On Monday, the NFL lockout finally died. Before anybody could lift a finger to celebrate, it was time to get down to business. With free agency starting today, you can rest assured that there will be plenty of craziness to go around in the next couple weeks. The Oakland Raiders will definitely be in on it, make no mistake about that. They have a grand total of 18 free agents who they have to worry about, and the word around the campfire is that they have some work to do to get under the cap. Players are going to be ...
Al Davis has always believed in having an explosive offense, so he has had his share of explosive offensive players. The power running game with the deep ball off of it are the principals in which it all happens. The offensive line has always been the big boys on the block that bullied the opposing defenses. From there, the speed an power of the running backs must be dealt with then the pure speed of the receivers is next. This has to be exhausting for a defense, so when it works, opposing defenses get wore out. From this formula, I put together an all-time ...
The Oakland A's this year have wasted a tremendous pitching performance with an anemic offensive attack.Facing the prospect of losing many players to free agency, the A's should be looking to replenish their offense immediately.With an abundance of pitching to deal, Oakland's GM Billy Beane should not hesitate to pull the trigger on these potential deals.Begin Slideshow
The Oakland Athletics have come to terms with their 2011 first-round draft pick, Sonny Gray, this afternoon on a $1.54 million signing bonus.Gray was 12-3 with a 2.12 ERA in 18 games for Vanderbilt this season. He struck out 124 batters in 119 innings and held his opponents to a .200 batting average.Gray was rated by Baseball America as having the best secondary pitch amongst college pitchers this past season.The A's have announced that after spending a couple of weeks in the Rookie League to get stretched out, Gray will join Oakland's Double-A affiliate Midland Rockhounds to finish the remainder ...
Think of an NFL team. Any NFL team. I guarantee that no matter who you thought of, that team is interested in signing superstar CB Nnamdi Asomugha. This corner is so good, catching passes in his area is like spelling his name correctly on the first try: It just doesn't happen.However, out of the roughly 32 NFL teams that would love to snag Aso, most of them don't really have much of a chance. Whether because of cap room, no chance of being a playoff contender or just having no need to upgrade their CB corp, most teams have nothing ...
With the NFL league year to begin Tuesday, free agency is sure to be wild. The Raiders have some key players up for grabs, including Nnamdi Asomugha, Michael Huff and Zach Miller. Miller was a restricted free agent under the former CBA, but now, under the new 10-year CBA, he is unrestricted after his four years of service. Another key player on the Raiders' offense was set to become a free agent after four years in Oakland. That player is Michael Bush, who has been deemed a restricted free agent due to him missing his entire rookie year (2007) with ...
You may be surprised to hear that the NFL lockout is nearing an end. While NFLPA re-certification and some further legal wranglings are still lingering like a bad house-guest, the heavy lifting is essentially done and much back slapping has ensued. Albert Breer and Jason La Canfora, my hat's off to you guys. What fortitude and determination you both showed throughout the whole process; now get some sleep, will you?Anyhow, now that we're back to the business of football as a tangible entity rather than some disembodied concept on highlight reels and bar room walls, I was reflecting on the whole ...
Finally we can ask this question. Are you ready for some football? The lockout is finally over, and we fans can now start looking forward to another great season of NFL football. Throughout this whole process I kept saying the same thing. One, if any regular season games were lost and we had a shortened season, I wouldn't watch. Why? Because no matter who won the 'Super Bowl,' it wouldn't really matter, and there would always be an asterisk attached to the winner. I just wouldn't care about a shortened season. Two, I realize professional football is big business, and ...
Coming off their best season since the Rich Gannon-to-Jerry Rice era, the Oakland Raiders will have an opportunity to contend for an AFC West division title in 2011. No, that’s not a joke; they went undefeated against the Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos last year. Oakland has countless starters that will hit the open market this offseason though so after a solid draft, Al Davis and the Raiders are going to have to continue to fill holes through free agency if they want to continue to improve. Some needs that have been taken care of all ready include the running back ...
With the NFL collective bargaining agreement finally coming to fruition, many have talked about the frenzy that will be free agency. Many expect this lightning-paced event to bring a whole lot of rushed deals in order for teams to improve their squads. This is very true. However, not many have talked about the fallout with undrafted free agents. For the Oakland Raiders, signing their own free agents—such as Zach Miller, Michael Bush and of course Nnamdi Asomugha—will be a very big deal. However, keep in mind this is a young team that is still building its foundation. The undrafted rookies may be behind ...