Well the off season spending spree appears to be a bust !! Al is fed up and looking to release players with high salaries and low performance (seems smart on the surface). First on Al's list DeAngelo Hall and his 7yr / 70 contract was cut today. According to the media as many as 15 more players are on the chopping block, some I think we all wouldn't mind turning in their jerseys and never hearing from again. Some however I personally don't want to see released only to come back and haunt the Raiders for years.

Before I get into the players I would like to "officially" say I was opposed to firing Kiffin and Ryan. I believed the team needed a direction and by keeping the coaching staff intact was the biggest thing to help the young talent develop. Now that Kiffin is gone and the team is even more tailspin than the weekly is Kiffin going to be fired saga I am for cleaning house. Rob Ryan Defense looks horrible so I hope he is part of the purge. I hope but seriously doubt  it will happen that Tom Cable is retained as offensive line coach moving forward. Pay the man for taking on this mess, plus I think he is a top notch assistant coach.

Now to the players possibly on the list I would like to see retained.

1. Michael Huff - Yes the same Michael Huff we picked #7 who has done nothing special. When the scouting report came out on him everyone was divided if he was a safety or if he could be a cornerback with his size and speed(which is faster than the "other" corner on the roster). At last glance the safety portion hasnt worked out that great. It also just so happens we now have an opening at cornerback for the next 8 games. Michael Huff welcome to an Island. You are now going to be thrown on all game as the "other" cornerback just runs around hoping to be noticed. maybe just MAYBE Huff can become a defensive force. He may not be an all-pro like the "other" corner but like Gallery maybe he can find his niche and become a solid member of the team, just not the all-pro they were drafted to be. That would be fine with me at this point. So here is to Michael Huff the cornerback immediately. Let's see what we got going into 2009.

2. Kwame Harris - Yes the same guy who's pass blocking reminds some of a matador as he just waives a flag and allows people the size of bull's to just run by him and sack a QB almost his size. Kwame is NOT a starting left tackle in the NFL, but provides depth at one of the hardest positions to find. The Raiders have a young player they drafted that ended up costing them a top pick in the 3rd round this year. Mario Henderson was the guy they moved up in the draft to get 2 years ago. Let's see if he can protect the blindside of our 60 Million dollar man. He has 8 games to prove what he is made of. I was a HUGE skeptic of him but will say in his 2 games this year he made me believe he could have been worth the pick. So back to why I keep Kwame. Well I think he provides depth and may be an upgrade at the RT so keep him around and his salary wasn't horrible.

3. Gabril Wilson - Now I hope he isnt on the list because he was THE ONLY big offseason signing that has worked out. Plays hard and really seems pissed that this team isn't doing it's job. KEEP him around hopefully his attitude will rub off. Worst case we just have a really good safety.

There is also the young "cast of characters" that I believe this team should retain to move forward like McFadden, Bush, O'Neill, Gallery, Grove, Shillens, Higgins, Miller etc from the offensive side of the ball. On the Defense Scott, Warren, Howard, Morrison, Routt, Branch, Ekejiuba, etc.

If the next 8 games can at least give us player evaluations of the young guys especially at key positions LT, DE, DT, WR we can hopefully fill a NEED in next years draft with a player who can help take us to the next level.

To the rest of overpaid/underperforming players I hope you don't have furniture on order for the new house cause you may just lose your deposit on that.

BTW: Please lets keep this on the players, Al Davis is the owner and you can like him or hate him, but reality is he isn''t going anywhere. So lets focus on what we have. Not replacing Al Davis. I am sure multiple threads will be written about that subject.