Oakland Raiders News: How Will The Raiders Address Their Hole at MLB?

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 9, 2009 4:21 PM PST

There are many names to ponder in the upcoming draft.

In fact, just last year if you'd have told me that Rey Maualuga would be available when the Raiders choose, I'd have been elated. In fact, right now, he may be the best choice.

That is if you overlook his teammates, Cushing and Mathews. Or if you somehow forget how to spell Laurinaitus so you leave him off the list.

Then there is the other Pac 10 sleeper that, newcomer, Darth Davis mentioned, Zach Follett.

It seems that this draft, while it currently looks like an O-Line fest, could turn into one of the best linebackers drafts ever

Any one of those 5 players could fill the void that seems to have been around since Matt Millen left. This team needs a solid, run stuffing, punch you in the mouth field general that shows up to work with his lunchbox and hardhat and doesn't rely on speed to pay his bills.

If you team that person up with Morrison and Howard and let them do what they do best, use thier speed to take away portions of the field in the passing game and zone blitzing, then the Raider run defense and defense in general will be leaps and bounds ahead of last year.

The question is...WILL THE PLAYER BE THE BEST VALUE AND FILL THE BIGGEST NEED ON DRAFT DAY FROM THE #7 HOLE?

Secondly, which of those players will fall as low as the 2nd or maybe even third round? At this point it looks like Follett and Mathews are the only potential 2nd or 3rd rounders.

People can say what they want about the Raiders draft history, BUT, this team has gotten much better and has been able to keep costs down through the draft. It is last year's spending spree on Free Agents that has me worried. I'd rather draft a stud MLB with the 7th pick than pay someone 8 million a year to come here. But, that's just me.

Who are some more names that we should be considering OR do you think that Suggs or another dynamic LB could be lured to play here?

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Comments

You better leave Rey Maualuga alone! He's ours @ 12. :P

Take a running back…you need one. heheh

Is there such a thing as a Playstation 3 Anonymous? I can't seem to stop thinking about or playing COD 4 and COD 5. I hear this is quite normal for a teenager, but I haven't been a teenager since Bill Clinton was frolicking with interns.

by Tim Lynch on Feb 9, 2009 5:22 PM PST reply actions

DOH!!!!

But when they start scheming us the way these guys did, and we weren't particularly ready for it, anything can happen."

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 9, 2009 5:23 PM PST up reply actions

hey zappa. Long time no see

how’s it feel to come out dominating then fall flat on your face and lose your playoff spot to San Diego in the last week?

Silver and Black Pride: Where Bacon hating happens
Fear the Fin: Where Sharks cakes happen
Athletics Nation: Where Billy Bean happens
Pounding the Rock: Where otstanding happens
Rakes of Mallow: Where Brady Quinn happens
S&B Nation: Where lazy people have nothing better to do happens

by KA1Z3R on Feb 10, 2009 4:01 AM PST up reply actions

Ahh, better to have had a chance than no chance at all. :P

do you really want to see the Chargers succeed more than the Broncos? Come on now…I’d rather have competed with the Raiders for the division than that fargin’ Chargers! Phyllis Rivers needs to have his face kicked. And LT needs some more tissues cause he cries too much. I hate that soulless team. Of course, I disrespect the Raiders every change I get too…I guess it only matters who is a threat and who isn’t. Btw, I got you guys going 8-8 next year. Congrats! Broncos will go 8-8 too, but that 8-8 will be a huge improvement over this years 8-8. The Orange Crush is returning to Denver baby!

“It’s all over fat man!” :)

by Tim Lynch on Feb 11, 2009 11:07 AM PST up reply actions

I've soured a bit on Maualuga

Last year I thought he was hands down the best player on USC, but this year he was not nearly as dominant, and even in the Senior Bowl he was handled fairly easily. I am for waiting until the 2nd round and getting a linebacker there. But as I have said before, way too early to talk about the draft, have to wait for the releases and the signings before we turn our attention to the draft. I have seen the Raiders in the past seemingly have no cap space and before you knew it they had more than enough money to sign a free agent or two. I believe Burgess makes about $9 million, trade him for a pick and voila! a little spending money, rework Gallery’s contract and you have some more.

by Laoren on Feb 9, 2009 5:48 PM PST reply actions

An Old AN Trick

Let’s play “A or B”!

Linebacker A
Height: 6-2
Weight: 260
Projected 40: 4.75

College Individual Stats:
Games – 50
Tackles – 273
Tackle/Loss – 22.5
Sacks – 9.0
Pass Def – 12
INT – 5

Linebacker B
Height: 6-2
Weight: 275
Projected 40: 4.75

College Individual Stats:
Games – 30
Tackles – 195
Tackle/Loss – 20.5
Sacks – 7.5
Pass Def – 5
INT – 3

A vs. B Averages

Tackles:
A – 5.46/game
B – 6.5/game

Tackles for Loss:
A – 0.45/game
B – 0.68/game

Sacks:
A – 0.18/game
B – 0.25/game

Passes Defended:
A – 0.24/game
B – 0.16/game

Interceptions:
A:0.10/game
B: 0.10/game

OK, no need for a lot of suspense on this one since I’ve lobbied for Linebacker B for quite a while on this blog now. For those who haven’t already been subjected to my constant ramblings on the subject, Linebacker B is South Carolina’s Jasper Brinkley (linebacker A is obviously Maualuga).

Scott Wright at DraftCountdown has Brinkley ranked as the 9th best ILB. FFToolbox has Brinkley ranked as the 8th best linebacker overall (Maualuga is ranked 1 and 2 respectively on these sites).

FFToolbox also has this great scouting report:

Jasper Brinkley, OLB, South Carolina
Brinkley played two seasons at Georgia Military College before transferring to South Carolina, where he has been the defensive star when healthy. In 2006 he led the team in total tackles with 107, a whopping 85 of which were solo. Going into 2007, as a result, Brinkley was named to the Pre-season All-SEC team by both the associated press and the coaches. An ankle injury slowed him in the beginning before torn knee ligaments sidelined him for the year. Because that happened in September, Brinkley received a medical redshirt and is back in Columbia now for his senior campaign. The linebacker is off to a solid—if unspectacular—start in 2008, but the key thing is that he is healthy. That’s the main red flag surrounding Brinkley among NFL personnel. When he is at full speed he can run under 4.7 in the 40, a scary element to go along with being 6’2’’ and 270 pounds. It is definitely not fun for opposing running backs to see Brinkley coming their way. Nor is he fun to see in blitz packages, as Brinkley is great at getting into the backfield and taking care of quarterbacks. His draft stock depends almost completely on how he finishes this season and his performance at the combine. Right now Brinkley looks like a second-rounder at best, but that could change.

Jasper Brinkley has been the heart and soul of the Gamecocks defense the past two years, plays with a nasty demeanor, and is a tackling machine. The obvious knock on him is his health, but the fact that he is as productive (if not more) than Maualuga and could be available anywhere from the 2nd to the 4th round in the draft puts him at the top of draft sleeper lists.

The point of all this is that there is player of Maualuga’s caliber that won’t require a Top 20 pick to get.

"I love being here. I love these players. I'm loyal to these players and this team, all right? I'm on the side of the players and the Raiders. And anybody who isn't on the side of the Raiders, then I'm not with them." - Randy Hanson, DB coach.

by LiveAdam on Feb 9, 2009 6:34 PM PST reply actions

dang, Brinkley sounds awesome

starting to have my opinion swayed a bit.

by KA1Z3R on Feb 10, 2009 4:03 AM PST up reply actions

Nice find

But when they start scheming us the way these guys did, and we weren't particularly ready for it, anything can happen."

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 10, 2009 7:03 AM PST up reply actions

Another Scouting Report

Another scouting report for Brinkley from Draft365. This site has Brinkley ranked 3rd among ILB, behind only Laurinitis and Maualuga.

POSITIVES
• Monstrous size – didn’t waste his rehab time as he appears to have built major muscle in his upper body
• Great build – very put together for 275 pounds
• Punishing hitter
• Fundamentally sound tackler
• Looks to be the defensive leader [sic]
• Plays with fire and intensity

NEGATIVES
• Coming off major knee surgery in 2007
• Takes questionable angles to the ball at times
• Can get caught up in traffic in pursuit
• Despite his size, he tends to be a sideline to sideline player – rarely attacks blockers at the line of scrimmage
• Shaky coverage skills – taken out on some plays
• Has a very good defensive line in front of him

KEY STATS
• JuCo transfer from Georgia Military
• Had 107 tackles in 2006

ANALYSIS
Brinkley is an imposing figure in the middle of defense. However, you have to wonder if his skill set can translate to a game that’s a few gears faster. But, if you are looking for a fiery S.O.B. who is going to go out there and take guys’ heads off, he’s your man.

If Brinkley is healthy he’s going to have a monster Combine. We’ll be lucky if he’s available at the top of the third round.

by LiveAdam on Feb 10, 2009 7:36 AM PST up reply actions

the one thing tha bothers me about Brinkley

is the injury and the coverage skills. We need a guy in the middle capable of not only making the sure tackles, which brinkley excels at, but we also need a guy who can play 16 games a season. And coverage is the big difference between Maualuga and Brinkley. While I know that Morrison and Howard could deal with coverage while Brinkley stays inside, but that speedy coverage at every linebacker spot was something that made us tougher to pass against. As a blitzer in passing situations I would mind this. But we need a complete MLB. Not just a run stuffer.

by KA1Z3R on Feb 10, 2009 12:59 PM PST up reply actions

May be able to put those fears to rest

The health concern is absolutely legitimate, and it’s one of the things that makes Brinkley a 3rd round pick rather than a 1st round pick. I would certainly wait to see how he performs at the Combine to make a better assessment on his health. I wouldn’t call him injury prone yet.

As for the coverage worries, I think you can put them to bed. I think the consensus view at SBP regarding our LB corp is that Morrison needs to move to the SAM position to cover TEs and RBs while we need to bring in a new MIKE linebacker. However, unless John Marshall really loves the 3-3-5 nickel defense, anytime an opposing offense goes into a “passing situation” one of the linebackers (right now our SAM) leaves the field and is replaced by a CB or safety. Under the system I think we’re envisioning, our run stuffing MIKE linebacker would be the one to leave the field while leaving Morrison and Howard, who are excellent in coverage on the field.

My point is that Brinkley, or whoever else may become the MLB for the Raiders, doesn’t necessarily need to have amazing coverage skills because there won’t be as many situations where they are actually on the field. Either way, I imagine that the coverage skills between Maualuga and Brinkley aren’t that dissimilar given they are roughly the same size with about the same speed.

by LiveAdam on Feb 10, 2009 6:03 PM PST up reply actions

Related Note

Jasper’s twin brother Casper Brinkley is currently on Carolina’s practice squad. He’s listed as a DE.

by LiveAdam on Feb 10, 2009 7:58 AM PST up reply actions

Hmm, maybe we'll take him too. :)

We may not need Maualuga after all…Spencer Larsen is a pure 3-4 ILB who was forced to fit into a 4-3 scheme last year. Giggity giggity.

by Tim Lynch on Feb 11, 2009 11:08 AM PST up reply actions

On another note completely unrelated

Michaelczik, the new line coach who just spent 8 years at Cal coaching among others, Mack, guess who will probably be lobbying for Mack on the 2nd round pick? I have a feeling the Raiders will be trying to trade players for draft picks this year. Al noted in his interview that he wanted to Raiders to play the young players, now is the time to bring them in and play them. I just have to believe that some team in need of a QB would want Walter, and would give a 3rd for him. I personally think Walter has some good talent, he was just brutalized in his stint here, somewhat similar to Gallery. Clearly though, he has no future here, and wrong for the Raiders to lock him up in purgatory. Russell is the franchise so no need to keep him here.

by Laoren on Feb 9, 2009 7:35 PM PST reply actions

Good post

To become a powerful team, we will need to find a linebacker who can be a defensive leader( Ray Lewis, Junior Seau, Zack Thomas). Who will plant a runningback on his ass

"May the wind be at our back, here comes the Silver and Black "

by RUKidding on Feb 12, 2009 2:49 AM PST reply actions

Good Post

I agree that the Raiders need a MLB to compliment Kirk Morrison & Thomas Howard, both are good young linebackers that are better against the pass than the run. The Raiders need an impact player at pick #7 and that pick needs to be MLB Rey Maualuga or SLB Brian Cushing. The Raiders need to make a statement in this draft that they intend to stop the run if the Raiders can select one of the two linebackers mentioned above and draft two defensive tackles the defense will improve.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/77766-thoughts-on-the-2009-nfl-draft-for-the-oakland-raiders

J. Little

by iknwftbl on Feb 12, 2009 8:54 AM PST reply actions