Langston Walker is Close to Leaving and Raiders Don't Care
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 5:45 PM PDT
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PrintThe Raiders chose to re-sign Khalif Barnes for the right tackle position and not Langston Walker, and I have no idea why. The possibility remains that the Raiders could still re-sign Walker, but according to John Clayton of ESPN, interest in Walker has picked up and he will likely soon have a new home.
Don't get me wrong, I am not mistaking Walker for a good tackle. He was one of the league's worst pass blocking tackles in 2010. However, he remained strong in the run, and the fact is that for two years, the Raiders haven't even come close to replacing Walker with Barnes.
It is possible that the Raiders did want to re-sign him, and Walker did not want to return, but I have not heard of any bad blood between the two. I also don't think Walker is going to break any budgets with his contract. I think it is safe to assume that if the Raiders wanted Walker back, he would be back. Jump over for the rest of the story....
The logical conclusion here is that Walker's starting spot was a Tom Cable decision that Hue Jackson didn't agree with. However, this doesn't really jive either. Walker is much more a bully type O-lineman that Hue covets than he is a zone blocker that Cable goes for. The only real guess I have here is that the Raiders and Jackson felt that age was quickly chasing Walker down, and that his days as an NFL lineman were all but over.
Whatever the case, it is starting to look like Khalif Barnes will be this team's starting RT until when or if Joe Barksdale can take the position from him. I'm not a big fan of Khalif Barnes. He is slow and not all that powerful. He looked like he reported to camp in less than stellar shape. And for all the talk I have heard of him being engaging and loquacious in interviews, when I saw him talk he seemed as sleepy and disinterested as the dark bags and circles under his eyes would indicate.
It is time for Hue, Bob Wylie and Wiz to light the proverbial fire under this guy's ass. Once upon a time he was a decent left tackle, and he is not that old. Maybe he will surprise me.
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My best sense tells me that this, like probably Nnamdi and even Zach, but to a much lesser extent
have question marks physically at this stage of the game. Just like Jared Gaither failed a physical here in Oakland, the medicals speak volumes, and most GMs, have an equation for determining the feasibility of a certain player, and stick to it religiously, letting it dictate who is untouchable beyond a certain grade, no matter how badly their alternative means for judgment dictates.
I’d say slow down on the doom articles until we are given real reason to feel doomed, Rich. I’m trusting Hue for now, and also understand it’s difficult. I’m also realizing that as I indicated in that “Patience, Al,” piece I wrote, that some great talent could slip through the cracks when roster reductions begin, and especially when they get down to the real nitty gritty and approach 55 or less.
I prob have greater concerns about the lack of anything happening with the OLBs than the O line, but have questions about both, myself. Besides, I have the sneaking suspicion Langston could remain, and have yet to worry about anything Clayton reports where the Raiders are concerned.
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
Hell, I admit this and the DHB post are hyper-critical
but I want’ perfection. Don’t mistake this as taking away from my excitement for the season. It’s just those this and the depth chart are curiously odd moves to me.
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:01 PM PDT up reply actions
lol. me too, but I think it's equally important for us to believe, right now
in what Hue is telling us, in DHB in his ultimate chance to be something, and in Al Davis having gotten the suck out of our system.
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
I take it as a fantastic sign that I even have time to bitch about these minor things
What an improvement from two seasons ago
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions
ha ha! this is true. I remember posting back around this time, when Purplepuss still infected the place, and trying to find the positives
such a difference. I think Hue kinda represents the real turnaround point.
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
Yep, and the Denver game as the first moment I realized it.
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Left after the 3rd Qtr, ..demoralized
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
"I made a trade for Seymour. ..I thought it was a great trade. Still do. [Al Davis 1/2011]
Patience advances a man to better times.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Aug 10, 2011 8:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Stop being a curmudgeon Noon
Lmao
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
+1 for awesome use of curmudgeon
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Hahahia
I thought you’d like that :)
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
I agree
The oline is definitely a concern but perhaps they are thinking that Barksdale will eventually have the job anyway and don’t want to splash the cash on Walker
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
by Ozraider on Aug 10, 2011 6:01 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Sounds like Barksdale needs heart!
Needs to give more effort or he will be a young Langston Walker no hurry up option when hes in the game.
Well either way we may as well roll with the young Langston Walker than the Old one lol
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
this is an accurate assessment, methinks
he needs the proverbial fire lit under his ass. I get a sense of entitlement almost because he’s confident in his abilities; I want a guy to have to prove it to motivate them. Some guys just want to prove it every play.
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
Walker is crap
I won’t miss him. Having him AND Barnes is redundant. Might as well let one of them go.
MexicAN AmericAN VegAN
That
And Barnes can catch the ball, totwotoo.
Refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death
Not when he is RT
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:25 PM PDT up reply actions
He has backup at RT
So he is still available to play in an eligible position in a jumbo package.
Refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death
I hope so
but I am not so sure Barks will beat him out this year. At least not at the beginning of the year
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Barksdale
Can play the RT spot on the jumbo package well enough. Its a quick play anyway, there at the goal line.
Refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death
Oh I see what you are saying now. sweet hands of Barnes lives
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions
sure but what changed that Barnes suddenly became a better option
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Walker moves the pile and would make an excellent backup for Carlisle or Wisniewski (when he beats out Loper)
As a Tackle, Langston wasn’t so great, but like Gallery could transition into Guard easily and provide excellent blocking for us. We do not have any depth on this OL … same goes for the LBs. This is going to become painfully obvious in the near future if we don’t make some prudent moves soon.
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
"I made a trade for Seymour. ..I thought it was a great trade. Still do. [Al Davis 1/2011]
Patience advances a man to better times.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Aug 10, 2011 7:17 PM PDT up reply actions
LB depth and cb depth is bad news
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions
yes, CBs too ... there's only so much our valiant and deep DL and OBackfield (QBs not included) can do to offset our shortcomings
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
"I made a trade for Seymour. ..I thought it was a great trade. Still do. [Al Davis 1/2011]
Patience advances a man to better times.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Aug 10, 2011 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, here's to hoping for Lofa and Hayden
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Walker had a nice season last year, but for the the most part he was really meh for us over the years.
Hopefully Barnes can finally stay healthy. I remember he was regarded as a solid tackle for the Jaguars, but had some injury issues.
I think he was healthy for almost all of the last two seasons
If memory serves he had an injury limiting in training camp 2 years ago.
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh okay
That really hindered his chances at starting though and he hardly got reps with the 1st team offense because of it.
Yeah, he was also reluctant to switch to the right side
He is an enigma. All I know is I hope he steps up this year
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Walker did have a good season last year, not great! but dependable-
I wish we could keep him for insurance, while our young O Line develops.
by Always a Raider on Aug 10, 2011 6:44 PM PDT reply actions
Damn I hope so-
I’ve been sweatin alittle on our O line situation.
by Always a Raider on Aug 10, 2011 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions
I am going to just
sit here and agree with the coaching staff on this one. They aren’t stupid, they know what the fuck they are doing. We don’t.
Refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death
The new interviews on Raiders.com
are great lol. The haircut McClain gave Gbadyu, along with both of their interviews were great.
McClain
“I messed somebodies hair up real bad”
by RyanTheRaider on Aug 10, 2011 7:28 PM PDT up reply actions
lmao!
that guy is just so frank when he speaks, it’d be impossible for him to try to lie to us.
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
maybe thats why he avoids interviews lol
by RyanTheRaider on Aug 10, 2011 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ha this is the best answer I have heard for that question
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Rex Ryan's foot in mouth disease, only not in the literal sense
"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich
""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson
-1 for this visual
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
by Rich Langford on Aug 10, 2011 8:34 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah
i was like who the hell is terrence howard? took me a minute to figure it out lol
by RyanTheRaider on Aug 10, 2011 9:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Terrance Howard is the guy from hustle and flow
Good movie, maybe he is a fan lol
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
Barnes could be the answer we need at RT
Barnes is a power blocker, and was a good reason Fred Taylor ate up so many yards in Jacksonville. He ended up in Jack Delrio’s doghouse, and came here to Tom Cables ZBS. I for one think he has a good shot at it. What interests me more is Bruce Cambell. The guy is an enigma, Has anyone herd anything from Hugh on his progress?
I will never recover from Al Davis saying, "I should never have fired Art Shell"
He's been injured all camp
Good point about Barnes now that we will be full time power blocking
"Anytime you have an organization and an owner that wants to win as badly as Al Davis wants to win, and will spend the money to win, I don’t think you have as many barriers as you think. Those are easy. The ones that would be tough is where you didn’t have any good players and you had an owner or an organization that didn’t want to spend any money to get good players." - John Madden, 2008
"We’re going to be a tough, rugged football team that walks with a swagger and plays the way the Raiders used to play." Hue Jackson
RAW IS PUNK! WWE ZACKDOWN!!!
Another reason to celebrate - the reinstallation of the PBS and demise ZBS. Watch Seattle struggle on offense ... especially
SF has upgraded it’s defense; the seachicks aren’t making no playoffs this time
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
"I made a trade for Seymour. ..I thought it was a great trade. Still do. [Al Davis 1/2011]
Patience advances a man to better times.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Aug 11, 2011 4:50 AM PDT up reply actions
yeah i agree. the zbs takes too long to implement
By the time the team is starting to get it the coach that is implementing it is gone and then they are lost again. I like the idea of using it once in awhile and especially if a big NT isn’t paying attention but as the overall scheme if you are not Denver in the late 90s then it doesn’t work as your straight up scheme. Green bay dropped it and won the super bowl.
"We want to win. The Raider fans deserve it. The Raider players deserve it, even my organization deserves it. You have to win and you have to win with a vision for the Super Bowl. That's our passion here."--Al Davis
"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."--Vince Lombardi
by Marcus Allen Krause on Aug 11, 2011 11:17 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
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