All good news out of Raider camp today as Nmandi signed his tender offer of 9.7 million and will be in camp on time. What a "true" professional. Hopefully the Raiders will do him right and get him locked up long term this year.

The Raiders told LaMont Jordan not to show up to camp, and will try to get his situation resolved soon.

Lastly Lane Kiffin believes our #1 wide out will also be ready to participate immediately after his late night Vegas affair.

Looks like everything might start coming together in 2008 !!!!

Ok, so I've never done a fanpost, and if you'd asked me 10 minutes ago I would have said I never would.  I'm just happier in the peanut gallery, but after a discussion with some Bronco fans over on their site I felt it was time to bring some more attention to www.footballoutsiders.com.

You might already be familiar with them, they have a post on espn.com from time to time,they release a book every year called Pro Football Prospectus (they work closely with the pro baseball prospectus people that you may or may not be aware of), and I've mentioned them here before.  I think they explain themselves best, so I'll borrow their words:

Imagine two running backs who each gain three yards. Player A gains three yards under a set of circumstances where the average NFL running back gains only two yards (for example, third-and-1), it can be argued that Player A has a certain amount of value above others at his position. Likewise, if Player B gains three yards on a play where, under similar circumstances, an average NFL back would be expected to gain five yards (for example, second-and-15), it can be argued that Player B has negative value relative to others at his position.

I'll use the example of tackles.  A common way to determine how good a linebacker is is by using how many tackles he gets in a year. That is a terrible way to look at things.  A tackle 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage is worth light years more than a tackle 5 yards down field.  But a tackle 5 yards down field on 3rd and 6 is worth light years more than a tackle 6 yards down field on 3rd and 6.  Traditional stats tell you very little about actual success, a yard is not a yard is not a yard.

What football outsiders has done is pretty amazing. They've gone back to 1995 and entered every play, offense, defense and special teams, into a database and applied their success rates accordingly.  Eventually what they spit out is a couple different stats, the big ones are DVOA and DYAR (recently changed from DPAR). 

You'll have to visit the site and learn about them for yourselves, they're not simple things to explain.  But, if you don't care or want to know a single thing about them outside of how to read them I can help.  0% is average.  Anything above 0% is good for offense, bad for defense.  Anything below 0% is good for defense, bad for offense.  A little strange, but it makes sense if you think about it.  Everything is measured in success points, negative success points means the offense went backwards (or didn't achieve what it should), which is a win for a defense.  Whats good for one is bad for the other.  So when you see the Patriots D ranked first with a DVOA of a large negative number it's not a typo.

Football will never be boiled down into pure stats the way baseball has, there are far too many variables.  However footballoutsiders has the best stats to use for intelligent football discussions.  And, beyond the stats, they have a lot of great articles, everything from breaking down teams and games to the latest waiver wire news and what not.  I love the site and encourage you all to check it out.

The NY Giants have agreed to trade Jeremy Shockey to the Saints for a 2nd and 5th rounder.

Sean Payton's persistence finally won out. The New Orleans Saints acquired Jeremy Shockey for a second- and a fifth-round draft pick in 2009, a source confirmed Monday. The Saints had been trying since February to acquire the disgruntled New York Giants tight end. First, they offered a second-round pick. Before the draft, they increased the offer to a second- and a fifth-round draft choice, but the Giants felt he was too valuable to lose until a few days before the start of their training camp.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3498795

     Ever since our crushing defeat in  Super Bowl XXXVII against the Bucs the Raiders have not been the same. We have been on a decline since. One of the major reason I feel is our inability to build via the draft. Going into 02' season the Raiders Jerry Rice was on his 18th season, Rich Gannon his 15th, Tim Brown in his 15th and our LT Lincoln Kennedy his 10th. We still managed to go to the Super Bowl that season on old legs. Lost in all this was our inability to draft suitable backups. I have pulled out the Raiders Draft starting at 2000 the year we drafted Porter so we can see what we have done. I didn't include this years class because they have yet to go through a full season.

2000 
1. Sebastian Janikowski, K, Florida State
2. Jerry Porter, WR, West Virginia
4. Junior Ioane, DT, Arizona State
5. Shane Lechler, P, Texas A&M
7a. Mondriel Fulcher, TE, Miami (Fla.)
7b. Cliffton Black, DB, S.W. Texas State

2001 
1. Derrick Gibson, S, Florida State
2. Marques Tuiasosopo, QB Washington
3. DeLawrence Grant, DE, Oregon State
5. Raymond Perryman, S, Northern Arizona
6. Chris Cooper, DE, Nebraska-Omaha
7a. Derek Combs, RB, Ohio State
7b. Ken-Yon Rambo, WR, Ohio State

2002
1a. Phillip Buchanon, CB, Miami, Fla.
1b. Napoleon Harris, LB, Northwestern
2a. Langston Walker, OL, California
2b. Doug Jolley, TE, BYU
5. Kenyon Coleman, DE, UCLA
6a. Keyon Nash, DB, Albany State (Ga.)
6b. Larry Ned, RB, San Diego State
7. Ronald Curry, QB, North Carolina 

2003 
1a. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, California
1b. Tyler Brayton, DE, Colorado
2. Teyo Johnson, TE, Stanford
3a. Sam Williams, DE, Fresno State
3b. Justin Fargas, RB, USC
4. Shurron Pierson, LB, South Florida
5. Doug Gabriel, WR, Central Florida
6. Dustin Rykert, T, BYU
7a. Sideeq Shabazz, S, New Mexico State
7b. Ryan Hoag, WR Gustavus Adolphus

2004 
1. Robert Gallery, OT, Iowa
2. Jake Grove, C, Virginia Tech
3. Stuart Schweigert, S, Purdue
4. Carlos Francis, WR, Texas Tech
5. Johnnie Morant, WR, Syracuse
6a. Shawn Johnson, DE, Delaware
6b. Cody Spencer, LB, North Texas
7a. Courtney Anderson, TE, San Jose State

2005 
1. Fabian Washington, CB, Nebraska
2. Stanford Routt, CB, Houston
3a. Andrew Walter, QB, Arizona State
3b. Kirk Morrison, LB, San Diego State
6a. Anttaj Hawthorne, DT, Wisconsin
6b. Ryan Riddle, LB, California
6c. Pete McMahon, OT, Iowa

2006 
1. Michael Huff, S, Texas
2. Thomas Howard, LB, Texas-El Paso
3. Paul McQuistan, OL, Weber State
4. Darnell Bing, S, USC
6. Kevin Boothe, OL, Cornell
7a. Chris Morris, C, Michigan State
7b. Kevin McMahan, WR, Maine

2007 
1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2. Zach Miller, TE, Arizona State
3a. Quentin Moses, DE, Georgia
3b. Mario Henderson, OL, Florida State
3c. Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR, UTEP
4a. Michael Bush, RB, Louisville
4b. John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati
5a. Jay Richardson, DE, Ohio State
5b. Eric Frampton, S, Washington State
6. Oren O'Neal, FB, Arkansas State
7. Jonathan Holland, WR, Louisiana Tech  

  Since 2000 we have drafted 4 QB's, 9 WR's , and 9 OL.

QB's-

Marques Tuiasosopo- Has been a career backup in Oakland and his one year with   the Jet's. Never stood out in the games he got to play in. 

Ronald Curry- Drafted as a QB he converted to WR to make the practice squad and he has shown flashes of greatness at times. A solid WR

Andrew Walter- Can't say he was a horrible quarterback because this kid never got a fair chance. Behind our terrible O-Line he was a punching bag for defenses. Who knows how he could've developed behind a solid O-Line.                                                                                                                                  

JaMarcus Russell- He is our Franchise Quarterback. What we have in him time will tell. He has a tremendous upside but several factors play into his development. The run game and our O-line. If our run game is better than last year we can slowly bring him along.

WR's-

I will only state a few because there are too many to list.

Jerry Porter- Easily the most productive WR that we have drafted during this period. He was a strong athletic reciever who played well at times but mostly underachieved during his time with the Raiders. We'll wait to see what he does in Jacksonville.

Doug Gabriel- Had some productive years with the Raiders with 04' being his most productive. He's had two stints with the Raiders,one with the Patriots and he had signed with the Bengals on April 8, 2008. He was released by the team on May 29.                                                                               

 Jonathan Holland- It looks like the writing is on the wall for him. He will most likely be a practice  squad player.                                                                                                                                                              

Johnnie Lee Higgins- The jury is still out on this kid. He had a dissapointing rookie year. Reports said he looked good at times in camp catching everything thrown to him and then next day he couldn't catch a cold. He has to prove himself this year or don't expect to see him come next season.

OL-

Robert Gallery-  This guy came into the league with plenty of fanfare. He quickly proved to be a bust at the Tackle position. Part of his problem was he was inconsistent with his hand technique, he remains too upright in his stance, he's more of a catcher than a striker and that his arms are too short. He has found success at guard and with another solid year he can shed that bust label.

Paul McQuistan- Stepped up big time when Cornell Green went down. The Raiders then went three games without a sack. He is a good pickup seeing as he can play either position guard or tackle. For now he will back up Gallery or Carlisle but don't be surprised to see him take the RT spot from Green or Henderson.                                                                                                       

Langston Walker- I was disappointed to see him leave. He was a good tackle who definately would've fit in with our new system. He is now with the Bills and part of an offensive line that allowed only 26 sacks, the fewest allowed by Buffalo since sacks became an official NFL statistic  in 1982. 

Jake Grove- He has not yet lived up to the expectations placed upon him as the second round pick in 2004. The knock on him is that he's athletic and gritty but lacks power. Most likely will see back up duty.                                          

Kevin Boothe-  Played in a few games for the but was cut by the start of the 07' season. He hatched on to the Giants but didn't play(at least he has a ring).

Chris Morris-  Has been mostly a practice squad player who is in the mix for the C  position.                                                                                  

Mario Henderson-  Kiffin himself said this of Mario "he continues to have issues surrounding his physicality and passion for the game. 'There was a lot of ability there when we picked him,' Kiffin said of Henderson. 'There were some questions about how physical he was, about his passion for the game, for the position, so we’re trying to improve that.' Kiffin added, 'Pads will be big for Mario. Mario’s got a lot of tools but he needs to become a physical player. To play on this line, we want physical guys and so that’s where Mario is going to have to really grow.    

   As you can see we have not had much success in our past drafts. This is one of my reasons why the Raiders have been bad these past years. I would like to get your thoughts as to why the Raiders have struggled.

(Sorry for the spaces but I couldn't get it to work properly without them)

Same deal as the AFC, but this one has the Super Bowl bundled with it.

NFC East-

1. Cowboys- Quite honestly, the Cowboys look to be the best team in the NFC this year. Romo's coming off another good season. Owens, Crayton, and a non-injured Glenn gives him an outstanding receiver corps. Barber and Jones should give Dallas a good one-two punch run attack. Witten is one of the best TE in the league. The Cowboys have a fairly solid O-Line. It'll be hard for anyone to get past it. The Boys have a fairly average D-Line and is their biggest weakness on defense. Ware, Thomas, and Ellis make up a very good LB unit. Dallas has a great secondary this year. If Jones can stay out of trouble, he could have a great turn-around season. With Newman, Jones, and Henry; the Boys will have a top-10 secondary. Hamlin's coming the best season of his career. The Cowboys are the team to beat this year. Record: 14-2

2. Giants- The Giants just barely edge the Eagles for second in the division. It'll be interesting to see which Eli the Giants get. The Eli that plays average football, or the Eli that plays amazing football in the postseason. Burress, Toomer, and Manningham should give Manning plenty of targets. The Giants had a good rushing attack last year, and look to be even better. New York has a pretty good O-line, but not great. It'll be interesting to see how the Giants pass rush will do without Strahan. Osi should be just as good this year. Kiwanuka and Pierce are pretty good LB. Madison and Ross will make up an okay corner unit. The thing that strikes me about New York's secondary, it's just good enough. Not great, just good enough to get the job done. Phillips and Knight should give the Giants some good safeties. Record: 11-5; Wild Card

3. Eagles- The Eagles will be fun to watch this year. If McNabb is healthy, the Eagles will have a very good passing game. Curtis, Brown, and Jackson will combine to form an elite group. Philadelphia has an alright O-Line. Westbrook is one of my favorite RB. I like to watch him because he can do everything. Westbrook will be an elite back if he can stay healthy. Clemons and Cole from a solid pass rush. Laws was a DT who I have seen play on many occasions. He should play well, but not great. I was checking the Eagles roster, and Spikes isn't on there anymore. Someone tell me if he got released. Samuel and Sheppard should be an outstanding corner group. Dawkins is still one of the best safeties. The Eagles season will be determined by who gets injured win. Record: 9-7; Wild Card

4. Redskins- The Redskins are a good team, but they're the worst in the division. I was very impressed with their draft however. Campbell (or Todd Collins) has plenty of receivers with moss, Randle El, Kelly, Thomas, Davis, and Cooley. The Skins should be a very good passing team this year. Their O-line looks to be pretty good this year. Portis is getting on in years but shows no signs of slowing down. He's coming off a good year and looks to be a surprise back this season (fantasy football people may want to get him) Washington has a fairly weak D-Line, and they didn't do much to improve it. Teams will knife through it like butter. The LB really need to step up to be successful this year. Marcus Washington's coming off a 5 sack season, you may want to watch him. London Fletcher is also coming off a good year with three picks and leading the team in tackles. If they perform as well as they did last year, they should be even better. The Skins' secondary didn't perform well last year, but they have the talent to. It'll be interesting to see how they do. Stu will make them worse though. Poor tackling and average cover skills aren't good for replacing Taylor. It's up to Landry to be the head safety. Record: 7-9

NFC North-

1. Vikings- This is Minnesota's year. Peterson should be playing at an even higher level after coming off an outstanding rookie year. Unless Jackson steps his game up, or Booty beats him out for the job, the pass attack for the Vikings will be a little shaky. Jackson showed signs of being a good QB last year, but his bad games overshadowed his good games. Who knows, maybe Favre will step in. (don't count on it) Berrian won't be spectacular and Rice already he showed he's pretty average. Vikings have a pretty elite O-line. It'll be hard for teams to get a good force going against it. Minnesota's D-Line is equally good. Allen gives a good pass rush to the interior run stopping force of the Williams duo. The Vikings also have some pretty good LB. Minnesota's corners weren't very good last year. They have the potential, and it'll be interesting to see how they'll play. Williams and Sharper should combine to be a good pair safeties. Record: 11-5

2. Packers- I think Rodgers will be a good QB. Not elite, just good. He has some pretty good receivers to work with. Driver, Jennings, and Nelson make up a still-elite receiver corps. Grant is coming off a surprisingly good season. He should be even better with a full season and a great O-Line. The Packers bring a tough defense to go with this offense. KGB and Kampman are an outstanding pass rush. Barnett, Chillar, and Hawk from Green Bay's elite LB corps. The Packers' aging corners could prove a problem. Harris is still great, but Woodson ain't what he used to be. Bigby's coming off a big year. The Packers will be a little shaky this year because of Rodger, but they'll be back in the playoffs next year. Record: 8-8

3. Lions- The Lions look to be the Browns of this year in the sense that all their games will be pure shootouts. Kitna is still a pretty good QB, and now some of the pressure's being taken off of him. Kevin Smith, in my opinion, was one of the gems of the draft. I think Smith really has the potential to be great in this league. Williams, Johnson, and Furrey are still together, and are a force to be reckoned with. Of course, they're useless without a sturdy O-Line. Which I have some doubts about. They have the potential to be good, but they just can't seem to meld together. Detroit has a notoriously weak defense, and that doesn't look to change that much this year. Their D-Line is full of nobodies who haven't accomplished much of anything. They got rid of their lines two strongest members. Now that Edwards is with the Raiders and Rogers with the Browns. Sims is a pretty good LB in the league. Dizon should be a nice addition to this LB corps. Bodden is a great move by the lions to strengthen this secondary. Leigh had a good season for Cleveland. Smith is also a good addition to this secondary. Record: 7-9

Will finish later

Brett Favre asked to be released from the Packers today. This is big news for the NFC North and the NFL. Their are several teams that need a quarterback of his caliber. Personally me being a Cal Bears fan I'm glad Brett isn't going back to the Pack because that would further stump Aaron Rodgers' development. Let's hope he gets traded quick so ESPN can stop talking about him. (They probably still will).

Let the lovefest continue

Check out the article here: 

 In it's about damn time news. It looks like the Lions have shown some interest in Jordan.  Hopefully with him gone we can free up space to sign Nnamdi Asomugha. Hopefully we will get a draft pick out of this. Curious to know what everyone thinks is his worth. They are trying to get a sixth or seventh rounder for him. Better to get something for him now instead of having to dump him and getting nothing in return.

I realize this is not a "selling" forum and in the great scheme of things, probably not on the same level as world peace or a cure for cancer, but to Raider fans  everywhere it's pretty close. Someone appropriated my son's Silver and Black  Attack video that he has had since 1986 (and they say nothing lasts anymore) and  I would like to replace it for him. The problem is I can't find any place that sells it anymore. - not on or off the web. Does anyone have any idea  about where I might find a copy? And if so, could you let me know? Thanks.

I decided to post my NFL predictions for this year. I'll detail certain player expectations and what to expect from teams this season.

AFC East

1. Pats- It's no secret that the Pats will lead this division again. Until Brady leaves, we can expect this. Moss and Brady will still be amazing. But moss won't be as good as last year. Defenses have learned how to cover him, and he's at the point where age doesn't improve your game. The Patriots will have a better running attack than most think. Maroney's a legitimate back. The defense will suffer a lot this year. They're too old and the older you are, the more injury prone you are. Record: 12-4.

2. Bills- The Bills aren't pushovers. They're a fairly good team who should have won some games last year. They still have the advantage in late November and December. If Losman's their QB, they'll struggle more than if they had Edwards. I just think Trent's the better option, but we'll see once training camp rolls around. Evans is an elite receiver and Lynch will be a top-10 back. The Bills D still has some issues. They should be better from their woeful play last year, but not by much. The bills are a team to watch fro this season. Record: 8-8.

3. Jets- The Jets aren't vastly improved from last year. Whoever their QB is will have plenty of weapons with Bubba Franks, Sam Baker, Coles, and Cotchery. If the O-line plays good, they'll be a fierce pass attack. Jones is still a good back, and I think he'll do slightly better this year. The Jets lost a key defensive player in Vilma, and that will hurt a bit. But they got Gholston, so they should be a slightly improved pass rush. The Jets will only be slightly better this year. Record: 6-10

4. Dolphins- The Fins are still far from winning this division, and will probably still be a high draft team. If McCown starts, they'll be awful, if Henne starts, they'll be better. Long will add a good leader to this weak O-Line. Other than Ginn, (and maybe Booker, someone said he's not on roster anymore) they have no good receivers at all. Ronnie Brown's still a great back. He'll give them a decent run attack if he's healthy. their defense is also in a slump. Taylor won't make this entire defense like everyone seems to think. Porter is still elite and will be a force. Their secondary is below average at best. This team isn't very improved. Record: 3-13

AFC North-

1. Steelers- The Steelers are still the best team in this division. But they'll face a tough Browns team for the lead. Either way, they'll make the playoffs. Big Ben is still a little shaky leaving me to think the 06 win over him wasn't a fluke. Ward is aging, but is still elite. Holmes is a great #2 option and Sweed will strengthen this group even more. Medenhall and Parker will form a very good RB corps that will give Pittsburgh a sturdy run offense. This team didn't do much to improve their woeful O-line. I think they'll still be a weak group, but not as bad as last year. Pittsburgh is still one of the toughest defensive teams out there. They have one of the best front sevens out there. The pressure it creates masks the lack luster CB. If Polamalu isn't injured, he'll remain one of the best safeties out there. Record: 12-4.

2. Browns- Cleveland looks to be one of the most dynamic teams this year. Their offense is loaded with talent. Anderson will have another great year behind a solid O-Line and great receivers like Winslow, Jurevicius, Edwards, and Stallworth. Lewis isn't the back he once was and will continue his steady decline this year. Cleveland ranks as one of my top offenses (8th.) Defensively, they're improved form their weak group last year. Rogers is an elite DT and adds a good run stopper in a division loaded with good backs. The Browns have a fairly solid LB unit. McGinest is still a pretty good LB. Unfortunately, their secondary is fairly average. Record: 11-5; Wild Card

3. Bengals- The Bengals are one of the top offenses I've seen. T.J. and Johnson are still great receivers for Palmer. Rudi Johnson is a great back who will thrive behind this O-line. Look for the Bengals to remain a top-10 offense. The Bengals improved their awful defense. Pat Sims was one of the top DT in the draft and Rivers was the best OLB. These two will make a big impact on this D. Odom give this team a great pass rusher. Joesph and O' Neal are underrated corners whom I think are great. The Bengals are going to be better than last year. Record: 8-8

4. Ravens- The Ravens are still a struggling team. With uncertainty at QB, this team is in for a long season. The receiving options are decent with Clayton and Heap. McGahee is a good back, but he's quickly losing his edge. So enters Ray Rice. A great rookie back who brings a lot to the table. Their O-Line lost a great player in Ogden. The Ravens will still have a woeful offense. On defense, Baltimore has the same problems as the Patriots. Too much age. Lewis and Reed should still be good, but the rest of the players are going to be run over by the youthful talent on the other teams in the division. McAllister is still a good corner and I think he'll manage a good season. Baltimore is going south right now. Record: 4-12

AFC South-

1. Colts- The Colts are still the best team in the south. Manning will still have Wayne and Harrison. Gonzales had a good rookie season and Clark is still one of the best receiving ends out there. Addai isn't this amazing rusher everyone thinks he is. To me this RB stands for receiving back. That's why they got Mike Hart in the steal of the draft. Hart will add the rushing element this team needs. Indianapolis still has probably the best O-line in the NFL. Barring injury, Freeney will have a good season. The Colts have a decent LB corps. Their secondary is pretty good. Sanders is still the leader of group. He's still one of the best safeties I've seen. Bethea is almost as good. The Colts are still one of the dominant teams out there. Record: 13-3

2. Jaguars- Jacksonville is a team to watch for this year. Taylor and Jones-Drew are still an elite tandem. Garrard should be just as good as last year. He has plenty of weapons, but all are average or slightly above. The Jags O-line is very good, especially with the run. The Jags defense will still be as elite as ever this year. Paul Spicer and Harvey will combine to be a fairly good pass rush. The loss of Stroud will be a major factor. Henderson is still there and is still a force. Jacksonville's LB corps is fairly solid, but not fantastic. Mathis is still an lite corner in my mind, despite a rather weak season. The rest of the Jags' corners are fairly average. They get the job done, but aren't really flashy. Reggie Nelson had a great season last year and looks to be even better this year. Record: 11-5; Wild Card

3. Titans- I still think the Titans are better than the Texans. Vince had a shaky year but should be better this year. gage and Williams still look to be the starters this year. Alge Crumpler gives him another weapon, and a good one at that. Crumpler is a great red zone threat and blocker. White will be a great back this year and someone that will be fun to watch. Chris Johnson will add some relief and a good backup. Haynesworth will still be an elite DT this season. Kearse and Vanden Bosch give an outstanding edge rush. Tennessee has some of the best LB in the game. Running on the Titans is going to be very difficult. Their secondary will be pushed around by the elite receivers in the division. Record: 8-8

4. Texans- I just don't think the Texans have been very improved from last year. Schaub is an okay QB, but not great. Andre Johnson, barring injury, will have an amazing year. Unfortunately, they lack a quality receiver to line up beside him. Green is quickly losing talent, but Slaton will help with that. Slaton is a good refresher back who can do a lot of things. Houston had one of the vest O-Lines last year. But I just don't think it'll be as good as last year. They have a young front seven with some great potential. Their LB are a solid group. Okoye should have an even better year than his stellar rookie year. Houston's secondary is just as weak as Tennessee's. They'll have some problems this year. Record: 7-9

AFC West-

1. Chargers- San Diego is still the best team in this division. Rivers finally has plenty of receivers to throw to. Chambers and Jackson give him a good starting cast. Gates is the best TE in the league and is still a major threat. This is probably where LT will start to peak. After this year, his numbers should start to go down. The Chargers have one of the best O-lines you can find. Teams will have trouble getting any pressure, and will be dealing with a lot of pressure. San Diego also has one the best front sevens in the league. Merriman is still a big force and is still doing his "Lights Out" dance. They still possess a good secondary. I don't think Cromartie will quite the numbers he had last season, but he'll still be a great corner. I think the Chargers and colts are the teams to beat this season. Record: 13-3.

2. Raiders- The Raiders are finally picking themselves off the bottom of the division. Russell has more receivers than last year's awful cast to work with. If Walker stays injury-free, he'll be primed for a good year. Curry and Carter are underrated threats who will get some good numbers this season. Griffith and RB are good receivers underneath. Miller is emerging as one of the best young TE you can find. The RB corps will place in the top-5 with this O-Line and the talent it possesses. Unfortunately, this O-Line has a lot of question marks in pass protection. Oakland has an okay D-Line. They should fair well against the pass, but the run is still questionable at best. The Law Firm will have great numbers with QB avoiding Hall and Asomugha. Oakland has an outstanding secondary and should place in the top-10. Record: 9-7

3. Broncos- Denver has lost some of it's edge. Cutler is still a good QB, but he doesn't have a dominant receiver to work with. Marshall will be above average at best, while Royal will put up average numbers. Graham is a good TE and Denver's O-line is very talented. Losing Henry was big, and now they lack a good RB. Zone blocking still needs a talented back to be a big weapon. Their defense is facing some issues. There's not many dominant players on it. D.J Williams had a good season and should be even better this year. Newly added Boss Bailey will add some speed to the LB. Bailey and Bly are great corners, that is man-to-man corners. As zone corners, they're fairly lacking. McCree adds much needed talent to their safeties. Lynch ain't what he used to be, and isn't guaranteed to be starter. This light the flame that Lynch to step his game up, or fill his spot with young players with a lot of potential. Record: 6-10

4. Chiefs- The Chiefs are going nowhere fast. They did an excellent job in the draft, but the rookies won't have an impact for 3 or 4 years. While there are questions as to who the starter will be at QB, the team is being built around Croyle. He showed some potential but was fairly unimpressive. Gonzales is still an elite TE, and Bowe will be even better this year, but they're pointless if Croyle doesn't have the time to throw to them. Albert won't solidify this line by himself. There is some talent on this line, but it's still in need of improvement. Larry Johnson is still one of the best backs you can find, but until this line gets better, he won't put up numbers like he did in 06. With Allen gone, Kansas City lacks an edge rush. So enters Dorsey. If he can stay healthy, he'll be a dangerous weapon for this defense. Donnie Edwards is a great LB and is the leader of this defense. Surtain isn't what he once was, he's getting old. So enters Flowers. I think Flowers can come in and put up numbers very quickly. Don't underestimate Surtain and Flowers this year. The LB corps still needs some work, as does the D-Line. Record: 4-12.

AFC Seeds:

1. Chargers-13-3

2. Colts-13-3

3. Patriots-12-4

4. Steelers-12-4

5. Jaguars-11-5

6. Browns-11-5

AFC Playoff Bracket:

Wild Card Round:

Game 1: Jaguars vs. Steelers

Yes for the second year in a row. Both of these smashmouth football teams will be in for a long game. Big Ben will have trouble with so much pressure in his face. The Jags' run game will have some difficulty getting through the Steelers' front seven. Overall, the Steelers are the better team in my book. But they have difficulty playing the Jags and lose this game in a close one. Ben will force too many mistakes sealing Jacksonville's 27-23 victory.

Game 2: Patriots vs. Browns

Both teams bring amazing passing games and weak secondaries to the table. This is going to be a very high scoring game. Brady and Moss will hook up several times, but a halftime adjustment by the Browns messes with their connections. Anderson's weapons should have no trouble getting through the Pats' senior citizen squad. The Pats have a slightly better offense, but the Browns defense is the superior of the two by a long shot. The Browns win with a score of 42-33.

Divisional Round:

Game 1: Jaguars vs. Chargers

The Chargers' front seven will have their hands full with the Jaguars. As will the Jags' with the Chargers. Expect a low scoring game. The Chargers have a more complete offense and defense. But the Jags are great at whipping out wins out of nowhere. Jacksonville will have virtually no passing game with their average receivers. The Chargers however, will pass effectively. Barring injury, this game is the Chargers with a score of 24-17.

Game 2: Browns vs. Colts

This is virtually the same thing as the Pats game except for one key factor. The Colts' D is young. Cleveland will have a rough game with the Colts pass rush. The Colts offense won't be a walk in the park either. I think this is another shootout. But ultimately, the Colts have the better defense and win this game with a score of 38-24.

AFC Championship Game:

Game 1: Chargers vs. Colts

This is going to be the best game of the playoffs. A repeat of last year's division round, only I don't think Harrison will make as many mistakes as last year. The Chargers secondary will struggle against the Colts healthy receiver corps. Same can be said for Indianapolis. Neither teams' running attack will get very much yardage. These teams are very evenly matched but the Colts are off to the Super Bowl once more after winning 27-17.

I've decided to put the NFC in a separate post. Hope you've had fun. Until then, bye!

punisher and I have been going back and forth about the Chris Henry to the Raiders possibility. I personally don't want it, but there are good things about the move if were to happen. Just to make sure we're all clear, CHRIS HENRY HAS NOT SIGNED WITH THE RAIDERS AND THIS IS JUST TO SEE IF IT WOULD BE A GOOD MOVE OR NOT.

Pros:

Henry is a good speed threat very similar to Carter. He would be a great playmaker on the roster and solid backup should one of our injury prone receivers go down. He's used to playing third fiddle, so he won't be demanding significant play time. As punisher pointed out, we could sign him to the minimum salary because no teams are really interested. He'd rather make some money this year, than none at all. Apparently the charges against him are no longer an issue, so he shouldn't be suspended this year. He adds good competition to the receiving corps (even though there's plenty already) Henry would give us another good option giving us a loaded receiving corps similar to last year's Pats. We could use him as a returner, adding a much needed fire in the camp battle.

Cons:

We have enough character issues on roster as is. Walker just went through an episode, Hall has yet to reassure me that he won't be a distraction, and then there's Henry should he sign on. Having so many troubled players on roster, never ends well. There's the chance that Henry wants big money this year and may not want just the minimum. In this case, the deal can't be done because we still need to sign Asomugha and the rookies who make it through camp. As I previously mentioned, Henry is a great speed threat like Carter, but he struggles catching the ball at times. He's been inconsistent his whole career with hauling the passes in. Using him as a returner makes the Branch drafting useless.

So I guess, that the Henry pros out beat the cons, but I personally don't think we should. Sign Nnamdi long-term first. Then if you have enough leftover (of course after releasing Jordan) go right ahead. I actually think signing Thurman would be better (but I think he already signed somewhere, tell me if I'm wrong). Thurman would solidify the LB corps.

Waiting for training camp,

KA1Z3R