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Thoughts from the Dark Side
AFC West Wide Receivers from an Oakland Raiders’ Eye View
The review of the AFC West by position continues with wide receivers. The similarities among the four teams are striking: All four teams have young quarterbacks, all four teams have top flight running games, and none of the four have a top tier receiving corps. There are potential super stars abound, but as a whole the receiving corps of the AFC West are unimpressive.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders receiving corps compliments each other nicely, with Ronald Curry being a consistent possession receiver and a tandem of deep threat receivers in Javon Walker and Drew Carter. Curry has lost a lot of his speed with his multiple Achilles injuries, but remains a consistent move the chains type target. Carter is a burner who will be used to stretch the field. Walker, if healthy, will be the deep route runner who has the potential to come alive in combination with JaMarcus Russell’s big arm.
OUTLOOK: Curry will likely lead the trio in catches, whilst Walker leads in yardage. They should provide consistent targets for Russell.
San Diego Chargers
Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson are a solid duo. Chambers is a big possession receiver who came into his own after being traded to the Bolts last year. Jackson has big play potential, but can be inconsistent. He will be forever known to Raider fans as the guy who threw an “illegal forward pass” that looked suspiciously like a fumble. Craig Davis will have to step up his game to be a significant threat as a third receiver.
OUTLOOK: Jackson and Chambers will be important threats for Phillip Rivers. The third position is not as important to the Bolts as TE Antonio Gates often fills that role.
Denver Broncos
Top receiver Brandon Marshall may have done long term damage to his arm this offseason by slipping on a McDonald’s bag and putting his hand through a HDTV. Darrell Jackson who was recently acquired from the Seahawks is a solid threat, with Brandon Stokely being an overrated receiver out of the slot. If Brandon Marshall is down, then Keary Colbert will have to step it up.
OUTLOOK: It never helps when your top receiver may have done permanent damage to his arm. Will be interesting to see how this unit takes shape.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have Dwayne Bowe and a series of question marks. The Chiefs have Devard Darling and Jeff Webb as their other two receivers. Darling has a total of 20 catches for his career and Webb has 31 grabs. Either Darling or Webb will have to step up to be a threat for Brodie Croyle or the young QB will be in for another long year. Bowe made some highlight catches last year and looks like he is on his way towards becoming a superstar, but he needs the Chiefs to have an effective number two threat or he will be seeing triple coverage.
OUTLOOK: Bowe will have to carry this unit unless someone else surprises. It will be a long year for Brodie Croyle.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 2:12 am and is filed under Ronald Curry, Drew Carter, Javon Walker, 2008 Raiders Season Preview, 2008 Raiders Offseason.
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23 Responses to “AFC West Wide Receivers from an Oakland Raiders’ Eye View”
May 29th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Great Job, Patrick!
I like how you analyzed the entire recieving corps as a group rather than judging one reciever at a time (you know who it is!). Yes, definately when judging based on a whole, the Raiders recievers seemed to be the most accomplished in the AFC West and the ones making the most impact for their offense.
Keep representing the Silver & Black like you always do!
Raider Till Death!
May 29th, 2008 at 7:54 am
yes good article, yet i REALLY dont think walker is a deep route threat. i mean, the man is what 34 35 years old with 3 different surgeories? i think curry is more likely of a deep threat than javon. I honestly believe he will catch everything russell chucks at him, as he is used to taking those rocket passes from favre.. as for getting deep in time before russell gets sacked, i think it’s unlikely. drew carter and one of the rookies will stretch the field… while javon and ronald will be great possession reveivers.. that’s how i picture it goin down.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Patrick,
I would like to thank you and Rob for keeping it interesting while we wait for the season to start.
Walker will be fine if he can stay healthy and if he still has some fire in him. ( He will be 30 in October.)
I’m hoping one of the young guys can come through because Curry has health issues also.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
OK Gush: Javon will be 30 in October. So he’s actually pretty young.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:09 am
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May 29th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
OGKUSH(Nice name by the way) I think you have Curry confused with Walker. Curry was drafted as a Raider and has never played with Brett Favre. Walker is the one who is a deep threat and has played with Favre. He is the one used to catching rocket passes and as stated by SpokaneOakfan Javon will only be 30 in October so maybe you should put down the blunt before you post a comment.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
uhh i know there sonny, i just put “he” instead of “javon” in my sentence. I know all about walker trust me. and btw, i dont know about the blogs spokane put, but its pretty much common knowledge the man can catch.
all im saying is, the man wont be the fastest receiver out there… i dont think he can beat out any CB that has good coverage speed. he will on the other hand catch balls over most corner backs, as i see he’s already doing in camp.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
oh yes talking about his age.. grr i cant read today. Yea i know it just seems like hes older… he’s been around for a while!
May 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
OGKUSH whoa… your adding about 4-5 years to Walker’s age… the man still has speed… and you still have to respect the deep ball… and you’ll notice how CB’s will give him alot of cushion…
GO RAIDERS!!!
May 29th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Walker is a shell of the guy Favre made plays with. Jackson stunk in a Niners uni–granted, he had no one passing to him and a coach who didn’t like offense, so it might not mean he’s washed up. Good points about the other receivers.
Let’s band together to get Goodell to invoke the “good of the league” clause and cut away the Raiders’ anchor, that dinosaur Al! (Yeah, about half of you who are shocked at that blasphemy know there is truth to it! Feel free to go to The Frozen Tundra and make blasphemous statements about Favre in retaliation!)
May 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Hey MJ nice positivity huh? Befoe Walkers’s injury last year he was making plays… but what Jackson are you talking about?
May 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Curry has lost a lot of his speed with his multiple ACL injuries?
In 2004 he hauled in 50 receptions for 679 yards before injuring his Achilles tendon. Let’s not forget his one-handed grab in the back of the end zone at Denver in a snowstorm none the less! In 2005 he re-injured the same tendon and was lost for the rest of the season against the Chiefs.
Curry underwent surgery on his foot in May 2008 and missed the June 3-5 mini camp. He has had his share of injuries but never an ACL.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
walker should be fine. 30 is young. Rice played till he was 40. Yeah I know there are health issues but I think they discussed that before the signing so you just kinda have to go with it. If hes not producing then you can write him off. So everyone should hold them horses until then.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Is walker really that much of an upgrade from porter? and carter over higgins?
May 30th, 2008 at 4:35 am
“Curry underwent surgery on his foot in May 2008 and missed the June 3-5 mini camp. He has had his share of injuries but never an ACL.”
Curry didn’t lose speed, he never had speed. He was a QB in college, and his best attribute is his glue-like hands. He’s a great slot reciever. But he’s the best the Raiders has at this point. BTW, your’e right, it wasn’t his ACL, it was his Achilles tendons, each one was ruptured. OUCH!
“walker should be fine. 30 is young. Rice played till he was 40.”
Walker compared to Rice? No way, no how, not even CLOSE! Rice’s work ethic was/is second to none in the NFL. The only way he was able to compete so long in his career was because of his work ethic. Walker is a has been, and barely at that. Farve made him. I hope he goes for 2000 yards, but I’d rather be realistic in that he will catch some passes, maybe get 600 to 700 yards, and maybe educate some young recievers while at it. But, 30 in the NFL is getting up there for a non-lineman or non-quarterback. But, it’s his knees that are going to be his undoing, not his age.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Crap! I missed half of Raider J’s quote, and I forgot to ask about this:
“Curry underwent surgery on his foot in May 2008 and missed the June 3-5 mini camp.”
How can you say he missed the June 3-5 mini camp, when it didn’t happen yet? Can you see the future? Powerball… the six winning numbers for Saturday, what are they?
May 30th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Ok fudsters.
Walker can still run, and young Russell can throw as hard as the older Favre. The Raider offense will be better than the one Walker was in at Green Bay. The running game is better, and that will take pressure off Walker, Carter, and Curry.
Very good summary. MVN continues to have top Raider coverage.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:19 am
If I read one more article attributing “ACL” injuries instead of Achilles Tendon maladies as the reason for Ronnie Curry’s decline I will insist the prepertrator hand in their “Blog” certificate or media credentials.
In order to reinforce accuracy leading to legitimacy I would think you would do due dliiigance in the form of “research.” Your credability is @ stake!
May 30th, 2008 at 9:33 am
You’re absolutely right antispy3. I’m sure this was a typo on Patrick’s part, and I read this article yesterday completely missing that. I’ve gone and fixed this error. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Please understand that we do so much writing that some of it ends up being done in the wee hours of the morning and we are fighting the Sand Man to complete it. It’s not an excuse for false reporting, but it explains how our minds sometimes don’t correlate with our fingers.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Well, I also had a RUPTURED Achilles Tendon. I was 24 at the time. It took me 1 year to recover, by the time I was 27 I forgot all about the injury and felt faster than I did before it. I am 36 now and still have now problems.
My point is, I don’t believe the injury is going to slow Curry down the least bit. He might event come out faster this year then he was last year.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Yes, our receiving corp should be the most productive. Not to mention that our depth chart at that postion is superior to our Western opponients. That being said, seeing that it was the articles focus, I must say that dispite what haters think of Al, that man knows what he is doing. One of the greatest attributes is that Kiffin and the coaching staff is set. I like Kiffin’s ability to motivate, I like his demeanor, I like that he is young and energetic and that he can relate to the players (as young as our team is). I also amn pleased that he was forced to keep Ryan because dispite our woes, we should have a dominate defense for a good many years to come. And thanks to who…Al Davis.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Walker Just turned 30 so I seriously doubt he’s done yet…any way as long has he produces I don’t care…also Curry has Ruptured his Achilles 3 times…he did the right one in College and ruptured the left one twice in back to back years in ‘04 and ‘05 in the pro’s. That has indeed robbed him of some of his explosiveness, but he still can get open and has great hands. Its really amazing what modern Science & Medicine can do these days, as I remember Dan Marino tore his achilles in ‘94 and basically operated on only one leg after that. I mean 20 years ago Curry & maybe Walker would be in wheelchairs not on a football field…
May 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Good summary. Thank you very much! I feel we have one “solid” player in Curry, and a whole bunch of question marks. Based on the level of optimism I am reading, it is clearly June 1st and not October 1st. My thoughts on the passing game: RB’s and TE’s are gonna gobble up major touches with runs and pass receptions. Curry will catch a lot of balls and I wouldn ot be seurprised to see one of the young guys step up - even Higgins.
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