The Tin Man Era is Over
The black cloud hanging over the head of the Raider Nation has officially been lifted with the signing of Aaron Brooks. The Tin Man Collins Era is over and not a minute too soon! The chance of Collins being re-signed has felt like a splinter in my brain.
Aaron Brooks veteran presence will allow for Andrew Walter to be groomed to be our future franchise QB. Brooks has all of the physical tools to get our offense humming again.
Do I think Brooks is capable of turning things around? Absolutely. From an athletic standpoint, he is one of the most gifted QBs in the league. His combination of size (6'4", 220 lbs), arm strength, and mobility is an excellent match for our vertical offense. His feet and legs will buy additional time to find Moss, Porter, and Gabriel on secondary routes and broken plays. These improvisational plays would be similar to the success Culpepper and Moss shared in Minnesota. When the pocket crumbles, Brooks will be able to hit Moss & company on a busted pattern or pull it down and run for a 1st down. No longer do we have a frozen corpse in the pocket.
Brooks inconsistency at New Orleans can be partly attributed to being on a bad team without the weapons he now has in Oakland. After last year's poor performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it will be important for Art Shell to rebuild Brooks' confidence and install a game plan that will minimize his mistakes.
The TEAM's success will depend on the following six-pack;
1) Another key free agent signing (ie. Larry Allen, OG) plus a bountiful 2006 draft
2) Brooks maximizing his talents and taking full advantage of his new arsenal of offensive weapons.
3) A revamped and improved O-line courtesy of Jackie Slater and Art Shell's expertise.
4) An improved and committed power rushing attack that sets up play action pass
5) Better use of Moss as one of the premier players in the league or in shorthand, Brooks + Moss = difference maker
6) An improved and attacking D that creates more turnovers
With the book on #5 closed it is time to turn the page Raider Nation. "Deuces are Wild!" View a career summary and player profile on Aaron Brooks here.
Silver & Black Forever,
Calico Jack
posted by Calico Jack at 7:43 PM
4 Comments:
well, i'm more reserved. i'll wait and see if this guy improves on last year's campaign before i say something. this guy is one of those "run first" qb's. in the mold of a mike vick or a vince young. the thing is is we KNOW what this guy's done and what tools he has. we really DON'T know what young has and i am breathing a sigh of relief knowing that someone else is gonna find out the painful truth.
since we now have our veteran qb, i say start walter. we're not going to the playoffs anyway so why not see what the kid has RIGHT NOW? we have a back up plan in brooks if he's not up to speed.
so now we move on. i hope we get one of those top 2 defensive studs out there, hawk or williams.
Gotta share the reservations of Scorpio...It's nice to have a vet. presence, but the argument that Brooks didn't have weapons in NO doesn't hold...Joe Horn, Deuce McAlister, LeCharles Bentley (heck, Ricky Williams!). He still couldn't get it done. He's a more mobile KFC, that's it.
Well, we can be optimistic until mid-October anyway, I suppose!
raiders just signed duane starks.
The comparison people make most often with Aaron Brooks is to Daunte Culpepper.
With Culpepper being unable to start the season due to a gruesome injury, with him costing a #2 draft pick, with his huge contract demands and no agent representation, with his playing the tired race card in the dice rolling/love boating scandal...
In retrospect, perhaps Brooks makes a lot more sense. He certainly carries much less baggage than 'Pepper does.
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