Thanks for that. I really didn't know how to feel about this guy one way or another. :up: I do not want to see Brad Smith listed as #3. I would like to see Smith as a WR/flea flicker QB/gimmick guy. Randell El style. Here's a question for you football gurus. If Smith is listed as #3 can he play any other postion?
The real reason Tui signed was that he heard how good Bryan Thomas is going to be next season. More sacks than someone called Adalius :up:
A Monte Poole production. Saw it on JI, good read.... http://www.insidebayarea.com/columnists/montepoole/ci_5522729 Tui deserved better than 5 years in Silver & Black shackles Column by Monte Poole Article Last Updated: 03/26/2007 08:25:44 AM PDT FOR YET another symptom of what ails the Raiders, of how they've fallen into the irrational habit of punishing themselves, one must consider the conscious mistreatment of Marques Tuiasosopo. He was drafted in 2001, at the urging of former coach Jon Gruden, who saw in the senior quarterback from Washington many of the same intangibles that attracted him to Rich Gannon. Tuiasosopo impressed mostly by finding ways to win. Like Gannon, Tui didn't show up in Oakland with a trail of dazzled scouts in his wake, wasn't classic dropback passer and couldn't throw the perfect 70-yard spiral. Nor did he enter the team's facility with the full blessing of The Boss. The same, of course, was true of Gannon ? and did not drastically change until he was voted MVP and led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl in 19 years. Tuiasosopo, who last week became a former Raider, never got the chance given to Gannon. Ten months after Tui was drafted, Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay. From the moment Gruden gathered his family to leave, it was a matter of time before Tuiasosopo also found the road out of Oakland. But five years? That's how long it took before Tui could escape imprisonment for an assortment of "crimes," including 1) being a "Gruden guy," 2) not being Kerry Collins, 3) not being outstanding in his two chances and, 4) not being a favorite of The Boss, Al Davis. Tuiasosopo became a free agent after 2006 and now belongs to theNew York Jets. Maybe Advertisement he'll get a chance to start. Maybe the Jets see him as a backup, an insurance policy for the fragile Chad Pennington. But Tui goes to New York as a veteran without experience, or much of a chance to gain it. In six seasons here, he mostly played catch with third-stringers, longshots and others dreaming of playing on Sunday. Tuiasosopo made two starts, both on the road, under grotesquely adverse conditions, in seasons two years apart. Understand, now, this was not some free agent kept around because he made a point of being 20 minutes early for meetings or kept his nose buried in the playbook. This was a second-round draft pick, which means Tui's initial value was equal to that of Brett Favre and Drew Brees, higher than that of third-rounders Joe Montana and Andrew Walter ? and far higher than sixth-rounders Tom Brady and Marc Bulger. The Raiders made a heavy investment in what was believed to be a valuable property and disregarded it. They would neither trade nor release Tui, and they declined to provide an objective work environment. Rather than make a move that would seem to benefit both parties, the Raiders kept nailing Tui to the roster, watching him sit and letting him rot. As they were busy bringing in Kerry Collins and Aaron Brooks and, for crying out loud, Jeff George, Tuiasosopo became the team's MIP. Most Invisible Player. Which suggests this is another case of the Raiders picking on someone for manufactured reasons, most of which have nothing to do with winning. Happened in the 1980s, with Marcus Allen and Steve Beuerlein. Happened in the'90s with the insistence on starting James Jett. Happened in 2006, with the silent treatment given Jerry Porter, the weird fascination with Alvis Whitted and the indifferent utilization of a productive Ronald Curry. Once again, irrational is the word that comes to mind. Tui happened to be a reminder of a former coach who forever has a place on the team's lengthy enemies list. He bit his tongue, gripped his clipboard and sighed in exasperation. Over time, it was almost as if you could see his passion for football slowly being drained away. Told in December 2005 he would be given a chance to replace an ineffective Collins, Tuiasosopo started against the Jets, in the Meadowlands. He had an awful game, as did most of his teammates, and coach Norv Turner announced plans to stick with Tui at least through the next week for a home game against the pathetic Browns. One day later, Turner, his face ashen with humiliation, said Collins had been reinstalled. Norv didn't say who made the decision. Did he have to? The Raiders lost 9-7 to the Browns. The upshot is that we still don't know if Tui can play. Maybe the Jets will find out. Meanwhile, Tuiasosopo, who entered the league as someone who in college had displayed qualities similar to those possessed by Gannon, now sees his career follow a trajectory not vastly different from that of Gannon's early years. Tui is a neglected veteran willing to go anywhere for a chance to impress anyone. The same was said of Gannon, before he found Gruden in Oakland. This is not to say Tuiasosopo will help change the culture of the Jets, as Gannon did with the Raiders. Or that Tui is on his way to the Pro Bowl. This is to say I thought he deserved better in Oakland. And to wish him well in freedom. Monte Poole can be reached at (510) 208-6461 or by e-mail at mpoole@angnewspapers.com.
Not that you had any credibility to begin with, but it's always nice to have one's impressions confirmed. Vinny, good stuff, man.
Well that's an interesting perspective. Al Davis is a major league hard-ass when he's down on somebody. He singlehandedly got Marcus Allen about 16 years in the league and a hall of fame admission by denying him a feature back's role even though he was paying him like one at the time.
Does anyone truly think Al Jong Il belongs anywhere but in bedrest eating pureed peas? That article is a great change of perspective from some of the retardation I've read in the Tui threads.
