Now for something completely different

So, quick personal update. I missed a lot of crazy stuff because I spent the holidays in California with my family. So even though I was actually closer to the teams I write about here, I was further away from the means to write about them. Once I got back I’ve been playing catch-up at work, so less time to write here. But hopefully one of the things I’m busy on will soon be online so I can show the world just how cool I am.

While I was in the Bay Area I was able to go to the Raiders/Chiefs game. In high school I went to every single game (Yes, that is indeed me on the far left there, and we got back into the spirit this year) and I flew down for all the playoff games during the Super Bowl run, but the last few years I haven’t been able to make to many games so that was great.

The big thing I noticed was that Andrew Walter has a big problem with where to hold the ball when he’s setting up to throw. Multiple times I saw him hold the ball below his waist, one of which he fumbled. I have less and less confidence every day that he will ever turn into a real NFL quarterback, though I hope better coaching will help out with that.

Speaking of which, as everyone I’m sure is aware, Art Shell is out once again. When the season ended I wasn’t sure Al Davis would be able to suck it up and admit a mistake so I’m glad he was able to let Shell go. But the Raiders have a horrible track record in picking new coaches, so I have no confidence they will get anyone qualified or do it in a timely matter. Remembering the Bill Callahan and Art Shell hiring processes leads me to assume the coach will be hired in April, the week before the draft and with no credentials beyond a community college. At this point I don’t think Bob Ladouceur would even consider the job.

As for the draft itself, I can only pray they don’t pick Brady Quinn after his performance against LSU. Trying to peg the draft in April, let alone January, is a waste of time unless someone like Reggie Bush is on the board (wait a minute …), so I’m not even going to hazard a guess at this point. Talking to some guys I work with, they all said the Raiders should grab a quarterback with the first pick, either Quinn or LaMarcus Russell. I’m not so sure. As much as a quarterback would help, the team needs so much work that trading down would be better, especially if they can get Russell and a third-round pick for someone hot after Quinn.

I also believe the offensive line is the key to any team. Concentrating on that this off-season should be the Raiders No.1 priority, either through the draft or free agency. Decent lineman can be found in the later rounds, so stocking up on second and third round picks could be a better bet then pegging next season on a rookie quarterback. That being said, how much would the Raiders have been this year with Vince Young?

We’ll see how this all works out, but I’m not optimistic. As one of my co-workers said, the Raiders may need to just take Pete Carroll with the first pick. Though I’m not sure that would help either, but it couldn’t be worse. Sigh …