Post by Gary DeWaayPost by R. J. Salvi"Plus, part of the reason we are stinking right now is we are playing with
his stinky fucking draft picks (oh wait, maybe that was all Al?"
Please understand, this was not a selective cut & paste to quote Gary out of
context. And I originally chose not to respond to this post because he
didn't accurately answer my question in the context it was asked and I
didn't want another shitstorm. But since YOU brought it up Pirate, here
goes.
Citations please on Gruden's "stinky fucking draft picks." Which ones?
My question was in reference to the Raiders current performance because Gary
was very specific in saying: "right now". Instead, I received a list which
represents ALL Gruden's draft picks, most of whom ARE NOT even with the team
"right now." If they *are not* playing right now, then we can conclude that
it *is not* Gruden's "stinky fucking draft picks" as the reason(s) the
Raiders are "stinking right now."
This is not semantics. Gary makes a good point about draft picks under the
Gruden era as being busts, but look at the Raiders current roster and look
at the Raiders current record. No, Gruden's draft picks are not the reason
the Raiders suck right now.
I guess I don't understand your logic. If someone drafts a bunch of shit
players for four years that aren't playing because they are shit, that
means we have to fill out the starting roster in other ways, which of
course means free-agency, which usually is much more expensive against the
cap.
Agreed, but what you're saying now is different from what you originally
said. Your original statement implied that Grudens bad draft picks were
still playing and were the reason for the Raiders "stinking." I couldn't
figure out which ones. Then you posted the list. I looked at the list,
looked at the Raiders roster and concluded that Gruden's bust draft picks
are not only not playing right now, they're not even on the roster.
But let's take a look at what you're saying now. Remember, the year after
Gruden left, Callahan (more likely Davis) brought in a slew of older big
names: Romanowski, Armstrong, Parella, R. Woodson, etc. You don't think the
Raiders are feeling the effects of having to replace them? You don't think
that the Raiders are also drafting in a different direction to bring them
back to their heralded verticle offense? No, it's not Gruden that's done in
the raiders.
Post by Gary DeWaayPlus we are still wasting draft picks filling up the spots that shoulda
been filled if not for all of the busts. Fer instance, because Gibson is
a bust, we will now have to spend ANOTHER high draft pick filling his
spot... or spend 10 million of our cap bucks for a great free agent.
[I'm using this as an example because I am pining for a great safety]
The Raiders #1 draft picks the first two years AG (after Gruden) were Philip
Buchanon and Nnamdi Asomugha. Are they living up to #1 status? The last
decent-looking safety was Marques Anderson and the Raiders let him go and
kept Gibson, also AG. Besides, Gruden managed to win with Pope and Dorsett.
And yes, like you, I'd love to see a Roy Williams type safety roaming the
secondary, but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.
Post by Gary DeWaayMany successive years of horrible drafting KILLS a team in the long run...
especially in the cap era. NE is a MASTER at drafting. Case closed.
Agreed, but just like Gruden hit the free agency lotto with Gannon, NE hit
the draft lotto with Brady. It's always a crap shoot for every other team as
well. And it's not just horrible drafting that can kill a team, it's also
horrible coaching choices, horrible free agent acquisitions, consistent
losing, etc.
Post by Gary DeWaayBTW, this is why I have high hopes for the future. We have a TON of up-
and-comer starters on defense that we drafted the last two years that
might make it easy for lotsa wins with some more experience and some fill
ins. Our lone pro-bowler will hopefully anchor things for awhile.
We'll see. The defense is not yet capable of carrying a game and some of the
players are still so young and inexperienced, that time will tell. And our
lone Pro-Bowler has been hurt the past three years. He's either fragile, or
he hates playing on a losing team. I say trade him.
Post by Gary DeWaayPost by R. J. SalviMaybe one day we can discuss Gruden's free agent acquisitions, but if they
stunk too, then how could a 34y/o coaching neophyte build a winning team
with no good draft picks or FAs? Al was actually coaching in a Gruden
lookalike costume? Hmmm....
Gruden hit the lottery with Gannon, and we still had Brown in his prime.
We simply needed to plug in Rice and Garner, an o-line that over-achieved
in pass protection, plus a few veterans to help the defense out, and we
were in business. The key player here was GANNON.
A hot QB will smooth over lotsa rough spots on a team, kinda like how hot
monkey sex can keep a shitty relationship intact when it has no reason to
exist.
Wat a minute, I could be wrong, but wasn't it you (or was it Shadow?) that
said that Brady or Manning wouled get killed behind our line and not get
anything done? And why did our line overachieve with Gannon and an arguably
better line today, underachieve with Collins?
It wasn't as simple as plugging in Rice and Garner and voila!...instant
offense. It was the right offense, with the right people, with the right
coaching that created that offensive synergy. We simply plugged in Moss and
Jordan with our vertically inclined Collins and voila!..uh-oh. Why the
difference?
Yes, a hot QB will smooth over a lot of rough spots, but enticing a good one
to the current Raiders is like a monkey fucking a football...ain't no way
the job's gonna get done.
--
Robert J. Salvi, Ambiance Acoustics
http://www.ambianceacoustics.com
San Diego, CA USA
(858) 485-7514