A Take on Javon Walker, the Raiders, and the State of the Team

Ah, what a fun time you can have being a fan.

I read today that they caught one of the suspected men involved in the attack on Javon Walker, and they are still looking for a second suspect.

None of this really matters, as what Walker did was pretty much foolhardy and immature.

Sure, a few of us like to go pop a top, relax, and shoot the breeze, but when you're being paid more than some small countries, go get some security guards.

However, in Javon's defense, he did do one very smart thing.

During this episode, you can imagine that anyone with the Raiders had to hear of Javon's actions. Darren McFadden. Michael Bush. JaMarcus Russell. Even players like Fargas, or Carter.

They probably thought to themselves, what an idiot.

If you put yourself in the position to be robbed, beat up, and get made fun of, you only have one person to blame in this case.

Numero uno.

Maybe money makes some people crazy, but last time I heard Peyton Manning doesn't do cornball stunts like this. Commercials, yes, but not spraying the crowd with 15,000 in bubbles.

And so these rookies, vets, and other players now get a good look at how foolish Walker looks...and hopefully, they won't make the same mistakes.

As for the Raiders, who were in and around town, the hunt for the roster goes on. I did see a nice article (Patrick Patterson) on the TE position, where there's the obvious, Zach Miller, with a backup in John Madsen. They also like to mention Tony Stewart, the safe one, for special teams.

But, being this early out, it's anyone's guess on who might go where.

After all, last year I was thinking that Quentin Moses was going to be a fine draft pick...then he never made the team.

I will go out on a limb though and say I like the preseason games as they are. First of all, you never know how a guy will pan out, good or bad, until he gets some live time. You also don't know how he'll handle conditions, like a blitz, a chance in setup, or, if he'll be gun shy off the bat.

I know there's some people that feel it's a risky proposition considering, if a player gets hurt, goes down in game three of the preseason and is lost, it could kill a team's chances. Thus, that's why you're not going to see someone like Manning play four quarters in the first game, or LT scoring four TDs in the second game of the preseason.

I can ask the question, after one particular player's career was pretty much killed this way. Scott Dreisbach was having a good preseason in 1999 until an injury spelled him out for the year. Due to this, Rich Gannon turned out to be quite the pickup for Oakland...and Scott was never heard from again, never playing a down in the NFL.

As for the team in general, I think a lot of the players are looking forward to finally putting this off-season in the books. They're tired of being nit-picked, second guessed, and mostly, called inferior. The great question then comes to mind, where do they stop calling the Raiders a second-rate team? At 8-8, when they are a simple .500 ball club? How about 10-6, and pushing on the door for the AFC West?

Heck, to that point, if we make the playoffs will the story change from a team that shouldn't be there, or will they simply label it as an error and that next year, they'll be lousy?

One things for sure, in the Raider Nation....it'll be interesting to see who becomes the NFL's new whipping boy...when the Raiders move out of the top 10 draft picks.