I know posting this stuff is Joe's job, thought I'd fill in the gap because there actually is a Jet angle to this; Nnamdi has some very nice things to say about Revis in the article. And if anyone thinks Nnamdi is overrated, check out what his peers have to say about him... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/raiders/2009-03-19-sw-asomugha_N.htm
Who the hell would call Nnamdi overrated? If anyone here did, they're just pissed he's not lined up opposite Darrelle. He's a beast.
anything longer than 1 year is "long term" for Davis (see Javon Walker, Dominic Rhodes, and DeAngelo Hall) :smile:
There is nothing smart about that contract. He's the best player on that team and he has a chance to just touch the ball maybe 2-4 times per game. Even if he is shutting down one side of the field, giving him $14.5 million per game is just limiting the Raiders' ability to get someone who can play the other 10 positions on defense. Just to contrast the number, Brett Favre's ridiculous contract payed him $12 million the year he played for the Jets and he had the ball on every offensive play. The amount of money he is getting is severely hurting the Raiders' chances of actually improving their franchise. He's the best corner in the league but he's no corner is worth $29 million over two years and the franchise value for a QB in the third year. I'd love to see what happened during those negotiations... Keep up the good work Al.
I'd prefer not to have to click links to find out that he's 6'2" 210 pounds and runs 4.38. Such a bother.
To compare Favre and Nnamdi, I think it sends a good message to the organization when your highest paid player is a) your hardest working player and b) a home grown guy who is being rewarded for his hard work and performance. Favre was neither to the Jets. For the last 5 or 6 dismal years in Oakland, Davis has been lavishing money on imports who leave their work ethic and leadership skills on the east coast like Lamont Jordan (no offense Jet fans) or D'Angelo Hall. At the same time he's been letting promising homegrown guys like Woodson, Barton, Rod Coleman, etc. leave for greener pastures. If you're going to "overpay" a guy, might as well do it with a great young player who is home grown and possesses a great work ethic and stellar character. And besides, who's to say what "overpaying" is, anyway? What if there isn't a cap in 2 years? Say what you will about Davis but he's always been generous with players, which is one reason even players on other teams have looked up to him. And he's never used the salary cap as an excuse, unlike a lot of teams. This is Jerry McDonald's take on it (beat writer for the Oakland Tribune). I agree with him:
Yes, he's hardworking and he's a good character guy but you're overlooking and overrating his value to the team per his position. How often does he even have a chance to make a play? This money is better spent on other positions - like the d-line, the o-line, WR, QB, LB... Even if Asomugha walked this season I highly doubt that the impact on the team would have been that noticeable as far as total play goes. You want to bring up the salary cap disappearing? Fine, after this season it might not be a factor but during this season it still is. Are the Raiders just going to put off rebuilding (which they desperately need to do) until next year? You can't skip years of attaining talent when you're placing in the bottom of the league year after year. You can't dump your money into the secondary and expect to have a great defense. Even if there is no cap, the money isn't limitless. Not even Al Davis can afford to pay all of his players like this. Lastly, it's not just the Asomugha contract that is so ridiculous about the Raiders, it's most of the team's players' contracts. Look at what he payed Javon Walker, DeAngelo Hall, Tommy Kelly...etc. This is exactly the type of thing that Dan Snyder has been doing to Washington and look where it has gotten them. Actually, they did manage to make the playoffs a couple of times so I guess he must have better talent evaluators than Oakland. When Davis is overpaying these guys he's not being generous, he's being stupid.
I think the downturn in the economy and who the union hired to represent them pretty much guarantees there will be a new deal and no such thing as an uncapped year. Even the hint of labor trouble will set any professional sport back 20 years with the current mood people are in.
I hear you, but a couple of points: How often does he make a play? Every time the QB is forced to throw somewhere else, or chooses to ignore his side of the field, he made a play. I don't know how many times he touched the ball against the Texans but he completely erased Andre Johnson, taking away that team's best weapon. That's worth a lot. You can't measure a CB on how many times he touches the ball, or even strictly on how many picks he has. As far as putting off rebuilding, I'd say the drafting and developing of Russell, Fargas, McFadden, Bush, Zach Miller, Henderson, Morrison, Howard, Nnamdi, etc., is rebuilding. Their recent struggles have more to do with the ridiculous turnover in coaching then a lack of attention to the roster. Finally, the Snyder comparison is ridiculous. I won't even get into Davis's history before Snyder arrived because that wouldn't be fair. Snyder bought the team in '99 and they've won two Wild Card games in his entire tenure. In the same period of time Davis's Raiders have had two Championship Game appearances (winning one) and a Super Bowl loss. In other words, even in the twilight of Davis's career he's accomplished more than Snyder in his prime. Again, most of the contracts you mentioned (Hall, Walker, etc.) are outside imports, which is Snyder's style. What Davis is doing this year, lavishing money on his own and waiting out bargains from other teams (Khalif Barnes) is more the classic Raider style. In all truth you'd have to admit that Woody Johnson's last two offseasons have a lot more in common with Snyder than Davis does.
Aso's deal pays him more than what he would get from just being franchised, even taking into account the mandatory raises that come from franchising a player in consecutive years. What was the point of this?
That's probably the amount of money it took to keep him in Oakland... Nevertheless he is an outstanding CB. He put together probably the best defensive season ever, he gave up what? 144 yards on the year and 0 TDs. If he was on a playoff team he'd have won Defensive MVP.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaxK0ajs5DU[/YOUTUBE] This vid is not bashing on niamdi...i'm just pointing out that the only way to make a play on him is to make some miracle catch haha. he seriously locks down ppl all game. .....wish he was a jet!
