The following is an actual quote pulled from my league message board on Monday night: "[Expletive] Dallas Clark. [Expletive] the Miami Dolphins."
Needless to say, that particular fantasy owner wasn't too happy that Clark singlehandedly obliterated the lead he had going into Monday Night Football. Seven catches, 183 yards, one long touchdown, and possibly an entire pack of Rolaids. All courtesy of the big man.
The Oakland Raiders fought tooth and nail for a victory Sunday afternoon in Kansas City. Afterward, offensive guard Robert Gallery provided a black cloud on an otherwise sunny Raider day. The 29-year-old guard told a throng of reporters in the locker room that he suffered a broken left fibula during the game.
Gallery is part of a solid run-blocking offensive line and he's the team's best pulling guard. Losing him for any length of time is a big blow for the team, and this injury figures to be a while. The fibula is the smaller bone in the lower leg (tibia is the big one, also known as the shin).
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
Pro Football Weekly's "The Way We Hear It" column is basically some dude combing the local papers for underreported tidbits, but "The Way We Hear It From Our Intern Who Read It in the Local Paper," isn't quite as pithy (or catchy!).
Sources say Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell may not get many chances to display his rocket arm on deep pass plays this season. The Raiders' lack of depth at offensive tackle was glaring at recent OTAs. Backup OTs Seth Wand and Mario Henderson were getting plenty of work behind OLT Kwame Harris and ORT Cornell Green, who were practicing with the first unit. Russell should face a steady diet of defenders creeping in from the edges in his first full year as the team's starter and will likely have to settle for check-down passes since there may not be time for receivers to get open downfield.
Obviously, the team needs to move Robert Gallery back to tackle. He's thisclose to finally "getting it." Actually, all that would do is prematurely end Russell's NFL career, and the next thing you know Al Davis would be introducing Aaron Brooks as the Raiders' QB of the future.
There were some pre-draft concerns that Michigan left tackle Jake Long might never be a perennial Pro Bowler at the position in the NFL. Many draftniks declared him better suited for the right side. If only somebody had spoken up about Robert Gallery before the Raiders used the second-overall pick on a guy who now plays guard.
The Dolphins seem unfazed by all the blathering, and the left tackle job is Long's to lose. So far, so good. Not only is head coach Tony Sparano happy with Long's progress, but the guy he's replacing fully supports the move.
"Aw, man. Jake Long is a hard worker," Vernon Carey said. "He listens to the coaches. He listens to me. He's always trying to get better.
"He's one of those guys, he can come out here one day and do it bad and then the next day he picks it up right quick. I'm like, 'Wow. I wish I had it like that.' He's a guy who can pick up things real good. That's what you need at this level."
Yes, after a 1-15 showing, that, along with a bunch of other stuff, is what you need. Now all that's left to do is find a quarterback and pray Jason Taylor turns down that movie role.
The Chicago Tribune's Vaughn McClure, with the help of an NFL executive, connects the dots on where soon-to-be Bears free agents, linebacker Lance Briggs and wideout Bernard Berrian, might end up next season. Both have roots in California which has fueled speculation that the Bay Area could be a likely 2008 destination.
Seeing that Patrick Willis was just named Defensive Rookie of the Year, and San Francisco spent gobs of dough for cornerback Nate Clements last off-season, it's clear the team is intent on improving the defense. And for all of head coach Mike Nolan's shortcomings, he's done exactly that. Adding Briggs would obviously improve things.
As for Berrian, who's considered the best available free-agent option at wide receiver (with Patrick Crayton signing his new deal and assuming Randy Moss stays in New England), Oakland seems like a good fit. Al Davis is all about the vertical passing game. Berrian can run like the nobody's business, and JaMarcus Russell can throw it out of the stadium. Seems like a pretty good match. Of course, it's hard to execute a seven-step drop when the offensive line is chock full of holes, but this has to be the year Robert Gallery finally puts it all together.
While the JaMarcus Russell melodrama extends beyond training camp, the Raiders are moving forward. And not just going through the motions, as has been the case the last few seasons, but actually looking like a team that is improving. Novel idea, that.
One of the encouraging story lines to come out of yesterday's 26-21 loss to the 49ers was the play of the offensive line. Usually, that discussion begins and ends with the "Robert Gallery is a bust" diatribe, but the unit was impressive against San Francisco.
My lord, they blocked. And blocked well. They blocked for the pass. They blocked for the run. They not only blocked efficiently, but dare it be said that the Raiders actually looked to be kicking a little butt against the dudes in red.
Normal preseason rules apply -- don't read too much into games that don't count -- but this is a team that won twice last year. And things were so good, Andrew Walter actually looked like a quarterback:
Playing behind first-unit tackles Barry Simms and Cornell Green, guards Robert Gallery and Cooper Carlisle and center Jake Grove, the third-year quarterback actually had a chance to operate ... and did.
Walter finished 9 of 15 for 78 yards and a pick, which are Hall of Fame numbers compared to his previous efforts. More impressive was Daunte Culpepper. He led the Raiders down the field on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, and threw another touchdown later in the game for good measure.
A competent o-line can go a long way in masking quarterbacking issues (just ask Rex Grossman). If Culpepper is just at 75 percent, but has time in the pocket, that will be more than enough to guarantee the Raiders top last year's win total. Yeah, it's not much, but it's a start.
Last week, the FanHouse's Adam Rank wrote that it's way too early to give up on Robert Gallery. The second-overall pick in the 2004 draft has played for three head coaches in as many seasons and he's been shuttled from one tackle position to the other. Rank suggests putting "Gallery at left tackle and let him develop some consistency this year and the Raiders should finally be reward for their No. 2 pick..."
Bad things happen when the Raiders ignore Rank's advice and, well, just read this:
The biggest news Wednesday at an organized team activity practice was the sight of Robert Gallery playing exclusively at left guard.
Virtually all first-team repetitions had the same alignment _ Barry Sims at left tackle, Gallery at left guard, Jake Grove at center, Cooper Carlisle at right guard and Paul McQuistan at right tackle.
Gallery adds: "They're just trying to find the best five guys and get all those guys at some position... We were told they're gonna try different things. Obviously they're trying to make their minds up. All I'm worried about is being the best pro player I can be."
Maybe it's for the best, but jeebus, that's a lot of money for a guard. Obviously, it's only May, and a lot can change before the regular season, but even the idea of moving Gallery suggests the organization ain't particularly pleased with his career to date. I mean, you don't see Jonathan Ogden, or Walter Jones taking reps at guard; they're left tackles until the day they retire.
New head coach Lane Kiffin said the move "could be permanent," but that the team is "looking at a lot of different options..." If this makes it less likely that JaMarcus Russell (or whoever) gets "Andrew Walter-ed" on a weekly basis, it's the right move. Still, that's a lot of cap space devoted to one of the lowest paid positions, on average, in the league.
The Oakland Raiders have zeroed in on a veteran quarterback they would like to acquire while they ponder the possibility of drafting LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Oakland has entered into trade negotiations with Detroit Lions backup quarterback Josh McCown, who signed last season with the idea of being a starter, but lost the job early to Jon Kitna.
Now, this could be nothing more than looking for a backup quarterback since, you know, the club released Aaron Brooks and Marques Tuiasosopo is now a New York Jet. Unless the Raiders think Andrew Walter is all the depth they need at quarterback -- and he can make it through another 150-sack season -- looking for depth is probably a good idea.
I don't know if this means anything about who the Raiders might take with the first-overall pick -- both Walter and McCown have been uninspiring as starters -- but as the draft approaches, the speculation grows that the team might take wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
Yeah, the team has Randy Moss and Jerry Porter -- and no one to throw them the ball -- but Johnson is the most likely can't-miss top-5 pick. Quarterbacks are notoriously wishy-washy, and I won't mention Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas as can't-miss since Raiders fans have heard that before.
These are always fun, even if they are sometimes misguided. Anyway, Matt Pitzer of USA Todaylists the 10 worst first-round picks from the 2004 draft. Amazingly, Oakland's Robert Gallery tops the list, even though Rashaun Woods and Ahmad Carroll are already out of the league. Granted, Gallery was the second-overall pick, and he was supposed to be a can't-miss prospect, so I can kinda understand Pitzer's thinking here.
Jags wideout Reggie Williams is second on the list, primarily because he's been an unmitigated bust and was taken ninth overall. I'd suggest blaming Jacksonville's front office on this one; nobody else on the planet thought Williams was a top-10 pick -- including Williams -- and just because the Jaguars goofed doesn't mean Williams should take all the blame. Maybe just half.
It's hard to disagree with picks 3-9, and Pitzer wraps things up with Kellen Winslow. You know, the guy who can't ride a bicycle but insists on doing wheelie's on his crotch rocket. The thing is, Winslow would probably be one of the best tight ends in the league if he was never injured. And to be fair, he got hurt his rookie season actually playing in a real live NFL game, so in addition to making really dumb decisions, he's also been unlucky. I have no idea what Robert Gallery's excuse is.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
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Pro Football Weekly's "The Way We Hear It" column is basically some dude combing the local papers for underreported tidbits, but "The Way We Hear It From Our Intern Who Read It in the Local Paper," isn't quite as pithy (or catchy!). 
There were some pre-draft concerns that Michigan left tackle 
Last week, the FanHouse's Adam Rank wrote that it's 
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These are always fun, even if they are sometimes misguided. Anyway, Matt Pitzer of USA Today 
