Jay Glazer reports the Raiders have traded for Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Carson Palmer.
The Raiders send a 2012 first round draft pick and a conditional first round draft pick in 2013. The pick in 2013 converts to second round pick if the Raiders don’t win a playoff game.
The price was steep, but the move is the correct one. The Raiders playoff hopes were given a major blow when Jason Campbell went down and they had to move quickly.
Jason Campbell is out for an extended period of time. At the earliest Campbell would be back in six weeks, but that’s massively optimistic and it is still likely that it’s a season ending injury. Kyle Boller now becomes the starter and Terrelle Pryor will be the primary backup, but the Raiders are exploring other available quarterbacks.
The Raiders have already reached out to David Garrard and Josh McCown suggesting they will explore all options. It’s tough to imagine that they wouldn’t also reach out to Trent Edwards. The Raiders are reportedly going hard after Carson Palmer as well.
Josh McCown would become competition for Boller and would have a chance to become the starter if Boller falls on his face. Trent Edwards would be the same type of player, coming in to backup Boller and push him for the job, but far from certain he would start over Boller.
The biggest question the Raiders have to ask themselves is if they can still make the playoffs with Kyle Boller. If the answer is no, they really have no choice but to go out and get one they think can. All provided one is out there.
Carson Palmer is the best option available for the Raiders, but Bengals owner Mike Brown seems content to let Carson Palmer rot. The Bengals are treating Palmer like he did something horrible to the team yet asking for a high pick in return. If the Raiders could acquire Palmer he could keep the seat warm while Pryor gets up to speed. Palmer is an intermediate to long-term option. Palmer’s best seasons came in an Air Coryell inspired offense in Cincinnati with Hue Jackson as the receivers coach. This is the same system used by the Raiders and offensive coordinator Al Saunders. The Raiders will not likely relinquish a first-round pick for Palmer, but a 2013 second-round pick that could turn into a first-round pick if Palmer and the Raiders hit certain marks is possible. Palmer’s contract would have to be reworked also all before the deadline at 1 pm on Tuesday.
According to Jay Glazer, David Garrard has a herniated disk that requires surgery. I suggested on Twitter that the Raiders would have very little interest in David Garrard. That was my initial instinct on Garrard, but after examining the other options and the costs associated with them Garrard was looking more and more appealing. Now he isn’t an option for anyone.
Brett Favre. I can’t believed I typed that. I’ll let you decide how ridiculous it is. Hint: It’s VERY ridiculous. Please leave this alone.
Aside from the aforementioned three, there are a few lesser options the Raiders will likely explore and Raider Nation is going to be thrilled with this one: Josh McCown has been contacted. McCown isn’t an answer as a step-in starter, but he could come in and push Kyle Boller and would be given a chance to start if Boller were to play poorly. He’s just a backup option because the Raiders aren’t ready to trust Pryor.
Trent Edwards could be brought back and he knows the offense. He’s another one of the options that can be brought in to be a body and push Boller, but he isn’t a starter nor would the Raiders want him to be a starter. He’s the safe choice and maybe the only choice. If Campbell can return sooner rather than later the Raiders wouldn’t have to
Terrelle Pryor was brought in and is exclusively a quarterback, but he just started practicing and it doesn’t sound like the Raiders are ready to trust him. Handing the reigns of a playoff caliber team over to a raw rookie could be a recipe for disaster. The Raiders can’t afford for Pryor to fail either. If the coaching staff doesn’t think he is ready it is probably best to let him wait, but without Campbell it is possible Pryor is given a certain set of plays to run in the game as a more dynamic option to Boller’s pocket passing.
The Raiders will most likely bring back Trent Edwards to be the primary backup for Boller. Boller will get his shot, at least until Campbell is healthy in as short as six weeks. With games against Kansas City, Denver, San Diego, Minnesota and Chicago over the next six weeks the Raiders will have an opportunity to stay in the hunt, but it gets dicey if Campbell misses more than six weeks.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that the Raiders will start Aaron Curry after just one practice with his new team. What was almost as surprising was that the Raiders will move Curry to the weak side. Curry replaces Quentin Groves as the starter.
The Raiders obviously believe Curry was miscast as a strong-side linebacker in the 4-3 and flipped him over the weak side. What’s the difference between the two positions in the Raiders 4-3? The weak-side linebacker in the Raiders defensive scheme is responsible for basically three things.
Clog running lanes. The weak-side linebacker needs to keep the opposing running back from turning the corner on running plays and he needs to make tackles in the running lane. Curry has shown he is solid against the run and should be effective in this role. Groves has been inconsistent diagnosing the correct running lanes and has been unable to turn the run inside when a lineman engages him. This is undoubtedly Curry’s strength.
Cover the flat. In the passing game the weak-side linebacker has the role of covering the flat. In man coverage this would typically be a back coming out of the backfield, but it could also be a wide receiver screen or a tight end short out in zone coverage. As a strong-side linebacker Curry struggled in coverage on the strong side, mainly in zone coverage where he was required to back-peddle into a middle zone and in man coverage against the opposing tight end. Curry will now play with everything in front of him and his only coverage responsibility will be a back in the flat in man coverage alignments. If the Raiders go into zone alignments Curry would gain more coverage responsibility in the flat, but would not have to sink into a zone as flat plays develop quickly. Curry has the quickness to get to the flat consistently and in the Raiders scheme and as a weak-side linebacker Curry will not have to do the things he does poorly.
Backside pursuit/cutback protection. The last responsibility of the weak-side linebacker is chasing down running plays and short pass plays on the opposite side of the field. This requires the linebacker to be the fastest of the three linebackers in a 4-3 defense. He’ll need to fight through blockers occasionally and protect against a cutback. The strong-side linebacker tries to seal the edge and the middle linebacker tries to shoot the running lane to bring down the runner, so the weak-side linebacker needs to protect against a cutback when Rolando McClain “chooses” the wrong running lane.
I’ve gone back and watched some of Curry’s best games as a professional. He’s had success against the 2010 49ers, Bears, Broncos and Cardinals and the 2009 Bears, Jaguars and 49ers. These teams were are all passing deficient teams with running backs that lack elite speed, but thrive on cutback runs. Curry wasn’t required to cover much in the best games. If the Raiders can keep him out of coverage, particularly middle zones and in one-on-one situations they might have themselves a pretty good linebacker.
Raiders have acquired former 1st round pick Aaron Curry from the Seahawks for two future draft picks.
The compensation is a 7th round pick in 2012 and a conditional mid-round pick in the 2013 draft.
Aaron Curry was much heralded coming out of college but has been a non-impact player so far in his career. Curry has struggled to defend the pass and hasn’t added much as a pass rusher either. However, the Raiders likely traded Curry for his ability to stop the run. Curry has been decently successful at stopping the run since he entered the league despite occasional struggles.
The most likely scenario is that Curry is used in running situations to start as the staff work with Curry on other areas of his game.
With Matt Shaughnessy’s status in doubt the Raiders have worked out defensive ends and linebackers in successive weeks. The Raiders ultimately decided against signing these players. Kamerion Wimbley has been lining up more at defensive end with Shaughnessy out and that may continue as Curry sees time at Wimbley’s strong-side linebacker position.
While traditionally the strong-side linebacker would cover the tight end the Raiders are more likely to cover pass catching tight ends with a safety.
McClain missed practice Wednesday with an ankle injury the severity of which is currently unknown. If McClain were to miss time the Raiders could turn to Darryl Blackstock or slide Curry into the middle linebacker spot. The Raiders would certainly be able to more creatively shield Curry from having to drop into coverage if he played in the middle.
The trade is a low risk, high reward move and Curry’s draft status will not hang over his head in Oakland as it did in Seattle. Don’t expect Curry to be a plug-in starter unless the Raiders have injuries that force him to play, but he should help the Raiders shore up the run defense.
I wouldn’t expect Curry to move to the weak-side and challenge for Quentin Groves spot because of his deficiencies in pass coverage.
The Raiders announced the signing of 6′ 0″ 210-pound defensive back Ron Parker and released preseason darling Sterling Moore from the practice squad.
Parker has the kind of size, speed and length the Raiders covet. Parker runs a sub 4.4 in the 40-yard dash in addition to excellent times in the short shuttle and three-cone drill. He also broad jumped 9-7. Parker is a long and fast athlete with the tools to develop into more than a fringe roster player.
Moore-as good as he was in training camp and preseason-is probably a fringe roster player. Moore also lacked the elite physical tools the Raiders like in their defensive backs. It’s suprising because it was widely believed Moore could be elevated this week to the active roster due to all the injuries in the secondary.
Don’t be surprised if Parker is elevated to the active roster and Miller is released later in the week. Another option is veteran Lito Sheppard, although if it was going to happen it probably would have been done already.
It’s somewhat surprising Nick Miller was not released today and that no corresponding move has yet been made to shore up the Raiders injured secondary.