Draft Aftermath & More
Posted 06-02-2008 at 09:54 AM by Gridiron PIRATE
So it's been 34 days after the '08 NFL draft. I was left initially unimpressed. Why another RB? Why another DB with our 2nd choice? These thoughts raced through my head during draft weekend. Defense, defense, defense! I was hoping we got more beef in the trenches of our defensive line, hoping to stifle opponents' passing game ala Super Bowl champ NY Giants, and most of all, hoping to stop the bleeding sieve that we have been against the run. Instead, we went flash by picking up the best offensive skill position player, and i sat bracing myself for another disappointing season.
It's taken me 34 days to come to gripes with the madness that is to be the '08 season. I must say, i'm sincerely enthusiastic, but still hold my reservations as to not be disappointed, again (and again x4).
Well, we haven't been able to stop the run with any consistency, so how do we address our defense this offseason? We re-sign Tommy Kelly, who i feel is going to be integral to our DL unit, to a blockbuster deal that leaves many skeptical since he just had a season ending injury. We sign a safety of all positions to a lucrative contract in Gibril Wilson. Finally, to some people's delight, we fill a position of need by signing DT William Joseph (who really hasn't done anything since being drafted) from the Super Bowl champs. Whooptie. Then we trade our 2nd round '08 draft pick, a very questionable move, for a talented defensive back in DeAngelo Hall. Then a month before the draft, we find another new face along the DL, an arguable bust from Detroit in Kalimba Edwards.
Then bam, we draft Darren McFadden.
Yes, i was less than pleased at first. I didn't like where we arrived.
Now, i love where we're going.
To hell with stopping the run, we're going to make other defenses stop ours.
We've seen how our offensive line went from shambles to respectable, churning out a 1,000 yard rusher in our soldier Justin Fargas.
Insert lightning rod Darren McFadden, one of the best prospects to come out of the SEC, and a rehabilitated Michael Bush... well, one can say we have a great stable of backs and are set at that position for the next couple of years.
A great running game is exactly what our young QB JaMarcus Russell needs and Davis & Kiffin did not disappoint.
We've surrounded the young man with weapons galore. Now, most have question marks surrounding them (Javon Walker & Ronald Curry's injury history, Drew Carter is unproven, a slew of young WRs), but the staff is giving the young signal caller the best chance to succeed.
As far as our defense, we have made our secondary, which was our lone strength, even stronger. Across from all-pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha, we now have another all-pro CB in DeAngelo Hall. Whatever opinions people may have on this guy, one of has to be that he can play, because flat out, he can ball. Gone is scapegoat safety Schweigert and inserted is a tough gamer in Gibril Wilson, who has lead all safeties in accumulated tackles since '04 with 284. The acquisition facilitates the move for Michael Huff to free safety, which should prove beneficial with his abilities.
So it seems that we're hoping to score points and make the opponents pass. That i like. Our defense is geared to stop the pass, and now thanks to Davis & Kiffin, it may seem that we might actually make opponents do that. Hell, we even hope to squeeze out a few more plays from DE Greg Spires in hopes that we can get the quarterback down!
Things aren't all that rosy though. We haven't been able to stop the run, and if we don't score, all that hyping up i've done is moot. Plus, that offensive line... it's changing again. I can also assure that nobody in the Nation is confident in T Kwame Harris protecting the multi million dollar man. Not only that, but the other tackle spot is also a question mark!
Also, we have another changing at the C position in 3 years! Stability in the offensive line is what we need, and we aren't even close to achieving that. Everyone with Silver & Black in their veins is hoping that Tom Cable can once again help us out in that department.
Let's hope that we can get McFadden into camp signed so he can get to work in our offense asap. We're going to need all the help we can get from every single player, drafted, vet, or free agent, because we're far from a solid group.
Whatever happens happens, but i'm definitely anxiously awaiting the '08 season. Just Win, Baby!
It's taken me 34 days to come to gripes with the madness that is to be the '08 season. I must say, i'm sincerely enthusiastic, but still hold my reservations as to not be disappointed, again (and again x4).
Well, we haven't been able to stop the run with any consistency, so how do we address our defense this offseason? We re-sign Tommy Kelly, who i feel is going to be integral to our DL unit, to a blockbuster deal that leaves many skeptical since he just had a season ending injury. We sign a safety of all positions to a lucrative contract in Gibril Wilson. Finally, to some people's delight, we fill a position of need by signing DT William Joseph (who really hasn't done anything since being drafted) from the Super Bowl champs. Whooptie. Then we trade our 2nd round '08 draft pick, a very questionable move, for a talented defensive back in DeAngelo Hall. Then a month before the draft, we find another new face along the DL, an arguable bust from Detroit in Kalimba Edwards.
Then bam, we draft Darren McFadden.
Yes, i was less than pleased at first. I didn't like where we arrived.
Now, i love where we're going.
To hell with stopping the run, we're going to make other defenses stop ours.
We've seen how our offensive line went from shambles to respectable, churning out a 1,000 yard rusher in our soldier Justin Fargas.
Insert lightning rod Darren McFadden, one of the best prospects to come out of the SEC, and a rehabilitated Michael Bush... well, one can say we have a great stable of backs and are set at that position for the next couple of years.
A great running game is exactly what our young QB JaMarcus Russell needs and Davis & Kiffin did not disappoint.
We've surrounded the young man with weapons galore. Now, most have question marks surrounding them (Javon Walker & Ronald Curry's injury history, Drew Carter is unproven, a slew of young WRs), but the staff is giving the young signal caller the best chance to succeed.
As far as our defense, we have made our secondary, which was our lone strength, even stronger. Across from all-pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha, we now have another all-pro CB in DeAngelo Hall. Whatever opinions people may have on this guy, one of has to be that he can play, because flat out, he can ball. Gone is scapegoat safety Schweigert and inserted is a tough gamer in Gibril Wilson, who has lead all safeties in accumulated tackles since '04 with 284. The acquisition facilitates the move for Michael Huff to free safety, which should prove beneficial with his abilities.
So it seems that we're hoping to score points and make the opponents pass. That i like. Our defense is geared to stop the pass, and now thanks to Davis & Kiffin, it may seem that we might actually make opponents do that. Hell, we even hope to squeeze out a few more plays from DE Greg Spires in hopes that we can get the quarterback down!
Things aren't all that rosy though. We haven't been able to stop the run, and if we don't score, all that hyping up i've done is moot. Plus, that offensive line... it's changing again. I can also assure that nobody in the Nation is confident in T Kwame Harris protecting the multi million dollar man. Not only that, but the other tackle spot is also a question mark!
Also, we have another changing at the C position in 3 years! Stability in the offensive line is what we need, and we aren't even close to achieving that. Everyone with Silver & Black in their veins is hoping that Tom Cable can once again help us out in that department.Let's hope that we can get McFadden into camp signed so he can get to work in our offense asap. We're going to need all the help we can get from every single player, drafted, vet, or free agent, because we're far from a solid group.
Whatever happens happens, but i'm definitely anxiously awaiting the '08 season. Just Win, Baby!
Total Comments 1
Comments
|
Nice stuff
 I think what many people fail to realize is just HOW bad we are against the run. What does scoring more points have to do with forcing teams to throw? When you can constantly pick up 5 yards a pop and break open a big one on almost any play, why pass? Especiallly a really good running team, who can get even more than 5 yds per. LT's numbers are ridiculous and they basically have no need to pass on us. And just how many more points are we going to score with a rookie at the helm? I can see where having a 2 score lead with the game coming to a close can play into our strong secondary. But are we really going to light up the board? Even with a potent offense, our defense still has big problems in the trenches. Kelly has played tackle before and while he is an upgrade, he still isn't a beast. We gave up the 2nd most yards per play last year. How much progress are we supposed to make in 1 season? We improved our pass defense more than our run defense this offseason.  And let's talk about the so called great pass defense we have. It got murdered by Detroit's group of exceptional wideouts and let cleveland get back into field goal range and almost blew the game. I will accredit much of the struggles to Fabian Washington bit at the same time it wasn't all his fault. Our bland playcalling and inconsistent pass rush is another problem. Our linebackers and safeties have to tackle much better. It's sad when your 2 best tacklers are defensive backs I still think we will be an improved team and it will show on the field but I don't expect any vasts improvements, especially in terms of wins, when you can't stop the run. I think our offense will have to carry us if we are to have a winning season. Go Raiders  |
 
|
Total Trackbacks 0
Trackbacks
Recent Blog Entries by Gridiron PIRATE
- v. Chargers, Thoughts On Changes, Quarterly Grading - p.1 (10-04-2008)
- v. Chargers - Round 1 (09-28-2008)
- v. Bills - The Aftermath et al. (09-22-2008)
- v. Bills (09-21-2008)
- Draft Aftermath & More (06-02-2008)
