When Al Davis wants to make a splash: Raider X

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March 17, 2008

When Al Davis wants to make a splash: Raider X

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Raider X has emerged from the witless protection program to offer his thoughts on the Oakland Raiders' blockbuster trade for DeAngelo Hall. He takes some time to wonder whether Fabian Washington, Stanford Routt or Stuart Schweigert will be the odd man out in the Raiders' remade secondary, or is this a sign that Nnamdi Asomugha may be the one on his way out.

Al Davis Knows how to Make a Splash

by Raider X

Special to Thoughts from the Dark Side

When Al Davis wants to make a splash, He dives in like Rosie O��Donnell at cheerleader camp. Al may not always make the right moves, but at least he tries. I will give the old guy that. Now there is news from John ��Frodo�� Clayton via Chris Mortenson from ESPIN (Eastern Spin) that the Raiders are about to trade for All-Pro Cornerback DeAngelo Hall of the Atlanta for their 2nd round pick. Normally I am not one for trading first day players for picks, especially at a position, on the surface, the Raiders don��t need but there are several different ways to view this potential transaction.

The first is that by acquiring Hall, the Raiders are going to move someone. But who is the outgoing corner? Fabian Washington is too small to be a starter but quality nickel back. Stanford Routt is an talented specimen who has yet to put it all together. Of course, there is Nnamdi Asomugha, the most under-appreciated player in football, however he is unsigned.

So who goes and what is there value? You think Al is going to get away with trading a 2nd for Hall and then trading Washington or Routt for a 2nd? I doubt it. If Al does then he deserves a used car dealership because he could get someone to pay Mercedes money for a Ford Taurus. The other team would be getting a dependable car but not worth the sticker price. Lightning struck once in getting a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Philip ��No Time�� Buchanon. Considering Al Davis has spent the better part of 24 years trying to recapture the glory lost since 1983, I wouldn��t put it past him to relive his best draft move since landing Tim Brown and Terry McDaniel by trades in 1988. Scott Davis, as well, I know.

Then there is the Raiders trump card, well one of them, Nnamdi Asomugha. He is unsigned, like Hall wants a Hummer H2 full of currency and is being held hostage by the Raiders exclusive rights tag. What can the Raiders get for him? A mid-level first round pick and maybe a 3rd round pick? That might be a nice haul but is it really worth it for a great player? It will be more than expensive under the current cap system to keep both corners. Then again, Al Davis knows more about what��s going on with CBA agreements and uncapped years than I do.

Then there is the last point I want to put across. The league is moving to spread passing offenses with 3 WR��s. The only way to combat this is by having good CBs to go one on one with the other teams WRs. Maybe Al thinks the current 3 aren't good enough or is in love with Hall over his 40 time, I don��t know. BTW, Hall could be a punt returner. Just food for thought.

What would Raider X do? I would field offers for Asomugha, Washington, Routt and of course, Stuart Schweigart and I would trade Washington and Schweigert for the best possible deal. Then I would be considering trading down if both Long��s and Gholston are gone. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Every so often, Raider X emerges from his his secret hideout and responds to the X sign to post his thoughts here on Thoughts from the Dark Side. If you would like to contribute a post to Thoughts from the Dark Side, contact me at mvnraider at yahoo.com.

Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, Raiders

Discussion

33 Comments on "When Al Davis wants to make a splash: Raider X"

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Posted by Raiderkev25, March 17, 2008 12:17 AM

If the Hall trade goes through, which i hope does, then the Raiders will most likely trade out of the #4 pick for possibly 2 first rounders. From there i could see us possibly trading out of the first round to acquire more 2nd & 3rd round picks. I think we could better fill needs with those multiple picks. Fabian, Routt, Stu, Sands, Burgess, Rhodes, Warren, Walter, are all trade commodities right now. We will definetly trade a couple of these players to acquire some picks. Lamont Jordan more than likely will be cut instead of traded because of his contract, so we will have an extra 4 mil. Rhodes restructured his contract making him even more tradeable now. This could happen if we decide to draft a young running back in the draft which i think will happen. Burgess i know is not happy with all the money being thrown around and can possibly be a problem if he don't get his. We could get the most compensation for him. Routt or Fabian will definetly be dealt depending on what team wants them and how much the compensation, but I wouldn't deal either one of them for anything less than a 3rd. Gerard Warren could be replaced for a draft pick. I still believe in Sands ability to take on blockers and would fill the need at NT better than Warren cuz Warren doesn't take on blockers, he likes to get to the qb like Kelly does. I think we could get a 5th round pick for Rhodes. I wouldn't trade Huff unless there's a mega deal in place with the Cowboys to acquire SS Roy Williams and LOLB Bobby Carpenter. Gibril Wilson could easily move to free safety.

Posted by Matt, March 17, 2008 12:24 AM

i think this could do wonders, and i think that hall will step up and have a resurgent year and hes is still only 23

he started off his career like aso getting lots of picks but i think once teams realized he was the only one who could cover someone in the falcons secondary he didnt get any chances and slacked off because he is so self centered stats were more important to him than his job, however no one throws to aso and between the two of them i think its going to be teams throwing to hall getting picked trying to throw to aso and getting picked, but like everyone has said we need more people on the d line

also i think there is nothing wrong with trading draft picks for more proven players i mean really a 2nd round pick for a previous top 10 pick and its not like hall can be called a bust hes made the pro bowl twice

Posted by Raiderkev25, March 17, 2008 12:26 AM

Please Raider fans stop buying into all this crap about not having the cap room to sign both Nnamdi and Hall. Look at Denver they have 2 of the best corners in the league right now, how we can't do the same? We have enough cap room to sign both and we will have enough to sign our draft picks. Just trust, and stop with all the negative remarks.

Posted by Raiderkev25, March 17, 2008 12:30 AM

Hall will be the best cornerback without a doubt if he comes to the Raiders. Trust me, Nnamdi is not gonna wanna leave when we sign Hall like some suggest. Pure haterism, and they are not Raider fans! Believe me, everyone in the AFC WEST is taking notice, and are nervous now!

Posted by Raiderkev25, March 17, 2008 12:30 AM

Come on Raiders and D Hall, lets get this thing done already! I'm juiced!

Posted by Raiderkev25, March 17, 2008 12:33 AM

Why is everyone so concerned anyway about how we spend our money on players. Hall is a great investment that will pay huge dividends to our organization. This team will definetly remind me of our last 83' Superbowl Team.

Posted by OakFoSho, March 17, 2008 12:39 AM

Oh Wow! Where To Begin?!?!,

I love it when a writer makes me think of a situation in a totally different light, and for that, RaiderX, I commend you. However, at the same time this idea, trading Awesome Asomugha, scares the crap out of me. He is a recipient of the 2006 Commitment to Excellence Award, has incredible work ethic, and the best man-cover corner in the NFL. He is, the quintessential Raider, and I would be devastated to see him go.

I agree that the Raiders, should the Hall deal go down, need to package and trade Fabian and Stu. Though I still like Fabian, and believe he will be good, Rout will be better.

Al's Mandate is McFadden!!

OakFoSho

Posted by LDizzle, March 17, 2008 12:56 AM

I still hope this trade doesn't happen but if it does go down then it can be a positive if the right trades are made to get the Raider more picks in the 1st two rounds. Nnamdi would likely be signed as well if we sign Hall because we would need to get his cap number down. This also signals that we will trade out of the #4 pick to keep from having to pay the kind of salary he will command. This trade is not a done deal and if it falls through, I will rejoice.

And Kev it is not "negative remarks", it's looking at things with a critical and realistic eye rather than being a blind homer. Being ignorant sheep is an image that Raider fans need to dispell.

I personally think that if Nnamdi left there would be a HUGE uproar and right now there are a lot of fans that are worried about that possibility. I can't blame them. I still have hope but I am a little worried too. I don't even like hearing people talk about it. He is the best all-around player on this team on and off the field. And he is a local guy. It doesn't get any better than that. He needs to be a career Raider.

#10

Posted by muse, March 17, 2008 5:21 AM

the Raiders have many tradeable players that are being held back to trade via the draft ie:Schweigert/Walter/Jordan/Rhodes/Washington/Routt/ Huff im sure if we get Hall for draft picks...we will get them back offering these players out come draft time......

#11

Posted by J.Rasmussen, March 17, 2008 5:39 AM

As a long time VT fan I can tell you Hall will be the comeback player of the year, especially if we have him returning kicks. Dude is a touchdown waiting to happen on ST. With the depth at CB we'll have, we can afford to let him return kicks for us. Seriously, this is hands down the best secondary in the league. if we get any kind of pass rush we are a wild card team based just on the defensive TD's we'll get. If we cam somehow land "Son of Long" and a 300 plus DT lateri n the draft, we are super set on D. Top 5 in the league for sure.

#12

Posted by Aaron, March 17, 2008 7:51 AM

I am all for getting Hall, but not at the expense of losing Namdi. Namdi is a Class act who leads by example. Hall has a me first attitude. Also I hate corners that are buddies with Meion Sanders. They always talk alot of nonsense and think they are better then they are, like that bum Buchannon. Anyone or anything that Meion endorses is the opposite of what the Raiders represent.

#13

Posted by TeamRADRZ, March 17, 2008 7:56 AM

I am getting very excited about this defense as well, just remember all these players need to gel or it won't matter. Saying that I would say corner is probably one of those positions where it doesn't need time to gel especialy in the Raiders man to man coverage technique. It was good news to hear Russle is in camp early learning to be the Pro QB that we need him to be and weight is not an issue, which I didn't believe those hater reports anyway.

#14

Posted by LARaider70, March 17, 2008 8:07 AM

The voice of reason says," Focus on stopping the run." We are at least three position\players away from accomplishing it. We need to get a DE w/ 4th over all pick hopefully Gholston or C.Long, a bruising MLB so that Kirk slides right to WILL\Weak Side LB position & a mammoth NT. If we don't loose site of these needs and still have or acquire a pick(s) by trading Stu & Fabian, as to pick up OL\C help we would make leaps and bounds of progress while addressing our positions of need and creating depth. This whole Hall fiasco maybe exciting but not anymore from knowing we are on the right track. If we can have both then there would be no one as happy as I would be.

I'm just afraid what this says to Namdi and Burgess, it may be to late for worrying if we've insulted and pissed him off.

#15

Posted by BamaRaider, March 17, 2008 8:11 AM

Namdi's not going anywhere.

We must keep up with Hall and other CB contracts' details because they impact what Namdi's franchise number will be, and what any long-term offers would have to be.

I wonder what Cptn. Caveman's thoughts are on the CB position.

#16

Posted by Raider John, March 17, 2008 8:29 AM

the new cap gives enough room to manage Hall and Ash -- we could have an epic secondary!

I'm feeling pretty good about the Raider's offseason this year with exception to the coaching rumors. If we can add some bulk to the lines and and end who can get to the QB, then all the pieces will be together for Kiffin and Ryan to turn the corner.

#17

Posted by Anthony, March 17, 2008 8:59 AM

I still read this deal as a bad sign re: Nnamdi's tenure in Oakland coming to an end sooner, rather than later.

Also, and no one has mentioned this yet, what of Chris Carr? Fans are talking a lot about trades, but there are two minor details working against trading clearly sub-par players for picks:

Oakland traded Randy Moss for a four last season.

Think you'd get a three for Jordan? From whom? Schweigert getting even a four? Forget about it. Why would anyone want to trade for a) underachieving players (or players who simply aren't all that good at the pro level) or b) obvious cuts? Were I a different GM with an eye on any of the obvious Raider castoffs, well, it's a buyer's market, not a seller's, let's put it that way.

#18

Posted by loadyz53, March 17, 2008 9:09 AM

Raider X,

Good write. Agree to everything you say, could not have done better myself, you hit the nail.

#19

Posted by loadyz53, March 17, 2008 9:28 AM

I wanted to throw this out for those who might watch the draft (again, or for the first time). Anyway, the draft now has shrunk the times in each round (old news for the fanatics), so day one will only be rounds 1-2, and day 2 will cover 3-7. Round One was reduced from 15 minutes a pick to 10 minutes a pick, and Round 2 went from 10 minutes a pick to 7 minutes a pick, and 5 minutes a pick every round after. You can watch on NFL network or a sprint phone. Anyway, HAVE A RAIDER DAY!

#20

Posted by loadyz53, March 17, 2008 9:30 AM

And I guess if you must, ESPN.

#21

Posted by Andy, March 17, 2008 10:50 AM

Sorry to rain on your parade guys but "Best secondary in the league" I think your dreaming not I'm not a Raider fan and I think Hall would be good but you have to think about cap space with that overpaid benchwarmer that you drafted 1st overall last year.

#22

Posted by RaiderKen, March 17, 2008 11:17 AM

I don't care if a player has an attitude. I only care that he makes plays and doesn't open his big mouth. In other words shut the F up and play. I liked Moss at first, but he didn't make plays whatever the reason. I don't care about the reason you either make them or not. Hall will get his chance and in a man on man system don't come crying. Nnamdi is different than Hall, but it doesn't matter to me. Together apart whatever just make plays.

#23

Posted by RaiderTC, March 17, 2008 11:32 AM

Do u think this is a ploy to get Nnamdi to sign a long term deal or AL will trade him to where he wants him to be. I'm all for Nnamdi and Hall together but that would leave us with no picks until the 4th Rd and only a 7th if we throw in a 6th. There are still alot of holes to fill. LT (harris a RT at best), SLB, OC, WR( walker inury prone), BQB. We'll see. In AL we trust!!!!!!!

#24

Posted by RayderDiego, March 17, 2008 1:04 PM

oh hell yeah! we will be very tough against the pass

now lets close up the run gaps.

hey andy since your not a raider fan..why would what you think make a bit of difference to the Nation?

#25

Posted by J. Rasmussen, March 17, 2008 1:20 PM

I'm not sure what your trying to say Andy, but with the addition of Hall, there will be no doubt that the Raiders will have "THE BEST SECONDARY IN THE LEAGUE". We still have some cap room and if Nnamdi signs a contract, which I believe he will, we will have more. Jamarcus will not be a bench warmer this year.

#26

Posted by J. Rasmussen, March 17, 2008 1:27 PM

Diz, can you guarantee that any player we take with the 2nd round pick will produce at a probowl level? We are stealing a Battle tested proven player with a second round pick. Some may say that Hall is more hype but like someone said yesterday, I'll take Hall matched up against any #2 WR in the league.

#27

Posted by possiblythelstr8rfan, March 17, 2008 1:30 PM

i see this all being a good ...no great trade, but only short term. On some other blog I read the writer said that Mr Davis sinced his mortality, that sounds verrrrrry likely. So it isn't farfetched to think AD wants 1 more shot b4 it's over this looks like a 1 or 2 year plan, i hope not but we are talking about the most stubborn owner EVER IN ANY SPORT

#28

Posted by Steve, March 17, 2008 3:36 PM

it's ALL about the CAP and signing good draft picks. Look at the Giants last year..5-8 guys needed in the draft and they went 8 for 8 and won the big game with them. Al Davis is overpaying for players in FA.

#29

Posted by raidergeorge, March 17, 2008 3:43 PM

brings back the thoughts of haynes and hayes. or even a younger woodson and allen. the raiders use to his the idea of building on the outside with speed and working inward. the only problem with havig a subper secondary is that teams are going to run more and more. we still need to build up that d line. offseason moves will help but we need another body in there. i am feeling better and better about this team. lets hope this works out!

#30

Posted by Juice, March 17, 2008 3:56 PM

Raider X, you are pretty much on point with your article. Indeed, good points were made. The aquisition of DeAngelo Hall could mean a number of different things for the Silver & Black. Most likely, Fabian Washington's exit from the franchise seems to be ensured. It doesn't make sense that Al will pay three cornerbacks first round type money to play in his secondary, when he's also shelling out a good bit of dough for Michael Huff and Gibril Wilson. If it comes down to Washington or Routt, I'd have to say that Fabian is the odd man out because he is more expensive. With the completion of this deal though, the Raiders will be without not only a third round pick, but also a second and sixth round pick. This leads me to the next thing most likely to happen, which is Al working on a trade out of the fourth overall pick. A trade with the Dallas Cowboys for their two first rounders seems even more likely than it did a month ago. We all know about Jerry Jones' man-crush on Darren McFadden, and I could definately see Al using that to his advantage. Perhaps he can sweeten the pot by adding Fabian Washington to the deal, since Dallas is in the market for a starting cornerback. It just makes sense. Instead of paying top five money for their first pick yet again, they can trade down and aquire two first rounders, allowing them to address the defensive line woes which have been killing them as of late. It's cheaper and they get an extra late first rounder in return after essentailly giving away their second rounder in the Hall trade. Like I said, it make a lot of sense. The last effect of the Hall trade that I forsee is the effect it will have on Nnamdi Asomugha. I'm excited of the prospect of Asomugha lining up opposite of Hall giving the Raiders an excellent tandem of cover men. Both should benefit greatly from the other's presence as opposing quarterbacks will have to pick and choose wisely who they throw at. I've heard that people believe Asomugha to be mad over this decision, but he should get a lot more oppertunities to make plays with Hall opposite of him. I've read reports that Al wants him back and will find a way to get it done. This seems to be an expensive deal, especially with Hall wanting an extension that will give him Asante Samuel type money. Asomugha is a better corner, and could look at it as a barameter of how much he is worth. Hall woud definately provide insurance if Asomugha were to walk after next season. Essentially replacing Asomugha with Hall is not a wise decision in my book and i hope that it doesn't happen. Al values cornerbacks more than anything else on defense (How else can he explain holding on to Charles Woodsen as long as he did?), and will no doubt try to find a way to compensate both. Remember, Al is very adept at maneuvering around the salary cap. I hope he finds a way, because nowadays you need to have to good corners, and the potential combination of Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall is certainly an enticing prospect.

#31

Posted by J. Rasmussen, March 17, 2008 5:55 PM

This will be a major d!c* tease if it doesn't happen.

#32

Posted by nilbymouth, March 17, 2008 7:41 PM

Now that Chris Mayers has been traded to the Texans for a 6th rounder fom the Broncos, I think we should make a move to acquire him with our 6th or even 5th from the Texans. I thought he was an above average lineman and we could do with extra help here.

#33

Posted by LARaider, March 17, 2008 10:03 PM

We're keeping them both, think about it. With Washington, you get a third. Package Schweigert with him and you could only get a fourth. Give Fab and Jordan up for 2nd day picks, and pay someone to take Stuy. Sorry bro, you are the Rudy of the Raiders without the glory. This team is going to kick some ass. JRuss showed up weeks early to get schooling from Knapp, dont think that will be lost on his teammates. Wilson and Hall will round out the best backfield around, don't sleep. With Walker and Carter joining Curry someone will be open for JRuss.