RM has delivered. Now it's up to DA...

[RaiderZar]

Some solid (not necessarily spectacular) FA signings, especially in areas of need. Very solid draft (possibly spectacular), with focus on immediate & future needs. RM has earned his 2014 preseason paycheck. Now, it's up to DA & his staff to deliver. Let's see how they mesh a group of vets, with a spattering of young players & rooks. Of course, everyone improves during the off-season & has a chance to go to the SB...

 

[cdumler7]

I will say I have been somewhat impressed with the Raiders this off season. Free Agency wasn't quite what I thought they could all do with how much money they had but they found better players than what they had last year and that is what you hope for. Usually when rebuilding a team you don't like to get the players on the downside of their career but should help them be a bit more competitive while they try to build up some of the young talent.


The draft is one that I would give an A- to the Raiders at this point. Mack brings a very versatile player to the defense in the mold of Von Miller. Not quite as fast and athletic but still a very good player in his own right. Carr is a guy I don't see doing all that great in the league as he is captain check down but Schaub should actually be a good player to learn from in maximizing the short throws.


Beyond that I think the Raiders found possibly 4 starters of decent quality in this draft. Can't ask for much more from a draft. I still think the Raiders are a year or two away from making some noise in the NFL (especially with the schedule this year for the AFC West) but this was a great start for them to finally begin to rebuild towards being relevant again. Definitely looking forward to some classic AFC West Battles once again!

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Carr a check down QB?? LOL.. He has the strongest arm out of all the draft picks.. SMH.. Look at the tape.. Besides its not his call what the OC calls.. Most smart people say Carr has all the Tools to be a franchise QB.. He does and you know it.. You keep saying Mack aint got Von Miller type speed.. Miller has been busted for drugs tore his ACL, he will never be the Miller of old.. That DB you took in the first was a big reach... McGill > Roby.. Carr, Murray > The back up QB you guys got..
But truth be told any draft pick on ALL teams can BUST!!
Elway will soon be in the market for a new QB, as soon as PM is done in 1 year maybe 2..
Looks like Oakland and KC have the jump on you eh??

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

I agree RaierZar, Reggie got DA a lot of talent, now its up to DA, Olson and Tarver to get this talent to play as a team.. If they can do that?? The Raiders will play good ball this year..

 

[cdumler7]

Carr a check down QB?? LOL.. He has the strongest arm out of all the draft picks.. SMH.. Look at the tape.. Besides its not his call what the OC calls.. Most smart people say Carr has all the Tools to be a franchise QB.. He does and you know it.. You keep saying Mack aint got Von Miller type speed.. Miller has been busted for drugs tore his ACL, he will never be the Miller of old.. That DB you took in the first was a big reach... McGill > Roby.. Carr, Murray > The back up QB you guys got..
But truth be told any draft pick on ALL teams can BUST!!
Elway will soon be in the market for a new QB, as soon as PM is done in 1 year maybe 2..
Looks like Oakland and KC have the jump on you eh??

I have watched Carr a lot. There was some talk that if he was there in the 2nd the Broncos would think about taking him (by the way most had him going in the 2nd round). He has a very accurate arm in the short/intermediate throws and that is just fine. You don't have to have a great deep ball to be a great quarterback. Peyton and Brady usually are near the bottom of the NFL every year in deep balls thrown because it just is not a big part of their game. Doesn't mean he will bust and it doesn't mean he can't improve on his deep ball. Now just because I don't see him doing well doesn't mean he won't do well. He very much could live up to becoming a franchise type quarterback. I honestly only saw 1 franchise quarterback in this draft and that is Blake Bortles. He isn't quite ready to step into that role and I am afraid the Jaguars will destroy him before he has a chance to show his skills but his ability in the clutch is just down right impressive.

Now as for the Broncos. First off Von Miller tore his ACL. In today's NFL that is like pulling a hamstring anymore. Takes a bit of time to come back from but many players return to as good or sometimes even better than they were before. It just isn't that crazy of an injury anymore. Look at Adrian Peterson going for 2,000 yards or Revis this past year looking like a top 5 Corner once again. And yes Von Miller is more athletic than Mack. Miller ran a 4.4 forty so speed wise has him beat. I will give it to Mack in he is probably the stronger of the 2 coming out of college so should be able to anchor maybe a bit better against the run. Miller's game has always been kill them with speed and then use that to then overpower. Mack's game has been use power to get them leaning inside then use speed to catch them off guard. They just go about the same thing in different ways.

Also Broncos already have Manning's heir to the thrown on the team. They used a 2nd round pick just like you guys just did to get a guy in Osweiler. He has had 2 years watching and learning from Manning and from all that I have heard the coaches and team are very excited for what he brings to the table.

Anyway none of this conversation really matters at the moment as we have no clue how this will all turn out. The NFL Draft is always a fun time as every team is full of hope that these new players are what will set them apart and bring them to the promised land of a Super Bowl.

Oh just one final note McGill is not better than Roby. There is a reason McGill went as late as he did. He is a tweener in not quite a safety but doesn't quite have the skill set for Corner either. Roby talent wise by most teams and analyst was a top 15 prospect. Only dropped because of a couple of character concerns.

 

[RaiderZar]

^^^ I know you're just here for the conversation Dumler, but I don't think at this point, we have too much interest in what Denver did or who they have on the roster. We're here to evaluate & discuss the Raiders' moves. If we want to discuss the Broncs, we'll see you over there. No disrespect.

 

[cdumler7]

^^^ I know you're just here for the conversation Dumler, but I don't think at this point, we have too much interest in what Denver did or who they have on the roster. We're here to evaluate & discuss the Raiders' moves. If we want to discuss the Broncs, we'll see you over there. No disrespect.

I apologize. I actually did come here to discuss the Raiders' moves but let Idaho get me a bit sidetracked when he brought up a few Bronco players. I will try to stick just to the Raiders when I come here. Like I said I am impressed with the Raiders and what they have done. First time I have said that in years. Which actually kind of scares me that they have actually gotten back on track a bit. At the same time I honestly like it when the AFC West is competitive and actually feared around the NFL. I'm hoping those days can once again happen.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

cd, just like you say Denver is really high on that back up you got, well the Raiders are super high on Carr, heck a lot of people are.. Now when you draft a QB what do you look for?? Arm talent, is he smart, does he have good feet.. Carr has a cannon arm, and is super smart, heck he has been around the pro game his whole life, dude has 4-6 speed, and can read Ds move around the pocket and make ALL the throws.. That is the kind of QB you gamble on!! Every smart person knows that.. Gannon, Montana, etc, all say Carr has the tools to be the best QB in this draft.. Time will tell eh??
Now the 6-3 211 McGill a tweener?? Shoot dude, he is the NEW wave of DBs.. BIG corners!!
McGill was a shut down Corner in the Pac-12, were NFL QBs lurk!! He to fell for being a bad boy, just like the 6-3 Dowling did.. Reggie already said, McGill will play corner!!
The good thing is?? These young guys can learn from Pro-bowl vets like CWood, Rogers, Brown, no need to just throw them in the fire, let them learn.. Heck all our picks have
Pro-Bowl VETS to learn from..
Any player can BUST cd, All we can do as fans is hope its not our players..

 

[RaiderZar]

cd, just like you say Denver is really high on that back up you got, well the Raiders are super high on Carr, heck a lot of people are.. Now when you draft a QB what do you look for?? Arm talent, is he smart, does he have good feet.. Carr has a cannon arm, and is super smart, heck he has been around the pro game his whole life, dude has 4-6 speed, and can read Ds move around the pocket and make ALL the throws.. That is the kind of QB you gamble on!! Every smart person knows that.. Gannon, Montana, etc, all say Carr has the tools to be the best QB in this draft.. Time will tell eh??
Now the 6-3 211 McGill a tweener?? Shoot dude, he is the NEW wave of DBs.. BIG corners!!
McGill was a shut down Corner in the Pac-12, were NFL QBs lurk!! He to fell for being a bad boy, just like the 6-3 Dowling did.. Reggie already said, McGill will play corner!!
The good thing is?? These young guys can learn from Pro-bowl vets like CWood, Rogers, Brown, no need to just throw them in the fire, let them learn.. Heck all our picks have
Pro-Bowl VETS to learn from..
Any player can BUST cd, All we can do as fans is hope its not our players..

To be fair, we still have to see what the coaches can now do with the new pieces. I would take Fox in a heartbeat over DA. Actually wished AD would have gone after him when he left CAR. Speaking of new pieces, do think S. Holmes has anything left in the tank?

 

[cdumler7]

cd, just like you say Denver is really high on that back up you got, well the Raiders are super high on Carr, heck a lot of people are.. Now when you draft a QB what do you look for?? Arm talent, is he smart, does he have good feet.. Carr has a cannon arm, and is super smart, heck he has been around the pro game his whole life, dude has 4-6 speed, and can read Ds move around the pocket and make ALL the throws.. That is the kind of QB you gamble on!! Every smart person knows that.. Gannon, Montana, etc, all say Carr has the tools to be the best QB in this draft.. Time will tell eh??
Now the 6-3 211 McGill a tweener?? Shoot dude, he is the NEW wave of DBs.. BIG corners!!
McGill was a shut down Corner in the Pac-12, were NFL QBs lurk!! He to fell for being a bad boy, just like the 6-3 Dowling did.. Reggie already said, McGill will play corner!!
The good thing is?? These young guys can learn from Pro-bowl vets like CWood, Rogers, Brown, no need to just throw them in the fire, let them learn.. Heck all our picks have
Pro-Bowl VETS to learn from..
Any player can BUST cd, All we can do as fans is hope its not our players..

Don't disagree with any of that. Carr very much could become your franchise quarterback and I understand why you guys drafted him where you did. In this league if you have a franchise quarterback you have solved about half the problems for the team. A good quarterback can take a mediocre team and make them playoff contenders. Like I said Carr is a wildcard in my opinion as are all draft picks really but with him I saw some great things but I also saw some bad things that need to be coached up. Really in this league there are only a few things that separate all of these players. The best ones are the ones who are willing to work hard at their craft and if you have good coaches be coached up. Jerry Rice is the greatest example of this as he wasn't the most physically gifted player in the NFL but he worked harder than every other player on the field every Sunday and became great. So again all of these guys have a chance to become great as well as bust.

The reason I call McGill a tweener is as a safety he is not the greatest tackler and usually with safeties you want sound tacklers. He would do well in coverage as a safety but there again most safeties are not in man coverage but are more watching everything in front of him which in college he didn't do a whole lot so he would have to learn the position. As you said though they have called him a corner. My biggest concern with him and with all bigger players is can they turn and run. What separates Sherman from most other big corners is he actually has very good hips. He can turn and run very quickly. One of the biggest knocks on McGill is that he has stiff hips (had the worst 3-cone drill of any Corner at the combine which is where you usually measure a players ability to turn and run). Now he can be coached up to get past that kind of weakness and still find success so I think he could turn out to be a good player for you guys. I actually did like him and was a bit surprised he was still on the board when he was considering how much teams are wanting bigger corners at this time. I think teams were scared off by his injury history and that he is a project yet already 25-years old. Again though the good does outweigh the bad and where you picked him was definitely worth the possible value you can get from him.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

cd, every player has bad tape, that's why players like Sherman and SO many more drop to the lower rounds, from Rodgers to Brady, to Clowney to the last pick in this draft there is bad tape.. You draft these guys hoping you get the good part of the scouting report.. McGill and Dowling got size speed, and both played FS and Corner!! The game is changing, from the mobile QB to the BIG DBs!! Heck most WRs are 6-3 and up now days.. So you need big DBs to counter those guys.. IF McGill and Dowling can play good for us, and along with DJ Hayden.. Suddenly the Raiders could match up with any set of WRs..
What makes Sherman great is his size, and the good coaching he got.. 6-3 corners are hard to find!!
And the Raiders got 2 of them, with size speed range long arms that played both press and FS!!
Now im NOT saying these guys are Sherman!! All im saying is they got TOOLS like he has..
Its up to the coaching staff and the players themselves how good they can be.. Heck they can both bust and be cut!! Or they can play great and make the team.. Not all great players come from the first 3 rounds.. If you have the tools with the right coaching, anything can happen..

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

RaiderZar, I think S Holmes still has some juice in those legs, and would be ok if Reggie got him.. Im not saying go get him Reggie!! But if he does?? Im cool.. It looks like the Texans Johnson is not happy.. Hmmm a trade for him would be sweet?? Then there is June 1st cuts.. A lot of these teams that took WRs might cut some of their VET WRs, for cap reasons or WHATEVER.. It happens every year.. Good thing Reggie saved some cap just for those cuts..

 

[RaiderZar]

RaiderZar, I think S Holmes still has some juice in those legs, and would be ok if Reggie got him.. Im not saying go get him Reggie!! But if he does?? Im cool.. It looks like the Texans Johnson is not happy.. Hmmm a trade for him would be sweet?? Then there is June 1st cuts.. A lot of these teams that took WRs might cut some of their VET WRs, for cap reasons or WHATEVER.. It happens every year.. Good thing Reggie saved some cap just for those cuts..

No more trades, unless it's conditional & lower than the 4th round or so. I would bring in Holmes & Austin for a workout. Kick the tires now.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Oh no RaiderZar, no way would I trade a high pick for Johnson, but like you said a 4th or lower I would be open to.. And the more I think about it the more I would be good with Holmes!! The guy is a pretty clutch player, and knows how to get open in those 3rd and 8 with the game on the line.. With better QB play he could regain his clutch play??

 

[cdumler7]

cd, every player has bad tape, that's why players like Sherman and SO many more drop to the lower rounds, from Rodgers to Brady, to Clowney to the last pick in this draft there is bad tape.. You draft these guys hoping you get the good part of the scouting report.. McGill and Dowling got size speed, and both played FS and Corner!! The game is changing, from the mobile QB to the BIG DBs!! Heck most WRs are 6-3 and up now days.. So you need big DBs to counter those guys.. IF McGill and Dowling can play good for us, and along with DJ Hayden.. Suddenly the Raiders could match up with any set of WRs..
What makes Sherman great is his size, and the good coaching he got.. 6-3 corners are hard to find!!
And the Raiders got 2 of them, with size speed range long arms that played both press and FS!!
Now im NOT saying these guys are Sherman!! All im saying is they got TOOLS like he has..
Its up to the coaching staff and the players themselves how good they can be.. Heck they can both bust and be cut!! Or they can play great and make the team.. Not all great players come from the first 3 rounds.. If you have the tools with the right coaching, anything can happen..

I don't disagree with any of this. They could turn out to be good players and honestly it would not surprise me one bit. With McGill again like I said the big worry with him is as a corner can he turn and run with receivers. The big thing that Sherman had going for him is not just his size and speed combination. Honestly what separates him from all other big corners is that of his hips. He can turn and run with receivers like he is a 5'10" corner. Now the combine isn't the end all be all for prospects but there are things that can help to show possible future success. For a corner probably one of the most important drills is that of the 3-cone drill in it shows there ability to make turns and get back up to full speed. McGill tested out as the worst corner at the combine where Sherman was one of the better when he was at the combine. Again this doesn't predict actual success just makes me wonder how McGill is going to do. In college it wasn't as big of a deal going against receivers who were smaller and slower. You get to the NFL though and that is a whole different ball game. The Broncos alone now have 3 receivers that run 4.3 forties with 2 of them being 6'2" or taller. Only time will tell of how all these players pan out though. I do like the potential of the Raiders draft (or is it hate because I want them to fail) as they took some prospects with high potential.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

cd, im happy in a way, that McGill had a bad 3-cone drill it might be a small reason why he fell to us in the 4th.. You have to watch out for those combine freaks man, we have been burned many times taking the BEST combine player!! Just give me a guy that can play ball.. McGill shut down WRs in the Pac-12 were NFL QBs and WRs lurk.. That's good enough for me.. What im hoping for is?? That either McGill or Dowling become a great ball-hawking Safety!! Suddenly the S is starting to become the MAN of NFL Ds!! Why?? Cuz he can get to the QB, stop the RUN, run with the TEs, and play the WRs.. No other D player can do that.. Gil Brandt tells DA, you should be in jail for stealing Dowling in the 7th!!
Potential is all these players are, just like ALL other draft picks.. Some will make it some will not..
If you gamble on potential?? Might as well be on 2 6-3 CB\S.. IF IF you hit on players like that??
JACKPOT!!

 

[flaraider]

Some solid (not necessarily spectacular) FA signings, especially in areas of need. Very solid draft (possibly spectacular), with focus on immediate & future needs. RM has earned his 2014 preseason paycheck. Now, it's up to DA & his staff to deliver. Let's see how they mesh a group of vets, with a spattering of young players & rooks. Of course, everyone improves during the off-season & has a chance to go to the SB...

We have been down this road many times, a promising offseason, some moments of brilliance, followed by the inevitable bringing back to earth.

What really needs to happen in Oakland is the much promised and anticipated "change of culture". One where the coaches and staff are respected and supported, the management in the trenches with the players with input and power to promote and demote, I risk sounding like a broken record here but a real CHAIN OF COMMAND.

The NFL is a highly competitive corporate structure, which the Raiders have been outcast for decades, there was only one man to answer to, AD, and so began a coaching carousel that has deprived the team of any cohesive leadership. Winning NFL teams DO NOT churn through coaches at 2 year averages, it just won't work.

I hope and pray that Dennis Allen can be the field general for my beloved Oakland Raiders, I am not positive that this is the case, but he was hired to be that man and he deserves every opportunity to succeed. I know if I am in his position I am doing everything I can right now to put the best team I can on the field and make the most of every opportunity presented to me.


Oakland Muthafuckin Raiders Baby

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Good post FlaRaider.. DA is a young smart HC, that was learning on the job with no real talent or depth behind it.. Now entering his third year he has a team with some REAL talent on it as well as some pretty good backups!! The key for DA is getting ALL these new players to gel and play as a team right out of the gate.. And I think he will..
The days of the one and done HCs in Oakland are OVER!! JUST WIN DA!!

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Well RaiderZar, we got you a WR!! In Greg Little.. 2nd round pick with talent.. Shoot why not?? Coach him up DA..

 

[RaiderZar]

Well RaiderZar, we got you a WR!! In Greg Little.. 2nd round pick with talent.. Shoot why not?? Coach him up DA..

I like it. Another young(ish) WR for camp. Claims he's making changes to his life choices. If he doesn't make the team, he can always hit the Oaktown side-show scene.