I'm gonna laugh if Terrelle Pryor beats out Flynn before the season starts.
I'll be honest Palmer went cheap, but I still believe Oakland overpaid for him. Be interesting to see what the conditional is if he gets Arizona to the playoffs, probably around the same level as the conditional they're giving up if Flynn gets them as far.
Also this frees up a lot of cap space Oakland was hoping to get rid of. This really is the start of the rebuild in Oakland, shit will still stink for 2-3 seasons in my guess but they can push forward from here.
Ex-Mod. Technically retired, they just won't let me quit.
Weirder things have happened though. I always keep in mind the Dolphins between 2007 and 2008 season. They went from rock bottom 1 win laughing stock of the league, to 11-5 and the playoffs. The Raiders have been in a bad state for longer of course, and probably have more work to do, but still, don't be surprised by a quick turnaround.
Both of those seasons are aberrations though, there isn't much to be learned from them, that 11-5 season is still their only winning season in the past 7 years, so it wasn't exactly something to build on, it depended on Chad Pennington not being injured, which is so wildly unlikely that to expect such a miracle again is folly. Quick turnarounds can happen when everything goes wrong one year and then gets back on track, like Indianapolis being unprepared for life without Manning, and then getting a new QB the next year, going 10-6/2-14/11-5 in the process.
The Raiders don't have some disaster sinking them, they're basically the same team they've been for a decade, treading water and getting 4 to 8 wins a year, they were only barely better with Palmer under center than they were with Russell, I don't see how another QB will change their fortunes any more, and they don't have enough draft picks to fill the rest of the holes quickly either, its gonna be at least another year or two of stink barring every opposing QB in the division getting injured.
Ex-Mod. Technically retired, they just won't let me quit.
I am satisfied with getting Nnamdi for the cost, very least I can hope that he can train Culliver a bit and get Rogers the feth out of the backfield. The people up here all are talking smack about Culliver playing like crap in the Super Bowl, Rogers was crap all season.
The Raiders are in the drastic rebuild mode. I just truly hope that the owner realizes this and doesn't can the HC and GM (if they have one right now) after this year if they go 4-12 again. They need consistency, as do all teams. Three straight 4-12 seasons under the same staff? Then it is justified in my honest opinion. Same if the coach just isn't cutting it with the level of talent on the team (looking at you Singletary, looking right into your beady linebacker eyes).
VanCleef wants you! Join the Defias Brotherhood and hang out on a yacht all day!
NFL.com Link
Backup MLB and Special Teams player, Brendan Ayenbadejo, is the next Raven to be cut.
There's talk in the article about salary, but it seems to me that this just another vocal player being removed from the locker room. Harbaugh apparently doesn't like opinions that are not his own.
---------- Post added 2013-04-04 at 05:35 PM ----------
Tweets from Bills WR Stevie Johnson
North Korea tripping hard AF right now. Chill out with that Nuke talk. #uMadBroWar is nothing to be played with. I apologize North Korea........but if y'all do bomb 1st... Bomb Foxboro, Mass. Sincerely,#BillsMafia
Jason Hanson retired. 21 years is impressive, but what's more impressive is that he spent all 21 years with the same team. He's third all-time in points, which isn't a big surprise since kickers fill that stat up above everyone else.
Wait, he was a second-round pick? Did the Lions make a monumental mistake, or was Hanson like the holy grail of kickers, or was that more common twenty years ago?
I'm just going to point at the 2000 draft, which was probably the best Oakland pick till 2008.
Ex-Mod. Technically retired, they just won't let me quit.
I'd like to call BS on this being about his views. The dude is as old as Ray Lewis, and didn't have a shot in hell of starting on any defense. Paying a geezer millions of dollars to only play special teams seems like a very stupid move. Even if it doesn't save that much against the cap, it's a no-brainer if you're looking to save some money.
I wouldn't say it's about his personal views.
To me, it's just the fact that he's a very vocal player and the Ravens have shown this offseason that this type of player is no longer welcome in the locker room. Yes, looking at this move by itself, there's nothing really wrong with it, but coupled with some of the rest of this offseason's moves, I think it shows a pattern. While this move saves money against the cap, it's only $800k against this year. There's other players that cut have been cut that would have easily saved them 4x that. Again, I'll point at two of the players I did previously.
FB Vonta Leach: The team didn't want to pay Boldin $6 Mil. next year, but they seem OK keeping Leach and paying him $4+ Mil. despite only being on the field for 30% of the offensive snaps.
MLB Jameel McClain: A backup that is coming off a very subpar year, whose health is rather questionable at this point and who counts as another $4 Mil. against the cap. He was easily at the top of most peoples lists of players to get cut. But he wasn't (yet). Ayenbadejo plays the same position and is one of the best special teams players on the roster (it was why he was brought in in the first place), but he and his $800k cap hit are gone and McClain and his $4 Mil. cap hit are still here.
I definitely understand what you're saying about his age and, honestly, I don't even really care that he was cut. But in his defense, he was mostly just here for special teams and the guy is an absolute freak when it comes to conditioning. Also, I think it's worth noting that one of the only remaining players that has ever really spoken up (or spoken out against our coaches play-calling) is Suggs and he's not a player that's easily cut or replaced.
---------- Post added 2013-04-05 at 06:02 PM ----------
Speaking of Ayenbadejo, he said today that up to four NFL players could "come out"; and do so sooner than we think. He says they would come out together to alleviate the pressure that would be faced by any one player.
Joe Flacco.
QB, SuperBowl MVP ... actor?
Looks like he'll portray Johnny Unitas in the upcoming movie, Unitas We Stand. Not sure if this is some kind of documentary or a full fledged movie. Article only mentions that Flacco will be portraying Johnny U. in scenes depicting the '58 Championship Game. Kinda cool, but I think I would have preferred Peyton Manning if they were going to go w/ a current player. He's always reminded me of Johnny U.