Tag Archive: hue jackson

Michael Silver: The Raiders aren’t as lucky as the Colts

March 28, 2013 Adam Thomas

michael-silver-glassesMichael Silver wrote an article last night talking about how Carson Palmer doesn’t want to play for the Raiders this year even if they pay him $10 million.  OK. Then Carson Palmer is an idiot, but we already knew this much.

What we didn’t know is that Silver somehow got his hands on a ‘document’ from inside the Raiders headquarters comparing the Colts situation to the Raiders last offseason. Now, before I go into how stupid this argument is because the Colts had THE NUMBER ONE PICK IN THE NFL DRAFT WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE ANDREW FREAKING LUCK A ONCE IN A GENERATION QUARTERBACK, let me talk about some other problems with the column:

1.) Silver pulls most of his quotes from ‘a source.’ Nothing is more frustrating than a writer hiding behind a nameless source (one who, quite honestly, sounds like he is Carson Palmer’s agent).

2.) Silver mentions that the Raiders had no draft picks last year and politely declines to mention how his BFF Hue Jackson was the one responsible for causing the Raiders to cough up a 1st and 2nd round pick for a proven quitter who is now about to quit on his 2nd team in 4 years.

3.) In one paragraph, Silver mentions that this offseason the Raiders let big impact players like Philip Wheeler get away. In the next paragraph he mentions Reggie McKenzie’s bad free agent signings. He fails to mention that Wheeler was signed by Reggie McKenzie…so I guess he didn’t miss on all of the free agents he brought in.

Now, as for the Colts/Raiders comparison, it doesn’t make sense for a couple of reasons.

1.) The Colts have been perenial contenders with ONE bad season in an otherwise stellar run. To wit: 2007: 13-3; 2008: 12-4; 2009: 14-2; 2010: 10-6 and then they had their bad season in 2011 when they went 2-14 and got the first overall pick. The Raiders have been without a winning season since 2003.

2.) The Colts had the first overall pick which was Andrew Luck. The Raiders didn’t pick until the very last pick in the third round.

3.) The Colts had ten draft picks, the Raiders had 5.

4.) Silver–or rather, Silver quoting from the ‘document’ he obtained–states that the Colts and Raiders had similar dead money situations: the Colts had $38 million in dead money and the Raiders had $28 million.

The difference? The Colts were able to get out of salary cap hell in one year. This year, they had $41 million in cap room when the offseason started. And what did they do with all of that cap-room? They signed a bunch of questionable players: Laron Landry got $14 million guaranteed, Ricky Jean Francois was given $22 million over 4 years and someone named Gosder Cherilus was given a $34 million over 5 years. So in the one year the Colts GM had money to spend, he spent it poorly. And even with all of those signings they still have over $11 million in cap space.

The Raiders meanwhile have $23 million of dead money this year. That is almost as much as last year. AND they only had about $4.5 million in salary cap space when free agency opened. After cutting and signing some players, they have about $7 million now. So they still had to take a chain saw to their roster, still had dead money, and still basically had no money to spend. That’s how bad their situation is.

5.) OK now here is the big one. You know how many games the 11-5 Colts won in 2012 by 5 points or less? 6.

You know how many games the 8-8 2011 Raiders won by 5 points or less? 4. And we all know what happened to them last year.

So, who wants to bet that the Colts take a BIG step back next year? I certainly do.

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Delaware Park Parlay Card Part Deux

January 9, 2013 Adam Thomas

nick-sabanAlright, alright, alright.  After nailing last week’s DE Park Parlay card, I thought that I would try it again. But we’ll get to that later, first, I have some thoughts.

1.) Ray Lewis is a tool. And by that I mean he is perhaps the biggest tool I have ever witnessed. I genuinely despise him and all of his dancing. And how in the world can anyone take him serious when he is wearing those black ballet pants dancing to Nelly’s ‘It’s Hot in Here?’  Really?  Hot in here? That’s the song that’s gonna get you pumped up to play football? That song is for grinding awkwardly at 8th grade dances, not for the grid iron.

2.) Speaking of hall of fame middle linebackers, Rolando McClain was recently arrested for giving a false name to law enforcement after receiving a ticket for having windows that were too tinted. The name he wrote when he signed the ticket? “F*** Ya’ll”  The cops looked at the ticket and asked him to put his real name on the ticket and he answered, “That is my name.” And then he got arrested.  Surprising.  Afterwards he claimed the police were out to get him. Or maybe, MAYBE, he is just an idiot.

3.) The worst writer on the internet right now is Michael Silver.  I can’t stand that guy. He just wrote an article trolling Nick Saban basically saying, ‘Sure, you won your 3rd national championship in 4 years, but you can’t make it as an NFL coach!’ Saban’s reply was probably something along the lines of…..”Ok.”

Burned!  You’re the best at your profession but you would totally suck at this other profession, Nick!  Damn, Silver got him.

Also funny, Michael Silver is good buddies with former Raiders head coach Hue Jackson.  How good of buddies do you ask?  I just went through Silver’s last 10 articles and he mentions Jackson in 4 of them. That’s just good journalism right there. If there is a person that people want to hear from, it’s definitely the defensive backs coach for the Cincinnati Bengals!

Silver is the worst.

Alright, ranting over, now onto the picks!

I like:

Seattle +2.5 over the Falcons, then I will pick the Broncos and the Patriots straight up.

Good luck to those of you betting real money!

 

 

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So Long and Thank You for the Lack of Memories Part 2

August 3, 2011 Adam Thomas

You know, when I was in 3rd grade, we had a big water gun fight at my elementary school.  I had a hold of a pretty solid Super Soaker 50.  I was lighting kids up left and right, all was well with the world.  But then I saw this sweet looking contraption lying on the ground: it was a HUGE water canon connected to a back pack that held an ungodly amount of water.

I threw down the Super Soaker, sprinted to the canon, put it on my back, strapped up and was ready to tear the roof off the sucka when all of a sudden something dawned on me: the back pack was empty. There was no water. I looked back and my Super Soaker was gone.  My gambit failed and I endured the wrath of running out of water at a water gun fight.

Why do I bring this up?  Because I feel like Zach Miller just traded in his nice Super Soaker 50 for a shiny looking water canon/backpack that is out of water.

Actually, scratch that.  Miller traded in his Super Soaker for a broken water balloon.

The Seahawks?  THE SEAHWAKS?  Are you F-ing kidding me!

This free agency period has left me pretty freakin’ disenfranchised with football players. Look, I poke fun at the Eagles for having never won a Super Bowl (which is true), but they do routinely make the playoffs, so I can understand Nnamdi wanting to play there.

The Seahwaks are a disgrace of an NFL franchise. They have never won a damn thing (yes I know, ONE super bowl appearance, congrats).

Here are some facts for ya:

Fact: Zach Miller made the pro-bowl one year (as an alternate) and it was last year when Hue Jackson was the Raiders Offensive Coordinator. Now that said Coordinator is head coach, Miller decides it’s time to leave. Makes sense.

Fact: The Raiders beat the Seahawks 33-3 last year. Yep, that seems like a team headed in the right direction. (By the way, in that win Miller put up a steller one catch for 8 yards.)

Fact: Tavaris Jackson…TAVARIS JACKSON is going to be throwing passes to Zach Miller, and when I say throwing passes, I mean throwing them into the dirt or directly into the back of an offensive linemen’s helmet.

Fact: Tight Ends grow on freaking trees.  I think I started three different TE’s last year in fantasy football and they all played for the Patriots. There is no shortage of good tight ends. And paying one who missed time last year with injuries (i.e. concussions) 17 million dollars does not make sense.

Fact: In all of the Raiders’ 8 wins last year, Zach Miller caught two TDs. Not exactly irreplaceable numbers.

Fact: Despite wall the doom and gloom pundits out there saying that Tom Cable is stealing all of Al Davis’ free agents, the Raiders had like 17 free agents this year and two of them went to the Seahawks.  One (Robert Gallery) will be injured by week 4 (he is ALWAYS injured) and the other will be playing shortstop for Tavaris Jackson’s passes.

Smart choice, guys.

Nnamdi, I forgive you.  Miller, you are dead to me.

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The Original King of Comedy

January 19, 2011 Adam Thomas

Gah! Just look at that picture…I hope you weren’t eating.

Louis CK, Chris Rock, Daniel Tosh…these men have one thing in common: They are comedians.  Good ones.  Great ones.  But unfortunately for them, they have nothing on this man: Al Davis.

Holy God was yesterday’s press conference a thing of comedic beauty.  It lasted from 4:15 until about 6 p.m.  I don’t know if any comedian except Cosby can go for that long.  And it wasn’t just the length, it was the material.  Davis kept me constantly bagging up the entire time.

Whether it be from his rancid yellow rat teeth, his fingers (da fingaz!) that inexplicably point upwards, backwards and sideways all at the same time, or his just total “I don’t give an S because I am old and can say whateva I want” attitude, that press conference was a thing of beauty.

I was on Raiderfans.net afterwards to see what other Raider fans thought of the press conference and one of them put it perfectly: “Are all press conferences like this?  If they were, I’d watch every one.”

Exactly!  Unfortunately, they are not.  Because the other 30 teams (Bengals excluded) are run by sane people.  But that’s what makes it great and that’s what makes me love the Raiders: Their owner is completely off his rocker.

Let’s look at some highlights shall we?

(more…)

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