The men enshrined in the Professional Football Hall of Fame added 6 to their ranks over the weekend, among them great players and great men.  Next year, we will have one of our own become eligible for the first time, and today I'd like to start a discussion and celebration of his career in Silver and Black.  Of course, the player I'm talking about is none other than the great Tim Brown, receiver from Notre Dame.

He played his entire meaningful career in Silver and Black, and is one of the few greats that really makes an impact in the discussion for all time greats in Oakland/LA.  As a receiver, defenses had to account for him at all times, and even during the times that we didn't have good signal callers to get him the ball, he was still a threat because he could flat out catch the ball, run good routes, and he was very fast.   Brown was also a threat in the return game, returning punts and kickoffs as well, making him a great multi-dimensional threat for a few great Raider teams.

Tim Brown racked up over 14 thousand yards receiving as a Raider, 100 receiving touchdowns (105 total), placing his career trajectory on a similar path to some other pretty good receivers: Steve Largent*, James Lofton*, Cris Carter, Andre Reed, Isaac Bruce, Henry Ellard, Art Monk*, Raymond Berry*, Jimmy Smith, Charlie Joiner* (the * means Hall of Famer, for those interested).

My question to all of you, ye Raider faithful, is: Does Tim Brown make it in next year?  Does he deserve it?  Also, isn't it about time for a Raider Wing in the Hall?

All of this recent criticism of JaMarcus Russell and his labeling as a pre-bust or a bust waiting to happen has spurred me to take a look at some recent QBs with or around as many starts as him, and also inspired me to take a level headed look at what kind of QB we have starting for the Raiders.  In my findings, I've seen exactly what I was suspecting at the outset: it's too soon to judge.

The first thing that I would like to say is that there are three other quarterbacks that I'm going to use for this mini-article/eye opener, and the first one that I'm going to semi-profile is Matt Leinart.  He's an example of what I don't want to happen with JaMarcus.  He was also from a BCS powerhouse, highly touted coming into the league, and he went to a place where he was the unquestioned starter from day 1, just like JaMarcus.  The difference between the two?  Wide receiver play, because upon entry, Matt Leinart had Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin on his team.  He started off with two legit number 1 options at the receiver position and still fumbled his job away.  His situation parallels Russell's in a way that I hope never ends up happening here, as they also signed a veteran quarterback who ended up usurping the job from the younger quarterback.  We would be doing ourselves a disservice by doing that, because looking at JaMarcus' numbers over his 16 games starting and Leinart over his 16 as well...and JaMarcus has done more with less.

Statistically, Russell has more touchdowns than Leinart, has a higher percentage of touchdowns per pass attempt, marginally less yards per completion, and all of this playing with statistically inferior wide receivers.  Their adjusted net yards per attempt are very similar, within 0.2 yards of each other again (and I can't stress this enough) throwing to a very different set of wide receivers in terms of skills.

Next up, there are two very young quarterbacks that are seen as "getting it" while Russell is seen as struggling.  These two names get thrown out as "better" quarterbacks than JaMarcus, yet in their one season as starters, have put up similar numbers over the same amount of games.  Forget about Matt Leinart as a career progression (hopefully that scared off the Garcia as starter folks), look at these quarterbacks and see that with some help from his team, JaMarcus could easily have been in the same position as these teams.

First I'd like to look at Matt Ryan, because his team is easily one that could be eerily similar to ours, ideally we'd be better than their team defensively, but they are a rush heavy offense with good receiving options as well.  They have a Pro Bowl wideout in Roddy White, a more than solid running back in Michael Turner (who had a breakout year last year), another good option on the ground with Jerious Norwood, and in their offense, they ran the ball almost twice as much as they passed it.  This is the perfect offense to put a rookie quarterback in.  Their offensive line play has been pretty good since the days of the Michael Vick scramble-a-thon, putting Ryan on his back only 17 times all season.  Matt Ryan has had the benefit of having a decent structure around him, where JaMarcus has had questionable receivers, questionable offensive line play, and spotty (but decent) production by his running backs.  The only player that has been consistent in the 16 games Russell has started has been Zach Miller, something that Matt Ryan has not had to deal with.

Joe Flacco is another one of the names that is thrown out there, and coincidentally they are both "true" rookies, in that last year was their first year starting for their team.  The Baltimore Ravens are known for their intense defense (no category less than a top 5 last year) and having a decent to middling offense.  Last year changed that a little, because Flacco is no Tony Banks taking snaps, and they also had a change of pace quarterback in Troy Smith who is also a decent quarterback.  The Ravens also have a three-headed monster at the running back position, with Le'Ron McClain, Ray Rice, and Willis McGahee, something that allowed them to take a lot of pressure off of Flacco, along with the defense doing work as usual.  JaMarcus does not have that kind of defense backing him up, the Ravens were the number one defense in terms of points allowed last year, often times putting the number of points needed to win at a very managable number.  Can't say as much for the Raiders.

So in taking a look at Russell when compared to the two golden rookies from last year, his stats are similar with worse receivers, no breakout seasons from running backs/wide recevers (Matt Ryan with Michael Turner/Roddy White, Joe Flacco with Le'Ron McClain), better offensive line play (of the two, only Flacco was sacked more than Russell with Ryan hitting the ground about half as many times), and with a much better defense (Baltimore had a top 5 defense, and Atlanta had an underrated defense coming in with a top 10 defense).  In light of this evidence I have no choice but to leave the judgment of JaMarcus until the Oakland Raiders can develop a better team surrounding him, because right now, he's had to deal with an inconsistent offensive line (penalties especially are a problem, as well as sacks), putrid wide receiver output (only Higgins was decent, and Chaz came on late), and running backs that struggled through injury.

And most of all for the detractors...it's only May in JaMarcus second season as a starter.  We can breathe easily for a while, these are brand new receivers (Heyward-Bey and Murphy at least), we're coming off a long layoff, and passing hardly comes together in one camp.  This is not Madden where you can start up the franchise and loft the ball over Nnamdi's hands in your first practice of the season.  Timing, velocity, and touch take time to develop with receivers, and we've got plenty of that before the season starts, so take a deep breath, and let JaMarcus develop that before we all start piling on.

2008 for reference (comp/att, yards, completion %, TD, INT, Rating):

Russell 234 434 2796 53.9 15 12 73.9
Flacco 257 428 2971 60 14 12 80.3
Ryan 265 434 3440 61.1 16 11 87.7

Having been a Raider fan my entire life, I've noticed quite a few things with this team and it's image in the media and perception among fans of the NFL.

We're seen as thugs.  We're seen as dirty, we're seen as that team that has a massive following, yet no one seems to like.  We don't allow the media around too much, and we don't allow too much access when we do allow them around.  As a result, we're universally panned when we do things because the people in the media don't understand the thought process from our organization.  How could they when they are not allowed inside?

I, for one, like that the media isn't allowed to all-access our team.  It's a part of the Raider mystique, the mythos behind the team to be a group that the media doesn't get to be around much, and as a result is inherently curious about.

The reason I bring this up is a discussion i heard on AM radio this week about owners and why the ones that were bad are bad, and what they're doing wrong.  Raider fans can definitely tell where this is going, because before long, they got started on Mr. Davis.  The usual things came out: he's old, ornery, relies on speed/physical talent more than football talent, etc.  But one of the hosts went ballistic in our defense, and I want to come to his aid using this blog.

The comparison that was used for owners was Al Davis and Jerry Jones, and by proxy, the Raiders and the Cowboys.  Of the entire NFL, these two teams I would assume have the largest fanbases of their respective conferences (it's possible).  Their teams have made some boneheaded decisions over the last few years, but the criticism on Jerry Jones' teams have been way way less harsh than the criticism on Al Davis, and that's where my prior point comes into play.  We don't let the media in, so when a guy like Jerry Jones, who does let the media in, makes a mistake, the media softpedals it.

We don't get that benefit of the doubt, despite having much more success in the playoffs in recent years than the Cowboys.  How quickly people forget about the early part of this decade, and when taking a look at the Cowboys and how they've fared in the post-season, there's no way one can deny that the Raiders have more success.  We went to a Super Bowl this decade.  The Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996.  Ultimately, it is detrimental to be a losing team for 6 years straight, and we will need to be competetive this year, but eventually, I would like to see some criticism for other owners who have made mistakes.

The Oakland Raiders are coming off of their 6th straight double-digit loss season, yet we fans are still excited for this upcoming season...why?  Besides the obvious reason that we love the team, this season does hold promise, and here's why:  we're making positive moves in this offseason.

The draft held a lot of promise for us, though some would have liked us to take Darrius Heyward-Bey later, meaning a trade down situation, and they pretty much universally panned us regarding our second round pick, Michael Mitchell.  The fans are still very much excited...what is going on?  Are we all just homers?  Of course not.

Anyone who has watched this team over the last few years has seen the adverse effect of a bad locker room.  We have had guys that are not so good for locker rooms/have bad attitudes/flat out "me first" attitude guys.  It's not fair to us as fans to put up with that, and after 6 straight losing seasons, it's time for a change.  The team is finally making moves to solidify the locker room, which is something that will go a long way towards turning our losing ways around.

Starting with our offense, with the Darrius Heyward-Bey pick, and the McFadden pick before that, our offense is developing an identity.  With our offensive weapons, we're looking for a speed kills style outfit.  You can teach a guy to run routes, how to catch, how to block, and how to run, but you can never ever teach speed.  With our guys on the outside, and Higgins in the slot, we'll have at least 3 guys on the field that need to be accounted for at all times (the third is Miller).

Looking at the offensive units we'll face in the first few weeks of the season, we're going up against a very powerful group.  Up to week 9, we face the Chargers (always high powered, always dangerous against us) twice, the Giants and their balanced set, and the Eagles with their dangerous offensive weapons.  We also face the Chiefs who are basically bereft of offensive weapons, having traded away Tony Gonzales, leaving them only Dwayne Bowe.  We face Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson when we meet the Texans in week 4.  The first half of the season is going to be rough in terms of our offensive matchups.

The second half doesn't show any let up, as we face the rest of our divisonal opponents, then get to go up against the Cowboys, the defending champion Steelers, the Redskins, and the always dangerous Ravens.  We'll need to be rolling and running on all cylinders for the game against Dallas and Pittsburgh, while the Browns and the Bengals games are likely going to be ones where we'll be in the game as long as we're playing to our strengths.

General analysis aside, our schedule in order is:

San Diego at home

Kansas City away

Denver at home

Houston away

Giants away

Philly at home

Jets at home

San Diego away

Bye week

Kansas City at home

Cincinnati at home

Dallas away

Pittsburgh away

Redskins at home

Denver away

Cleveland away

Baltimore at home

Looking at these games, we have the usual 8 home, 8 away spread, with the also expected home and away split in the division (6 games, 3 home, 3 away).  We also face the AFC South (4 games, 2 at home, 2 away), same for the NFC East.  We also have 1 game apiece against the other two divisions in the AFC, we head to the Houston to face the Texans from the AFC South, and the AFC East sends the Jets to our house.

We still have a good shot at a winning record this year, even though we face a much harder schedule than last year.  Seeing as the teams we face are generally good, and come from solid divisions, hoping for a good start for our divisional slate is going to be key to us having a good season.  If by week 8 we are 5-3, with losses coming at San Diego, at home to Philly, and at the Texans, then we are going to be just fine in the rest of the season, and I only see us struggling with Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.  We're at home for Baltimore, but the other two are going to be very tough in their home stadiums.  If we can hold our losses to 6, then we're in the playoffs and winning the division.  Of course, if we drop one at home and one away in division, we're still in good shape, this is a division full of teams in the middle of rebuilding and the Chargers.

If you have anything to add, do it in the comments, have respect for your fellow Raider fans, and let's ride this optimism to our first winning record in 6 years.

It's coming soon...the NFL pre-season is right around the corner, and today I'd like to start up what I'm going to dub "The Roll Call."  Right now, I'm thinking of a few things that we as Raider fans would like to see, what we expect, and what we can do to make sure that being a lifelong Raider is just as awesome a feeling as it ever was.

First thing I want to make so very clear: as a Raider fan, we have an expectation of support for our guys.  That doesn't mean don't criticize them, please by all means if a guy isn't performing on the field, feel free to let them fly.  But what it does mean is whether we get shellacked on Monday night in a blowout or win on a Sunday night miracle, we should be behind this team just the same.  The worst kind of fan is the one that disappears during a mid-season struggle.  Support our guys.

I'd also like to start off by making a list of a few things I'd like for our guys to do next year.

1. Improve the running game from a top-10 unit to a top-5 unit.  This should not be that hard, considering we should be getting Oren O'Neal back, which should give us a great lead blocker, and hopefully he's been able to keep up his progression into an option out of the backfield as well.
2. Get out of the cellar with our passing offense.  I will not put this solely on JaMarcus Russel's shoulders.  We simply did not produce at the receiver position last year and it really hurt us in the redzone, and it put unnecessary pressure on the run game to move the chains.  So when we add a receiver at some point, we need to get on labbing this piece of our offense.
3. I would like for our defense against the run to improve, starting with our upfront guys.  I know that we've held our own in the trenches, but I also noticed Sands and Warren are gassed a lot, and I believe that we could improve our conditioning and be more effective against the run.  Nearly every team in our division has highly talented running backs, and having an advantage up front will go a long way to becoming a respectable team.
4. Improve our safety play, because to be honest, that's the weak link in our secondary.  We have an amazing guy in Asomugha, and a guy that let us trade Fabian Washington in Johnson.  All we need is a capable nickel corner, and for Huff+1 to not stink up the joint.  But improvement is direly needed.
5. In terms of winning games, of course we root for the Raiders in all 16 games, but as far as a goal goes, I would like to at very least, split the games with Denver and San Diego, and sweep the season series with the Chiefs.  That would leave us at 4-2 in the division and I like that quite a bit more than 3-3 or 2-4.

That's 5 things that we can improve on this season, and hopefully that's not too tall of an order for Tom Cable and our Oakland Raiders.  As for the Roll Call, this is where you all come in.  I want everyone who reads this to either state one of their goals for this season, or relay a moment (any season) where being a Raider fan made you as proud as you can be.  This site is a Raider Haven, so I want to make sure that we've got as many people bleeding SIlver and Black as we can.

Comment with your thoughts!

The Oakland Raiders have made quite a few moves this offseason in terms of coaching staff, making Tom Cable the guy as Head Coach after assembling a team of assistants that both the coach and the owner is satisfied with.  The big questions are going to come in terms of the on the field product, namely at a few major question mark positions and units.

Firstly, I have to ask about the outstanding free agents that were Raiders last year.  The biggest names: Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler.  No doubt about it, the most important yards in football are the C.O.P yards that come after a punt.  With a good net yard average, a punter can be the best weapon a defense has (though technically, operating on the offensive end).  I said all of that to say this: we need to be concerned about signing him, even if it's the franchise tag with the promise of a long term contract to come.  Continue our special teams tradition.  Keep that position constant.

That isn't to say that we don't sign Nnamdi.  In fact, if we don't, we'll have made the worst mistake since...well...ever.  I really am strongly against missing out on him, simply because without hyperbole, he is the best corner in the league.  With the recent signing of Chris Johnson, the Raiders have a chance to solidify a strength.  That would allow us to not have to focus on corners in the draft.

Considering our weaknesses, the needs of the Oakland Raiders stand as follows (my opinion, obviously): first and foremost, Offensive Line, namely the tackles.  While Mario Henderson did play well with his time, the best case scenario for him is that he starts at Left Tackle and protects Jamarcus' blind side adequately.  That does leave our right tackle position somewhat up in the air, considering how many penalties our tackles amassed last year...I'm not enthusiastic about leaving the tackle prospects as they stand.

Secondly, we need a force at linebacker in the middle.  I know that people are going to be upset with that statement, considering Morrison is a good player, but I think with a beast in the Middle, that could push him to the outside, giving us a really really good core of our defense.  I'm thinking about Maluaga from USC in here, but that's if he drops or we don't package Routt for another first rounder or early second (pipe dream alert).

Thirdly, and this is a major weakness last year, and most certainly needs to be addressed either through free agency or the draft: Wide Reciever.  Our young guys are good, and I'd like to see at least Drew Carter and Ashley Lelie return, but if we have an opportunity, I'd like to take a run at Houshmanzadeh from Cincy, but failing that, draft either Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin.

With any luck, this offseason will be a time to shore up some serious weaknesses and build on our strengths.  But for the comments, where do you think our greatest strengths are?  Our biggest weakness?  Places where a little improvement will make a huge difference?  Let it out here.

When it comes to building an NFL team that is successful, a few basic tenets are necessary to consider.  As it pertains to the Raiders, these tenets have been neglected or mishandled over the last 6-8 years, resulting in the doldrums that has plagued the franchise.  The easy way for the Raiders to improve would be to consider the basic tenets as it would pertain to the draft.

This year in particular, we have an opportunity to strengthen two extreme weaknesses, those being our offensive line and our wide receiver positions.  Having seen our deficiencies in the pass catching department, I can wholly sympathize with the Raider faithful who are calling for us to use our high pick on the talented receiver from Texas Tech, one Michael Crabtree.  While he is a breakout talent waiting to happen, one of the tenets of buidling success comes from starting in the trenches.  With that in mind, I think that with the first pick that the Raiders have in this year's draft, they should draft the big LT Monroe from Virginia.

Here's the rationale for that decision.  The left tackle position on the offensive line is extremely important, because not only do they have the normal responsibilities of a lineman (run block and pass block), they also protect the quarterbacks blind side, something that is important considering our young quarterback can not throw from his back.

By starting in the trenches, we give the line a boost, and we also do not take a huge hit anywhere else.  Doing this will allow us in the second round, to acquire a talented receiver from Maryland in Darrius Hayward-Bey.  He's a large target, fast, and can catch the ball.  Failing that, I would like to see us take a chance at getting Hakeem Nicks from North Carolina, or if he drops to the second round (or if we move up into the first again by trade) I'd like to see the Raiders pick up Jeremy Maclin from MIzzou.

But the only way I want to see the flashy guys on the outside is if they've been drafted after the Hometown Buffet guys in the middle.

[Thanks to CommittedToExcellence for the preview. Unprovoked! -ed.]

Given the lack of size on the inside, tonight's match-up with Orlando seems rather dangerous for our home team, Chicago.  Orlando is not a small team by any means, and they're led by their super center, Dwight Howard, who comes into tonight's game averaging nearly 20 points and 14 rebounds a game.  The Bulls will have their hands full defending Howard in the post and if they would like to snatch a win tonight, what they are going to have to do boils down to three simple things.

1.  Play effective small ball to neutralize some of the size difference

This is going to be important, because if we allow Dwight Howard to establish his self early, this could get really ugly.  Remember this is the same Magic who ran through the Hornets last week, beating them by 20 points.  Effective small ball means that we'll need to play more of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, something that hasn't gone hand in hand with VDN's coaching style.  If we want to have an effective small ball lineup in the time that Gooden and Deng are out, we're going to have to go with a line up of: Rose, Gordon, Nocioni, TT, and Noah, and run them off the floor.

This team is far from just Dwight, however, because they have a pair of 6-10 forwards that can shoot the ball, and a number of guys at the 2/3 that are able to exploit our dearth of size.  If we disrupt Dwight early, then we can look forward to Hedo Turkaglu or Rashard Lewis trying their best to sink us with the drive and dish or pick and roll.

2.  Get Dwight Howard in foul trouble and keep him there

If the Bulls are going to have any success, we'll need to be able to penetrate and dish, or simply get into the paint for scores.  Since Dwight Howard is a shot-blocking, rebounding monster, keeping him out of the game plays to the Bulls best interests.  Having Howard get going early and disrupting any drives to the paint will quickly put the Bulls in a hole that will be difficult to climb out of.

3.  Take effective shots to space the floor

This is a no brainer, being that this should be a pillar of every team looking to win in the NBA, but unfortunately, we've got a penchant for shooting shots that are early, not in rhythm, come outside the offense, and ultimately are not needed.  I'm pointing squarely at Larry Hughes and Tyrus Thomas, but Nocioni is along those lines, and when Gordon has an off night but continues to shoot, the three of them can easily shoot us out of the game.

The positive side to this bullet, if the guys are hitting their shots, it will open up space for Derrick Rose to drive and finish, hopefully he is able to draw fouls on the Magic's bigs, especially Howard.

These three things, along with defending Jameer Nelson who is quietly having a great year out in Orlando, will ensure that the game is at least close enough to maybe scratch one out.  It will come down to these stats in determining who will win this game: Turnovers, Offensive Rebounds, Field Goal percentage, and personal fouls.

If the Bulls can win the turnover battle, meaning that our passes are effective and we don't waste opportunities, while at the same time creating steals and collecting loose balls, we should be able to run an efficient offense.  This is another area that we can attack Dwight Howard in, as his turnover rate is one of Super-man's weaknesses.  This also removes a few opportunities down low, something that would greatly benefit the home team, seeing as we'll likely trot out Aaron Gray for a ritual sacrifice.

Last notes, and a plea to VDN: the Bulls will need lots of luck, but with effort in the above areas, the game can be managed, and probably kept close.  To VDN, please play Tyrus and Joakim, because with Noc at the 4 and Gray at the 5, Orlando will eat us alive on both sides of the floor, and wipe the backboard with us in terms of rebounding.

Hope everyone is watching, and go Bulls!

Having been a Bulls fan for the entirity of my basketball watching life, even out here in California, and watching through the Jordan years, the abysmal years following His Airness' exit, getting excited and watching us squander picks and give away players that would produce for other teams...this year has been testing my patience more than any other.

Know why?

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It would seem that every time a Raider becomes a former Raider, there's a countdown until they bash the team or organization in some way while expressing gratitude that they are no longer Raiders.  I wonder aloud sometimes if it's sour grapes or the product of a rotten vine.

Personally, I think it's a bit of both.

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