Quote:
| Cohn: Raiders earn golf claps, not ovations for draft
By Grant Cohn
CSNBayArea.com
The Oakland Raiders pretended they were a playoff team Friday, pulling off a nice little conservative draft, and for that the Cooler gives Al Davis a polite golf clap.
The Raiders didn’t have a first round pick – they traded it for Richard Seymour, the cornerstone of their “playoff” defense. No quarrels there. Golf clap.
In the second round, the Raiders drafted center Stefen Wisniewski from Penn State, filling a big need on their roster. Wisniewski is already the Raiders’ best offensive lineman. Golf clap.
In the third round, the Raiders made two selections. First, they drafted cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, filling another need, as Nnamdi Asomugha most likely will play for another team this season (more on that in a moment). Van Dyke only weighs 176 pounds, and at the University of Miami he was the No. 2 CB behind Brandon Harris, meaning he only covered the other team’s second best receiver, so he has a lot in common with 49ers draft bust Mike Rumph.
In fairness, Van Dyke ran the fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine, and Al Davis had success drafting Jacoby Ford based on the same criteria last year, so the pick gets the benefit of the doubt for now because Al Davis has earned it. Golf clap.
Finally, the Raiders traded a 2012 second-round pick to the Patriots to get another third-round pick this year (as well as a fourth), and drafted LSU tackle Joe Barksdale, who will replace Langston Walker, if he retires. Final golf clap.
This draft would be an “A” if the Raiders were the Jets and they had gotten all the way to the AFC championship game. But they’re not the Jets and they didn’t. They’re the Raiders and they haven’t had a winning season since 2002.
So despite having their second straight strong draft, the Raiders will be a worse team than they were last year. They will finish below .500 in 2011.
They’re most likely losing Asomugha, Michael Huff, and Robert Gallery in free agency. That means the Raiders will have one of the most inexperienced secondaries and offensive lines in football.
[WATCH: Hue Jackson on Stefen Wisniewski]
That means two of the Raiders’ strengths from last year – running the football and stopping the pass – could be their weaknesses in 2011. That’s not good.
And let’s not forget that the Raiders have a new head coach. His name is Hue Jackson, and he’s going to have as uncomfortable a season as Mike Singletary just experienced if the Raiders fail to win the AFC West.
But if he leads this team to the playoffs, I take back all the golf claps. That would be worthy of a standing ovation.
|
Pretty much sums the way I feel about this draft - it was ok, but not great - just a golf clap. However, that nonsensical trade may really come back to hurt the Raiders badly (more on this below) for they seemingly failed to address the future with the exception of Wiz 2.0, who, very likely, could have been drafted later and has been argued to be a better fit in a ZBS scheme.
The only other picks that stand out as being solid ones are Jones in the fourth, Moore, in the fifth, and Gordon in the sixth. Thus glaringly, the Raiders may have whiffed with their third and first pick in the fourth round.
Yes, I could be wrong, but the Raiders may have made the wrong trade and that could truly hurt - especially, if the Raiders have a subpar year, that will mean that New England will receive a high second round pick for really low third and fourth round picks (or high fourth and fifth picks, depending on how one sees it). With the schedule being harder and with an ostensibly less experienced offensive line (the O-line will very likely miss Gallery, but that is more Gallery's fault for pricing himself out, rather than the Raiders) this may be a very dismal season - however, maybe something could be done in free agency. Curiously, the run defense did not seem to be addressed at all. On a more positive note, the Raiders have, among other coaches, Jackson and Saunders who I really like. So the coming season (if it happens) will be a very interesting one to say the least.
Current Draft Grade: B-/C+
__________________
...
"The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker."
--Voltaire
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
--Voltaire
When Gruden was asked if he would coach the Raiders again he was quoted as saying, ”Tomorrow if I could”.
April 30th, 2011
Cohn: Raiders earn golf claps, not ovations for draft 
Linear Mode
