Re: Just Win Baby!
Undrafted Rookie Free Agents
TBD-Raiders sign rookie RG Andrew Crummey to a 1yr $290K deal (leaving me $380K in the FA budget.) Crummey is seen as a developmental player. -The Raiders knew he wouldn't do much this season, and he resigned cheaply, so that is in his favor. In 10 games played in, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 66%
Raiders Trade, Draft, Free Agent Evaluation
At the end of the regular season, let's take a "Hit" or "Miss" look at some of the personell choices made by the Raiders this season.
Off-Season/Free Agency Moves:
HIT- Raiders use Franchise Tag on CB Nnamdi Asomugha- CB Asomugha is a big time man cover corner and was a vital piece of Rob Ryan's defense this season. 57 tackles, 4 TFL, 4 Ints, Int TD
HIT- Raiders make a deal with Dallas for MLB Akin Ayodele, sending the Cowboys their 4th round pick (101) and a 5th in 2009- A lot of people though Ayodele would backup Raiders MLB Kirk Morrison, but Ayodele won the starting spot and shined. Hard to argue with giving up a 4th and 5th for the LB of the Year. 107 tackles, 47 TFL, 20 sacks, 2 ffumb, Int
HIT- Oakland sends one of their 7th round picks (198) to the Browns for backup QB Ken Dorsey- Who would of guessed that a 7th rounder and a lot of confidence was all it took to get a Pro Bowl QB? The Raiders definitely hit a homerun with this trade. 275/416 for 3838yds 30 TDs 13 Ints
HIT- Oakland Raiders sign FS Ken Hamlin to a 4yr $17M deal with a $2.5M signing bonus ($3.7M cap hit- so $3.3M left in the Free Agent Budget) Analysts predict that Hamlin may be moved to Strong Safety.- Over half of Coach Joslin's Free Agent budget went to get this guy and he showed he was well worth the money. 85 tackles, 28 TFL, 17 Sacks, FFumb, FumbRec, Int
MISS- With the number of teams in need of a kicker dwindling rapidly, Coach Joslin makes a deal with the New Orleans Saints. The Raiders send K Sebastian Janikowski to New Orleans and the Saints send OLB Scott Fujita to Oakland.- Hard to argue that Janikowski isn't a scumbag, but OLB Scott Fujita never could stay healthy and lost his starting job another trade acquisition OLB Leon Williams. Add to that the struggles the Raiders had in the kicking game and this one was a definite miss. 11 tackles, TFL, put on IR in week 12, played in only 6 games.
HIT- The Raiders sign former practice squad member LT Torrin Tucker to a 2yr deal worth $1.3M with no bonus. GM Al Davis isn't too happy about this as Tucker isn't the bonafide star he was looking for. Tucker is a bargain though and he will improve the OLine. (with a cap # of $630K, my Free Agent budget is now down to $2.67M)- The price was definitely right for a starting Left Tackle. 9 PCake, 2 Sacks allowed, 100% Run Block Success, 92% Pass Block Success
HIT-Needing a WR with decent hands, the Raiders trade for Giants WR David Tyree. The Raiders gave up their 6th round pick (163) for the veteran reciever from Syracuse- WR Tyree was brought in to be the #1 guy for the Raiders, and he never showed he could be the guy. Some of his lack of success was due WR Tyree getting injured and missing a good chunk of the season. When he did get into games, he definitely showed that he could play, maybe not #1 guy numbers, but expecting to get your #1 WR for a 6th round pick is asking a bit too much, so I'm calling this a qualified hit. In 11 games, 46 catches for 721yds, 5 TDs
HIT-Raiders add RT Damien Woody to the roster by giving him a 2yr $2.6M deal with no bonus. Woody is likely to be moved to Center, the position he played in college. (a cap hit of $1.3M leaves me with $1.37M to get more Free Agents)- Solid player who played despite seeming to be continually dinged up. 6 PCake, 2 Sacks allowed, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 96%
MISS- Raiders sign RT Chris Terry to a 1yr $700K deal. Terry is likely to be tried at RG (his $700k salary reduces me to a budget of $670K for FA)- He was brought in to be the starting RG but lost his job to trade acquisition Eric Winston and then refused to resign as a backup. On the plus side, he was serviceable in relief of injured players, but the Raiders needed to resign him and their failure to do so makes him an expensive one year backup, and therefore a miss. Started 3 games, played in 16, 7 PCake, No Sacks Allowed, 100% Run Block Success, 100% Pass Block Success
Draft Picks/Undrafted Rookie Free Agents
HIT- 1st Round: 4th: LG Brandon Albert, Virginia- Instant starter at LG, possibly the future LT of the Raiders. Excellent player with lots of upside, an amazing pick by GM Al Davis. 13 PCake, 2 Sacks allowed, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 96%
MISS- 7th Round: 211th: K Brandon Coutu, Georgia- Some would say this kid never got a fair shot, but looking at what he did when he did play, it is hard to argue the facts. He stunk. Playing in only 6 games, 1/4 on FGs, 45yd long, 18/18 PATs
Undrafted Rookie Free Agents
TBD- LE Chase Ortiz, TCU- To be determined since he didn't see much playing time, although we are kind of leaning toward a miss on this one. Ortiz got a big pay bump upto $1M a year, and for what? 4 Tackles, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks in 9 games played, none started
TBD-WR M. Monk, Arkansas- To be determined since he rarely got into games. He's cheap, and that works in his benefit though, but he got onto the field in 9 games, and never showed anything, so that definitely works against him. 1 reception for 17yds, 9 games played
TBD-OLB Barry Redd, Nebraska- To be determined. He saw action in 9 games backing up OLB Thomas Howard and never showed anything. Not a good sign, but he does work cheap. 8 tackles in 9 games played, none started.
HIT-WR Kevin Robinson, Utah State- We are giving the kid a HIT just based on potential. He was one of the few rookies to see significant game time and he did well when he was on the field. He is arguably the best WR the Raiders have, although Coach Joslin rarely had him above WR3 on the depth chart. 53 catches for 778yds 5 TDs, 5 games started, played in 16 games
HIT-HB Dantrell Savage, Oklahoma State- Savage was brought in to compete as a backup for Justin Fargas and he showed he might have the skills to be a regular contributor. Plus he plays cheap. 68 rushes for 359yds (5.2avg) 7 TDs in 1 game started and playing in 8 others.
Training Camp/Preseason Moves
MISS- The Raiders send their 4th and 5th round picks in 2010 to New England for HB Kevin Faulk. Word is that Coach Joslin is intrigued by Faulk's pass catching skills and may use him as a 3rd down back or even as a WR in some sets.- This one could of went either way. Faulk was expected to take the #1 spot, but never beat out incumbent HB Justin Fargas. A 4th and 5th are too much to give up for a part time guy. On the other side, it is hard to ignore his 8 TDs...8 TDs is a pretty significant contribution. 13 games played, 0 starts, 53 rushes for 239yds 6 TDs, 9 catches for 171yds, 2 TDs
HIT- Raiders add depth at WR and KR by sending their 6th round pick in 2010 to the Browns for WR Josh Cribbs- Cribbs was named to the AFC Probowl team as a returner, making the Raiders investment of a 6th rounder well worth it. Cribbs further solidified his status as a hit by contributing in the passing game and playing cheaply. 26 receptions for 412yds TD, 25 Kick Returns for 736yds, 29.4 Avg, 2 KO TDs, 41 Punt Returns, 416yds
MISS-Oakland sends their 7th round pick in 2010 to the Cardinals for TE Leonard Pope. Pope wasn't the Raiders first choice, but the Jaguars wanted at least a 3rd round choice for TE Marcedes Lewis and there was no way that was going to happen.- I don't know how much one can really expect from a backup TE, but considering Pope was injured and missed games that way and when he did play he didn't do much, I've gotta rate this one as a miss. 7 catches for 67yds in 11 games played, Run Block Success 100%
TBD-Raiders sign rookie RG Andrew Crummey to a 1yr $290K deal (leaving me $380K in the FA budget.) Crummey is seen as a developmental player. -The Raiders knew he wouldn't do much this season, and he resigned cheaply, so that is in his favor. In 10 games played in, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 66%
HIT-The Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans have come to terms on a deal that will send RT Eric Winston to Oakland in exchange for the Raiders 4th round pick in 2009.-I'm calling this one a marginal hit. He won the starting job and has played well, but a 4th round pick is a bit pricey for an OG. 3 PCake, 4 Sacks Allowed, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 100%
TBD-The Raiders sign rookie C John Sullivan of Notre Dame to a 1yr deal worth $290K (this leaves me with $80K left and basically done signing FA's)-Another developmental guy, when he got into games, he played well and resigned cheaply all working in his favor. played in 13 games, Run Block Success 100%, Pass Block Success 100%
HIT-The Raiders added another pass rusher to the DE rotation when they sent their 7th round pick in 2009 and their 3rd round pick in 2010 to Arizona for DE Chike Okeafor.-When the Raiders gave up a 3rd for a DE that wouldn't even be starting, carrying a $4.7M price tag, many thought this was GM Al Davis being Al Davis...stupid, but Coach Joslin and GM Davis proved their critics wrong when DE Okeafor earned a starting spot in the Pro Bowl. 42 tackles, 19 TFL, 15 Sacks, FFumb, FumbRec in 0 starts, but 16 games played in.
HIT-The Raiders send their 2009 3rd round pick to Cleveland for LB Leon Williams. Oakland decided they wanted some insurance at LB when OLB Scott Fujita was injured in the Broncos game. -The Raiders get their starter at ROLB in Williams, but it is hard to ignore the price tag. I'm giving this one a qualified HIT, ROLB is the least utilized LB position in HC Joslin's defense, so having a guy that can make something happen when given the opportunity at the position is pretty important. Add to that a low cap # and while not a homerun, he earned his money this season. 42 tackles, 13 TFL, 5 Sacks, FFumb, Safety
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