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Critical week for 49ers, Raiders
Column by Monte Poole
Article Last Updated: 02/19/2007 02:33:05 AM PST
THE BATTLE of the brains, and for Bay Area hearts and checkbooks, begins this week, when we receive the first clues as to whether the Raiders can gain ground on the 49ers in their perpetual race to dominate the local market.
And whether either team can prepare itself to compete for the playoffs in 2007 and beyond.
Officials from both teams will head for Indianapolis, where the annual NFL combine begins Wednesday. They'll spend the better part of a week examining sprint times, bench-press statistics, shuttle runs and test scores of more than 300 young men.
The combine is crucial because it influences how a team sets up its draft board. All teams rank college talent, overall and by position, but this is when they start assembling the board they'll use on draft day.
San Francisco and Oakland, each of which has missed the playoffs the past four years, have enormous tasks. The Raiders, who finished 2006 at 2-14 and as the league's worst team, need the larger work crew.
They must shop for a versatile running back. And an impact tight end. And a physical safety who can generate turnovers. Offensive linemen, too,because none of the past seven they've drafted has established himself.
If Oakland is willing and able to accommodate veterans Randy Moss and Jerry Porter, both of whom want out, it also must look at wide receivers.
Quarterback, you say? While the Raiders need nothing more than a dynamic young QB, the combine alone rarely provides
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information to determine a choice at that position.
What the combine does best is assist in evaluating those players likely to go after Round 1. While stars generally are found in the first round, quality teams are built in the following rounds. And in free agency.
The Raiders' recent history of poor drafts helps explain their nose-dive since Super Bowl 37 and provides new coach Lane Kiffin with a marvelous opportunity.
Raiders boss Al Davis hired Kiffin from USC in part because of his broad knowledge of college talent. Having spent two years as the lead recruiter for the Trojans, who scour the nation in search of the best high school talent, he ought to know who can play and who can't.
Oakland's nine picks give Kiffin nine chances to dazzle Al — assuming Al was honest when he expressed appreciation for Kiffin's collegiate expertise.
Insofar as the vast majority of those on display in Indy are players he either signed, scouted or faced, Kiffin should know as much about them as anybody from any of the other 31 teams.
Including the 49ers, who lean heavily on assessments of personnel chief Scot McCloughan. He has done a solid job in his first two years; 2005 third-round pick Frank Gore is McCloughan's first San Francisco Pro Bowl representative.
This draft — this offseason — is where McCloughan can make his reputation. The 49ers, coming off a 7-9 season, have 10 picks, including eight in the first four rounds.
While Kiffin and the Raiders clearly need this draft, McCloughan and the 49ers, because they are roughly $42 million under the salary cap, also have the option of addressing needs in free agency.
But owners prefer cheap talent, and players don't come much cheaper than when discovered late in the draft or as free agents.
San Francisco's needs are obvious. A pass rusher. A wide receiver, or two. An offensive tackle with Pro Bowl potential. They, too, could use a hitter in the secondary.
That they don't need a running back is testimony to McCloughan's ability to recognize talent and will, in some cases where others do not.
Take Gore, for example. A highly recruited Florida prep, he signed with the University of Miami. While his numbers there were decent, his career was hampered by injuries to both knees. Some scouts turned away.
Not McCloughan. He was still working for the Seattle Seahawks when he noticed Gore as a freshman, backing up Clinton Portis. The knee injuries gave McCloughan pause — until he heard about Gore's commitment to rehabilitation and football. McCloughan needed only to confirm Gore's health and meet him in person.
That came during the 2005 combine. Gore's intensity was evident, and he answered the physical questions. McCloughan convinced head coach Mike Nolan and owner John York, both of whom were skeptical, that Gore was worth taking in the third round.
"Had it not been for Scot," Nolan told MediaNews last season, "(Gore) wouldn't be on this team."
The '05 combine not only sold McCloughan on Gore but also sold the 49ers on McCloughan. He had been hired only two weeks earlier, yet he made his voice heard. His bosses listened. He earned instant credibility.
Kiffin goes into the '07 combine in a similar situation. His insight can make this draft, start lifting the Raiders back to respectability. Or the Raiders can blow it again and find themselves even farther behind the 49ers and the rest of the NFL.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_5258365
Column by Monte Poole
Article Last Updated: 02/19/2007 02:33:05 AM PST
THE BATTLE of the brains, and for Bay Area hearts and checkbooks, begins this week, when we receive the first clues as to whether the Raiders can gain ground on the 49ers in their perpetual race to dominate the local market.
And whether either team can prepare itself to compete for the playoffs in 2007 and beyond.
Officials from both teams will head for Indianapolis, where the annual NFL combine begins Wednesday. They'll spend the better part of a week examining sprint times, bench-press statistics, shuttle runs and test scores of more than 300 young men.
The combine is crucial because it influences how a team sets up its draft board. All teams rank college talent, overall and by position, but this is when they start assembling the board they'll use on draft day.
San Francisco and Oakland, each of which has missed the playoffs the past four years, have enormous tasks. The Raiders, who finished 2006 at 2-14 and as the league's worst team, need the larger work crew.
They must shop for a versatile running back. And an impact tight end. And a physical safety who can generate turnovers. Offensive linemen, too,because none of the past seven they've drafted has established himself.
If Oakland is willing and able to accommodate veterans Randy Moss and Jerry Porter, both of whom want out, it also must look at wide receivers.
Quarterback, you say? While the Raiders need nothing more than a dynamic young QB, the combine alone rarely provides
Advertisement
information to determine a choice at that position.
What the combine does best is assist in evaluating those players likely to go after Round 1. While stars generally are found in the first round, quality teams are built in the following rounds. And in free agency.
The Raiders' recent history of poor drafts helps explain their nose-dive since Super Bowl 37 and provides new coach Lane Kiffin with a marvelous opportunity.
Raiders boss Al Davis hired Kiffin from USC in part because of his broad knowledge of college talent. Having spent two years as the lead recruiter for the Trojans, who scour the nation in search of the best high school talent, he ought to know who can play and who can't.
Oakland's nine picks give Kiffin nine chances to dazzle Al — assuming Al was honest when he expressed appreciation for Kiffin's collegiate expertise.
Insofar as the vast majority of those on display in Indy are players he either signed, scouted or faced, Kiffin should know as much about them as anybody from any of the other 31 teams.
Including the 49ers, who lean heavily on assessments of personnel chief Scot McCloughan. He has done a solid job in his first two years; 2005 third-round pick Frank Gore is McCloughan's first San Francisco Pro Bowl representative.
This draft — this offseason — is where McCloughan can make his reputation. The 49ers, coming off a 7-9 season, have 10 picks, including eight in the first four rounds.
While Kiffin and the Raiders clearly need this draft, McCloughan and the 49ers, because they are roughly $42 million under the salary cap, also have the option of addressing needs in free agency.
But owners prefer cheap talent, and players don't come much cheaper than when discovered late in the draft or as free agents.
San Francisco's needs are obvious. A pass rusher. A wide receiver, or two. An offensive tackle with Pro Bowl potential. They, too, could use a hitter in the secondary.
That they don't need a running back is testimony to McCloughan's ability to recognize talent and will, in some cases where others do not.
Take Gore, for example. A highly recruited Florida prep, he signed with the University of Miami. While his numbers there were decent, his career was hampered by injuries to both knees. Some scouts turned away.
Not McCloughan. He was still working for the Seattle Seahawks when he noticed Gore as a freshman, backing up Clinton Portis. The knee injuries gave McCloughan pause — until he heard about Gore's commitment to rehabilitation and football. McCloughan needed only to confirm Gore's health and meet him in person.
That came during the 2005 combine. Gore's intensity was evident, and he answered the physical questions. McCloughan convinced head coach Mike Nolan and owner John York, both of whom were skeptical, that Gore was worth taking in the third round.
"Had it not been for Scot," Nolan told MediaNews last season, "(Gore) wouldn't be on this team."
The '05 combine not only sold McCloughan on Gore but also sold the 49ers on McCloughan. He had been hired only two weeks earlier, yet he made his voice heard. His bosses listened. He earned instant credibility.
Kiffin goes into the '07 combine in a similar situation. His insight can make this draft, start lifting the Raiders back to respectability. Or the Raiders can blow it again and find themselves even farther behind the 49ers and the rest of the NFL.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_5258365