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Steve Corkran, of the Bay Area News Group, reports Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha said he intends to void the remainder of his current deal and enter free agency. This is a good financial move on his part and not totally unexpected. We're going to need to franchise him this year or sign him to a mega-deal. I don't think we can afford to lose our best defender. Hopefully we decide to sign this young man for the long haul.
Jerry McDonald, of ANG Newspapers, reports Oakland Raiders DT Warren Sapp is apparently thinking about retirement. This wouldn't be a surprise at all if Rob Ryan was let go. I doubt Sapp has any interest in learning a new defensive system at this point in his career. If Ryan does leave, it will probably be for the best for Sapp to leave after the year is over. He is the heart of our defense, but we won't need that strong personality clashing with whomever takes over as defensive coordinator. I'll miss having him on our side. It's starting to look like there will be a lot of changes this off season.
It's always fun to look back over the year to see how we competed with the other teams in the league. Unfortunately this hasn't been as much fun since 2002, but still, it's good to look at.
Here's what 2007 looked like for the Oakland Raiders:
Top Passer: Culpepper
Top Rusher: Fargas
Top Receiver: Curry
Offense Rank for Points: 23rd out of 32 teams
Offense Rank for Yardage: 27th out of 32 teams
Defensive Rank for Points Given Up: 26th out of 32 teams
Defensive Rank for Yards Given Up: 21st out of 32 teams
Takeaway/Giveaway Ration: 19th out of 32 teams
Point Differential: 28th out of 32
Yardage Differential: 26th out of 32
Looking at these numbers we made SIGNIFICANT strides in all offensive and takeaway categories where we were 32nd out of 32 last year. Unfortunately, our defense was very bad this year where we went from 18th in points and 3rd in yardage given up back in 2006.
The Raiders are considering moving Michael Huff to free safety or cornerback for next season. This was exactly what the scouting reports said on Huff two years ago. We basically wasted the last couple years trying to fit Huff into our Strong Safety spot. Huff will make a much better FS for us. We just need an enforcer at SS.
Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan left the locker room after Sunday's game like he didn't plan on being back with the team in 2008. Apparently he was saying good bye to his players after our loss this weekend. I'm sorry to see you go Rob. You've been a great coach and a true Raider. I wish you luck wherever you go (especially if it's not in the AFC). With Billick getting canned in Baltimore, may be we see him reunite with his brother as head coach and DC of that squad.
Adam Schefter is now reporting that there will be a coin flip for the #3-5 picks. Four teams finished 4-12 (Atlanta, the Jets, Kansas City, and Oakland). The Jets had the strongest strength of schedule, so they'll pick sixth. The Falcons, Raiders, and Chiefs had identical SOS. The Falcons and Raiders will flip first because K.C. finished third in the AFC West. If the Raiders lose the toss, the order will be Atlanta-Oakland-K.C. If the Raiders win, they'll go third and the Falcons and Chiefs will flip to determine who picks fourth. The Dolphins and Rams pick 1-2, respectively. So we may end up with the #3 pick after all. Darren McFadden should be there at that spot if we want him. It will also be a very tradable pick, unlike the #1 pick we had last year.
1. Miami 2. St. Louis 3. Atlanta 4. Oakland 5. Kansas City 6. N.Y. Jets 7. New England (from San Fran.) 8. Baltimore The Raiders were in a 3 way tie for that 3rd pick, but some very obsecure tie-breakers landed them at #4. The Falcons, Oakland, Kansas City and the New York Jets all finished 4-12. The Falcons, Raiders and Chiefs had identical strengths of schedule, the first tie-breaker. The Raiders and Chiefs split their two meetings, the second tie-breaker, and neither played the Falcons. The Falcons won the third tie-breaker, division record, by going 1-5 in the NFC South as the Raiders and Chiefs were both 2-4 in the AFC West. The tie-breaker between the Raiders and Chiefs was broken by virtue of the Raiders having a worse record among common opponents, the fourth tie-breaker.
2008 DRAFT ORDER
Let's take a look at upcoming free agency and who might be available.
| Defensive tackles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | FA Type |
| Sam Adams | Denver | UFA |
| Tim Anderson | Buffalo | UFA |
| Rodney Bailey | Arizona | UFA |
| Ryan Boschetti | Washington | UFA |
| Colin Cole | Green Bay | RFA |
| Chuck Darby | Seattle | UFA |
| Russell Davis | New York Giants | UFA |
| Marques Douglas | San Francisco | UFA |
| Nick Eason | Pittsburgh | UFA |
| Antonio Garay | Chicago | UFA |
| Jovan Haye | Tampa Bay | RFA |
| Albert Haynesworth | Tennessee | UFA |
| Jason Jefferson | Buffalo | RFA |
| Spencer Johnson | Minnesota | UFA |
| Williams Joseph | New York Giants | UFA* |
| Ethan Kelley | Cleveland | UFA |
| Tommy Kelly | Oakland | UFA |
| Cedric Killings | Houston | UFA |
| Dan Klecko | Indianapolis | UFA |
| Damione Lewis | Carolina | UFA |
| Anthony Maddox | Houston | RFA |
| Langston Moore | Detroit | RFA |
| Kindal Moorehead | Carolina | UFA |
| Jay Ratliff | Dallas | RFA |
| Darrell Reid | Indianapolis | RFA |
| Ian Scott | Philadelphia | UFA |
| Ryan Sims | Tampa Bay | UFA |
| Isaac Sopoaga | San Francisco | UFA |
| Randy Starks | Tennessee | UFA |
| Craig Terrill | Seattle | UFA |
| Kimo Von Oelhoffen | Philadelphia | UFA |
| Ted Washington | Cleveland | UFA |
| Corey Williams | Green Bay | UFA |
| Mike Wright | New England | RFA |
| Ellis Wyms | Seattle | UFA |
| Brian Young | New Orleans | UFA |
There are a couple guys here I would be very happy with. First and foremost, Albert Haynesworth would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, he will likely get picked up by a team with lots of cash. My guess is that he lands on the Jets as their nose tackle. He is a one man wrecking crew and the one free agent I want in the entire off season.
Other than Albert, a guy like Marquis Douglas might make a good replacement for Tommy Kelly. The same might be said for William Joseph.
This is probably where a guy like USC, DT Cedric Ellis comes into play. He is the top nose tackle in this draft and exactly what we need in the middle. My choice though would be to draft the best DE we can get and figure out a way to pay Albert Haynesworth.
Jerry Porter is open to returning to the Raiders, despite his rocky history with the team. What a nice guy. This suck-ass receiver "is open" to gracing us with his presence in 2008. It's pretty much guaranteed that he will void his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. He's only open to the Raiders re-bidding on his services. Porter is a good as gone.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has already declared JaMarcus Russell his starting quarterback for 2008. No kidding? Really? I though we'd have McCown for sure. I'm bummed. Yea right.
