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Money Changes Everything

Another week. Another Raiders loss. With each defeat, I’m finding it harder to write. While it’d be easy to spit out a column about blown coverage, pathetic 3rd down conversions and just plain stupid penalties by the highest paid player (I’m talking to you DeAngelo Hall) I can’t this week. Adam Treu

Bookmark and Share Print This Send This October 28, 2008, 06:13 PM EST
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Another week.  Another Raiders loss.  With each defeat, I’m finding it harder to write.  While it’d be easy to spit out a column about blown coverage and pathetic 3rd down conversions and just plain stupid penalties by the highest paid player (I’m talking to you DeAngelo Hall) I can’t this week.  This used to be my team so I know the feeling of being continually kicked when you’re down.  So I’ll leave it to someone else.

So instead I am looking to join Mike Singletary’s Fan Club.  Ordering Vernon Davis--petulant child posing as professional athlete--off the field might have been the best thing to happen last Sunday.  I wish more head coaches would do the same.  And the best part?  It didn’t matter he was the starting TE.  Larry Johnson and Kellen Winslow aside, there are still enough of these guys in the league to ruin a great game. 

A franchise in the NFL only has 3 years and 3 games to detect the cancers on the team.  So if the organization is lucky enough, they’ll cut or trade a player before he becomes a vested veteran.  Prior to hitting the 3-and-3 benchmark, a team will only owe maybe the rest of a signing bonus. Nothing more. But if this player fools the organization and becomes vested, it’s a different story.  They have to pay the player’s salary for the entire season (Pacman should teach a class on this).  And unless Goodell steps in, they think their hands are tied if it is a high-priced player.  I’ve seen it happen first hand.  A player will shut it down (not in the good way) and the team is left holding the bag for a guy who should be cut on the spot.  Remember when Bill Callahan called us the dumbest team in America?  We had more than one of these guys.  So it’s disappointing most teams, when faced with such a financial decision, decide they might as well get what they can out of him and pray he doesn’t influence the younger players.  It’s a typical rationale that is heavy on commerce.  And when you’re heavy on commerce, it usually indicates you’re pretty weak on conviction.

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Billy
Oct 28, 2008
06:45 PM

Just get use to it. The Raiders will never be winners again until Al retires. You cant win when you got an overrated coach like Ryan who has again failed. He sucks! This guy doesnt have the sense to stop a 70 year old man in flag football. Can you call Al and explain to him that there was a reason Kiff wanted to fire Ryan?

Shell was the most loyal Raider ever and didnt get this kind of treatment when his teams failed. Ray Rice averaged 1.9 yards rushing on 7 carries against the Dolphins and 8.0 against us on 8 carries.

Mr.Murder
Oct 28, 2008
09:34 PM

Rob Ryan's D gave up the throwback pass to Flacco. The Ravens used Chargers game film on that(remember Drew Brees, Bolt fans?). How many years has it been to have the DC learn to stop at least one trick play, and not even be good at that?

Rob
Oct 28, 2008
10:00 PM

Hey Adam nice write up as usual. The latest batch of free agent lottery winners hasn't amounted much huh, outside of Gibril Wilson.
Hall - All style and no substance, never could get into the hype or idea it was a good deal.
Walker - Al should have just let him retire, He'd been just as productive as he has been. (Last 2 words sum him up as well)
Kwame Harris - When it was announced they signed him, I thought wow, now just get someone NFL caliber to start at LT. Oops, I have never gotten Al's love affair with CBs and the fact he has never consistantly put money or draft picks into the OL (no offense Adam).
Tommy Kelly did tear his knee last year so I will give him this year to regain the strength and burst.
Michael Huff - The only time that guy has ever looked like he was going to get physical was when he was standing shirtless at the dude bar with Vince Young. I could go on and on

Another problem I see is incomplete areas.
Thomas Howard, check
Kirk Morrison, check
Ricky Brown.... WTDuece? I'd rather have someone who's been over the hill for 10 years like Junior Seau out there. That to me seems the epitome of the Raiders problems. 2 good LBs and one guy who couldn't start for the San Jose Sabercats.
A decent interior line and junk OTs. No WRs with any knees or speed.
A banged up backfield
A very raw QB dealing with a coaching change really 8 games into his career.

It seems to me that Al is more interested in having people who will kiss his rings than people who want to win. I guess when you have the types of guys who are more interested in throwing parties in Atlanta (2004) than playing football, you are never going to win.
Just do anything but play football, baby!

Al won't win til he relives 1997 again and he realizes he needs a young dynamic coach like Jon Gruden.

Only this time, the coach needs to be defensive minded and Al needs to keep his nose out of it like he did with Gruden. He hasn't been a coach 45 years. Things have changed in that time period. Well everything but him.

Uncle Rico
Oct 29, 2008
09:16 AM

Shouldn't have been any surprise to the Raiders, unless their scouting consists of just watching a handful of highlights. DeAngelo Hall lead the league in penalty yards last year with 153 yards. And only 3 of his penalties were for pass interference, although those accounted for over half his yards. But worse than that, 9 of his 10 penalties came with automatic first downs (he was called for being the 12th man on the other penalty, declined). 5 were unsportsmanlike penalties for taunting and roughness.

He did have 5 Ints, 1 FF, and a TD last year. Along with 16 passes defensed. I'm not sure how many of those PDs came on 3rd down, but it's probably fair to say he sustains as many drives as he kills. Is that an acceptable trade off? Maybe for Weird Al. I'll pass.

My team, the Steelers, have a guy like that. Chris Kemoeatu. Has all the talent in the world from the neck down. But KickemintheHead Chris still takes inopportune stupid penalties and has zero awareness in pass pro. I was hoping he'd be a repetition guy, that over time in the same system he'd come around. So far no good.

George K
Oct 29, 2008
09:30 AM

Hey Adam, Thanks for the column. I always like to hear what former players think. One question though. You noted three years and three games as the threshold to become vested. If I'm not mistaken, 3 games in a season gives you a credited season and increases your pay for next year and six games are what you'd need to earn for an accrued season in free agency. Isn't the vesting based on accrued seasons and not credited seasons?

Patrick Craig
Oct 29, 2008
10:35 AM

Coach/TV Analyst Jimmy Johnson on the Fox pre-game show said that 57% of these high round big money guys are out of football in three years. This is as screwed up as it gets. The owners pay huge bucks for young guys based on potential instead of paying the proven Vets what they are worth. It's time for a salary cap on these young guns in the league. Make them earn the big contract instead of paying them on day one. When you're a billionaire overnight what incentive do you have especially at such a young age. The NFL needs to get it's ship together by ridding it's self of thugs like Pacman Jones and stop giving the farm away to College stars who can't make it in the NFL.

SJGMoney
Oct 29, 2008
11:37 AM

When you have to hang your hat on Gibril Wilson, yikes!!! I think Tom Coughlin drove him to the airport when he got that contract from the Raiders.

Adam, who were the bad seeds on "your" team? You have no problem calling out Pretendgelo Hall, who was in that category when you played?

Billy
Oct 29, 2008
01:07 PM

You can always talk about the past Adam. I know the future sucks with Al running the team. 9 winning seasons since 1983 sb and 3 winning seasons since moving back to Oakland in 1995. Oh by the way, I love Cable's new "opening the playbook" The Raiders Ofense averages under 10 points per game since he took over. While the D is ranked 26th after 6 years of drafting. The highlight reels for 08 Raiders should only have Shane our punter and Asomugha.

Great Move Al. You are a football genious.

Chris in NJ
Oct 29, 2008
04:50 PM

I am no DeAngelo Hall fan, but looking at the games objectively, he played very well the past two weeks. I'm sure Ryan and White/Jenkins will attack much more than Favre/Flacco did, so this will be a good test. But while he may be a jerk, he did play well in the past two games and if he stays at that level, the Raiders should have a good shot at winning 2 of the nest three.

mikeinny
Nov 02, 2008
08:05 AM

raiders are gonna need help from the falcs off today ! ryan isnt stopping anyone on ground today or anyday ! so the raiders need to come back with at least +3 on to's to win !!
if not it will be just like any other game , maybe close maybe not ! but ryan will lose this game one way or another !!

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