dpberr

No way does Cowher come to the AFC East. He'll be under tremendous pressure to produce a division championship and playoff run quickly. That's just not going to happen in the most competitive division in football in 2012. He'll go for the division with the lowest hanging fruit like the NFC West or a team that's close but not over the hump. A good, but not great team.

Cornell Green and Tom Cable met the same fate. Green was not resigned after his domestic charge. Sure he's an awful player, but the guilty domestic charge sealed his fate. He wasn't going to release Green and end up paying him money. In Davis's mind, his money would be rewarding undisciplined behavior. My insight is from my uncle's involvement with the Raiders franchise during the mid-80s. He worked for the security subcontractor for the team. There was a guard that was involved in a domestic dispute and it made the paper. Apparently Davis read about it or was informed about the situation, called up the company, and demanded that the guard was no longer welcomed to protect or work security for the Raiders franchise. This happened all in the span of one afternoon. From that point on, security personnel for the Raiders were always vetted for any domestic charges. Al Davis doted over his wife, Carol, and he was not the same after her death. She, for the most part, was the very definition of being somebody's rock. I don't think the death of somebody like that in your life doesn't change a man. Davis gets a ton of well deserved hatred for the management of his franchise. However, what is largely lost in the discussion of the "team" is the mix of discipline and generosity of the human being that goes unreported. That would dilute the fun the media and fans have in seeing Davis as an enemy of the NFL and the sole reason for the dysfunction of the Raiders. I'm not a fan of Al Davis, just a fan who appreciates that the man has two sides to him. I have little doubt that the decision to not extend Cable was 10% business decision and 90% values. It's true, Davis has no problem with lawsuits and paying fired coaches, but for Davis to give a guy accused of beating up women cash for doing nothing, was an impossible move. You've never seen Davis give a player a second chance that was accused of a domestic...or worse. He's very much a mixed bag of the bad and good.

Ironically, and perhaps it's not ironic that it's the Raiders, but I don't think Cable's contract wasn't renewed for football reasons. You don't get fired for going 8-8 in Raider land. I think Davis's decision is more rooted in Cable's off the field troubles, very specifically the allegations that he beat his ex-wives, months after Davis named him head coach. Cable was hired in February 2009, the allegations came out in late November of that year. Al Davis is a lot of things, but one thing he did, especially while his wife was alive, was donate generously to battered women shelters, etc. in the Southern California area. He has respect for a woman's capabilities in the professional world, as he made Amy Trask CEO of the Raiders in 1997, the only female CEO in the league, and probably has one of the more diverse (female and minority) organizations in the entire league. Davis wasn't going to fire him. In doing so, the Raiders would have owed Cable money. He let him play out the 2010 season and said goodbye.

I find it interesting that no QB of his size has ever been successful in the NFL. It's almost counter-intuitive that height at the QB position is a detriment. Go figure. I still want defense at #3.

Where is it set in stone Andrew Luck is leaving Stanford? If you are Luck, why would you want to go to Carolina? You have no idea who the coach is, the owner is in "cut expenses" mode, the team has a ridiculous amount of holes to fill, your front office can't draft, and you play in a tough division. On top of all that, the CBA issues creates enough uncertainty to stay in California. I think he stays.

Todd McShay=weatherman

Eh. I'd stay put and build a ridiculously good defense with draft picks and free agency. Andrew Luck, while an outstanding QB prospect, won't slow down the Jets rushing attack or sack Tom Brady. I, for one, don't think Andrew Luck will declare for the NFL draft. There are more reasons for him to stay in California for another year.

Somehow, just because, he'll come back as a TE. A Pro Bowl TE that catches the winning touchdown in the Browns/Bills AFC Championship Game in Buffalo years from now. Of course, he plays for the Browns.

+1. I think Mangini has at least 4 wins against the Pats between his Jets/Browns stints.

Of course Seattle is going to win the Superbowl since we have that pick from the ML trade. I want to see a draft that considers Luck staying in college. Every draft I see assumes he's coming out.

Although I'm not hot on overpaying Whitner, you are 100% correct, Dr.

If the Bills went CB in the first round, you'd see the first NFL stadium in history be destroyed by its fanbase. The fanbase of course, would march in an organized procession from Hammer's Lot at a medium pace. We're not savages.

Lynch looked thinner in last night's game, not the big slow and bulky RB he was when in Buffalo. I hate seeing Pete Carroll gain legitimacy as a coach. I was hoping for a Panthers-esque corkscrew into the tarmac from 35,000 feet performance out of Seattle this year.

I disagree. I think the front seven gets the epic overhaul this year. First round, third round picks, one top FA signing, at minimum. While I like Bowers, I get he's for a 4-3 scheme. How about Dareus? A new DC would be great too.

+1.

Looks good but the weak point *is* the network. TNT has a tendency to vanilla wafer its shows like the USA Network does to Burn Notice.

I would trade up for Da'Quan Bowers. The man is virtually unstoppable.

The only ways I see Ngata escaping Baltimore is if he makes it really ugly where Baltimore, seeing no other option, trades him when his value is at it's highest. I doubt that will happen.

I'd take John Fox or Marvin Lewis as DC in a heartbeat. I think both will be looking for work in a week. That being said, they will probably do the broadcasting thing and wait for another head coaching job to percolate in a few years. I don't see either of those guys as a Dom Capers type of personality that went in and out of head coaching and defensive coordinator gigs year to year.

There was a Blane in Predator.

The snow isn't as bad as expected in PA. It's a light snow. The game could have been played. I find the "in the name of public safety" disingenuous. If the NFL was concerned about *public safety*, they'd ban booze in the stadiums.

Has DraftTek finished a mock draft that assumes Luck stays at Stanford?

For me, it was a choice between Wrotto and Merriman for #5. Wilson and Florence were my top priorities.

I feel unclean having read this thread.

Play the 4-3. Less holes to fill on the roster, and it plays to the strengths we already have. Going 3-4 would require a major investment in the LB position, probably so much so, you couldn't get it all done in one year of the draft and FA unless you sacrificed upgrading other positions.