Briefly Catching Up on the Offseason

Haven't had a lot of time to post lately, but it's not for lack of interest. Was discussing the Nnamdi signing with Unk today, and we got to thinking that if you selectively go back in time to late December when the Raiders had two games remaining, it's been a pretty good run. Won the two games, JaMarcus played very well, kept the coach who put it together, assembled a reasonable (experienced) staff, signed Chris Johnson, signed Shane Lechler, signed Nnamdi.

Not bad.

I'm rooting for Cable. Sure, it's in my own self interest given that Sundays will be miserable for me if he fails, but I found his enthusiasm for the Raiders at his press conference endearing. He's a lifetime Raider fan, which counts for something. And the fact that all our big free agents are returning (recognizing that money is involved here) means that guys want to play for him.

Obviously I'm thrilled with the signings. I'm not sure it's even worth discussing. Sure, a remarkable amount of money and cap space was spent, but for two guys considered the best at their positions (per All Pro selections), pay them. Mr. Mackey is discussing Nnamdi's signing on ESPN's NFL Live right now, and just watching the Nnamdi highlights has me fired up for next season.

Came across this interesting Schefter blog entry. I was wondering how long it would take for Porter to come back after stealing a bunch of Jacksonville's money. If he returns and the Raiders draft a WR early, we could end up with a record number of #2 / #3 WRs: Walker, Carter, Higgins, Schilens, Porter, and a developing rookie.

Fittingly, John Clayton is now discussing the inevitable release of Marvin Harrison.

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.

Now What?

So last week happened. Lane Kiffin is still texting JaMarcus, and he appreciates it. I wonder if Al will have John Herrera text JaMarcus Lowell Cohn's blog post about Kiffin being a poor judge of the real estate market. He should.

I saw John Clayton on SportsCenter this afternoon. I can't find a link, because I'm exhausted. But he said that we should get to see Jammy unleash that gun a little more, like we saw when he struck downfield to Zach Miller against the Chargers. He said it has to do with Greg Knapp. He called that play while Lance was drawing up 76-yard field goal attempts.

I can't wait to see that. I especially can't wait to see Jason Whitlock choke on the 37 'Lil Debbie Football Brownies he's just jammed in his big, fat, mouth when he sees JaMarcus unleash his first of many 300 yard, 4 TD passing games. What dickhead.

Clayton: Al Interviews Lance's Replacements

Here we go again. Yawn.

What a dump truck organization.

John Clayton: No Coach on a Hotter Seat than Kiffin

In his article on training camp controversies that don't involve Chad Johnson or Brett Favre, John Clayton writes, "No coach is on a hotter seat than Kiffin."

That may or may not be true; if Nancy Gay wrote this article, it would say how cocky Lane Kiffin is, and he'll probably be leaving to become the Head Coach at Panhandle State, and Al Davis is a doddering old spendthrift jackass.

Anyway, what I like best about this article is the picture from Lance Kiffin's introductory press conference of Al leaning forward as he strains to rip a big fart.:

Lance is clearly entertained. I mean, who doesn't find flatulence funny?

John Clayton is Not a Hater

While waiting for frequent commenter dobolina to make is CLOAK debut, I checked out ESPN.com and noticed that John Clayton is not a hater.

He says so, in his new mailbag column. He calls them a surprise team, saying they may even be .500 or better going into December.

His response to the Atlanta Falcons question was pretty funny, too.

Anyway, while we wait with bated breath for dobolina's deconstuction of the Favre debacle, we can watch this: