Player Appreciation Thread

[jimkelly02]

On 7/21/2020 at 2:32 PM, drfrey13 said:

I was happy about the Burfict signing and would not be against bringing him back.  He got a raw deal and there is no way he should have been suspended more games than MG.  Even with past incidents that should have been a 1 game suspension.  The player that needed a suspension that week was Barnett.  If MG makes that same hit next year 10 times he will probably get a couple fines and a 1 game suspensions. 

Incognito really surprised me and I am happy to have him back.  He does have that killer instinct also and like Burfict I sometimes wonder when we will see a breaking story about him.  I think that is the real reason Jackson is still on the team.  I wish we could have 5 guys on the line with the Wiz's mentality.  Even as a little kid I loved watching him get after people.

AB is AB and that is all I have to say.

I’d love to have Burfict back, in theory, as he would be a great SAM for us and cheap.  But the reality is isn’t capable of not getting suspended again OR AT LEAST the risk is very high, too high to take.  Now I agree he shouldn’t have been suspended, even at all, but the reality is the NFL league office hates him and has and will continue if he comes back actively look to FIND problems with him.

My point is id love him back but the risk vs reward, given the rigged system against him, is too much.  Having a pretty important starter on your team who might be suspended each and every week is a debilitating factor to the team.  It’s equivalent to having a player like AB who might just not show up to a week 17 game.  Much different situations but the same impact.

[jimkelly02]

4 hours ago, Humble_Beast said:

Looking back, those 2016 & 2017 drafts were horrible. Half of the posters can draft better than the final product of those drafts. Those draft classes should have been the core of this team in 2020

100%.... that’s why Reggie leaving and Mayock coming in is so massive... not to mention the change in “culture”.

Its actually quite a crazy thing to think we’re going to challenge for a playoff spot without nearly an entire ‘16 and ‘17 draft.

While there could be 1 million different outcomes but just a quick one I created is.... imagine if we had 

Kenny Clarke DT [Joseph] on his 5th year option, Tre'Davious White CB (but no Tanner Muse as he was the pick we got from Conley trade), Zach Cunningham LB [who many! wanted over Obi] Kenny Golliday WR [Vanderdoes].

It really only takes 3 solid drafts in a row to make you a contender.  But two bad drafts In a row to devastate your franchise. 

 

[jimkelly02]

On 7/21/2020 at 4:13 PM, G said:

I was yelling at the TV to trade up once #10 was on the clock. I thought he might slip to us then...SNAP!

I was doing the same thing! I’m a nut on draft day... if people thought I was bad this year omfg years ago I was insane, literally.

same Thing happened when Derwin James was falling.... wanted him at 10 was so glad he fell.. then the trade to 15 (and livid a 3+5 is all got)... each pick I was so nervous he’d get picked.... like Literally every pick he had a high chance of going... then we’re on the clock at 15 and he’s still there and....

I’m smuggly sitting with my friends saying how smart it was to trade down and still get James.... and “The Raiders select Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA” and my heart just stopped beating for legit 5-10 seconds as the cold shock of Raider Draft Day disappointment came over me.

Luckily Miller became a very good pick.

[jimkelly02]

On 7/21/2020 at 2:24 PM, Blazer026 said:

I do think Kwiatkoski is a perfect fit in Guenthers D 

Not to try and sound overly critical of word choice and play a game of Symantec’s, but....

While there are far better MLBs for our system, given the cost of obtaining (whether that be a high cap cost as a FA or low cap cost but high draft capital cost) a starting MLB for our system, Kwiatkoski Scores very very high.  He’s a good compliment to Littleton and should be a good blitzer in the A-gap.  Given the cost of obtaining him he was a great addition.

[Humble_Beast]

9 minutes ago, jimkelly02 said:

I was doing the same thing! I’m a nut on draft day... if people thought I was bad this year omfg years ago I was insane, literally.

same Thing happened when Derwin James was falling.... wanted him at 10 was so glad he fell.. then the trade to 15 (and livid a 3+5 is all got)... each pick I was so nervous he’d get picked.... like Literally every pick he had a high chance of going... then we’re on the clock at 15 and he’s still there and....

I’m smuggly sitting with my friends saying how smart it was to trade down and still get James.... and “The Raiders select Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA” and my heart just stopped beating for legit 5-10 seconds as the cold shock of Raider Draft Day disappointment came over me.

Luckily Miller became a very good pick.

I get caught up in emotion during draft night too. Lol 

[jimkelly02]

2 hours ago, NYRaider said:

He allowed like 16 sacks (NFL record is 17) and had one of the worst grades in PFF history. 

As I figured your just going off PFF grades and sack totals.  PFF has a place, but their worst than the Main Stream Media in finding ways to support their narrative.  If they liked a pick they look past his faults and if they dislike a pick the find ways to grade low to support their draft analysis.  
 

Miller has a very tough middle 1/2 of the year but the first and last 1/4’s were good for a rookie.

He played thru a pretty severe partial MCL sprain.  Had we had any other option he’d have been IR’d, but he toughed it out for the team. He injured it week 4 and kept playing and even injured it more week 9.  Prior to week 4 he was a playing great. And as the injury was less impactful in weeks 13ish and beyond he played good again. 
 

Miller gave up 14 sacks not 17.  Both years Miller actually had 20 “blown pass blocks”.  One year he gave up 14 the other 8.  Now not all blown pass blocks are equal, some could be immediate and the QB is hit during his drop steps, the other could be a pressure that turned into a sack because the QB held on to the ball too long.  I believe Carr had a couple of those that padded his sack allowed categories.

https://sisdatahub.com/players/5211

Miller was a good run blocker throughout his rookie year as I said before.

Miller was very raw and had some massive technique flaws, such as he’d often reach hard or actually take steps outward towards rushers in 9wide alignments.  Osemele and Feliciano did him no favors with help inside, another issue he has technique wise.  Around the middle of last year it all clicked for Miller and he settled down.

My point being Miller has a rough rookie season and had bad stats but it certainly was not the worst season by a LT.  When watching the game we weren’t petrified Carr would get killed on ever pass snap.  There’s been plenty of LTs who every snap your wondering if it’ll be the QBs last.

 

[jimkelly02]

40 minutes ago, Humble_Beast said:

I get caught up in emotion during draft night too. Lol 

I have real “feminine emotional” traits on draft day.... that’s the PC way for saying I act like a female dog, lol.

i just think I know the right Thing to do, or at least have a list of the possible right things to do.

im not the best, not always right, been very wrong before..... but I can tell a very bad pick when I see it.  I think a lot of us can.  The Joseph at 13, jihad Ward over Bama’s Robinson and Reed, etc we’re all obviously bad moves from the second they were made.

There’s just sooo much at stake in draft day.  It’s the future of our team!

Edited July 23, 2020 by jimkelly02

[jimkelly02]

5 hours ago, Darbsk said:

Loved Joseph that year too, i remember we did a full on FF mock draft and wanted Joseph but in the 2nd as I thought he'd struggle manning up on TEs 😀, I was really pushing for Andrew Billings to be our pick in the 1st though ..... its eye opening to look back at our big boards in hindsight and see who we hit on and missed on 😁

I liked Billings a lot, but as a 2nd-3rd.  I like players conditional of where they go, once they reach to high more very sensitive of their value.  Still a good player but too tick for my blood kinda thing.

joseph is a very likeable player.  Good guy, vicious hitter whose small.... there’s a lot to like from an emotional stand point.  But we always knew he could play SS and cover TEs well and lacked hips to drop to the slot.  He was a man without a country, from day 1.  But the hope was he could play FS and be a big hitter back there.

[NYRaider]

21 hours ago, Humble_Beast said:

Good try, that was his rookie year. He was thrown into the wolves, and played injured. Last year he only allowed 6 sacks 

Someone said he took too much criticism as a rookie, I replied with statistics proving he had one of the worst individual seasons in NFL history for a LT. The criticism was well deserved but he definitely played better last season... lmao

[HvacRaider]

I am happy that we have waller on the team. He is a near elite TE.. wish he could grab some more TD but rhats not really his fault!! Hope that this year we get to see the same williams as we did the first 1/4 the season, the same renfrow the last 1/4  and none of the middle of the season WR play.. 

[G]

Add a healthy pass catching Jacobs and were rolling with our new rookies. 

[RaidersAreOne]

1 hour ago, G said:

Add a healthy pass catching Jacobs and were rolling with our new rookies. 

I hope we see him more in the passing game too. I also hope we spell him with Bowden accordingly so JJ stays healthy and effective. 

[drfrey13]

7 hours ago, NYRaider said:

Someone said he took too much criticism as a rookie, I replied with statistics proving he had one of the worst individual seasons in NFL history for a LT. The criticism was well deserved but he definitely played better last season... lmao

I definitely agree Miller had a bad rookie year no matter how you spin it.  If you are that injured get off the field.  I remember having an argument at the time that there was no benefit to him being out there and we should try Parker on the left.  We were going nowhere so play the backup QB and see what Parker can do.  Sharpe could not have been worse that Parker on the right and Parker could not have been worse then a hurt Miller on the left.  Throw McCarron out there and tell him to earn his paycheck.  Honestly the only reason Miller did not break the sack record was that Parker's man was beating him faster than Miller was getting beat.  None of 2018 made sense and is the one year I give Carr a pass without even thinking twice.  The injuries in 2016, 2017, and then getting sacked 51 times in 2018 should have broken Derek like his brother was broken in Houston.

[jimkelly02]

11 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

I definitely agree Miller had a bad rookie year no matter how you spin it.  If you are that injured get off the field.  I remember having an argument at the time that there was no benefit to him being out there and we should try Parker on the left.  We were going nowhere so play the backup QB and see what Parker can do.  Sharpe could not have been worse that Parker on the right and Parker could not have been worse then a hurt Miller on the left.  Throw McCarron out there and tell him to earn his paycheck.  Honestly the only reason Miller did not break the sack record was that Parker's man was beating him faster than Miller was getting beat.  None of 2018 made sense and is the one year I give Carr a pass without even thinking twice.  The injuries in 2016, 2017, and then getting sacked 51 times in 2018 should have broken Derek like his brother was broken in Houston.

I don’t think it was Miller demanding he stay in, it was the coaches pushing him to.  He should have been held out of a few games at least to heel up.  
Your absolutely right: Sharpe should have been played at RT.  
 

19 hours ago, NYRaider said:

Someone said he took too much criticism as a rookie, I replied with statistics proving he had one of the worst individual seasons in NFL history for a LT. The criticism was well deserved but he definitely played better last season... lmao

Lol you “proved” nothing.  In fact you gave incorrect stats (Pff overstates his sack totals... and prolly on purpose) and just said “He had one of the worst PFF grades in history”.  Then you distorted the criticism of Miller.  👏 👏 well done!

i really don’t understand how you think you’ve proved anything.

Again he allowed 14 sacks not 16.

https://sisdatahub.com/players/5211

Furthermore, yes the criticism Miller’s rookie year was well deserved, no one said he was great his rookie year.  He just wasn’t the worst of all time.

His rookie year PFF grade was 48.2 overall with 52.7 pass block and 44.1 run block.
Miller according to PFF allowed 65 pressures all year, but....

“He came out of the gates playing well above expectation, as he allowed just five total pressures and zero sacks through his first 117 pass-block snaps in Weeks 1-3. He suffered a Grade II MCL sprain against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 and played through it, allowing seven total pressures in the process.“

Let’s just look at why PFF ratings are BS:

his run blocking grade was lower than his pass blocking grade.  Yet, he only had 6 blown run blocks on 364 attempts (1.6%).  His “much improved” ‘19 season he had 9 for 2.1%.  This is one of many reasons you can’t take PFF grades seriously.  They are proof of nothing and anyone who uses them in debate is disingenuous.  
PFF had Miller ranked the 7th best OT in his draft class, yet we took him at #15 and the 2nd OT overall.  They’re notorious for bumping PFF grades of players they were high on up and players they were low on down.  That’s one of the core reasons people don’t trust or even dignify the ratings system.

The 3 main points of my argument were:

1.  He was a solid run blocker his rookie year.

2.  The injury should have kept him off the field after week 3 until he was healthy.

3.  He was bad in pass blocking but not the worst ever or close.  

[drfrey13]

7 minutes ago, jimkelly02 said:

I don’t think it was Miller demanding he stay in, it was the coaches pushing him to.  He should have been held out of a few games at least to heel up.  
Your absolutely right: Sharpe should have been played at RT.  

No matter who wanted him out there it still made zero sense.  People said he was not risking further injury to himself but his inability to do his job at an except able level was putting other players at risk for injury.  I am sure Carr could have used a break during his 51 sack run also.