Raiders Shock Some with Their Latest Free Agent Spending Spree

Posted by Tanner Gooch on March 3rd, 2008 filed in News, Opinions

Just when you thought you could not predict Al Davis’s next move he pulls out a classic one on us. With the signing of Gibril Wilson to a six-year, 39-million dollar contract Davis has shown that at least he is consistent when it comes to free agents. I do not know why I did not see it coming but this is the move that seems to always happen in the offseason for the Raiders. Al loves to over spend on defensive backs who have had limited success, Larry Brown come to mind. It seems that Al thinks that defensive backs are the most important players on the field. He has also thrown a large sum money in the direction of franchised player Nnamdi Asomugha.

With the soap opera that is still forming with head coach Lane Kiffen and the fact that Wilson’s defensive coordinator seems to be in a lame duck situation, all signs would point to staying as far away form Oakland as possible. Davis seems to have a way to lure free agents to Oakland no matter how bad the situation looks.

Free agency has not exactly been kind to the Raiders as they have lost some offensive fire power with Jerry Porter moving on to Jacksonville and the fact that they missed out on the signing of Bernard Berrian. Coming into the free agent signing period the Raiders knew that they were talent starved on the offensive side of the ball and had to find some weapons for JaMarcus Russell and in true Al Davis form he has missed the boat. How can they expect Russell to grow without legitimate wide receivers? Don’t get me wrong I like Ronald Curry but he is not even in the top tier in his own division. There is still plenty of time left in the off-season and there are some possible moves to be made such as Jevon Walker or Bryant Johnson.

Maybe Al has a little more magic to attract some talent to the Bay Area this off-season. As we all know talent alone does not guarantee wins in the NFL but we have seen what a team without talent can do in Oakland over the last four years.



8 Responses to “Raiders Shock Some with Their Latest Free Agent Spending Spree”

  1. C.W. Smith Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Gibril Wilson has averaged more tackles-per-game over the last 4 seasons than any other safety in the league.

  2. Tanner Gooch Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    Just because he has a lot of tackles doesn’t me he is a good signing for the Raiders. They have enough depth at DB and they will already spend a ton on Nnamdi and Tommy Kelly. Al is focusing way too much on Defense.

  3. L.J.H. Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    I have no problem with the Raiders buffing up there defense. It was a great defense that got the Raiders back into the playoffs in the early 2000’s. If Al would give Lane Kiffin sometime to breathe he could develop the offence.

  4. Shannan Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm

    I think if we can solidfy our defense to be able to stop the run more we could win a few more games esp with the way our running game was last year. You don’t need to put up huge passing yards to win games - good rushing and a gret defense

  5. tdek Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    How can you possibly think the Raiders did not need any help in the secondary? Did you see Schweigert play safety last year? Porter is not a loss. Good hands, decent speed but no explosion. Rarely open. Paid a lot for Tommy Kelly but every peer has stated he is a monster. Lets see what he does this year. Need a receiver, left tackle and could use another DT.

  6. Tanner Says:
    March 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    I agree that running the ball and stopping the run are important. So why is Al putting so much of the money in the a already talented secondary?

  7. ch Says:
    March 4th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    hard-hitting safeties affect the running game. this frees up Huff to be a free safety.

    the cap is not a problem for the Raiders. If this guy holds down the position with a “B” grade for the next five years, that will have been a GREAT signing. He doesn’t have to be a start to be an upgrade on the safeties we’ve had over the past decade.

  8. ch Says:
    March 4th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    meant: “he doesn’t have to be a star”

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