What happened to all of that salary cap space that was supposedly eaten up by the CRAAAZY spending spree that Al Davis and company have been on?
Unfortunately, I don't have access to Mr. Davis' checkbook register or his accounting books. If I did have access to any of it, I probably wouldn't tell you anything anyway for fear of losing that access.
The reason why I ask though is because I keep hearing and reading that the Raiders are either at the cap, or over it. As always, I can't see that any of that is true.
The last time the Raiders were in REAL salary cap trouble, they were still accounting for the ill-fated Larry Brown contract. My guess is that Mr. Davis learned back then how to balance that checkbook of his.
In case you haven't heard, the Raiders signed another QB today...or should I say re-signed? According to the transaction log, Jeff Otis has been signed again.
According to his Wikipedia page, he was signed one day short of exactly one year since the last time the Raiders signed him. How's that for consistency? Here's what Wikipedia says about his college career:
"He played for the Columbia Lions[2] in his NCAA career. Jeff ranks second in the All-Time Columbia University passing list with yardage of 4,666 and pass completions 429. Jeff was the starting role for the Lions in 2003. Jeff was responded by finishing third in the league in per game passing average at 255.2 yards per contest. Jeff was named an outstanding player for the Lions. Jeff ranked seventh in Division I-AA in completions per game, and finished third on Columbia University's all-time single-season list with 217 completions. Jeff rated fourth on the school's single-season touchdown list with 17 and third in total offense with 2,675 yards."
With this signing, the Raiders have now signed two Div II college quarterbacks in the same number of days. It's not uncommon for the Raiders to bring several QB's in before the start of the preseason, so this probably doesn't rate as huge news. At least it's something to chew on for the day.
Russell Sighting
Something interesting happened at the Oracle when the Lakers came calling upon the Warriors. Russell was courtside. After the rumors of him pushing 300 pounds, I expected to see a guy that looked more like Terdell Sands rather than what I did see, a semi-svelt big guy.
If you've read any of my past articles, then you know that I don't approve of the lack of true reporting that we often see in the media today. That's why I was interested to see if anyone would have the courage to write about how good Russell actually looked, despite what they've
12 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Raider Revenge Payback about 1 year ago
Wow Ron: I’m getting very excited about this team. I was curious if Russell was studying and training. Raiders have a lot of up swing for 2008 and Russell is in the center of it all. With his first year in training camp and preseason not to mention Kiffin’s concept the AFC West will be challenged by the Raiders. “The autumn wind is in the air”
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Old Raider Fan about 1 year ago
JR has been with Knapp during off season studying the films. He is eager and I am excited too.
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Eric MacLachlan about 1 year ago
They still have no offensive line and until they do Russell better be ready to run and run lots. They won't challenge the division unless it is horrible again or they upgrade significantly, quickly on the O-line.
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Old Raider Fan about 1 year ago
What? We have no offensive line? You have got to be kidding me. Tom Cable is the man. We signed Kwame to be our Tackle and that should be enough, hopefully. And Sims the Russell Killer is gone.
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Old Raider Fan about 1 year ago
Another good article. Keep it up man.
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Raider Revenge Payback about 1 year ago
Old Raider: I'm just not sold on M.Bush, L.Jordan or D.Rhodes. I do like J.Fargus and D-Mac as a serviceable attack that has to be recon with. It reminds me of the Duce & Bush thing in New Orleans. I believe the success of Russell depends on our rushing attack. So when we play action to D-Mac the defense must fear the run.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
who is jeff otis ive never heard of him?
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Rob Calonge about 1 year ago
The best I can tell you is to click on the 'Wikipedia' link above. That's probably the most information you'll find about him anywhere.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
they signed another qb too never heard of either of the 2 they signed though
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
kalimba edwards was a nice pickup though
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Surfing Aztec about 1 year ago
I doubt that we will see either of the two new QBs stay on the roster after pre-season. It looks like Culpepper isn't get any offers anywhere else, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay on the roster as 2nd or 3rd string back up. The o-line is strong and I think that our 4 current RBs will take LOTS of pressure off J-Russ so he should have an easy time easing in and showing off the cannon of his. I actually have what I feel are reasonable hopes of a season above .500. Lets hope our D can stay healthy and we will certainly be giving teams a package as hard to handle as the Raiders of old.
(on a side note, I think I actually agree with the decisions Davis has made this off-season. Lets just hope he picks up Gholston!)
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Lawrence Gacad about 1 year ago
Jamarcus Russell is not 300lbs.....But Ughhh Jeff Otis And Erik Meyer?That Was no use of signing them they shulda signed a veteran quarterback like Daunte Culepper,Byron leftwich or someone around their tier you feel me?
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