I like it... burn it down!!

I don't like losing players, but these moves are ballsy. They are the kind of moves I wanted him to make last season. 

1. DHB - I wanted him to take a pay cut and stay... oh well, he's gone now.
2. Phillip Wheeler - Overpaid by Miami. He and Ellerbe might light things up, but he went above our price range. I like him, but glad we didn't bite.
3. Tollefson - Never lived up to expectations as a situational pass rusher.
4. Michael Huff - Never really emerged as a great FS. Whiffed on a lot of tackles.
5. Desmond Bryant - Would loved to have kept him, but Cleveland paid him the kind of money that we cannot justify. He's not THAT good.

My questions...

1. Does this mean we are keeping Palmer? We freed up some big time space today. Or are Palmer and ROMAC the next victims?
2. Does letting Dezzy go mean that we are going 3-4? Houston and Kelly as DEs with a new NT brought in? 
3. Who will the forum beat on now that DHB is gone?
4. Do we still cut ROMAC and create holes at all three LB spots? I hope so, but can we find three starters (real starters).
5. Is this a full on flush it down reboot or are we just cutting overpriced mediocre talent?

I like it to.  My only problem is that we have been "rebuilding" for years now and now that they are REALLY rebuilding it's harder to wait.  I wanted the Raiders to do this years ago but we kept bringing in over paid players that took us no place. Now we have to sit back and let Reggie clean up this mess so he can start over.  I hope this is for real because I can't take another 10 years of "rebuilding"..

I think it's time to accelerate the bomb. There is no way we will be competitive next year. We are probably the favorites to finish with the worst record. Once it was clear that we lost the few young and talented players we had, we need to get out the old wrecking ball. The only players I would keep are TP, little wiz, JV, Reece, Moore, ford and streater. Oh and I guess Lamar Houston even though we will lose him a year from today. It's too bad Reggie resigned branch in order to sign Brisel and Bartell. Lmfao****, Reggie's a joke

I think you are being too hard on King Afro. I think his first year was full of rookie mistakes but there were some good moves as well. I think he is off to a great start this year with these cuts. All the guys he is targeting are mid-level FAs. We're probably a bottom ten team next year, which sucks, but if that means we turn this boat around... so be it.

But I am with you on the wrecking ball. Fugg it. Let's burn it down and drink our way through to the 2014-15 season.

Im with you to burn this motha down to the ground and start fresh, get rid of all the parts that dont want to be here or that are just collectting pay checks.

What's that saying--- any fool can tear a house down, only a craftsman can build it.

this team sucks. there is nobody on this team anymore. no fan will go to the stadium

Does this mean we are keeping Palmer? We freed up some big time space today. Or are Palmer and ROMAC the next victims?

ROMAC is gone.  Maybe not today, but when the time is right and it makes sense to cut him, they will.  Cutting CP3 is still a possibility, but the Raiders can afford to wait on that.  He has all the leverage right now.  He won't in a few weeks.  Doesn't help his cause that Ryan Fitzpatrick just got released- a poor man's Carson Palmer.  Oops.

I like it. These moves should have been done but better late than never. The Raiders are not finished with the cuts, CP3 and Kelly will be next. However, due to pressing need and the fact that Oakland will lose money by releasing RoMac, the Raiders may just try to trade him or ..... keep him as a 2 down MLB.

this team sucks. there is nobody on this team anymore. no fan will go to the stadium

It's not quite that bad, but of course it sucks. I beleive Reggie looked at the whole picture and decieded the team had a over inflated payroll and not evough talent. He is currently negotiating an extension for McFadden and Carson will be here because we need his leadership with our young offense and the 25 mil we would lose if we cut him.
This is year 1 of Reggies 3 year rebuild and the Raiders will be looking to trade down in the draft to accuire more pics to rebuild our team.

I don't mind switching to the 3-4 defense, one little problem, we have 0 quality LB's.  Maybe we are switching to 3-0.


I have never seen a roster with this many holes in terms of starters.   If Mark Davis was upset over last years performance, what is he going to say next season.  We couldn't beat most good college teams with this roster.  It is early yet but I don't see us winning any games next year.  We will be much worse than 4-12 unless something very different happens.

It's unfair to take a project that is about 50% to 60% done and pick it apart without waiting until it's complete. The only one I really would of wanted to keep would be Bryant. Unfortunately the timing was wrong for him to be a F/A. Huff'd departure is mildly surprising. Captain whiff who overruns plays and consistantly tackles way too high won't be that big of an issue other than another roster spot empty. I mean BEY? Who cares? He was an ineffective veteran. He was our #1 who is a #3 elsewhere. Don't think that Mark Davis isn't on board for this. This is not a surprise to him. Also, I'll give the Allen complainers a little tip, all these moves will probably buy him another year in S & B! I give Reggie alot of credit. He took a Raider franchise that has been ran only one way for it's lifetime and completely did a 180. Went against everything the Raiders have done and is plowing a new direction. The project is not over. Give it time.

The only cut I didn't care for was Huff. I thought he played well on def last season at corner after a rough start, of course there wasn't much on the team to compare him too. 

I hope this means we intend to build through the draft. If that is the case it is imperative that we hit on some of our early picks. One superstar can help to change a team given that the other pieces around them are at least functional, and I am talking front office on down. 

With the way this thing has imploded I would just about prefer Palmer go ahead an hit the road as well. Embrace the future. It is upon us.          

peppy, here is how I see your five questions.

1.  Yes, the Raiders are going to keep Palmer.  Why?  Because there isn't a better option and his cap hit over the next two years is large enough to scare anyone from flat out cutting him.  Maybe Pryor will step up and win the starting job, but if he doesn't the Raiders need someone other than another Lienart holding the clipboard.

2.  I think that keeping RoMac, Houston, Kelly, and Shaunghnessy points to the Raiders switching to a 3-4.  McClain may be able to live up to his draft status in a 3-4.  I also think that Shaun might be a solid 3-4 OLB, if not a 2nd string DE for sure.  I also think Kelly and Houston are actually built for playing 3-4 DE.  Neither is really big enough to be a 4-3 DT, and both are just a little too big to play a 4-3 DE.

3.  Reggie.  For the next two+ years he is going to be the scape coat.  Longer if there isn't an imediate turnaround.  I really think it is going to be another two years before the Raiders really have a team that can consistently get to the playoffs. 

4.  See 2

5.  Both, the Raiders were full of overpaid average players.  I did think DHB and Huff could be part of moving forward, but they just flat out made too much money for the production that the team was getting.  Both were very high draft picks, and except for a season or two from Huff, neither one of them really produced.

I know most of you are sick of Uber and his "rebuild" talk,  but look at what has happened in the last 13 months.  The Raiders are really in the middle of a true rebuild. 

An honest look , says the 2013 team is not going to be as good as the (4-and-12) 2012 team . The QB arguement should be null and void .

 Which ever David ( Palmer - or - Prior ) we send out to face Goliath ( the 16 NFL defences ) , it's going to be with a stick , instead of a slingshot .


YES ! LETS DO IT --------- FIRE BOTH LEVIATHAN'S   

3. Who will the forum beat on now that DHB is gone?

Easy. Darren McFadden, Carson Palmer, and Tyvon Branch are the new whipping boys this year.

I like it to.  My only problem is that we have been "rebuilding" for years now and now that they are REALLY rebuilding it's harder to wait.  I wanted the Raiders to do this years ago but we kept bringing in over paid players that took us no place. Now we have to sit back and let Reggie clean up this mess so he can start over.  I hope this is for real because I can't take another 10 years of "rebuilding"..

i respectfully disagree with u here vic. i we have been RELOADING in an attempt by al to win quick. it hasn't happened. our 1st round draft picks the last 10 years are proof IMO that he tried to win a SB with every first round pick and every high-priced FA. i loved al davis, but it just wasn't working the last decade.

when you rebuild, you focus on infrastructure. the OL and front-7 were neglected by al davis the last decade. i mean, the only OL we drafted in the first round the last 10 years al was picking was Robert Gallery and we drafted no DL in the first round. thats gotta change especially if we wanna be any better than 30th against the run.

I think it's time to accelerate the bomb. There is no way we will be competitive next year. We are probably the favorites to finish with the worst record. Once it was clear that we lost the few young and talented players we had, we need to get out the old wrecking ball. The only players I would keep are TP, little wiz, JV, Reece, Moore, ford and streater. Oh and I guess Lamar Houston even though we will lose him a year from today. It's too bad Reggie resigned branch in order to sign Brisel and Bartell. ****, Reggie's a joke

Why keep those guys?

• Terrelle Pryor will never be a quality NFL quarterback until he learns how to get some velocity behind his throws.
• Sebastian Janikowski, Jon Condo, Jacoby Ford, Darren McFadden, Marcel Reece, Jared Veldheer, and Lamarr Houston are ALL unrestricted free agents after this coming season. Additionally, Chimdi Chekwa is a restricted free agent at that time.
• The following year David Ausberry, Richard Gordon, Taiwan Jones, Denarius Moore, Terrelle Pryor and Stefen Wisniewski are all unrestricted free agents and Rod Streater is a restricted free agent.

That quite literally leaves us with Tyvon Branch as the only guy guaranteed to be on the roster who is even an average level NFL starter. So what then? "Build through the draft"?

And this is what I hate about Reggie's stupid "plan" (if there even is one). Say you draft 8 guys per year (somehow picking up an extra pick each year). You have 22 starting spots to fill plus another 6 pseudo-starters (slot WR, nickel CB, backup RB, rotational DL, etc.) and a roster total of 53 players. That means you need a minimum of 28 guys who are good enough to see regular playing time in the NFL and 25 "fluff" players who are there just as insurance. The Rookie wage scale says you can't sign players longer than 4 years (additional 5th year team option for 1st round picks), so gone are the 6-7 year rookie deals of guys like JaMarcus Russell, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Calvin Johnson.

Now let's say that, with your 8 picks per draft, you get extremely lucky and manage to hit on 4 of those picks (viable NFL starter) every season. After 4 years that gives you 16 viable starters spread over your offense and defense, which still elaves you 12 players short of your target of 28 quality NFL players who see regular playing time. I know, I know, that's where free agency comes in. So you fill those 12 spots with free agents. Now let's start looking at cap numbers: What's the going rate for a starting caliber NFL free agent these days? Roughly $5 million per year, give or take depending on position (Look at the contracts guys like Brisiel, Desmond Bryant, and Philip Wheeler got)? So you sign 12 free agents at $5 million per year. That puts you at $60 million against the cap, but wait! You still have those 4 starting caliber draft picks whose rookie deals are up! So tack on another $20 million (if they aren't fed up with losing and are willing to stick around for that cheap) and you are suddenly at $80 million against the cap. Add in the other 12 guys still under their rookie deals (now at around $.75 million cap hit each?) and you are probably at around $90 million for those first 28 roster spots. So now you have $30 million to go sign 25 players to fill out your roster ($1.2 million per). This bumps you pretty close to the salary cap and we haven't even factored in bad free agent signings or parquee level players...

In a nutshell, I don't expect the Raiders to do anything worthwhile in the next few years and the blame for that falls squarely on the shoulders of Reggie McKenzie.

P.S. I think $5 million per free agent might be a low ball number, especially when you start factoring in what the going rate is for starting QBs and left tackles (easily $10+ million each).