Al Davis Might Get This Right

With talk heating up and the Donovan McNabb trade going from possible to impending, the Oakland Raiders are looking like the team most likely to trade for the 6-time Pro Bowler. They are the only team right now who is willing to give the Eagles a 2nd round pick without first having Hangin With Mr. Soup-er (a stretch, I know) sign a long-term contract.

Why would the Raiders give up such a high pick without guaranteeing that McNabb will be there longer than a year? Is it because Al Davis is senile leather-d corpse with zero sense of reality?

Nope -- because it's the right move.

Consider these two facts for a second:

1. The Raiders won 5 games in 2009.
2. JaMarcus Russell threw three 3 TDs in 2009.

This team is a Pro-Bowl QB away from serious playoff contention. Sure, the Raiders had the 26th-ranked defense last year -- but think about why. They were #7 in the league in pass defense (ten ahead of the Eagles). Defending the run was the problem, and take it from me (a guy who quit his high school football team), it's much harder to defend the run when you're on the field the entire game. You don't get much of a wind when your offense goes three-and-out every time.

On paper they have the pieces. The prototype dominant DT in Richard Seymour, a formidable LB corps, and a secondary headed by the second best CB in football. They have a dynamic RB in Darren McFadden and young, speedy WRs. They're an able team without JaMarcus' failure fat holding them down.

This is a good move for you, Oakland. After you go 10-6 next year with your new Pro-Bowl, big-arm, soup-slurpin' QB it'll be much easier to convince him to stick around. And what did it cost you? A second-round pick? You'd totally blow that shit anyway.