http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/3939 Recent articles about Gibril Wilson en-us Well so much for dumping Jordan to have more cap room to sign more free agents. With little fan fare, the Raiders inked former starting free safety, Greg Wesley. Wesley will join a group of safeties vying for a backup job with the Raiders. In order to do that, he's going to have to beat out rookie Tyvon Branch, special teams ace Jarrod Cooper, and former backup-turned starter-turned backup, Hiram Eugene. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:48:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294131 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294131 The Giants moved Jeremy Shockey Monday, and today made a minor headline as reports say they have come to terms with first round pick safety Kenny Phillips.  The rookie could be a starter right away, as the team needs help in the secondary with the departure via free agency of Gibril Wilson, who left to go play for the Raiders this offseason. Phillips was selected with the 31st pick of the draft out of the Univ of Miami.  He comes to the team at  6-2, 210 pounds.   He was the first safety chosen, and while director of college scouting Marc Ross refused to categorize him as a "need pick," general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin did so. He is a big and strong safety looked at to play the free safety position, although according to Ross he has played strong safety and even some cornerback. He'll compete with Sammy Knight, who was signed in the offseason, at the strong safety spot, though long-term he is penciled in as the starter, and if he can impress his coaches, he may be able to be the opening day starter vs the Redskins. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:09:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294006 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294006 This has been a tumultuous offseason for the Raider Nation. First there was the ongoing saga of whether or not Al Davis and Lane Kiffin were playing a game of dare to see whether Kiffin would quit, be fired, or coach for the 2008 season. Nnamdi Asomugha was given the franchise tag, and then free agents were signed fast and furious to huge contracts. Meanwhile, there was not motion on locking down Asomugha long term. Chronic malcontent Jerry Porter was jettisoned, but fellow chronic malcontent LaMont Jordan remains. What the duce is going on inside that building on Harbor Bay Parkway? Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:55:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291493 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291493 Training camp is almost here and its time to take a look at the season ahead; particularly the competition in the NFC East. Several teams have made some key off-season additions. Let's look at them team by team. Dallas Cowboys – (13-3 in 2007) The Dallas Cowboys didn't go crazy this year, but did add two key [...] Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:00:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290583 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290583 It's reaching the final hour for teams to sign their franchise players, and it appears that one team that is going to get a deal done with their franchise player are the Cowboys with safety Ken Hamlin.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that the team and Hamlin are close on a multi-year contract, and the deal could be wrapped up by the end of the day. Hamlin was slapped with the franchise tag back in February, and he and the team have been talking about a long-term deal ever since, and now it appears that it will get done.  The 27-year-old Hamlin was drafted in the 2nd round by the Seahawks back in 2003, and played there four seasons before moving to Dallas in 2007. Last year he played in 16 games, making 62 tackles and five interceptions.  He will be the fourth big name safety to sign a deal this offseason - Kerry Rhodes signed a five-year, $33.5 million dollar deal with the Jets. Gibril Wilson signed a six-year, $39 million dollar deal with the Radiers, and Madieu Williams inked a six-year, $33.75 million dollar deal with the Vikings. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:43:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290312 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290312 The camp battles saga comes to the last of the positional breakdowns tonight with a discussion of the safety position. There will be a look at special teams, followed by an overall wrap, but this is the last of the positional breakdowns. The Raider Nation ran Stewart Schweigert out on a rail after last season, so the player that the Nation blamed for everything from the Raiders' porous run defense to the fact that gas is now 4.39 a gallon, has gone to Washington. The Raiders brought in Gibril Wilson from the New York Giants and that move is expected to allow Michael Huff to play more in space, which is what is believed to be his strength. Beyond those two, the safety picture is much more cloudy. Special teams standout Jarrod Cooper is expected to make the team, but who else? Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:15:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288392 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288392 It's popular around these parts to see the glass as half full. With the first preseason game a month from today (August 8 against the 49ers), there's more "ifs, ands, & buts" around the Raider Nation than in Conjunction Junction. While there's room for optimism after a summer of spending, it's time to introduce a healthy dose of reality to the proceedings. The schedule and the roster don't suggest that these Raiders will find playoff pay-dirt in 2008. With the NFL's ever-changing personnel landscape, five-year plans are a thing of the past. What you've done for me lately is as irrelevant as what will you do for me two years from now. What's working? Rob Ryan's Defense Ryan has shown the ability to shape a top-flight defense when given the right pieces to the puzzle. It's clear with the additions of Gabril Wilson and DeAngelo Hall the Raiders' secondary is one of the best in the league on paper. Paired with Nnamdi Asomugha, Hall should form one half of the league's best man-to-man coverage team. Nickel back Stanford Routt showed glimpses of talent as a part-time starter last year, and Michael Huff, while still failing to live up to his draft hype and college performance, will be an upgrade over Stuart Schweigert. The linebacking crew has speed to burn and gives the Raiders options for coverage and pass rushing. And the defensive line returns Derrick Burgess, hoping that last year's sack total (eight) was a one-year slide. The Running Back Stable It's hard to imagine that a year ago anyone would be excited about the return of Huggy Bear, but from the second half of the Miami game until his injury, Justin Fargas was one of the league's most efficient ball carriers in the league. Add to that a healthy Michael Bush and the most exciting Raider back drafted since a guy named Marcus in Darren McFadden, and even the uncertain status of LaMont Jordan doesn't seem to matter much. Often overlooked, the Raider fullback position is as solid as it's been since John Ritchie opened holes for Charlie Garner. Fresh legs shouldn't be an issue for this group. Kicking Game Some fans will never forgive Al Davis for selecting Seabastian Janikowski in the first round nine years ago, but he rebounded from a dismal 2006 with a solid '07. And don't look now, but SeaBass is in line to become the second leading scorer in Raider history sometime in 2008. And no one has had more game practice at punting than Shane Lechler. All that practice paid off, with a gaudy 49.1 yards per kick average. It's one of the NFL's great mysteries that he's not a perennial Pro-Bowler. What's Keeping Al Up At Night? The Big Uglies Up Front Tom Cable did an admirable job last season switching to a zone blocking format and getting the most from his guys. But no single unit relies more on continuity and familiarity than the O-line. Cable will have at least two new faces in the starting group with stalwart Barry Sims switching area codes to the 415 and the undervalued Jerremy Newberry headed south to San Diego. It's clear that this line will control the success of the Raider offense. With an inexperienced quarterback, the Raiders will rely heavily on those talented running backs and keeping Russell upright. And Speaking of Upright... JaMarcus Russell can throw a football 60 yards on his knees. He's built like a defensive lineman. He can throw a football through a brick wall. He's also thrown 66 passes in his NFL career, struggled with learning a stripped down playbook last season, and enters this year as The Man for a team in desperate need of leadership. While he may end up as great as his clippings, the jury's out. The Raiders better hope the verdict is a good one! Who's Catching That Thing? Drew Carter, Javon Walker, and Ronald Curry head into the season as the first three guys on the depth chart. While no one questions the potential talent, this is a suspect group at best. Walker and Curry have a long history of leg injuries. Carter had a breakout season (of sorts) last year, but has no real legacy of success. The best options for JaMarcus will probably be tight end Zach Miller and his running backs led by McFadden. There are those that believe that with a young quarterback, screens, flairs and five-yard curls may be the best patterns anyway, but consider this—how many 15-play drives can you expect Russell to run in year two? Who's Stopping The Run? With Warren Sapp taking his mouth to the networks, the Raiders will rely on a series of gambles up the middle, including the $55-million man, Tommy Kelly. Things are so uncertain that you can look for the Raiders to bring back an old face for training camp in either Sam Adams or Grady Jackson. Gerard Warren is a potential cap hit but remains a talent tease. Greg Spires and Kalimba Edwards, both signed this offseason, have the potential to help from the end spot, particularly Spires. There are as many question marks as there are answers heading in to camp. While the potential is there, the performance is unproven. With so many new parts to these engines it's hard to imagine there won't be some rough road ahead. Next week we'll take a look at the season game-by-game and give our first prediction on the season's performance. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:40:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288015 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288015 Only Al Davis would start throwing out regret over the spending spree that his team went out BEFORE THEY EVEN PLAY A GAME in the 2008 season.  Maybe it's the recent issues with wide out Javon Walker, who the team way overpaid for, or the simple fact that the team has made strides in adding [...] Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:16:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287596 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287596 What a whirlwind of an offseason this has been so far! It started prior to the end of the Raiders last game of 2007 and the winds of change have continued to 'dust up' many negative insights about the Oakland Raiders as an organization. In fact, many would wonder, with all of the stories written since the end of week 16, is there any organization to the Raiders at all? It would be so easy to begin believing that there is no hope if you were to have little faith to begin with. If you don't believe, or have little belief left that the Raiders will have a good 2008, then you need to relax a little and take solace with a few reasons that the Raiders are ready for a good year. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:55:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285098 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285098 Oh, how the mighty have fallen. What was once considered a very proud organization, finding its energy through Raider Nation, now finds itself on a downward spiral in which they still haven't been able to recover. Following the 2007 draft in which they drafted highly touted quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, all hopes were high for the silver and black. That soon changed though as Russell held out until almost mid-September, which turned out to be the longest holdout by the top pick in the draft in over two decades! Things didn't get much better from there for the Oakland Raiders. In fact, they won only 4 games in 2007. Free agent running back, Dominic Rhodes, bombed, and 2006 holdout wide receiver, Jerry Porter, never got back on track, with his best game being a 5 reception 88 yard effort against the Minnesota Vikings in week 11. 2007 ended on a sour note with the team losing it's last 4 match-ups after a brief two game winning streak in weeks 12 and 13, but with a few roster moves having been made during the off-season, Russell ready to take the helm, and the arrival of another offensive stud, Darren McFadden, through the draft, 2008 looks to have the makings of a season that can produce better results. Make sure to read more of what Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff writer Chris Ziza has to say about the Oakland Raiders heading into the 2008 season by clicking below... Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:20:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283988 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283988 The NFC East is of course one of the toughest divisions in football. Along with the AFC South it has to be named the most competitive division in the NFL. This is always a topic of discussion so here is how I see it. 1. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles finished 4th last year at 8-8. The year prior they finished 10-6 and taking the division. So consistency is really the question here. Can the Eagles reclaim the division? Well I see them doing just that. Many will disagree but you cannot count out that they have been the favorite in this division since the McNabb era started. This year they will go for not only the NFC East, but the Superbowl. Strengths: The Eagles have great lines on both sides of the ball. Trent Cole leading the way on defense and the strong tackles Jon Runyan and William Thomas have been playing with Donovan McNabb his whole career. Not to forget Shawn Andrews who has emerged as one of the best linemen in the NFL. Opponents must consider Brian Westbrook as the most lethal weapon in the NFL out of the backfield or from the slot. The Eagles have made a statement in free agency this year and really had the best offseason in the division. Picking up Cornerback Asante Samuel on the first day and Defensive End Chris Clemons on the second day plus many more, they are hinting they want it all this year. With a healthy McNabb, they should be clicking all year long. Weaknesses: The Eagles have always been known as a pass happy team. Andy Reid and company have been trying to balance out their offense for the past few years but obviously this team operates through the air. So it is like they live by the pass, die by the pass. It makes them one dimensional if they don't make an attempt to establish a run game early. Injuries have hurt this team as well. Brian Dawkins, Lito Sheppard, and Donovan McNabb have all suffered injuries over the past few years. If the leaders on this team cannot stay healthy, it will not be a successful year. Question Marks: Offensive consistency. Can this team score in the red zone? Can this team march down the field when they need to and win games? Can the offensive click and make big plays? Turnovers and field position. Can this team create turnovers? Can the defense score off turnovers? Can the special teams get field position for the offense? 2. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have a high powered offense. We all know that. Quarterback Tony Romo has many weapons through the air and on the ground no mercy back Marion Barber runs with heart and power. The flashy superstar Terrell Owens is out to get his ring and after the water works last season in a press conference following the playoff loss against the Giants. He wants to make sure secondaries are the ones crying while he's running past them. Rookies like Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins look to make an impact as do new additions Adam Jones (formerly known as Pacman) and Zach Thomas. Strengths: Offensive firepower is what carries this team. Tony Romo passing to Terrell Owens and Jason Witten is torture to defenses. Romo threw for 35 touchdowns last season and looks to match that this upcoming season and show every doubter he is the real deal. Marion Barber and Felix Jones should be a fun duo to watch out of the backfield. With Jason Garrett calling the plays, Dallas can look forward to a very successful offense in 2008. Terence Newman and Demarcus Ware lead the Cowboys defensive unit which can create big plays. Weaknesses: The Cowboys don't have many weaknesses on offense. I would have to say the biggest weakness on offense is the 2nd and 3rd receivers. Patrick Crayton has showed flashes but not enough to be that solid number two receiver playing across from Owens. Terry Glenn was great next to Owens but has been rattled with injury the last few years. The biggest weakness on the Cowboys is their defense. They have a few good players but overall they are average. The secondary is the biggest weakness on the defense. Roy Williams is not a cover safety and big passes can be completed against this secondary. Newman received star status by many last year but I believe he is a bit overrated. He only had 4 interceptions last year. Not mind boggling, he is just an average corner who was given a huge contract. Newman will have to prove himself to me this season if he wants to earn my respect. Question Marks: Rookie impact. Can Felix Jones be the answer to Julius Jones' departure? Can Mike Jenkins hold his own at cornerback when given the opportunity? Will these two first round picks even get on the field? Offensive chemistry, drama free. Will Terrell Owens open his mouth and say the wrong thing this year? Can celebrity Quarterback Tony Romo keep his love life out of the media? Will disgruntled safety Roy Williams restart talks of a trade? 3. New York Giants: The Giants shocked the football world. No, scratch that. They shocked the entire universe! Beating the odds and the Patriots, they went on to win the Superbowl. The Giants showed everyone that defense wins championships. The Giants are anchored by their defensive line and high motor defensive ends. Eli Manning took a big step on the maturity level and drove the team down the field to score the winning touchdown. Plaxico Burress also has a lot to do with the Giants offensive success, and don't forget about the two headed monster of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Strengths: The defensive ends of the NY Giants are Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. Two players who never stop hustling on the football field. These two knocked around Tom Brady all game and really ruined the Patriots offensive gameplan. The Giants defense can really change games and help them win. The offense can be lethal at times with Plaxico Burress, the 6'5 receiver, at full health. Burress played all last year with a nagging ankle injury, never practicing. Jacobs, the big back, can run through defensive lines and score easily in the red zone. Weaknesses: The Giants lost three key defensive starters. Michael Strahan's recent retirement was the biggest loss. Strahan is a Hall of Famer and a legend to the Giants. Safety Gibril Wilson and Linebacker Kawika Mitchell were both signed as free agents by other teams. These players will be missed on the field next season as they all contributed heavily to the Superbowl run and win put together by the team. Eli Manning also still has lots of work to do. He has matured a lot over his career but still struggles at points in the regular season. He threw a league leading 20 interceptions. He has to be more consistent for this team to move up in the division. Question Marks: Overcoming losses on defense. Can the team move on without the leadership of Michael Strahan? Can the linebacking corps remain solid without Kawika Mitchell? How will the secondary react to the loss of Gibril Wilson, a young rising star? Quarterback consistency. Will Eli Manning return with a swagger? Can Manning keep his interception total down? Will Manning be able to live up to the star status he earned from "The Drive"? 4. Washington Redskins: The hard-nosed defense overcame the loss of Sean Taylor. The tragedy which took place midseason, Taylor was attacked in his home and died in the hospital, did not stop the Redskins from marching into the playoffs on the shoulders of backup Quarterback Todd Collins. Much like the Eagles 2006 run to the playoffs powered by Jeff Garcia, Jason Campbell was injured and veteran Todd Collins came in and took the team into the postseason. It should have been very motivating to be in the playoffs but the team fell short to Seattle in the first round. Joe Gibbs retired after the season was over and Jim Zorn was hired to coach the team. Strengths: The Redskins are a hustle team. The defense is made up of players who just play with pride. They want to win more than anything and they show it on the field. The offense has many weapons from Clinton Portis to Santana Moss to Chris Cooley. Many players who can hurt a defense in many different ways. Rookies Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas will try to win starting jobs at wide receiver in 2008. The Redskins offense is built around speed. Guys like Antwaan Randle El, Ladell Betts, Santana Moss, and Clinton Portis fly around the field to make plays. The Redskins have a solid offense and defense looking to improve next year in consistency. Weaknesses: The Redskins took a shot in the dark when they hired new head coach Jim Zorn. He was the quarterback coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2007 and he has no experience as a head coach. This can make a huge difference on a team, especially a young one. The Redskins have not seen consistent play from their young quarterback, Jason Campbell. He has to improve his consistency and stay healthy to make an impact in the 2008 season. The defensive side of the ball has to all come together and play like they did at the end of 2007. The Redskins have to unite as a defense to win because they really do not have any standout leaders on that side of the ball. If they cannot play as one, the outcome could be brutal. Question Marks: Defensive leadership. Will the young defense be able to overcome the passing of team leader Sean Taylor? Can they play together as one unit and make plays? Can a young player step up and take charge of this defense? Coaching staff. Will Jim Zorn be able to productively coach this young team? With no experience, will Zorn know how to handle the emotions of this football team? We have seen frauds like Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino, will Zorn be one of them? Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:58:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283735 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283735 Up until their amazing playoff run, capped by Eli's escape and David Tyree's miracle grab, the New York Giants' 2007 season was a solid, but not spectacular one. Carried mostly by a defense that ranked 7th in the league, despite giving up 45 and 35 points in weeks 1 and 2 respectively, the Giants were able to play themselves to a 10-6 record. However, with an offense that ranked just 16th in the league, it appeared the Giants were headed for an early playoff exit and Tom Coughlin would be filing for unemployment. But, as they say, that's why the play the game, and after the games were played, the Giants were the ones who hoisted the Lombardi trophy. Beware though, because come draft day 2008 you don't want to be one of those fantasy football owners who remembers the Giants of 2007 for their playoff run. Those owners won't remember that Eli Manning Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:14:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283486 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283486 We have come to the penultimate post in the "From a Raiders' Eye View" series. The one thing that can be gleaned from the series thus far is that it appears that the San Diego Chargers are still the team to beat in the AFC West. They have led in nearly all of th categories thus far. The Raiders have been all over the map, but tend to be trending high in many categories, and look to be a team on the rise. Tonight's post is how the safety tandems of the AFC West stack up. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:22:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277099 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277099 Since the end of the NFL Draft several things have come up, limiting my time to blog: the flu (lost 5 weekdays), major reports due at school and work (continue to lose free time), family obligations/graduations 3,000 miles away (lost a week), and a change in Internet provider that should've taken 2 days, but ended up taking 10.  Needless to say, the last 6 weeks or so have been hectic, and in between everything, I proposed to my girlfriend (soooo wasn't planned, but came together perfectly), who obviously said yes.  I'd be stupid to think that I haven't lost free time due to our engagement, so I guess I have to add that to the list.  I thought my life was getting back to normal when I made the time 2 weeks ago to put up my last posting.  I wrote about the future of the NFL's salary cap and how the Raiders fit in on our flight to the east coast for my soon-to-be brother and sister in-law's graduations, but I had no idea how much I was going to need to catch up on when I got home. The Oakland Raiders' quickness to sign Darren McFadden not just shows that they don't want a repeat of what happened last year with JaMarcus Russell, but it also shows how unconcerned Al Davis is with the cap space in the near future.  Since the owners opted out of their collective bargaining agreement with the players, the Dallas Cowboys have allotted a little over $51 million in guaranteed money (between 34-year old Terrell Owens, Terrance Newman, and Marion Barber).  That's nearly half of what the Raiders spent this off-season on 9 potential starters (Javon Walker, Justin Fargas, Gibril Wilson, Kwame Harris, Drew Carter, DeAngelo Hall, Tommy Kelly, John Wade, and Kalimba Edwards).  I have no issue with how the Cowboys spent, just that I think it's a sign that Jerry Jones understands what the near future has in store.  This is only the beginning; the contracts are going to continue to swell. My life is starting to get back to normal, and I should be completely caught up and blogging by Monday (we've been home from our trip for over a week, yet I still have clothes in my suitcase).  I did make time during the last month to email all my resources (in other words, the only 2 NFL writers I know) to find everything I could on the Raider mini-camps and on goings.  So I've got a couple clips worth posting, and plenty that I want to write about.  Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:22:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275697 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275697 With the NFL Draft a month in the past and most offseason moves over and done with, it is time to start looking ahead to the 2008 season. And with that, we focus in on fantasy football, but that doesn't necessarily mean talking about top running backs and receivers. Taking into account the rising popularity of IDP fantasy leagues, FIO co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter discusses some of the top impact moves on the defensive side of the ball that will affect fantasy football in 2008. Wed, 28 May 2008 08:20:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271665 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271665