Archive for June, 2011

I would rather endure a 24 hour Brett Favre Comeback News Channel than have to see one more ESPN update on the lockout. Wake me up when the lockout ends. Enough with these ridiculous reports of progress being made. Spare me the rumors of secret phone calls and meetings. I’m waiting for Chris Mortensen to find a napkin that DeMaurcie Smith dropped at a TGI Friday’s with some dollar figure scribbled on it. No doubt ESPN would have rush to air pictures of the napkin before Smith comes forward stating he was only trying to figure out the tip for [...]

In their continuing Best of the NFL series ESPN took to ranking the franchises that comprise the AFC West. Bill Williamson ranked the Raiders as the class of the division in 3 of the 5 categories including best training camp venue, best celebrity fan and best tradition. Naturally Williamson went with the Raiders and the picturesque setting of Napa for training camp. In fact he went one step further by declaring the Silver and Black camp as the best in the NFL. This is not simply just the best camp site in the AFC West, but it’s the best camp [...]

No ifs ands buts or maybes about it. The 2011 edition of the Silver and Black is in prime position to reclaim the AFC West throne. However before we start the ‘I told ya so’ party there are a few things that must occur next season (whenever that starts). To begin the Raiders have to be able to stop the run. That has been the biggest problem without a codeine addiction that has been plaguing this franchise since 2002. Secondly Jason Campbell has got to get more consistent. Hopefully he’ll be more at ease without the worry of Bruce Gradkowski [...]

Disclaimer: In no way am I advocating for the Oakland Raiders to pursue the services of Terrell Owens. He represents everything that is wrong with humanity and rumor has it Owens eats the heart of a small Salvadorian child every night before going to bed. I pray Al Davis does not have any true desire to sign the poster child of locker room cancer but if Mr. Davis can force me to root for Bill Romanowski then why not T.O.? For the record I was sober when I wrote this but will quickly shower and go to happy hour upon [...]

Is it just me or is Warren Sapp abnormally bitter towards the Oakland Raiders? Dude comes across like the homecoming queen who got her heart broken the same night they placed that tiara on her head. Every chance he gets he’s bashing anything and everything about the franchise. You hate the Raiders, Warren. We get it! We just don’t get why you keep running your mouth. Maybe he’s mad cause Al Davis never showed him Richard Seymour money. But that would have required Sapp to actually play with pride and become the locker room leader he was supposed to be. [...]

No, this is not a joke. Raider legend Cliff Branch is among 20 names listed as finalists for the Pro Football Researchers Association 2011 class for enshrinement in the Hall of Very Good. While not nearly the same honor as being immortalized in Canton at the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Very Good has opened its doors to some of the more overlooked names in the history of the game. Names such as Don Coryell, Alex Karras and Tobin Rote are among those that have been inducted since the Hall of Very Good’s first class in 2003. Branch certainly [...]

Adjusting to the NFL is never easy for a wide receiver. Guys like Randy Moss might have made it look easy enough but that is the exception. Generally the rule is that young receivers play limited roles while learning the NFL ways slowly getting more and more responsibility until they’ve blossomed into legit #1’s. While all of that might be ideal in a perfect world the reality is that any receiver drafted in the top 10 is held to a much higher standard. This is the unfortunate fate of Darrius Heyward-Bey. His speed and size assured he’d be a first [...]

This is officially the final hour. The Oakland Raiders are slated to open training camp in Napa in exactly one month from today. As of this morning any Raider that made the trip to the team facility in Alameda will still be greeted by padlocks. We’ve heard plenty of rumors that an agreement is imminent. We were also told Robert Gallery was a can’t-miss-prospect. What does one have to do with the other? Well…nothing really…just pointing out that the proof is in the pudding. We know how things ended for Gallery, a good guy but a terrible left tackle. As [...]

As stated yesterday, no matter what happens with the new CBA the Oakland Raiders shouldn’t find it too difficult to keep Michael Bush in the East Bay. That seemingly leaves Zach Miller as the top priority on Al’s to-do list. Now keeping Nnamdi Asomugha in Oakland could prove to be a very tough task. Just as there are many factors working in favor of keeping Bush in Silver and Black, there are just as many working against Asomugha remaining a Raider. Being that this ludicrous lockout has lasted this long we’re now in danger of training camps being affected. Thus [...]

We’re supposedly only a few weeks away from seeing this lockout come to an end. Most reports indicate that the new CBA will call for fourth year players to become unrestricted free agents. Naturally this affects every team in some way and for the Raiders it hits home in a potentially damaging way. Both Zach Miller and Michael Bush are due to hit the open market the moment the lockout ends and the new CBA is in place. Both are going to be highly sought commodities and both will be looking to break the bank. While keeping Miller in town [...]