Archive for March, 2009

Tom Cable speaks with a calming, measured, tone in press conferences. When hearing him give such a glaring review of Marquis Cooper, during what must have been such a tough topic to grasp, one begins to understand the affinity that the 2008 Raiders developed for their then interim head coach. The re-signings of Shane Lechler and Nnamdi Asomugha were the first indications that the “Cable Effect” was in full swing.   Yesterday proved yet another host of Raiders are drinking the Cable Kool-Aid as reports of Justin Fargas, Robert Gallery and (gasp!) Javon Walker all restructured their contracts to remain in [...]

My Brothers and Sisters of Raider Nation, Thank you for joining me here today in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart of Vacaville. I am obligated to mention that you can buy two cans of Hormel Chili for the price of one today and if you purchase three pounds of Jimmy Dean bacon the fourth pound is free. Now, to the business at hand. Our beloved Nation has seen six long years of misery. We will never get the taste of that Super Bowl loss in 2003 out of our mouths. Believe me, I tried. Heck, before I got on [...]

At 12:01 am on Friday, February 27th, 2009, the free agency tornado touched down on the NFL. Amid the chaos and swirling rumors Oakland, California, has been the eye of the storm. The Raiders have taken a patient approach in their spending this off-season. Each day, another story appears to link the Raiders with a possible trade or a meeting with a free agent fielding job offers. To date, there has been but one acquisition during the free agency period. Offensive tackle Erik Pears was signed away from AFC West rivals the Denver Broncos . He joins quarterback Bruce “The [...]

On a boat ramp in Clearwater, Florida, an SUV is parked with an empty boat trailer attached. A one-day parking receipt, which expired on Sunday, lies on the dashboard. Wedged beneath one of the windshield wipers is a note that reads, “Please contact the Coast Guard. Someone was worried about your welfare.” The SUV belongs to Marquis Cooper, an avid fisherman, loving father and linebacker for the Oakland Raiders. His SUV will not rest on the boat ramp much longer. Soon, someone will have to retrieve it. His boat was found 35 miles off the West Coast of Florida, floating [...]

What begins as speculation on message boards can become fodder for bloggers to deabte and later is given wings by free agency rumors. Sorry to mislead anybody who clicked on this headline in a panic thinking that Al Davis was preparing to ship out a home grown hero like Kirk Morrison. No, instead I’m delving into one of the hot topics of this the 2009 Raider off-season: Is Kirk Morrison better suited as an outside linebacker instead of a middle linebacker? Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News has reported that free agent Kevin Burnett is scheduled to meet with the Oakland [...]

When the reports of two NFL players missing at sea broke yesterday I opted not to post anything in hopes that by Monday morning the wayward ship would find its way back to the Florida coast. As of now, the Florida Coast Guard has expanded its search. Still there is no sign of the boat. The only reason this story has entered our collective conscious is due to the fact that two of the four men aboard the boat are professional football players. Perhaps the only reason I’m writing this piece is because one of the two players is currently [...]

Let me first begin by saying that I am a Matt Cassel fan. I saw his career blossom back in 1998 when I moved into an apartment just down the street from Chatsworth High School. Chatsworth was known as a powerhouse in baseball, but Cassel’s arm stole the headlines on the football field. When he committed to Pete Carroll at USC, I had no doubt he’d become a record setting passer in the PAC-10. Timing is everything in life and Cassel was unlucky enough to be on a Trojan roster with two Heisman winners at the same position as his. [...]