical of the Raiders’ philosophy, which always seems to be getting stuck between things.
To play vertical football you do need a running game, and although much was made of Lamont Jordan’s 1,000 yard season, Oakland ranked 29th in the league in rushing.
Backup Justin Fargas is better known as Huggy Bear’s son, but is an injury waiting to occur. They signed Rashard Lee and Walter Williams from the Packers and Rod Smart from the Panthers; rumours that Smart will wear ‘He Hate Al’ on the back of jersey are definitely untrue. Though Smart could help on special teams none is likely to ignite a ground game. Undrafted rookie JR Lemon from Stanford is a guy they didn’t have to travel far to see, and spent most of his senior year injured. He could be an effective back, especially in a one-cut system, but he’s doesn’t show any special elements to his game.
Of course a big part of their run problems were traceable to the offensive line, and if you can’t pass-block you can’t throw downfield. This is probably the year Robert Gallery finally beats out ex-Claymore Barry Sims at left tackle; Sims could shift inside to guard, as injuries have really hurt his mobility. They say Jake Grove will stay at center this year, which is where he is much more effective, which leaves utility man Brad Badger and Langston Walker to fill the other two spots. They drafted for offensive line help, though it’s hard to see Paul McQuistan or Kevin Boothe being ready to play this year. McQuistan may remind them of Sims, and might be tried at right tackle; Boothe looks to be a guard in the NFL. Chris Morris of Michigan is an over-achieving center who might well be an emergency measure that forces Grove back to guard. They also signed a massive under-achiever in Jabari Levey of South Carolina, who’s got the physical attributes at 6-5, 315 but plays lazy and soft. If Shell and line coaches Jackie Slater and Irv Eatman don’t have every possible style of play and attitude adjustment fully covered, then no one does. But I suspect this line is a year away from getting a solid run game down.
Defensively, the Raiders are tweener heaven. The team can’t decide on a base defense: Rob Ryan tried to make them a 3-4 team: which failed because Warren Sapp wasn’t a 3-4 end and Tyler Brayton isn’t a linebacker. They tried 4-3, and though they got an NFL-leading 16 sacks from Derrick Burgess, they didn’t have three linebackers who could play, so they wound up in 4-2-5 which, if you play two pass-rush ends, leaves you vulnerable against the run unless your tackles can clog the middle and linebackers can both fill the holes and move side to side. The rover back is key, and with Renaldo Hill and Charles Woodson both gone, they drafted Michael Huff to play the ‘5’ rover position. To a certain extent, in a division with Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, this formation makes sense, and Ryan, who’s more a Bill Belichick than Buddy Ryan type guy, will vary looks. Since Huff is the key to the defense, he was probably a pick you can justify passing on Leinart for, especially once you’ve signed another quarterback, even if that is Aaron Brooks. Huff certainly can play.
cont'd...
