The Black Holes

The other day Joan and I were at Smith's trying to buy some meat when the butcher tore open his butcher's outfit to show us his Raiders shirt. You should have seen the look on Joan's face. She wanted to beat the ahh... Raider's Nation out of this guy. Raiders fans are the lowest life form in the NFL world.

The good news is that the Raiders have invested over $120 million dollars in just two players who haven't proven anything in the NFL. Those two being MacFadden and Russell. The two players on paper are homerun hitters but if they tank there goes the Raiders chances of winning anything in the next 4 or 5 years.

Too many teams draft players on arm strength and athletism. The number one quality in a winning QB is judgement not arm strength. Just look at the QBs who are considered greats. Most aren't very athletic but they make plays when it counts and that usually has more to do with accuracy than arm strength. Besides how often in an NFL game does the QB get the oppurtunity to throw deep? That depends a lot on the Offensive Line but I'd say 3 to 4 times a game. Lets say they complete on long pass. That doesn't mean they get a touchdown off it. What if it leads to turnover? Or leads to third and long situation. I'd want a QB who knows how to complete passes between 5 and 15 yards. Just move the sticks.

Then there's MacFadden. History shows running backs don't give much value in the first round because there are so many that are productive in later rounds where they can be paid cheaper. Besides RBs don't last too long and RBs that fumble don't last long either. MacFadden has a history of putting the ball on the turf. What happens when he's getting the ball from an inexperienced QB too? You don't get too many homerun runs in the NFL if you can't run it between the tackles and MacFadden still has to prove that just as Reggie Bush has struggled with it.

The Raiders also pick up a lot of Broncos castoffs. Players that Mike Shanahan just cuts because he doesn't think they'll be of value, the Raiders pick up. Good Luck Al with your also-rans and your over-priced talent. Oakland is just the Black Hole for talent.

Shanahan Throwing the Trash Out

Coach Mike Shanahan finally threw out the last bit of trash from the Broncos roster. Part of it had to do with Travis Henry spending more time in a Broncos T-shirt and less time in his jersey.

I personally didn't like the signing of Travis Henry last year. I thought they gave him too much money especially since the Broncos are known for finding running backs through the draft, but lately the running game suffered in production. My theory is the offensive line had more to do with it than the running back. Nevertheless I thought Henry could be successful in Denver's running game but I found it hard to root for him and even harder to root for him after it was revealed he had fathered 9 children from 9 different money. Look up the word "promiscuous" in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of Travis Henry there.

The trash that Shanahan has been been getting rid of included malcontents like Javon Walker, who couldn't handle being the number 2 receiver and thought his talents weren't being utilized. I saw a receiver who wasn't getting seperation on short post routes. His knee hasn't been right for 3 years now and he may soon have a bone on bone condition in his knee.

It appears some of the blame goes right back to Shanahan and maybe the GM for taking risks on high priced players. The Broncos drafted very poorly for 3 years (2001,2002,2003) which left them with holes in their roster they tried to fill with free agents and trades that didn't work out. The only trade that worked out was for Champ Bailey, but he can't do much if the defense doesn't generate much of a pass rush.

However the last three years have been much better in the draft making Walker and Henry expendable. The team will have to eat their signing bonuses but they are gone making room for younger cheaper talent.

There are still some questions to be answered from the past few drafts. The two biggest are how well that last two first rounders will play. Ryan Clady appears from his limited OTCs to be the real deal but Jarvis Moss is coming off an ankle surgery and hasn't shown much yet. If those two players end up being very productive this year Denver has a great shot at making the playoffs as a wild card team.