Welcome the Sunday weekly round-up edition of Pirate Booty. We have all the biggest Raider stories from the past week packaged in one convenient location. Browse through if you missed anything, and don't complain about reruns if you haven't. If you want to see the full edition of Pirate Booty from any day, just click this link to browse through the treasure chest.
June 13th
'Action' Jackson is a Ford man:
Raiders Coach Hue Jackson Thinks Jacoby Ford Will Have a Breakout Season in 2011 - SB Nation Bay Area
The fact of the matter is, the Raiders cannot afford to sit around and wait for Heyward-Bey to develop into a serious downfield threat when they have a guy who is ready to step into that role and produce now. If Jackson can convince Davis to let him start Ford over Heyward-Bey, it will be very telling about how much Davis trusts Jackson, or doesn’t trust him.
It is certainly going to be interesting to watch how the playing time for the receiver corps shakes out. Especially If he-who-shall-not-be-jinxed stays healthy. With Denarius Moore likely pushing for snaps as the season goes there isn't going to be a lot of PT for DHB.
Speaking of players pushing for snaps at receiver—I don't see much room for this next guy:
Nick Miller of Raiders working out with the best
Thanks to being in the right place at the right time, Miller, 24, has seen the light - he's working out with and getting tips from Pro Bowl receivers. "Every day, I learn something from them," Miller said. "It's brought my game from A to Z already, in just the short time I have been with them."
Thanks to bryhnno for fan shotting that article. He mentioned Wes Welker visions of Miller in the slot. We shall see. Ideally, I think Murphy would be best suited for the slot. Miller is going to have his work cut out to make the team. It sounds like he is doing everything to be prepared, and that is a good start.
June 14th
Trevor Scott is a Hue Jackson fan:
Trevor Scott Says Hue Jackson Will Take Raiders To Super Bowl | Football News Now
"I think Hue Jackson getting hired as a head coach is a huge step forward," Scott stated with Richardson very much approving. "It kind of stinks seeing coach Cable go . . . he did nothing but go up every single year, so best wishes to him, but I feel like Hue Jackson is going to take that next step to where we were and he’s going to take us to where we want to go and that is to win the AFC Championship and then win the Super Bowl.
I get the feeling from different quotes from players that they genuinely liked Cable, but I think they almost all believe Hue Jackson is a better coach. Except for maybe Robert Gallery—who is so tall his brain didn't make it to his head.
Paul Gutierrez outlines a great reason why the Raiders wouldn't move to L.A.:
Gutierrez: L.A. means less control for Raiders' Davis
It makes more sense to look at the ownership situations in San Diego, Minnesota, St. Louis and Jacksonville, the other franchises with which Leiweke said AEG has talked, conversations that have apparently included the conglomerate picking up relocation costs. Personally, if a team is going to move to Los Angeles to fill the No. 2 media market's NFL void that has existed since the end of the 1994 season, I'd like to see the Rams make the jump.
I am all for the Rams moving back to L.A. Also, the harder it is for AEG to get a team to move to L.A. the more leverage any team would have when moving there.
June 15th
Replacing Nnamdi
Trevor Scott and former Raiders Jay Richardson gave recent interviews and they both commented on the fact that there is only one Nnamdi Asomugha.
Raiders Players Agree: There’s No Replacing Nnamdi Asomugha | Football News Now
"I definitely think they’re trying to fill the void, obviously taking those two corners, but to fill Nnam’s void is going to be huge," he said. "Nnam is just a freak athlete. Not a lot of teams throw to that man. And don’t be fooled he will stick his nose down there to come up and make a tackle. . . How smart this guy is, just the way he knows the defense like the back of his hand."
While the Raiders will have a hard time ever finding a corner as good as Nnam Stanford Routt is ready to try:
Raiders' Stanford Routt: "There isn't a Corner in the League Flat Out Better Than Me" - Silver And Black Pride
Now there is a very good chance that Routt will be the team's No. 1 corner. And while I'd obviously prefer that Nnamdi comes back, I have no problem with Routt. Routt sat down for a great interview with Steve Wyremski of ProFootballFocus.com, and he describes the reason why we already know what we'll get when it comes to him being the No. 1 in Oakland
Here is the excellent interview that I lifted the quotes for the above article from:
Interview with Stanford Routt, CB Oakland Raiders | ProFootballFocus.com
June 16th
More on Terrelle Pryor
Players like Terrelle Pryor and Plaxico Burress will always find a speculation home with the Raiders. John Clayton thinks the Raiders are the favorites to grab Terrelle in the supplemental draft.
Five teams that may take a chance on Pryor - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
New coach Hue Jackson works well with quarterbacks and could try to develop Pryor as a passer behind Jason Campbell. The Raiders also don't have a quarterback signed past this season. It might take a couple years to develop Pryor, but it might be a worth a mid-round choice for the Raiders to try.
While the Raiders like freak athletes like Pryor, and even drafted a similar prospect in Ronald Curry, ESPN's Bill Williamson points out a piece of Raider history that makes this move seem not as likely:
Clayton makes Raiders the Pryor favorite - AFC West Blog - ESPN
I could see the Raiders being in play, but I’m not so sure the Raiders should be considered the favorite to pull the trigger on Pryor. Oakland has never used a supplemental pick.
June 17th
Statements on Statements About Statements
Stanford Routt has no problem going man 56 of 60 snaps.
Raiders' Stanford Routt Issues Statement About His Statement - Silver And Black Pride
Routt clears up his comments from a recent interview
I'm with Jacoby Ford. I hate it when porn stars use my image to promote themselves.
Jacoby Ford Upset About His Image Being Used to Promote Expo of Porn Stars - Silver And Black Pride
June 18th
Raiders in the Eurobowl!
Does anyone know what SWARCO stands for? I have no idea. I did know that the perks of being a former Raider great were vast, but I didn't know they were this cool. Check it out:
Raiders Send Delegation to Innsbruck - Raiders.com
The Oakland Raiders will support their Austrian sister team, the SWARCO Raiders, in their quest for the 2011 Eurobowl title. The Silver and Black will send Pro Football Hall of Famer and Raiders legend Willie Brown as well as six Raiderettes to Innsbruck for Eurobowl XXV. The final of the European Football League (EFL) will take place on Saturday, June 18 at Tivoli Stadium. The two-time Eurobowl champion SWARCO Raiders host reigning champion Berlin Adler in this battle for the European crown.
Some love for our boy Stan:
Raiders’ Routt has no fear of constant man coverage - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports
According to STATS, Inc., Routt (who was one of the league's most-targeted cornerbacks, as enemy quarterbacks were desperate to throw away from Asomugha) put up some of the NFL's best numbers in 2010: a 42 percent catch rate allowed, which was better than any qualifying cornerback in the league not named Darrelle Revis(notes). Routt also placed among the league leaders in yards per attempt and completion percentage allowed. He gave up just four touchdown passes in 2010, which amounted to just under 5 percent of all passes thrown his way.