Position Battles

[16 to 88]

Not long now before the beginning of camp so how about a positions battle thread. These are the ones that came to mind no doubt I missed some...

Quarterback: Cousins, Mendoza, O’Connell.

This has been discussed in another thread but of course it will be the most scrutinized and talked about. Cousins was brought in to be the starter and chatter is they don’t want to throw Mendoza into the fire and have him sit. Will all 3 get first team reps in TC and/or preseason? Who will be #1 come opening day? Who will be #2?

Left Guard: Burford, Rogers.

Even though they signed Burford to a 1 year and he has the experience, Rogers is bigger and much more athletic. Can he hold off Rogers?

Right Guard: JPJ, Zuhn III.

Will JPJ be cemented at RG and no challengers? Or will someone like Zuhn III wrestle it away from him? Maybe Burford sticks at LG and Rogers is moved to RG?

Right Tackle: Glaze, Grant, Zuhn III.

Not sure they view Grant as a RT as I believe he didn’t even take a snap there? Still, doesn’t mean he won’t and I gotta believe they like the idea of Zuhn III wrestling it away from everyone.

Wide Receiver: Tucker, Nailor, Bech, Thornton, Benson.

Probably the only two with guaranteed starting positions are Tucker and Nailor. Unless somebody else shows out, Bech, Thornton and Benson will all be trying to nail down a lot of playing time. Benson has already been returning punts I believe it is so it looks as though he will be difficult to keep off the field.

Running Back #2: Washington, Hemby, Laube.

Probably the three main players in all this unless somebody else sticks their nose in it.

Nose Tackle: Butler, Jones, Pegues, Tasi, Cleveland.

Do they want Butler at nose? Or DT in 4-3 alignments? In the 3-4 downs will it be Jones and his massive frame? Same goes for Pegues, Tasi. What about Cleveland?

Defensive End: Koonce, Crawford.

Crosby and Paye will eat up the majority of snaps but can Koonce reestablish himself? They spent a 3rd on Crawford where does he fit in?

Cornerback: Porter, McCoy.

Who will start opposite of Stokes?

Safety: Pola-Mao, Stukes.

Will the rookie overcome the veteran?

Kicker: Gay or Tokyo Toe?

[raider_kin]

First round busts want equal time;

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 215002007/

I remember seeing a picture of Mandarich before he became a bust and thinking 'his calves are skinnier than my forearms.'
Guess he hated leg day

[raidersince63]

I remember seeing a picture of Mandarich before he became a bust and thinking 'his calves are skinnier than my forearms.'
Guess he hated leg day

Yup...and I vividly remember the over the top kind of hype before he was even drafted,,,just goes to show that there's a huge difference between perception and reality.

[raidersince63]

So much good stuff there, like Johnny Lam Jones being a #2 pick with 35 catches his senior year. However in Texas' offense at the time that was record breaking.

However, I will fight anyone who says Russell is not the #1 bust of all time. Come on, not even close.

True, but I suppose that depends on whether someone is a Raiders fan or a Chargers fan.

[SuperRaider]

They got Jeff George as a bust; I don’t know about that; in my opinion I thought George had the best arm the nfl has ever seen….I mean if Jamarcus Russell could throw the ball 80 yards on his knees; Jeff George could throw the ball 80 yards on his back….

[raidersince63]

They got Jeff George as a bust; I don’t know about that; in my opinion I thought George had the best arm the nfl has ever seen….I mean if Jamarcus Russell could throw the ball 80 yards on his knees; Jeff George could throw the ball 80 yards on his back….

George's arm was not much of a question..."Million dollar arm...50 cent head."

[Reno Hightower]

They got Jeff George as a bust; I don’t know about that; in my opinion I thought George had the best arm the nfl has ever seen….I mean if Jamarcus Russell could throw the ball 80 yards on his knees; Jeff George could throw the ball 80 yards on his back….

He led the NFL in passing in 1997, far from being a bust. Not the most endearing personality though.

[haji81872]

George was tough as hell for us though. I thought he got a raw deal. Not only did he get sacked a lot, he got lit up and still got back up and kept chucking. He showed me a lot. 4000 yards, 29 TD vs 9 interceptions. He got sacked 58 times and played every game and all but 10 snaps. David Klinger his back up that season deserves the bust label way more than him.

[Attyla]

They got Jeff George as a bust; I don’t know about that; in my opinion I thought George had the best arm the nfl has ever seen….I mean if Jamarcus Russell could throw the ball 80 yards on his knees; Jeff George could throw the ball 80 yards on his back….

When the team that traded up for you gives up on you after 4 years, that is bust like performance. When the team that traded for you (and they gave up a lot) abandons you after three games into your second season, that is bust like performance. When the team that signs you to a 5 year 26M contract (which was really a good contract in 1997) gives up on you when a new coach who is considered a QB whisperer is brought in, that is bust like performance. And especially when the guy they end up getting is a career journeyman and they want the journeyman over you. There is a lot of bust like components to Jeff's career. He never lived up to any of the hype, was a dick to a lot of people and never won over a locker room.

Great arm, but a head made of cabbage. And the meltdown on the sidelines when he was a Falcon was definitely mind blowing. He went full meltdown to his head coach (cannot remember who he was and too lazy to look) and lost his job as a result.

[raidersince63]

I'm sure if you ask most Colts fans if George was a bust or not, they'd say "hell yeah". The Colts actually traded up because they valued him so highly of him and drafted him #1 but he never came close to meeting the expectations of a #1 draft pick. At that time, he was signed to the largest rookie contract in history. But in his 4 years at Indy he had 41 TDs and 46 INTs and blamed everyone but himself and screamed at coaches when things didn't go his way.

He managed to wear out his welcome everywhere he played and had trouble staying on the field throughout his career by bruising his vagina multiple times. To point to him as "leading the NFL in passing" is a bit misleading because the only passing stat he led the league in that year was passing yards (3917) which is the lowest number of yards in the last 39 years.

So as a Raider fan, ask yourself this question; if for example, Mendoza's first 4 years with the Raiders results in numbers matching Jeff George's #s and he ended up being a total dick, would you consider him a bust?

Hell yeah.

[16 to 88]

and a lot of sheer garbage was drafted in the later rounds as well.

Actually, one could argue and assuredly be correct that this is the case!

Hoping this is one of the times we nailed it...

[rich72]

When the team that traded up for you gives up on you after 4 years, that is bust like performance. When the team that traded for you (and they gave up a lot) abandons you after three games into your second season, that is bust like performance. When the team that signs you to a 5 year 26M contract (which was really a good contract in 1997) gives up on you when a new coach who is considered a QB whisperer is brought in, that is bust like performance. And especially when the guy they end up getting is a career journeyman and they want the journeyman over you. There is a lot of bust like components to Jeff's career. He never lived up to any of the hype, was a dick to a lot of people and never won over a locker room.

Great arm, but a head made of cabbage. And the meltdown on the sidelines when he was a Falcon was definitely mind blowing. He went full meltdown to his head coach (cannot remember who he was and too lazy to look) and lost his job as a result.

Atalanta also traded away Brett Farve though in 92.

[raidersince63]

Atalanta also traded away Brett Farve though in 92.

Yes, but Favre was not the #1 pick, he was drafted in the 2nd round...Favre did not play well in Atlanta and they were concerned about his health and partying all night. Jerry Glaville did not want to draft him in the first place and they butted heads and Glanville was probably the reason Favre was sent packing, especially when Ron Wolfe offered GB's 1st round draft pick in exchange for Favre.

Favre did obviously flourish in Green Bay though and I don't think anyone would dare consider him a bust.

[mranquales]

Not being able to trade Maxx Crosby for Ioane Vega will come back to bite us.

[BoJacksonRules]

I have no idea what we have in Grant and Rodgers. Seems like they have Grant as an OT and Rodgers as an IOL. If my memory serves me correctly that is the opposite of what they both played in college.

[chucker]

I have no idea what we have in Grant and Rodgers. Seems like they have Grant as an OT and Rodgers as an IOL. If my memory serves me correctly that is the opposite of what they both played in college.

Grant played LT in college - pretty much exclusively. Rodgers started out as a tackle in college and then moved inside. Grant was drafted to play tackle and Rodgers was drafted to play guard.