Tag: Oakland Raiders (Page 13 of 33)

      Eagles want a top 42 pick for McNabb

      March 26, 2010 /

      NBCSports.com is reporting that the Eagles are willing to trade quarterback Donovan McNabb, but only for a top 42 pick.

      After months of saying McNabb would return for another year, Eagles coach Andy Reid acknowledged Wednesday he was listening to offers for McNabb, Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick.

      Oakland, Buffalo and St. Louis are considered to be most interested in McNabb. Each team has two picks in the top 42.

      It’s unlikely any of those teams would give up a first-round pick for McNabb. The Rams have the first overall selection, the Raiders pick eighth and the Bills are ninth. In the second round, however, the Rams have the 33rd pick, Raiders are 39th and Bills are 41st.

      A rumored deal that would’ve sent McNabb to St. Louis for the 33rd pick and safety Oshiomoghe Atogwe was strongly denied by several Rams officials, including coach Steve Spagnuolo.

      Outside of needing a quarterback, none of the three teams mentioned above make sense as a suitor for McNabb. Even if the Eagles were to accept a second round pick from the Raiders, Bills or Rams, what makes any of those teams believe that McNabb would be the missing link between them being the doormats in the league and a playoff contender?

      Not to mention, McNabb’s contract expires at the end of the year. So unless whatever team acquires him can convince him to sign an extension, he’ll be on lease for one season. Is that worth giving up a second round pick? If said team can sign him to an extension then my opinion changes a bit, but it still doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Raiders, Bills or Rams to take a flier on McNabb when he clearly won’t be a long-term solution.

      Either way, if the source in the report is telling the truth, then maybe the Kevin Kolb era in Philadelphia is going to get kicked off sooner rather than later.


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      NFL

      2010 NFL Mock Draft Version 1.0

      March 18, 2010 /

      The full mock is finally completed!

      I waited a lot longer than I normally do to compile my first mock draft of the year. Normally I whip up my first batch of mock draft right after the scouting combine, but this year I wanted to see what happened at the start of free agency before I even remotely considered whom teams would select in April.

      I get as excited as any true draftnik about mock drafts, but how could anyone venture a guess at what player a team will select without knowing what big free agents signed where? It’s like taking a long road trip to a place you’ve never been before without your GPS. (Wow, have the times changed. A couple of years ago, I would have ended that sentence with “without your map” but that damn technology continues to track us down like a bear preying on an injured deer.)

      Below is my first crack at predicting the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. As usual, feel free to argue my picks as much as you like but please, debate with some dignity. Don’t be the doucher that ruins the fun of mock drafts by spewing venom in the comments section of a sports blog. There may not be anything more pathetic.

      1. St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
      I have Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh rated as the unquestioned best player in this year’s draft. (Well, I don’t have an official ranking per se, but in my head he’s No. 1.) But that doesn’t mean I think the Rams will take him. Teams usually get funny about the No. 1 overall pick. They feel as though they have to match the contract with the position in order to justify the player they’re taking, which is completely backwards when you think about it. A team should be most concerned with taking the right player that matches their scheme. But I digress. Bradford is the top rated quarterback and the Rams have a major need at the position with Marc Bulger proving over the past two years that he’s better suited to run the scout team offense in practice and then the first unit on Sundays. The Rams feel as though they need to breathe some excitement into their dull franchise and taking Bradford should do the trick. Is he the right player? That’s debatable.

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      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      JaMarcus Russell transforming his body?

      March 16, 2010 /

      Turns out I may have jumped the gun on the post I wrote about how JaMarcus Russell should just quit football after reports surfaced that he wasn’t at the Raiders’ first offseason conditioning program on Monday.

      From the Oakland Tribune:

      “He’s trying to close a home in Alabama. It’s something that he couldn’t get out of,” Brown said. “You don’t want to lose your home. So he’ll be back in town today and ready to go (Tuesday).”

      “You’ll be surprised when you see him,” Brown said. “It’s quite a bit of weight that he’s lost . . . I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared to last year.

      “The most important thing is he’s getting in shape. Not only losing weight, but getting in shape. He’s watching his diet, he has special meals brought in that he’s eating, and we have one of the Raiders, a former player there with him to monitor him and make sure things are going fine. The weight thing, he’ll get it down. He’ll get it down.”

      If this weren’t JaMarcus Russell we’re talking about, I’d be eating a warm piece of crow right now. But he hasn’t earned the right to have people give him the benefit of the doubt. There were rumors that surfaced last year that he was in shape and then he showed up to offseason workouts with the same unconditioned body he has always had.

      Plus, even if he has transformed his body, it’s about freaking time. The Raiders paid him $61 million to be the face of their franchise and so far he’s given them nothing in return. He might as well change his name to Neil McCauley because he’s been flat out stealing money.

      This is a make or break year for Russell. If he ever wants to live up to his No. 1 overall billing, then he needs to put in the time and effort and make huge strides as a quarterback this year. If he wants to coast through another season, then chances are he won’t have many opportunities whenever the Raiders do decide to cut their losses and move on. I know there will always be some team that will give him a shot (look at Ryan Leaf – he still had suitors after the San Diego debacle), but it won’t be long before teams realize he’s a waste of time.


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      NFL

      JaMarcus Russell might as well quit football

      March 15, 2010 /

      I mean really, why even go through the motions at this point? It’s obvious that JaMarcus Russell just doesn’t care about playing professional football.

      The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Russell was a no-show for the start of the Raiders’ offseason conditioning program on Monday. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Russell were already established, but this is the same player that has been criticized profusely about his lack of dedication and work ethic. He’s also entering what should be a make-or-break year so one would assume that he would want to show up to all of the Raiders’ offseason workouts in order to save face with the franchise that paid him $61 million to, thus far, do absolutely nothing.

      Of course, if Russell were a member of any other NFL franchise he would be cut by now. But because the Raiders are a dysfunctional mess led by a dysfunctional owner, he still has the opportunity to win their starting quarterback job again this season. (Although he’s already put himself behind the 8-ball once again after Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye showed up to the workouts today.)

      Not to sound like a bitter sports writer that didn’t have the talent to make it in the NFL (or anything above the high school level for that matter), but it pisses me off that Russell was given this much talent and he’s just throwing it away. He’s flat out stealing money from the Raiders and even if Al Davis doesn’t care, players with more heart and less talent that never got a shot in the NFL should. If he doesn’t want to play, he should do the respectful thing and just quit.


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      NFL

      Asomugha being dangled by the Raiders?

      February 25, 2010 /

      In his desire to create yearly offseason headlines, Raiders’ owner Al Davis has reportedly been shopping most of his roster, including cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. But according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Asomugha’s contract makes him virtually untradeable.

      In February of last year, Asomugha signed a three-year, $45.3 million contract extension. The first two years of his contract, which total $28.6 million, are fully guaranteed and another $4.7 million is available through incentives.

      The fun really begins in year three of the contract because in order to keep Asomugha through 2011, the Raiders must pay him either the franchise number for quarterbacks that year or $16.875 million (whichever number is greater). If another team acquires him via a trade, they would either have to re-work his contract or pay him quarterback money. That’s why Schefter suggests that Asomugha’s contract essentially makes him untradeable.

      It’s not that teams won’t be interested in Asomugha, because all 31 other teams would line up to have him suit up for them next season. Outside of maybe Darrelle Revis of the Jets, Asomugha is the only cornerback in the league that can play man-to-man every snap and still consistently shut down one half of a field. Charles Woodson was brilliant last year for the Packers (he was arguably the best cornerback production wise in the league), but even he doesn’t exhibit the man-to-man coverage skills that Asomugha does. For as good as Revis is, he may not either. That said, unless a team wants to sink millions of dollars into one of their cornerback positions, Asomugha isn’t going anywhere.

      Of course, there’s a good chance that Davis has no intentions of trading his star defender anyway. If Schefter did acquire this information from a reliable source that knows Davis, it still doesn’t change the fact that the owner loves to cause a stir and would certainly be capable of manipulating a story like this to create some headlines.

      The safe bet is that Asomugha will be in silver and black again next year.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

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