[the_new_Jerry]

Originally Posted by nemesys

With the impending Hall signing I think it pretty much indicates that Al is putting a huge amount of pressure on Rob Ryan to finally get the D to step it up and perform up to their abilities. No more "Give us 17 points a game." It's put up or shut up time now. Ryan's had 5 years now to get this D up to par, and I think Al Davis is maybe starting to lose his patience with Ryan and placing him, and his D, under the gun. I can only hope with the Hall acquisition that this means the Raiders will finally be using more blitzing packages, like some zone-blitzing for a change to makeover the defense's vanilla schemes.

I think this offseason so far has proven that Al is making a concerted effort to vastly improve the D, maybe in part to compensate for the fact that we will virtually be starting a rookie QB. A good running game and a staunch defense are a rookie QB's best friend. We've got the running game covered, the defense remains to be seen, but at least pieces of the puzzle are being added. Maybe Al has finallly just had enough after these last 5 years of futility. Nobody likes to lose, especially Al Davis.

This also brings me to the current situation with Aso. I think it's pretty apparent, at least IMO, with the money that has been spent by Al and the Raiders organization this off-season, that Nnamdi was probably offered a financially lucrative contract, to which Aso and his agent have yet to sign. The reasons may be two-fold. Possibly Nnamdi and his agent are currently looking for contract similar to the one that Nate Clements received from the 49ers, or Nnamdi was waiting to see what FA signings, player acquisitions and draft picks were going to be made by the Raiders to improve the team before signing his name on the dotted line. Either way I think Nnamdi is a greater player than Hall, but Hall can legitimately be considered a top 5 CB. By trading for Hall, Al has essentially covered his losses should Aso not resign with the team, and if Aso does sign a long-term contract, then the Raiders have the best CB tandem in the league.

Excellent take... and I concur.