Former NFL coach Joe Gibbs has experienced an NFL lockout. Gibbs had a coaching career with the Washington Redskins. As a fan, he says, “There’s too much at stake…”
In a recent ESPN article, he’s talking about the NFL lockout and the fact that the negotiations may take so long that the season suffers, one way or another.
As I read Gibbs viewpoint, I thought of the Oakland Raiders and how they are handling this challenging period in NFL history.
Gibbs, now 70, has accomplished a lot in his NFL and NASCAR career. If Gibbs says “I worry about it,” then other fans ...
With the NFL labor issues resulting in the free agent season being put on the back burner, this year's NFL Draft is more important than ever before.In previous years, teams had the opportunity to solidify their rosters through free agency and trades before making decisions on how to use their draft picks.Since this year's draft has different implications than previous years, I have written a list of the positions which we need to attack through the draft in order of importance.Begin Slideshow
The Oakland Raiders have a rich history, and many great players have worn the silver and black—past and present. Trying to come up with an all-time defensive line up for the Raiders is like going to the Miss Universe Pageant and only being able to pick 11 girls to take to the after party. There are so many options, and many great candidates will be left out. There have been many Raiders worthy of being on this list, but only 11 will make the cut.I decided to go with a nickel defense because the Raiders have had plenty of defensive backs ...
The Oakland Raiders' greatest need is within the interior line. With the departure of Robert Gallery, the Raiders best offensive lineman, and the subpar play of left guard Cooper Carlyle, the Raiders are in need of a Gallery replacement. Though many within the Raider Nation harp on Penn State center Stefen Wisniewski, I reject the notion for a few reasons: 1: Oakland’s offense starts with a power running game. With no Gallery, a declining Carlyle and no first-round draft pick, using a second round pick on a center could be devastating to the emerging offense. After all, it is not ...
Following the Bay Bridge series finale and end of spring training, the A's made their final roster cuts and set their 25-man opening day roster.The only remaining battles left after the A's announced over the weekend that Brandon McCarthy would be the team's fifth starter, were for the bullpen, backup infielder and backup catcher positions.In a press release following today's spring finale, the Athletics announced that they had reassigned Josh Donaldson, Eric Sogard and Tyson Ross to Triple-A Sacramento.The A's also announced in their press release that they selected the contract of non-roster invitee Andy LaRoche. Wes Timmons and Matt ...
The Raiders are without a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and with glaring needs at offensive line, some in Raider Nation are calling to trade up into round one this year.Fans seem to be split on what to do. Some feel trading up will cost too much; others claim it's necessary to the growth of the team.There are plenty of teams in the first round willing to trade down this year, so finding a partner shouldn't be a problem.The real issue here is price.Do we really want to trade into round one when it will in all likeliness ...
The A's seem to be everyone's "sleeper" team this upcoming season, and rightfully so. The foursome of Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden is the most underrated in baseball. To go along with a strong bullpen, the pitching aspect is set. The big story is the offense. Will they be able to score enough runs to win games? Throughout this article, you will see a number between 7-10 beside each player. These numbers break the players up into essential categories; here's a rough layout. 10: Best player/pitcher in baseball 9-plus: Superstar, MVP/Cy Young Candidates 8-plus: Consistent All-Star 7.5: ...
The 2011 NFL Draft is quickly approaching. Being that it's the only non-lockout football we have to discuss, it promises to be an even bigger event this year. The lockout has also created a unique set of circumstances for this draft. For the first time since the advent of free agency, the draft is going to be held before a team has a chance to fill roster holes with free agents. Free agents aren't the only uncertainty leading up to this draft, however. Teams can't even be sure who among their own players will be back. The franchise tag placed ...
A business trip on April 4 will put me in Washington, D.C. Somehow I am going to make time to go to K Street and see the reporters and observers in front of the building where the NFL negotiations are taking place.
Here is the description and mission statement of the organization that is laboring to come to some type of agreement between the NFL players and owners:
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Created by Congress as an independent agency of the U.S. government in 1947, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)’s primary responsibility is to promote sound and stable labor-management relations ...
The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners kick off their 2011 seasons this Friday evening in Oakland, both looking to improve on their 2010 campaigns.The 2010 Athletics broke a string of three losing seasons in a row to finish at 81-81 in second place, while the 2010 Mariners were abysmal at 61-101, their second 101 loss season in three years.Over the offseason the Athletics strengthened their offense with the additions of Josh Willingham, David DeJesus and Hideki Matsui. The A's also added depth to their bullpen with the free agent signings of Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour.The Major League's best rotation ...