Alright, so maybe I ended up being completely wrong about Terrell Owens winding up as an Oakland Raider. Turns out, he's a Buffalo Bill and it sure will be interesting to see if he can finally figure it all out. Football is a team first game and if the Bills are going to make a Super Bowl run in 2009-2010, Owens is going to have to put the team first, something he hasn't been able to do throughout his storied NFL career.
Actually the fact that the Raiders did not sign Owens raises some red flags concerning the two Bay Area teams and their lack of interest in the free agency market this offseason. Both the Niners and Raiders could use some serious upgrades via free agency and unfortunately each organization hasn't been able to capitalize on the plethora of unemployed football players out there who are just waiting to be given the opportunity to play for a team.
The Niners made a considerable run at outstanding Quarterback Kurt Warner but I feel like anybody with half a brain out there could've realized that Warner and his agent were just playing San Francisco in order to get a better offer from the Arizona organization. Furthermore, do the 49ers really need to upgrade their Quarterback position? Or are there more important and prevalent needs that should be addressed? First of all, how about upgrading the trenches. The 49ers desperately need defensive line help. When was the last time the Niners had a solid pass rush? Let's not even delve into that subject because I can't even remember.
Also, let's say the Niners were able to woo Warner to the Bay Area and he did in fact sign with San Francisco. There is no way he would've been able to put up the same numbers he did for Arizona because the Niners receivers can't even sniff Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin's production over the course of their careers. Also, think about this; throughout Warner's career he's proven to be a great passer WHEN HE HAS TIME to dissect a defense. Well, as it stands right now, the Niners Offensive Line couldn't protect a QB if its life depended on it. This past season, the Niners allowed the most sacks out of any team in the NFL with an astounding number of 55. Yeah, I'm sure Warner wanted to line up behind that protection, give me a break.
How about Oakland? I would say they also really need some help in the trenches. With Running Backs like Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, and Michael Bush, it sure wouldn't hurt to upgrade the Offensive Line. Just the thought of Kwame Harris lining up at tackle once again has me laughing. The Raiders need to find a way to open up rushing lanes on the ground and then protect JaMarcus Russell when he's back to pass. Multiple stud offensive lineman have already signed with teams during the early stages of this free agency period and Oakland should definitely try to tap into that resource before it dries up.
I also think the Raiders should get a deep threat or simply a good receiver for Russell to have at his expense. If Al Davis is so obsessed with throwing the ball downfield than why hasn't he gone after guys like TJ Houshmanzadeh and Terrell Owens? Is he really going to rely on troubled wideout Javon Walker? I sure hope not. Adding more weapons at Russell's disposal only takes pressure off the QB and the RB's and considering the fact that JaMarcus has underperformed during his two years in the NFL, that sure wouldn't be a bad idea.
As you can tell, the lack of movement by these two organizations during this free agency period has me a little worried and if the Raiders and Niners do choose to stand pat and not make very many moves than they can already kiss next season goodbye. However, there still is a lot of offseason left and each team is in a good position to upgrade their roster through the Draft. So I guess I'll have to just wait and see and hopefully when next year begins, this article will be a perfect example of one where I stuck my foot in my mouth. Yet, something tells me that just simply won't be the case.
