Seymour Leads a New and Improved RaidersTeam By The Gambler [J.Gamble] Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online

Seymour Leads a New and Improved RaidersTeam
 
By The Gambler [J.Gamble] Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online
 
It’s hard to move on. It’s even harder when that move is from the Whitehouse to the Crazy House. Just ask former Pats Defensive Lineman Richard Seymour. On Sept. 6, Seymour, who spent the first eight years of his career with New England, was traded to what has been NFL abyss the past decade – The Oakland Raiders.
 
The move took Seymour by surprise. Sort of like those blindside hits he delivered on opposing quarterbacks as a Five-time Pro Bowler and key cog in The Patriots three Super Bowls. He never knew anything but winning. Loyalty.  Humble effectiveness. On-field leadership. All of the qualities it was reported the Raiders are lacking. Seymour must of felt like a friend of mine Sean Harris, an American citizen, who was recently taken from his fiancé’ and daughter and illegally deported to Jamaica. Scared. Disgusted. Angry. Discarded like a sub-human.
“I didn't understand what was going on, Seymour said at a press conference at the Raiders headquarters. “ So it's like when something happens, you have to step back and realize what situation you're in."
 It’s understandable that he balked at the notion of going to Oakland. He probably even contemplated retirement for a moment. Seymour never expected his potential Hall of Fame football career with The Pats would end with him being pushed out the door foot-to-butt for a 2011 first –rounder.  Seymour claims personal family issues and a “procedural” issue with an NLPA grievance filed on his behalf, delayed his reporting to the Raiders. He says he called Al Davis and Tom Cable and told them he wanted to wear the silver and black.
 
Reports insist, however, that he was very unhappy with the trade. And who blames him? Geesh.  Talk about culture shock.
 
Oakland had to send a threatening letter insisting that he report within five days or risk being placed on the reserve/left squad list, which would stop Seymour from playing for any team in 2009, and consequently prevent him from achieving free agency until he played out his contract in 2010.
 
Then, all of  a sudden the wisdom of 1,000 sages hit Seymour, and he reported. Not really, but this is what happened. Once he came too and picked himself off of the floor, Seymour’s wife reminded him that there are still bills to be paid around here. Second, Seymour has always been a warrior and a leader.  He also loves the game of football. He realized there are worst things he could be doing than getting paid millions to pound quarterbacks heads into the dirt. Instead of letting the hard-feelings fester, Seymour is using his championship experience and locker room leadership to give Oakland the winning edge it has lacked.
 
“I’m aware of the [negative] things they say about the organization, "said Seymour, in a local radio interview, “I haven’t seen that.”
 
Tom Brady provided Seymour with a front-row view of  perfection at the QB position.  Seymour says new QB JaMarcus Russell has star-potential as well. “He has the qualities to be a leader,” said Seymour. “ He has an abundance of talent. But we know talent doesn’t get it done in this league.”
 
Seymour’s positive attitude resulted in two sacks and six tackles, nearly leading the Raiders to an opening-season win against the Chargers. Even in defeat, it was evident Seymour’s presence electrified a Raider defense that held LaDanian Tomlinson to 55 yards rushing and knocked him out of the game.
 
Since its Super Bowl run in 2002, Oakland has had the worst run defense in the NFL, allowing 141.7 yards per game on the ground and 122 touchdowns rushing TD’s.
 
Seymour has altered those startlingly poor numbers with his boisterous play and subtle leadership. In Game 2 Oakland rode the back of its defense again, defeating Kansas City 13-10.  
 
This week Oakland looks forward to a big division game against Denver [2-0]. Oddly enough, people are giving the Raiders a shot in this game. Seymour and the gradual maturation of Russell are the reasons.
 
Seymour is the veteran leader who knows what it takes to win. Russell’s the young super-talented signal caller, looking for a coming-out-party location. The combo my equal signature victory for a down-trodden Oakland franchise, looking for a come up.
 
“The team has to be committed to winning and improving,” said Seymour. “ [If we do that ]… this is a team to be reckoned with.”
 
 
 

Oakland Raiders Coach Cable says Seymour wants to come to team

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The lastest information on the ongoing story of the trade of New England Patriots Defensive End Richard Seymour to Oakland has Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on the NFL Network today at 4 PM PST saying that the star lineman told him he wants to come to Oakland.

According to Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times, Cable said he talked to Seymour today.

That counters earlier information that Seymour didn't want to come to Oakland. He was traded to Oakland for the Raiders 2011 first round draft pick, leading some to scratch their heads regarding why the Silver and Black would make such a trade for someone about to turn 30 years old.

The NFL network's Alex Flanagan said it for me "It seems confusing." Mike Mayock said that the Raiders could control Seymour by slapping the much-hated "franchise" tag on him after 2010. Solomon Wilcots observed that would be just the thing to cause Richard not to appear at Raiders headquarters.

The bottom line folks is he's still not physically with the Raiders as of this writing. Nick Haswell of Football Reporters Online still can't get over the trade news.

Al Davis Did What? By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis Did What?
By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders just traded their 2011 First Round Draft Pick to the New England Patriots for Future Hall of Fame Defensive End Richard Seymour. This is just the latest transaction by the Raiders that proves the insanity of Owner Al Davis. It’s almost hard to imagine that the Raiders were participants in Super Bowl XXXVII, just 7 seasons ago. Since the morning of that game, where All-Pro Center Barrett Robbins went AWOL before the game, the Raiders have become the joke of the NFL. The Raiders have a record of 24-72 and a winning percentage of .250 since 2003, good for the worst record and winning percentage in the NFL. As Al Davis has gotten older, it seems that his roster moves and coaching hires have gotten crazier. Here is a look at the top 5 reasons that Al Davis has gone crazy since 2003:
5. Signing DE/DT Tommy Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million contract in 2008: A 4-year pro that has never been to a Pro Bowl and is coming off a torn ACL gets the largest contract ever for a defensive tackle. That’s exactly what the Raiders did by re-signing Tommy Kelly. Kelly was a defensive end his first four seasons in the NFL, but with Warren Sapp retiring, Al Davis was compelled to overpay to re-sign Kelly and move him and his 6-6, 300 lbs. frame to defensive tackle. But to sign Kelly to a contract that paid him more than Albert Haynesworth (in 2008), Kevin and Pat Williams, and Vince Wilfork is quite ridiculous.
4. Offering Head Coaching Position to Tom Cable following 2008 season: Tom Cable is a fine offensive line coach and has been a very successful offensive coordinator at the college level at Colorado and UCLA. But as a head coach, he has a less impressive resume. As a head coach at the University of Idaho from 2000 to 2003, Cable’s record was 11-35, with 4 consecutive losing seasons. After taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season, Cable led the Raiders to a 4-8 finish. His head coaching record is not exactly worthy of a head coaching position in the NFL.
3. Trading 2011 First Round Pick to Patriots for Richard Seymour: Trading for a future Hall of Famer is not a crazy idea. But trading away a First Round Draft Pick for a player that could only be in uniform for one season is. Not only could Richard Seymour not be on the Raiders past 2009, but given the Raiders past performance, the Raiders could lose a top 10 draft pick in 2011. And how much will this move improve the Raiders, to win 5 or 6 wins, instead of 4? But the Raiders and Al Davis are desperate to improve their run defense, which has been the worst in the NFL the past several seasons. But exactly where Seymour fits in Oakland’s defense is in question. Seymour has been a 3-4 defensive end his entire career. By being traded to the Raiders, Seymour either moves to a 4-3 defensive end or to a 3-technique defensive tackle, where Tommy Kelly is currently starting.
2. 2009 NFL Draft: Wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still on the draft board when the Raiders drafted in the #7 overall spot in the 2009 NFL Draft. But Al Davis and the Raiders surprised everyone and drafted speedster receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. Davis and the Raiders are notorious for their love of players with speed, especially with skill position players. Heyward- Bey ran the fastest 40-time at the 2009 NFL Combine at 4.30 seconds. But he is not a polished route-runner and doesn’t possess the best hands. Heyward-Bey was projected as a late first or second round pick. And then in the second round the Raiders selected safety Mike Mitchell from Ohio. Mitchell was considered a late round pick, but Al Davis surprised everyone and took Mitchell early in the second round, when he could have taken him several rounds later.
1. Offering Head Coaching Position to Lane Kiffin: When Art Shell was fired by the Oakland Raiders in 2007, one of the first people Al Davis contacted for the open head coaching job was USC co-offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. After being rebuffed by Sarkisian, Davis moved on to bringing in Sarkisian’s co-coordinator at USC, Lane Kiffin. Despite never being a head coach at any level, or coaching a position at the NFL level (Kiffin was the offensive quality control coach for the Jaguars in 2000), Davis offered the position to Kiffin. Kiffin’s tenure with the Raiders was contentious, almost from the start. There were reports that Kiffin entertained the idea of leaving the Raiders for a college head coaching job before the end of the 2007 NFL Season. Reportedly, Al Davis drafted up Kiffin’s resignation papers following the 2007 season for Kiffin to sign, but Kiffin refused to sign them because he would lose a guaranteed $2 million by signing the papers. Al Davis needs a puppet as his head coach, as Davis has the last word on roster moves and coaching hires. Kiffin was not one who would cooperate with Al Davis in this capactity and his hiring and firing ended up turning the Raider organization into even more chaos.

Richard Seymour may not report to the Oakland Raiders

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According to my friend Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com, the Oakland Raiders trade for Richard Seymour may be scuttled by one action: Seymour's not reporting to the Raiders.

According to Mike and also Peter King of SI.com, Seymour is "angry" that he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, described as "football's literal black hole" over at Profootballtalk.com.

Peter King writes:

Seymour, I'm told, is angry about the deal. He lives in Foxboro, has children he may have to relocate to new schools as the school year dawns and has to get acclimated to a new defense (and an awful team) a week before the opening game. "I would not be surprised if he doesn't report,'' a good friend of Seymour's told me Sunday. I would. Aside from not earning his 2009 salary of $3.7 million, Seymour wouldn't be able to be a free-agent if he doesn't play this year. As it stands now, his contract is up after this year, and if he plays well and stays healthy, he could hit the jackpot when next year's probable uncapped season plays out.

So what's looked like a trade with a possible upside may turn into a complete disaster. How can the Raiders fix this? With CEO Amy Trask putting in a call to Seymour right now on Labor Day to adress his concerns. The call alone would do a lot of good.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Raiders now have Richard Seymour and Greg Elllis, but...

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UPDATE: Seymour may not report to the Raiders.

The trade shot heard 'round the football and the Internet world is that the New England Patriots long time defensive end Richard Seymour was traded to the Oakland Raiders.

While the transaction seems like a good deal for Oakland, hold on. There are two problems: the first one is that Seymour has not had an all pro season since 2006 and the Raiders defensive formation design is suspect.

Since 2001 Richard Seymour has been a force on New England's defense. But starting with a knee injury in 2007 and a back injury in 2008, he hasn't been the disruptive player he was known as three years ago. While he did have a career-high eight sacks last year, giving up a first round pick was too much for Seymour. Why Oakland did that is beyond me (it would make more sense for a Seymour three years younger) but he's here so we have to figure out a way to employ him to get best results. Let's look at the pluses of this trade:

Richard Seymour is not old

Richard Seymour while 29 years old, is not old at all. He still has perhaps five good years left in him. If the Raiders focus on enhancing his pass-run skills, then he will be a major addition to the squad. If the Raiders use him paired with Greg Ellis in a hybrid version of Buddy Ryan's "46 Defense" - where Ellis and Seymour would be aligned on the strongside of the formation - it would place considerable pressure on the offenses of the AFC West, especially the San Diego Chargers.

Richard Seymour is a tall defender

Seymour's 6 foot 6 inches tall so having him rush on the left side, when most quarterbacks are right handed, would block throwing lanes like no other player has been able to do. Greg Ellis, who the Raiders got from Dallas, is the same height as Seymour, so having them on the same side in a 46 Defense would spell matchup problems for any offense.

Richard Seymour brings the experience of a winner

Richard Seymour has four Super Bowl rings and is a product of a New England Patriots locker room culture that transformed Randy Moss from a player not really into the game in Oakland to a star player who takes over a game in Boston. Yes, I can understand if you question the Raiders culture, but this move signals a desire to bring in people who can lead the team and set the tone on the field and off of it.

Will Coach John Marshall creatively use Seymour?

My concern is less with Seymour than with Oakland Raiders Defensive Coordinator John Marshall. Will he design schemes that creatively employ Seymour and Ellis? Is Marshall capable of the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that's needed to counter what is a period of revolution in NFL offensive design?

The college game has altered NFL offenses like never before with the Utah Spread and the Wildcat Offense being paired with the passing philosophies popularized by the late 49ers Coach Bill Walsh to produce some of the best passing systems ever seen. It's no wonder why defensive designs like those used by the Baltimore Ravens are more in vogue, with overload defensive fronts and stand-up defensive end / zone blitz schemes.

Is John Marshall willing to be creative with the Raiders Defense? If so, he certainly has the tools to do so. Now, with the addition of Seymour, the Oakland Raiders Defense is a wild card; I don't know how well they will do this year and have to wait until the San Diego game to determine that. But I'm excited to see what's next from this unit.