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Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Cornerbacks-Nnamdi Asomuga and DeAngelo Hall have it locked down

By Patrick Patterson | July 6th, 2008

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On tonight’s edition of the Oakland Raiders Camp Battles series, we come to probably the strongest unit on the Raiders, the cornerbacks. The Raiders will be starting two Pro Bowl corners in Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall. There is talk in the Nation that these guys could be a reincarnation of the Lester Hayes-Mike Haynes secondary of the 80s. This unit will be a tough one to crack for anyone besides fourth round pick Tyvon Branch. Lets take a look at who will be fighting for the remaining slots:

Projected Starters: Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall

This is about as no-brainer as it gets. Hall is a two time time Pro Bowler who was acquired in an offseason trade from Atlanta. Asomugha was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate after the 2006 season too late to attend. Hall is the big play gambler who is always a threat to take one back. Asomugha, on the other hand, is so good at blanketing his guy that even elite quarterbacks don’t throw in his direction.

Nickleback: Stanford Routt

By the end of last season, Routt was starting over his draft classmate Fabian Washington, and was solid but unspectacular. He has the size to cover the bigger slot receivers and the speed to make plays.

Projected Depth: Tyvon Branch and John Bowie

Tyvon Branch likely makes the team as a special teams player and kick returner. Bowie likely makes the team because he was the guy that Al Davis got for Randy Moss. Bowie spent most of last season keeping the bench warm, but his status as the ransom for Randy Moss is likely enough for Al to keep him around another year.

Outside Looking In: Chris Johnson and Michael Waddell

If the Raiders keep six corners, Johnson is the more likely of the two to make the squad. He saw limited time as a special teams player last year, and may be able to push Bowie out. Waddle was picked up as a free agent in the offseason to provide competition in camp, and faces an uphill battle.

What to Look For:

This will be the first chance to get a glimpse of the tandem of Asomugha and Hall. Should be a vision that is quite disturbing to opposing quarterbacks. This is also a chance to see if Bowie can show that he can spend some time on the field this season.

WildCard:

The biggest wild card will be played out by July 15th, even before camp opens. That is Asomugha’s contract situation. The Raiders have until that date to reach a long term deal with Aso, or he can only play out his one year franchise tender. The other wildcard is whether or not Al will let Bowie go if he can’t show anything, since he was the return on the trade for Randy Moss.

Battling “Camp Battles” fatigue here at TFDS!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 at 3:24 am and is filed under Michael Waddell, John Bowie, Stanford Routt, Nnamdi Asomugha, Tyvon Branch, DeAngelo Hall, Chris Johnson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

17 Responses to “Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Cornerbacks-Nnamdi Asomuga and DeAngelo Hall have it locked down”

Raider Raul says:

July 6th, 2008 at 3:44 am

I can’t wait to see DeNnamdi Asomughall in action!! Our pass coverage will be great this year. Even if Routt is serviceable at best, we still have Morrison, Howard & Huff helping out.
WE NEED TO STOP THE RUN!!!

btw…FIRST!!!
Parker says:

July 6th, 2008 at 8:31 am

Branch is going the be a backup safety not a corner.
Josh Mosley says:

July 6th, 2008 at 8:45 am

the raiders should not allow one passing yard all year, not one completion, haha. too much talent on this team to lose games. the thing is teams will run the ball on us, like last year, but our offense will be better, less three and out for our offense which leads to less time for the other team to run the ball down our throats, god forbid the raiders actually score touchdowns instead of having to punt, or watch seabass miss 58 yd field goals from the dirt in the coliseum. more pressure defense is what i see, teams playing from behind leads to interceptions.
KUSHMAN says:

July 6th, 2008 at 9:57 am

good article pat, you always give out good info to read on the weekends! and yes parker we know that branch is more of a safety, unlike his label as a CB, thanks tho!

The CB tandem is pretty much the only unquestionable area on this starting roster.. and like pat said, this picture is any QBs nightmare.. i love how sports writers that say hall isn’t a shut down corner, makes me laugh hysterically(deon sanders thinks hes definetely a shutdown man, so respect the legend’s opinion people!) .. he can easily keep up the with the fastest WRs in the league while keeping a close eye on the QB to see where the ball is going to be thrown. asomugha is the same way only a little faster, pat already covered this, im not tryin to copy what you say like other folks pat i promise, haha! we all know how effective Nnamdi will remain to be as THE PREMIERE SHUTDOWN CORNER INTHE LEAGUE THANK YOU VERY MUCH! ..

and then of course you have to be excited about gibril wilson.. i really have a great feeling rob ryan is going to keep him more in the box for TEs and to stop RBs while stanford routt sits in the back as an option CB. a big sense of relief comes over me when i picture gibril, howard, cpt kirk in the box waiting for guys like LT to make his move with the ball, as i think RBs like him wont get too many break away runs with those 3 working together.

lastly, you have michael huff who has yet to prove his worth, and like everyone says, he had better go for broke this year, because 1. he’s 15 lbs heavier and wont get pushed around as much(which really depends on how improved his open field tackling gets) and 2. because he has the cream of the crop around to help him realize his potential as a playmaker, so theres no excuse for mistackles and misreads on the ball anymore michael, but raider nation believes in you homeboy! in closing, this is a no brainer like has been said before, raider nations knows for almost certain that they will form to be top 3 every year against the pass.. so lets hope ALL OF YOU THAT WE’RE FACING THIS YEAR HAS A GOOD RUNNING GAME, BECAUSE YOU ALL WONT DO MUCH PASSING. Muahah!

JUST WIN BABY! (HAPPY BDAY AL)
SpokaneOakfan says:

July 6th, 2008 at 10:28 am

I can’t wait to see the dejected faces of Rivers, Cutler, and Croyle (et al.) when they put up pick after pick after pick 6 to Nnamdi, DeAngelo, Morrisson, and Howard. It’s gonna be great.
pat. T says:

July 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am

I just hope Al resigns Nnamdi before July 15th… Also hope we stay healthy and Nnamdi comes to camp and gets in good shape before the season, since he hasn’t been in any of the OTA’s… But i think he should be in shape after camp… But i think the wildcard will be how well Stanfornd Routt does in the slot… But its true if we stop the run then we force teams to pass… But lets see how Nnamdi reacts to having balls thrown his way again… I think he should be fine… And i also think QB’s will throw more to the gambling corner(Hall)…

GO RAIDERS!!!
KUSHMAN says:

July 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am

pat, theres no doubt in my mind that al will give Nnamdi the money he deserves, theres no way he will let him just play out his 1 year franchise tag… NO WAY, as we’ve seen from the draft and other years, he covets speed, and he thinks the cb position is the most important on the field. Al worked out a huge deal for DeAngelo Hall for a reason, and we all already know what that reason is dont we? with hall and aso out there… any two best wide receivers on any team you can think of will be an absolute non-factor in the game. that’s why its SO IMPORTANT for the D-line to stop the run more often and its SO IMPORTANT for the offense to improve in scoring and drain the time to keep the defense energized.. we do this and THE UNDERDOG WILL RISE ONCE MORE!
KUSHMAN says:

July 6th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

as for Nnamdi’s endurance, man i guarrantee you he’s keeping himself up to par man… theres no way he’s going to let himself slow down or let his stamina go down a few notches, as he should know that hes the best corner in the NFL (arguably) .. so he would be stupid to let himself become one of those underachiever type players.
KA1Z3R says:

July 6th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Kushman, Hall is faster than Nnamdi. Just as Nnamdi is more of a shutdown than Hall. Hall’s abilities lie in running with receiver step for step and being able to quickly adjust to the pass once it’s thrown. Nnamdi’s more of the “watch the QB thing”. Hall watches the receiver and the ball once thrown.
teofilo dimaano says:

July 6th, 2008 at 4:57 pm

once again… i think our defense will carry the team if the offense has problems scoring…. i dont see that happening …. stopping the run and protecting the qb is the most important thing and key that will take us to the top in the afc……. we need to GEL early and b on the same page early in the game to do this…….nuff said………man im so excited it gotta !@#$%…………………………..peas……..RAIDERNATION STAND UP!!!!!!!
Thoughts from the Dark Side: Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Cornerbacks-Nnamdi Asomuga and DeAngelo Hall have it locked down | The RaiderCast says:

July 6th, 2008 at 6:47 pm

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PercEpTivE says:

July 6th, 2008 at 10:38 pm

I say lets leave the corners to show what they can do. Play the safeties on the run and send some blitzes.
Heres to change in philosophy, Kiffin rocks.
NateDawgSnB says:

July 6th, 2008 at 11:56 pm

The most improved part of our defense if the fact we got rid of Stu. Look back at every game and you can see Stu run up to the line at a horrible angle and miss tackles, or even in pass coverage he was horrible at angles. Then he would miss open field tackles when he was the last man back. Getting rid of him and getting Wilson and putting huff at his natural position is the biggest upgrade this team had this year. Without stu i gaurantee you we will place 10 places higher in run defense.
silver&black88 says:

July 7th, 2008 at 10:55 am

I won’t forgive Al if he lets Nnamdi walk and he is a star somewhere else.
olinda cat says:

July 7th, 2008 at 11:33 am

This is the year that Rob Ryan taps into the FORCE !Our defense will be great because Rob is going to let it all hang out to seal the deal with the Raiders,or show why another team should hire him!
KUSHMAN says:

July 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

yea kaizer yer probably right, but either way like pat says, they will put blankets on any 2 wide recievers in the game. go raiders!
Rebel2124 says:

July 8th, 2008 at 11:11 am

The fact that Aso hasn’t signed worries me. I’m curious if its a money issue or if he wants out of Oakland. However DB is like the LB, D-line and O-line spots for me, I was hoping to see more undrafted talent in camp. We need better dept across the board. A couple of unfortunate injuries and we’re not looking so good.

Competition is a good thing.