Random Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Oakland Raiders draft approaches

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April 13, 2008

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The MVN Writers' mock draft chugs on, and the New York Jets are ecstatic Darren McFadden did not become an Oakland Raider. Rob and I were both in agreement from the get go that McFadden was not on our radar. Now that does not mean that Al Davis feels the same as us, nor has Al Davis called Rob or I for advice on who to draft, so it is possible that McFadden will end up a Raider. Anyway, here are a few thoughts as the draft approaches.

* Rob, Raider X, L-Dizzle, and possibly OakFoSho will each be doing one round mocks in the coming days and we'll be able to look back and see who hit it.

* I will be making a mockery of the process by attempting one as well.

* NFL Draft 101 completed a complete seven round mock draft, and they had the Raiders with McFadden at #4.

* The Raiders need to make moves to get more picks.

* Justin Fargas will not be traded, no matter who the Raiders pick at #4. The Raiders just signed him to a 3 year deal worth $12 million with $6 guaranteed. The NFL does not do sign and trade deals.

* Has any 1k rusher in the history of the game been as disrespected as Fargas? I know that some people are dead set on wanting McFadden, and McFadden has dynamic talents, but Fargas has been a hard worker and loyal Raider, and has shown progression every year.

* The Raiders are building a defense. If they get the line reinforced, they could be scary good.

* There is a new feature here on Thoughts from the Dark Side. We have created a team roster page. We are working on a project where we will also have a brief bio on the players as well as links to TftDS stories about them. That project is going to be taking some time, so please bear with us.

* If you think you can do a killer one round or want to really be impressive and do a two rounder, and would like it published on Thoughts from the Dark Side, email me at mvnraider at yahoo. com. We are always open to outside contributions.

* The Big Tuna is going to make someone quite wealthy by catching them in a Dolphin Net. Something just feels backwards about that.

* 13 days until the draft.

* Rob and I will have live draft day coverage from Ricky's Sports Bar and Grill in San Leandro. Its a tough assignment, but someone has got to do it. The austerities we endure to bring high quality Raider coverage to our readers.

Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, Raiders

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31 Comments on "Random Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Oakland Raiders draft approaches"

Posted by Random Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Draft Approaches - Oakland Raiders Forum | Message Board -, April 13, 2008 3:19 PM

[...] Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Draft Approaches Thoughts from the Dark Side | MVN - an Oakland Raiders blog � Blog Archive � Random Thoughts from th... __________________ "While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a [...]

Posted by pat, April 13, 2008 3:52 PM

Ok i think we all know the Raiders need more picks we need to trade a guy like Fabian Washington or Stanford Routt to a team like the Patriots or Texans who need corners we'll probably trade Fabian because he has a cheap contract, and he's better than anything the Pats or Texans have. Our D-line isn't that bad with Tommy Kelly at D-tackle and Terdell Sands at nose-guard, we should be able to stop the run and then with William Joseph and Gerard Warren as back-ups. Ok maybe we do need some help, i have no doubt if Glenn Dorsey is avaible at 4 then we draft him right away if not then we trade down. But if that dosen't work then we draft Vernon Gholston. I have no doubt we can beat Denver and Kansas City both times we play each time. But we need to beat the Chargers, how do we do that well if we can put them in 3rd and 5 or 3rd and 6we can depend on our corners and safeties to knock balls down, and line-backers and D-linemen get the pressure on Phillip Rivers. My idea would be if we get Gholston then on passing situations stand him up with D. Burgess on a 3-4. Put Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard in the middle. Were honestly not far away but we just need a few more players on offense and defense and we should be ok. But we need to protect JeMarcus Russell or he will get hurt.

Posted by pat, April 13, 2008 3:55 PM

Oh yea when we play the Chiefs or Chargers or any team with a TE like that we need to get physical with them and the recivers and bump them off the line.

Posted by LDizzle, April 13, 2008 5:29 PM

Patrick I had to laugh when you said you would be making a mockery of the process by coming up with one. Not at you but the statement. I totally agree that Fargas is getting some serious disrespect from the Nation. I mean come on guys. The guy got us over a grand in rushing making the minimun. Now he gets a deal that is great for him and the team for working so hard and the consumate professional and all anyone can say is that he basically sucks. Anyone who says that has no right even mentioning the zone blocking scheme as if they have any idea what it means. Because Fargas is perfect for that scheme. He finds the hole makes one move and bursts through it. And for not being bulky, he can be difficult to bring down because he keeps his legs churning. You reward a guy like that and he will continue to reward you right back.

Patrick: love the roster page. Have you considered expanding it to a depth chart page? Raiders.com absolutely WILL NOT put together a projected depth chart on the team. Seriously, are all team's sites as bad as Raiders.com? Because it is pretty freakin terrible. I get just about NO information from that site. All they have on there is polished turds. I used to go to Ourlads.com but they started charging a subsciption fee so now I am not sure where to go to reference a depth chart.

Posted by Thoughts from the Dark Side: Random Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Oakland Raiders draft approac, April 13, 2008 5:54 PM

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Posted by Patrick Patterson, April 13, 2008 6:37 PM

I will definitely think about adding a projected depth chart as the season gets closer. Great idea.

Posted by Rob Calonge, April 13, 2008 9:45 PM

LDizzle, you're absolutely right about the Raiders page, but after going through all 32 about a week and a half ago, the Raiders site is about average.

Most of the teams don't list a depth chart right now.

One of the best sites was the Bills site, which also had a cool interactive depth chart, and one of the worst and ugliest is probably the Chiefs where you could only sort the players by name and jersey number. Not position. The thing about the Chiefs site is they try and give it that 'on the football field' look. IMHO, if you're going to have the team colors of yellow and red, brown and green just doesn't go.

Posted by Joe Raider, April 14, 2008 5:18 AM

Pat, while I agree that getting physical with Antonio Gates and pressuring Rivers is part of stopping and defeating the Chargers, doing those things means exactly squat if we can't shut down LT. He is THE key to beating SD. Take last season, we split the series, in the 1st game in SD 10/14/07 ( was aired as a replay on NFL network yesterday) LT ran through our def. like it was wet toilet paper, tacking up 150+ yards or some ungodly number and we lost. By the 2nd meeting at home we stiffened up and held him in check for the vast majority of the game, until the end and we couldn't score so the def. wore down and LT ran wild AGAIN. I maintain that LaDanian Tomlinson IS the San Diego Chargers offense. Antonio Gates is the only real receiving threat, and I am not impressed by Philip Rivers or his big mouth. I have said for 3 years that if you take away LT , the Chargers win 8 games per season tops. Probably more like 6. I can't remember a player at least in the last 15 years that carried his team a completely as LT carries SD. Maybe. Elway or maybe Marino come closest. Call me crazy if you like, but I know what I see when I watch SD, and it is ALL Tomlinson. Yes, they have a good D, but I mean offensively.I'm telling you definitively, take LT out of the picture and the Chargers are DONE. Stopping LT is the key, make them throw at Hall and Nnamdi.

Posted by Joe Raider, April 14, 2008 5:19 AM

Correction, we didn't split the series, we lost both. And LT was the reason both times.Sorry.

#10

Posted by RaiderDon73, April 14, 2008 6:51 AM

With the 4th pick of the NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select ????????. In my opinion, the Raiders need to protect their 60 million Dollar Quarterback. Protect the kid and let him sling the ball. Go Raiders.

#11

Posted by Richard Bentley, April 14, 2008 10:11 AM

I'm beginning to feel like a broken record. The Raiders have picked a running back first two times in the last 45 years. The highest pick was Marcus Allen at #10. Does this tell you something about Al's thinking? Any so-called expert who predicts the Raiders taking Mcfadden at #4 has no insight into the Raiders organization. Al does not take running backs high except under duress, and with three viable backs on the roster now, he has absolutely no reason to do so. The same can be said for linebackers. Al does not pick linebackers high. It is either going to be, by priority, DE, DT, or trade down. Another point to make, as the Broncos have demonstrated time and again, is that with the current blocking scheme you can plug in different running backs and they will perform well if they can run within the system. So what is all this nonsense about McFadden??

#12

Posted by Sandblack, April 14, 2008 10:16 AM

From across the pond... Hopefully big al will think Gholston is a LB and so not draft him too. DT, DE(Long only) or trade down. Only way.

Go raiders!

#13

Posted by inonewordraider, April 14, 2008 11:04 AM

sandblack I'm right w/ you except I wouldn't trade the pick, but rather I would go with Sedrick Ellis if Long and Dorsey gone. Maybe not quite worth a fourth pick but like Dorsey doubled all day by tough competition, still managed to stop the run and get to the quarterback, and he's a west coast guy, who like Fargas, Nnamdi, and some of our linebackers will play that much harder for the Silver and Black.

#14

Posted by INVAIDUH, April 14, 2008 11:23 AM

Through all the draft discussion in the Nation I just thought it would be a good time to tell all the Donkey, Dolt and K.C. Queef fans to get bent and go back to their own sites.

GO RAIDERS!

#15

Posted by RaiderKen, April 14, 2008 11:39 AM

Richard being an Al Davis know it all you would know that he has never traded down in the first round ever. On the other hand he has picked LB in the first round, and I may add would have picked AJ Hawk had he been available at #7.

Now Nobody is talking trade up to get the guy we all want Chris Long, but knowing Al has moved UP in the first round if he thinks it can happen he will go after the player he wants. He doesn't wait for them to fall.

#16

Posted by MartinTheMerciless, April 14, 2008 11:43 AM

I hate to be rude, but mock drafts are BS. I look for player ratings from the draft sites. Once you miss one player on a mock draft it skews the rest of the picks. Here is a summary of the last 5 years of NFL drafts from PFW. Warning: it reads like the great American novel. Put on a fresh pot of coffee.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFLDraft/Draft+Extras/2008/recapintro.htm

Favorite rating sites

Walter football:

http://walterfootball.com/draft2008P.php

Scouts inc.

http://profootballexperts.scout.com/a.z?s=211&p=9&c=12&nid=83&lnid=124&pid=10&yr=2008

Research, NFL.com combine reports:

http://www.nfl.com/combine/players?filterType=positionGroup&filterCond=QB

#17

Posted by Richard Bentley, April 14, 2008 1:50 PM

RaiderKen: OK, he took ONE LB as his first choice in 45 years (Rob Fredrickson). That's a pattern?? I also never said he would trade down, but that is the third option for this draft. Not likely though. Al doesn't pick linebackers or running backs high. How do you know he would have picked Hawk? I never know what he is going to do, but based on his track record, it's a pretty safe bet that he won't pick a LB or RB. Also, I am a not an Al Davis know-it-all. but I have been following the Raiders for 40 years. You do see some trends over that time.

#18

Posted by pat, April 14, 2008 2:26 PM

Well Joe Raider i totally agree with u the key is sopping LT but we need to rememeber that a RB is nothing without an O-line. But the problem with stopping the run is the fact that we have good players, but last year we didnt have depth we had Terdell Sands and Warren Sapp and Tommy kelly(for like 6 or 7 games) and Derrick Burgess at DE but who were the back-ups Jay Richardson, Chris Clemons(gone), Gerard Warren and then who else i just dont feel we've done enough this off-season to help out our problem in stopping the run. And we also need help protecting our 60 million dollar man(JaMarcus Russell). Now i dont know if Kwame Harris will be good enough in Tom Cable's zone-blocking scheme but lets assume he is so he's playing left tackle, Robert Gallery left guard, John Wade center, Cooper Carslile right guard, and Paul Mquistan right tackle. If Chris Long isnt there at number 4 and Al dosent wanna take Vernon Gholston i say we try to trade with a team like the Jets,Ravens, Saints, or Chicago(it would only work if Matt Ryan is still there) and i say we take a guy like Brandon Allbert out of UVA he can play 4 out of 5 positions in the O-line.

Let me know what u guys think...

Go RAIDERS!!!

#19

Posted by pat, April 14, 2008 2:29 PM

Let me know what u guys think...

Go RAIDERS!!!

#20

Posted by LDizzle, April 14, 2008 2:46 PM

Pat I disagree on Albert simply because if we are going to take an Olineman in the 1st it would have to be OT not Guard. Carlisle and Gallery performed quite well at the Guard spots last year but Harris and McQuistan are question marks at the Tackle spots. There would likely be some decent Tackles in the mid to late 1st round. Although I personally don't think that we should use a 1st rounder on an olineman unless we have multiple picks.

#21

Posted by Raiderkev25, April 14, 2008 5:49 PM

I believe the Raiders are in place to select DE Chris Long as of right now. I personally believe the Dolphins will select QB Matt Ryan as their qb of the future. If this happens, then we will have a chance to select DE Chris Long. I would think about drafting Long but our salary cap is more important, and i would trade down with a team like the Pats. This could very well happen cuz they would covet players like DE/LB Vernon Gholston, and DE/LB Chris Long. We could acquire the Pats 2nd round pick plus still get DT Sedrick Ellis, or perhaps one of the other coveted players; Gholston, Long, Mcfadden.

#22

Posted by Raiderkev25, April 14, 2008 6:06 PM

Get ready NATION to be picking at #7. We will get one of the coveted players we want, plus a 2nd round pick. I believe that player will be DT Sedrick Ellis at #7. With the late 2nd rounder we could select WR Dexter Jackson or FS/SS Tom Zbowski. We will trade either Fabian or Routt for a 3rd round pick, and the pick could be MLB Johnathan Goff or LB/DE hybrid Marcus Howard. I'm good with this scenario, what do the NATION think of this???

#23

Posted by draven, April 14, 2008 8:22 PM

I really think we are going to trade down with either the Cowboys (if they want McFadden), Patriots (if they are as keen on Gholston as some people may think and want to get him before the Jets do) or Ravens (so they can get Matt Ryan if he is available before the Chiefs)

#24

Posted by LDizzle, April 14, 2008 10:17 PM

Raiderkev: The Pats don't trade up. So you can toss that idea out. If anything the Pats will trade down. They do that quite often. They also trade picks for future better picks as they did when the Raiders wanted Mario Henderson which is why they have our third rounder this year. They have no need to trade up because they are good enough right now to continuously be planning for the future. It is the Raiders that are desperate. And beggers can't be choosers as they say. And just so you know I am a Raider fan so don't start slinging barbs about me being a Pats fan or something like that. I hate them. Truly.

#25

Posted by shawnymoe, April 14, 2008 10:33 PM

ok people yall say the system is why the running gm is so productive ok so u take fargus and ok rb and make him gd and ya'll tellin me that u don't want a great r.b 4 our system and make him a hall of famer then ya'll crazy give me mcfadden and we'll make the playoffs next year

#26

Posted by Rebel2124, April 15, 2008 8:09 AM

Hey Pat,

I checked out some of what you wrote and I think you're right on one blog I read of yours except for one thing....Terdell Sands. He flashed and showed promise like two seasons ago and was made a starter last year due to injury. Unless he's worked out really hard and learned some new techniques, he's a waist of space. I didn't think a guy as big as him could get blown off the line again and again, but it happened. I wouldn't be too upset if he didn't make the team.

#27

Posted by Rebel2124, April 15, 2008 8:31 AM

LDizzle, you're right Raiders.com does suck. Especially in comparison to a lot of the other teams sites. What does everone think about updating the uniforms? Is it time or what?!

#28

Posted by CJ Legend 334, April 15, 2008 1:29 PM

Don't update the uniforms they are classic and cold. Silver and black baby.

I may be the only one in Raider nation thinking that it will be a bad move to pass up McFadden. We do need a number of picks but he is one heck of a ball player and talent. If I would have told the Raider Nation two years ago that they would be granted Jamarcus Russell, Michael Bush, and Derrick McFadden to start an offensive nucleus coming out of college, the Raider Nation would have gone wild. I don't get it. Who else in the draft can make that kind of impact? I think the reason the running backs ran like crazy on us was because our defense had been on the field to long. Fargas, is a talented running back but he can't make it a whole season. I think McFadden can take it the distance every time he touches the ball. If we take a DE and he get 10 sacks this year, I really don't think it will impact our team this year. It is really going to hurt if we pick two safe picks (not the best player in the draft) and he is running all over the filed, scoring touchdowns, with a star on his helmet. Why not continue to gift teams with exciting young play makers, while we keep paying new Ferrari prices in the off season for used mustangs.

#29

Posted by CJ Legend 334, April 15, 2008 1:37 PM

I keep hearing about Gholston playing LB or DE. I watched him all year with OSU, he is not a LB. Not even close. He is a big every down bull rushing type of DE. Raw talent built like the hulk!!!!!

But still give me D-Mac.

#30

Posted by CJ Legend 334, April 15, 2008 1:40 PM

Has anyone watched any video on Arrington WR for the University of Michigan? He may be a good pick for us. Take a look at his play aginst Florida in the bowl game last year. I think he played better than Manningham through out the season. Tell me what you think?

#31

Posted by Jehu, April 16, 2008 5:29 AM

It would be nice to have McFadden, but we don't have to have McFadden. Someone mentioned that Fargas can't last the whole season. He won't have to. He can be the lightening while Bush is the thunder. In my opinion together, we've got enough talent in the backfield to win on Sundays for now. What we have to have is a defense that can stop someone, anyone. There were a few games last year where our run defense made unheard of guys look like superstars. If our defense can't get off the field it doesn't matter who we have on offense. Born and raised in Oakland and a Raider till I die!

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Random Thoughts from the Dark Side as the Oakland Raiders draft approaches

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