Raiders could be worth watching in 2008

The author summarizes the Raiders of recent years, here is my notes & quotes from the article:
Since the 2002 Super Bowl, the Raiders have had 4 head coaches and 9 starting QBs. They've finished on the bottom of the AFC West each year, winning 19 of the last 80 games. Since January, Sapp, Sims, Porter, Chris Clemons and Josh McCown have left the team.
New players are:
DeAngelo Hall (CB)
Gibril Wilson (S)
Kalimba Edwards (DE)
William Joseph (DT)
Kwame Harris (T)
Javon Walker & Drew Carter (WRs)
"But what makes the Raiders intriguing are three unknowns" -
[1] Jamarcus Russell (starting QB)
Will Russell pan out as a franchise QB?
[2] Michael Bush (RB)
Michael Bush has a titanium pin in his leg, can he make it in the NFL?
[3] 4th overall choice in the 2008 NFL draft. The "...five elite players in the 2008 draft - Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, offensive tackle Jake Long, and defensive tackles Glenn Dorsey and Chris Long - and the Raiders will get one of them."
"That's three potential blue-chip players who figure to become contributors for Oakland in 2008."

I'm telling you guys right now, if it's Chris Long, I'm watching them play the donkeys in prime-time on opening Monday night, in front of a new and very-big screen t.v., wearing my "Long" retro-Raider jersey. Better than Christmas!

I agree...C Long would be awesome....Think he would go with the #76?

Captain Canada wrote:

I'm telling you guys right now, if it's Chris Long, I'm watching them play the donkeys in prime-time on opening Monday night, in front of a new and very-big screen t.v., wearing my "Long" retro-Raider jersey. Better than Christmas!

I believe that would be appropriate. Not to mention a marketing dream come true. Please God, let it happen!

RaiderFaith wrote:

I agree...C Long would be awesome....Think he would go with the #76?<quoted text>

Gallery already has 76 and he had to fight hard for it, so I don't think he's giving it up. He may get #75, but I don't know how he feels about wearing his dad's number. I really would like to see Chris Long fall to us.

Maybe 74

TexasRaider wrote:

<quoted text>
Gallery already has 76 and he had to fight hard for it, so I don't think he's giving it up. He may get #75, but I don't know how he feels about wearing his dad's number. I really would like to see Chris Long fall to us.

What is wrong with #91?

Nothing is wrong with it. Just throwing out ideas.

Freddy wrote:

What is wrong with #91?

We need (1) Offensive linemen
(2) or if available, an explosive fast hback
(3) Al's choices over the last 5 years have been crap: safeties and dbacks and ALL gone except Nnamdi. Absoulte WASTE. AL sucks at drafting

That's a little untrue....Some players haven't worked out but we have had a few that are still with us....No team drafs perfectly.
http://www.databasefootball.com/draft/draftte...

Tbone wrote:

We need (1) Offensive linemen
(2) or if available, an explosive fast hback
(3) Al's choices over the last 5 years have been crap: safeties and dbacks and ALL gone except Nnamdi. Absoulte WASTE. AL sucks at drafting

I'll agree to a point about the offensive lineman. There are not really any lineman in the 1st that can come in and make a direct productive impact. Jake Long just isn't your typical left tackle because he has stone feet like Gallery. A little scat back would be good, and Al does love speed. But, the for the last 2 years our pass defense has been ranked 8th, 1st. How can all of our DB's except 1 be bad if we have been ROCKING the league in pass D the last few years. So here is the lesson, do some research, dont just make large sweeping accusations with nothing to back them up.

Tbone wrote:

We need (1) Offensive linemen
(2) or if available, an explosive fast hback
(3) Al's choices over the last 5 years have been crap: safeties and dbacks and ALL gone except Nnamdi. Absoulte WASTE. AL sucks at drafting

c'mon people.its coming to McAffe...second weeek of august..Niners@RAIDERS.....see you all there so we can CRUSH the wine and cheese eating Winers.and no you cannot be a niner and raider fan. thats like a commandment that the prohpet mohammed wrote himself after seeing that allah was a fan of 40 Winers.and had no heart....

RaiderFaith wrote:

Maybe 74 <quoted text>

I don't know; I think his college number was 72. Even though I grew up seeing Howie Long in #75, to me it just seems weird for defensive linemen to wear 60s and 70s. I think 60s and 70s are more of offensive linemen numbers and 50s and 90s are more defensive linemen and linebacker numbers. To me a standard football numbering system would be QBs, PKs, and Punters wear numbers 1-19; As mentioned earlier OL wear #s 60-79, DL and LBs wear 50s and 90s; WRs wear 80s, TEs wear 80s and 40s, RBs and DBs wear 20-49. I think it should be that way for NCAA and NFL. In HS it is hard to establish that kind of numbering system because in some schools, the players play offense and defense.

Tbone wrote:

We need (1) Offensive linemen
(2) or if available, an explosive fast hback
(3) Al's choices over the last 5 years have been crap: safeties and dbacks and ALL gone except Nnamdi. Absoulte WASTE. AL sucks at drafting

Al's done pretty good with linebackers over the years. Rod Martin is a good example. Greg Biekert was a pretty big steal. Currently Tom Howard and Kirk Morrison have been quality contributers by stepping in immediatly and not like Nnamdi Asomugha and Robert Gallery, who are key players now that took 3 years each to develop. We need players like Morrison and Howard who can and will step into big voids and fill them immediatly and contribute if we are gonna get back to the top.

Raiders could be worth watching in 2008???

bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha.

what is this garbage?

two vital questions:
1. are you ready for the NINTH and TENTH defeats in a row at the hand of the bolts?
2. what sorts of preparations are you making for your 2-3 total wins this year?
pathetic...

scsuperchargers wrote:

Raiders could be worth watching in 2008???
bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha.
what is this garbage?
two vital questions:
1. are you ready for the NINTH and TENTH defeats in a row at the hand of the bolts?
2. what sorts of preparations are you making for your 2-3 total wins this year?
pathetic...

And yet, the Raiders open their season in primetime and the dolts do not. I guess a few more people think they might be worth watching in 2008. I'll spare you the childish laugh.

Difference is...the bolts have done the best they could have done...they will only go down from here...The Raiders on on the way up....I can't wait until We play the Chargless...Philip Rivers isn't going to complete more than 4 or 5 passes...and LT will be wishing he hadn't left his home for the beeating he will receive. You lost your biggest weapon in Michale Turner...I say biggest because LT can't stay healthy forever...Lets face the Colts are looking at a 9-7 or 10-6 season if they are lucky...

scsuperchargers wrote:

Raiders could be worth watching in 2008???
bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha.
what is this garbage?
two vital questions:
1. are you ready for the NINTH and TENTH defeats in a row at the hand of the bolts?
2. what sorts of preparations are you making for your 2-3 total wins this year?
pathetic...

i like water

That's about the most intelligent thing that could come out of a Wisconsin Resident.

Jon wrote:

i like water

scsuperchargers wrote:

Raiders could be worth watching in 2008???
bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha.
what is this garbage?
two vital questions:
1. are you ready for the NINTH and TENTH defeats in a row at the hand of the bolts?
2. what sorts of preparations are you making for your 2-3 total wins this year?
pathetic...

Great!!!! Just what we needed...the return of the discharged fans. Are you ready to see Deangelo Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha become prime time targets for Philip Rivers and for Tom Howard to be his thrid option reciever??? Better yet, maybe before Rivers gets a pass off, Tommy Kelly bust through the line and hammers him down and out for the season and shows America why he got the big deal he got. BTW we're still 54-40-2 against you all time, so we'll still be ahead of you at the end of the season no matter what.