Pryor Will Successfully Appeal Suspension

 Posted by at 9:26 AM  9 Responses »
Sep 042011
 

It is common belief that Terrelle Pryor was suspended five games by the NFL because of his miss steps at Ohio State. This is simply untrue. Terrelle Pryor was suspended five games for not following the rules of the supplemental draft entry process.

Pryor hired Drew Rosenhaus before he was ruled ineligible for the first five games at Ohio State. Based on the rules of the supplemental draft Pryor should have been ineligible for entry.

The power of the media and his agent put the league in a tough position. Instead of doing what they should have done and forced Pryor to sit for a year, the NFL allowed his entry while trying to appear tough.

There are basically two arguments Pryor will be able to make to get the suspension lifted.

1) The NFL is punishing Pryor because they chose to not follow their own rules. There is no precedent or rule that allows for any such suspension.

2) The five-game suspension is the NFL is punishing Pryor for his college mistakes. This is also unprecedented.

The NFL should have forced Pryor to sit out the season. They didn’t and punished Pryor for making an exception. The five game suspension was intentionally the same number of games as his college suspension to hide the fact that the NFL really should not have allowed his entry at all.

This was a major mistake by the NFL. Now the NFL has a player who should have never been drafted with a NFL contract.

Why is this important? When Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett tried to gain entry into the draft the NFL would not budge. The players fought through the courts unsuccessfully to gain entry.

Players in the future will now be able to leverage this situation into allowing their entry into the draft. If the NFL denies their entry it will put the league at risk of losing a court case with unknown and potentially far-reaching consequences.

To mitigate the risk of any such court case the NFL will now lift Pryor’s suspension and say to the world that they were wrong to suspend Pryor for his college conduct even though that is not the reason he was suspended.

If the NFL chooses to stand tough on the issue they will likely lose in arbitration and re-open the can of worms.

It is now to the league’s benefit to lift the suspension and move on and that is just what they will do.

Hue’s Challenge: Develop Terrelle Pryor

 Posted by at 12:06 PM  4 Responses »
Aug 242011
 

Yes, the Raiders selected Terrelle Pryor with a third-round pick in the 2012 draft via the supplemental draft.

Most scouts believe Pryor isn’t a great fit as a quarterback in the NFL, but the Raiders didn’t waste a third-round pick to immediately covert him to receiver.

Pryor is lucky enough to possess elite physical tools. He ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash at 6’5″ and 230 pounds. While he has a long way to go as a quarterback, he has all the needed physical tools to be successful.

With no long-term solution at quarterback on the roster, the Raiders are wise to take the chance on Pryor. If the team doesn’t feel like he is progressing as a quarterback he can be converted to receiver down the road.

Hue Jackson and Al Saunders will attempt to mold Pryor into an NFL quarterback and they have a few good things going for them. Pryor is motivated to be good. He’s not receiving a $30 million signing bonus and will need to put in the work to earn a big payday.

Warts aside, Pryor loves football and if he puts in the work the Raiders may indeed have themselves a quarterback. Pryor chose Ohio State because he believed they would prepare him for the pro game.

Pryor can also have an impact in special packages until he is ready to take the reigns of the offense. Putting Pryor on the field and giving the defense another player to worry about is never a bad idea.

It was a wise decision to take the chance on Pryor now, with no quarterbacks on the roster with contracts past the current season.

This isn’t wise because as history suggests the Raiders are unable to develop a young quarterback.

The Raiders haven’t developed quarterback since Jim Plunkett and even in Plunkett’s case you could argue he just wasn’t put in the right situation before he came to Oakland. It’s been a long time since the Raiders have developed a franchise quarterback and the Raiders haven’t selected the easiest of candidates to develop, Pryor is no exception.

Pryor will need to clean up his mechanics, make better decisions and learn the offense before the Raiders can lean on him as starter. He has a long way to go.

In many ways Jason Campbell is more typical of Raiders quarterback, an outcast veteran that didn’t have much success at his prior stops. Chances are if Campbell is effective in 2011 the Raiders will give Pryor a full two seasons of development before trying to turn to him as the guy to lead the team.

Risk is all about money committment and the new draft process and rookie wage scale made Pryor a low-risk, high-reward option for Al Davis and he instantly becomes the Raiders only long-term option and the pressure will be on the coaching staff to make something of Pryor as a quarterback.

Fan Poll Results: Draft Grades

 Posted by at 11:51 AM  No Responses »
May 112011
 

I asked Raider Nation to grade the draft picks on a scale of A to F. Love (A), Like (B), Wait (C), Hope D and Hate (F) were the options.

Draft grades mean nothing, but what you, the fan, thinks of the draft actually does mean something.

Fan grades are a reflection of how much confidence the fans have in the front office.

So let’s get to the grades…

Stefen Wisniewski

A – Love Grades: 38

B – Like Grades: 30

C – Wait Grades: 0

D – Hope Grades: 3

F – Hate Grades: 1

Overall GPA: .901 (A)

Wisniewski receives a low A letter grade by the fans. His uncle’s legacy in silver and black certainly had a lot to do with his reception, but the Raiders needed lineman badly also and this probably boosted his stock.

Demarcus Van Dyke

A – Love Grades: 2

B – Like Grades: 9

C – Wait Grades: 46

D – Hope Grades: 14

F – Hate Grades: 1

Overall GPA: .609 (D)

Ouch, Demarcus Van Dyke receives a near failing grade from Raiders fans, but it is interesting to note that the vast majority voted to wait on Van Dyke. Van Dyke barely squeaks out the D grade.

Joseph Barkdale

A – Love Grades: 16

B – Like Grades: 34

C – Wait Grades: 22

D – Hope Grades: 0

F – Hate Grades: 0

Overall GPA: .826 (B)

When a team drafts a right tackle prospect in the middle rounds, it should be expected that the guy grades out average when it comes to fan excitement. The Raider Nation gives the Joseph Barkdale selection a low B. Barksdale received no D or F votes. Barkdale is a much-needed addition to the Raiders thin offensive line. The Raiders need for lineman likely helped his stock.

Chimdi Chekwa

A – Love Grades: 8

B – Like Grades: 26

C – Wait Grades: 32

D – Hope Grades: 5

F – Hate Grades: 1

Overall GPA: .741 (C)

Perhaps even more condemning of the Van Dyke pick was the Chewka pick two rounds later. Chewka is more physical and it seems like he would be able to step in and play before Van Dyke. The Raider Nation gives Chekwa a solid C grade.

Taiwan Jones

A – Love Grades: 17

B – Like Grades: 32

C – Wait Grades: 12

D – Hope Grades: 7

F – Hate Grades: 0

Overall GPA: .812 (B)

It’s hard to imagine a running back from the late rounds giving the Raider Nation so much confidence. It wasn’t a position of need and the fans still recognize and are excited about Taiwan Jones. He receives a low B from the fans.

Denarius Moore

A – Love Grades: 13

B – Like Grades: 27

C – Wait Grades: 14

D – Hope Grades: 11

F – Hate Grades: 2

Overall GPA: .739 (C)

The C grade is indicative of just how much unknown there is when a team drafts a receiver, but the Raider Nation recognizes there could be a value play in Moore, but we have to “wait” and see.

Richard Gordon

A – Love Grades: 2

B – Like Grades: 8

C – Wait Grades: 27

D – Hope Grades: 25

F – Hate Grades: 5

Overall GPA: .526 (F)

Raider Nation doesn’t acknowledge the need for a blocking tight end. The Richard Gordon selection surprisingly receives a F from Raider Nation. He has a good chance of making the roster, but the fans don’t like the pick of a little-known tight end in the sixth round. I believe the fans are wrong on this one.

David Ausberry

A – Love Grades: 1

B – Like Grades: 12

C – Wait Grades: 24

D – Hope Grades: 25

F – Hate Grades: 5

Overall GPA: .554 (F)

The Raider Nation is not enthusiastic about the Raiders final draft selection either. Ausberry is a big receiver that is likely to be converted to tight end. He wasn’t on the radar as a draftable prospect and the Raider Nation supports this with a F letter grade.

Overall: C

The fans grade a draft just how it should be graded. A solid C grade is a wait and see grade. Good job Raider Nation!

Don’t agree with the results? The poll is still open.

2011 Draft Review and Analysis

 Posted by at 1:08 AM  No Responses »
May 022011
 

The Raiders completed day three of the 2011 NFL draft by selecting Chimdi Chekwa, Taiwan Jones, Denarius Moore, Richard Gordon and David Ausberry to add to the selections of Stefen Wisniewski, Demarcus Van Dyke and Joseph Barksdale yesterday.

With the selections on day three, the Raiders finished plugging at least three team needs and added depth a wide receiver. Al Davis doesn’t hide his affection for speed and in this, his 39th year as managing general partner, he again selected multiple players who ran the 40-yard-dash in under 4.4 seconds.

Now that the draft is complete and since the NFL is enduring a lockout, we have time to properly analyze the Raiders draft picks. Who are these players and what are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they fit on the team in 2011?

Stefen Wisniewski is the safest pick the Raiders could have made in the second round. Most if not all the top-tier talent had been selected and he’ll be an instant starter at center and should play for a decade. The fans will love this one also, because Stefen is the nephew of former Raiders all-pro guard guard and current assistant offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski.

Strengths: Smart, technically sound, knows how to use his hands and plays with a good base most of the time. Natural bender, bends at the knees. Agile and has good footwork. Fires off the snap quickly. Whistle-to-whistle player that is successful because he never gives up on a play.

Weaknesses: Average overall strength and may struggle with big nose tackles. Sometimes overextends and gets off-balance. Frame maxed out, can’t carry much more weight.

Overall: Wisniewski is a very high floor player that doesn’t need a lot of time to develop to help the Raiders. He’s durable and the Raiders have been looking for a center since Barrett Robins hailed a cab to Tijuana just before Super Bowl XXXVII. He’s a natural leader and should be an instant starter and upgrade over Samson Satele.

Scouting Reports:

National Football Post

NFLDRAFTSCOUT

NFL.com

NFLDraftCountdown

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YaslZQO3ew

 

The simple fact that Al Davis drafted Demarcus Van Dyke should not define the Raiders 2011 draft class. He’s one player and he does have potential.

Al Davis drafted Van Dyke in the third round, which is why analysts will not like the selection. The experts believed Van Dyke was a fifth or sixth-round prospect and very much a project. He’s a thinly-built burner and needs work on his technique to make use of his speed.

Thankfully, the Raiders have Kevin Ross, Rod Woodson and Willie Brown as coaches and mentors for the young corner project.

Strengths: Solid ball skills, length and speed,  fluid hips, reads and reacts to what he sees quickly.

Weaknesses: Needs help with his footwork to maintain his speed when he turns and runs, needs to add ten pounds to his frame, will not be a great jammer without adding bulk and strength.

Overall: He has the physical skills to be a good corner in the NFL, but he’ll have to add bulk and work on his footwork. He will contribute on special teams and his best chance to get on the field on defense is probably in the dime or nickel package. He’s a faster version of Walter McFadden.

Scouting Reports:

CBS Sports – Gil Brandt

NFL.com

National Football Post

Videos:

 

The Raiders needed help on the offensive line and they chose Joseph Barksdale over other quality options on the board. He’s an athlete that hasn’t played consistently well. He became an offensive lineman in college after being recruited as a defensive tackle. He was a five star recruit out of high school and some people believed he was the next Haloti Ngata.  He projects to right tackle, but may have a home at guard as well.

Strengths: Athletic and strong. Can slide and move his feet. Long arms. Can be nasty is a solid run blocker. Agile for a man his size and carries his weight well.

Weaknesses: Bends at the waist too much and can get himself caught out of position. Inconsistent. Not an elite athlete, probably can’t play left tackle in the pros.

Overall: The Raiders see a ton of potential in Barksdale and if he can become more consistent and focus on his craft he has a very good chance to start at right tackle for the Raiders as a rookie. Having Steve Wisniewski and his nephew around could help him as he’s only been playing offensive line for four years. He could be a gem of a right tackle in time.

Scouting Reports:

CBS Sports

National Football Post

NFL.com

Video:

 

 

Continue reading »

Needs Addressed On Day Two

 Posted by at 2:33 AM  No Responses »
Apr 302011
 

The Oakland Raiders tried to trade up for Colin Kaepernick, but were not successful.

Instead, the Raiders made the most natural pick they could and selected Steve Wisniewski’s nephew Stefen. Stefen will play center for the Raiders and become and instant fan favorite. His technique is sound and should be a starter for years.

The Raiders traded their 2012 second round pick for the Patriots third, pick 94 and fourth, pick 125.

The Raiders used their own third round pick to again draft the fastest player at the scouting combine in Demarcus Van Dyke. You might as well pencil in the fastest player at the combine every year. Al Davis loves his speed.

Van Dyke seems like a reach, but he’s got good physical tools and will be mentored by Rod Woodson. His teammate will be Stanford Routt, who was much like Van Dyke coming out of college.

Van Dyke is long and lean and Hue Jackson said he felt very comfortable with the pick.

With the pick acquired from the Patriots, the Raiders selected Joseph Barksdale a raw offensive tackle prospect. He’s got all the physical skills to be a starting caliber right tackle.

With this draft, the Raiders have drafted four out of five of next year’s probable starting offensive line.

LT Jared Veldheer

C Wisniewski

RG Bruce Campbell

RT Joseph Barkdale

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