Pre-Game Thoughts: Do I Even Care?

I'm not sure that I do, but we have a blog that needs to be updated, so let's give it a shot.

JaMarcus is not playing today. Andrew Walter is. Jerry Mac goes through a scenario in which Walter plays well, the Raiders win, and are then left to decide what happens next week in Miami with a (presumably) healthy JaMarcus. It's not pretty.

Nothing against Andrew Walter, but seeing him get killed, week after week, during the Art Shell regime, made me excited for the Raiders to draft JaMarcus in the first place.

I exchanged text messages with Dan, who is in Denver, and he asked, "If Walter plays, is that a good thing?" Honestly, I don't know. I guess we still have a shot at the playoffs, since every other team in our division sucks almost as much as we do. But for sure, the "JaMarcus is a bust" talk will accelerate. Even worse, the thoughtful birthday present my brother got me will land me on the front page of straightcashhomey.net.

One other thing. I was running to the store to get some beers for the game, which I will be watching incrementally on The Red Zone Channel. I was listening to Greg Papa and Tom Flores discussing the release of DeAngelo Hall, when Papa said, "One thing that people may not know about the Raiders, that we see every day on the inside, is that if you don't play well, you will not be here very long." That's a paraphrase.

Anyway, all I could think when I heard that was, really, Greg?

Really?

Sorry Dan, for bringing those guys up. Enjoy your trip.

Bill Williamson Talks Raiders on ESPN

Following up on Dan's excellent post from yesterday, the only thing I can really say is that at least people are talking about the Raiders again. I still don't think the weirdness of the Kiffin firing can ever be topped, but if what Williamson is saying is true, and Javon Walker, Tommy Kelly, Kwame Harris, Gibril Wilson, and Gerard Warren are all cut during the off season at the latest, then it's clear that perhaps the denial that Alameda's been mired in for the last 5 years may finally be fading.

We can only hope. It's come at a great cost: 2nd and 5th round picks for Hall. Plus all that Salary Cap money in the guarantees to Walker. Especially after Al could have just let Javon retire and it would have cost him NOTHING.

But sometimes lessons are expensive. There is a good core of players here. I'm not trying to sound like Tom Cable, but I think there really is a foundation to build on here. JaMarcus, Nmamdi, the Linebackers, Run DMC. And didn't Super Mario play pretty well in Buffalo?

So the weirdest thing of all may just be Al Davis looking himself in the mirror and understanding that he's made some atrocious moves in the last couple of years, and taking action, no matter how embarrassing or drastic, to finally, actually remedy things.

Nnamdi Plays the Timmy Role

There was a time when John's main man would stand up to Al Davis when things weren't going the way he thought was right. Tim Brown had the "moral authority," you might say, to do so.

The only man in the Raiders locker room with that authority today is Nnamdi Asomugha, and it appears he is letting Al know he doesn't like the way things are going, particularly as it relates to DeAngelo Hall being cut. One might argue that Nnamdi is the reason it happened, but with his locker tagged with the words, "Franchised forever!" here are some of the things he had to say (as seen on NBC Sports):

"There's some things that have been going on - some shakeups - that I just haven't agreed with."

"I'm not allowed to speak on it because we're just supposed to shut up and play."

According to a report from John Clayton, Al showed up at the offices in Alameda the other day with a list of 10-15 players who are not performing up to standards. Creeping Death has indeed begun his journey through the Raider locker room.

Official

DeAngelo Hall is cut.

Is Javon next?

Bill Williamson agrees with Dan that Nmamdi's a must-sign.

At least this happened.

Schefter You Diabolical...

Al Davis's old buddy Adam Schefter is at it again. Now he blogs that DeAngelo Hall's release from the Raiders is imminent.

Eight games, $8 million, a second rounder, and countless (well, maybe someone counted but I did not) times torched by a range of NFL wide receiver skill levels. If this goes through, it would have to surpass Javon Walker as the worst signing of all time.

Three good ways of interpreting this, courtesy of Mr. Optimism:

1. Nnamdi Asomugha becomes an absolute MUST SIGN, without any thought of, "Well, we are spending a lot on CB already..."


2. By avoiding throwing good money after bad, The Raiders might actually reallocate that money towards someone who can play


3. Perhaps Hall's comments in the AJC the other day that he's going to go out and be himself and get a few penalties is in direct contrast with Al's sudden realization that what the Raiders need most of all is discipline

Yeah, I couldn't get through that third point without laughing, either.

Wha? 6-0 Us After 1.

I don't know what's going on. Johnny Lee opened with a 68 yard kickoff return. Javon Walker caught two straight passes to open the game. The defense has two sacks, one by DeAngelo Hall.

Yes. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, with Gibril Wilson, a Safety, blitzing with him.

Lane Kiffin was right, they need to blitz.

DeAngelo Hall is a Wordsmith

"Man up or bitch up" is the phrase he used, in response to Coach Kiffin saying the Raiders aren't a very good team right now, and not ready to start to the season. "Any coach is going to say that but I think we're ready," Hall said. "A lot of guys aren't ready to do things in life until they're thrown in the fire. Then you've either got to man up or bitch up. I think we're ready to man up."

Props to Jason Jones for bringing us this quote. Both Jerry and David White led their posts with Hall's broken finger, and how he's practicing anyway. But only Jason Jones isn't worried about offending Raiders fans. I especially like that his editors didn't make him write it "man up or b---- up" or "man up or ---- up," leaving us to guess what exactly was being bleeped.

That said, between Hall's broken finger and Nmamdi leaving the field to get his foot X-rayed, I am getting a little concerned about depth in the secondary.

Hater of the Week: Sal Paolantonio

Sal Paolantonio, perhaps best know for being "outraged" that Tony Soprano was watching him on TV during an episode of the The Sopranos, has just written something that's even MORE ignorant:

The Raiders will regret trading for DeAngelo Hall and signing him to a $70 million contract.

So now it's MY turn to be outraged.

Congratulations, Sal, you're our Nancy Gay Memorial Hater of the Week.

The Raiders need help stopping the run, says Sal:

And what did the Raiders get? One of the most overrated defensive backs in recent league history.

One of the great "SportsCenter" highlights of Hall's career is from a game against the Steelers in 2006. You remember that -- when Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward sprinted past Hall for a spectacular 70-yard touchdown catch and run. What's so remarkable about that play? Ward was missing one shoe.

And that play was unusual. Most opposing receivers beat Hall deep while still wearing both shoes.

Wow. Tell us how you really feel. He also has a choice quote from Roy Williams, the leading receiver on the Offensive Juggernaut Detroit Lions. "Everybody pumps him up like he's Deion Sanders. But he's not Deion Sanders."

Hey Sal, did you have to a use a dictaphone to get that quote? Or did you just you type "Roy Williams DeAngelo Hall Deion Sanders Tautology" into Google and cut-and-paste?

Why don't you stick to what you know about: giving weather updates before NFC East games, inspiring backlash Sopranos Episodes, and uni-brow waxing.

Jason Jones is Awesome; John is a Jackass.

Jason Jones latest column is a Q & A.

The last question is from some asshole named John in San Francisco:

Question: Is the last sentence in your bio right? At the very least it's awkward...shouldn't it say something like "His favorite athlete of all time is Magic Johnson, and his favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers."

I know you didn't write and may not have even seen it.

Anyway, keep up the good work. The Hall coverage was outstanding.

John, San Francisco

Answer: You’re right. I didn’t write it, just filled in the blanks for a format. I never gave it much thought.

If Hall’s coverage is better than mine, I’m sure you’ll be much happier with him.

So who's the asshole?

That's right, this guy. The thing, is I really meant it when I wrote "keep up the good work." The "Hall coverage" I was referring to was Jason Jones' coverage of the DeAngelo Hall trade. And it was outstanding. He waited at the airport. He talked to Falcons beat writers to find out what kind of guy Hall is to interview.

And he's a Lakers fan.

So if my question came across all lit-nerd douchey, correcting the grammar on his bio and whatever, I apologize. I'm flattered it was used.

So, keep up the good work, Jason.

If Hall covers receivers next year half as good as you cover the Raiders for the Sacramento Bee, I'll definitely be happy.