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I like what the Raiders improvements in the off-season by taking a risk on wide receiver Jevon Walker and adding Gibril Wilson at free safety. Walker came off a season where he started strong but due to an injury, never got back to where he started. Wilson has been getting better and was part of the New York Giants defensive that won the 2007 Super Bowl.

With the loss of Jerry Porter, the Raiders had to pick up or draft a talented receiver. Signing Walker to a six-year, $55 million contract is the solution and should give JaMarcus Russell a good target. The price was a bit steep seeing how Bernard Berrian and Randy Moss both signed for less. If he can stay healthy and happy, Walker is really a good receiver that can put up numbers like a Plexico Burress. His addition will also allow Ronald Curry, who has really been improving, to upgrade his numbers as well. The Raiders also added wide receiver Drew Carter but don’t expect much from him.

The Raiders signed Wilson to a 6 year, $39 million dollar deal. Wilson is a good upgrade to the secondary and is a sure tackler which will help the team. Last season he played 13 games and totaled 70 tackles and 4 interceptions. His only full season was in 2005 where he totaled 114 tackles with an astounding 92 solo ones. Wilson was a little injury prone in his first 4 years but should be able to play the full season. With the Raiders close to a deal for pro bowl corner DeAngelo Hall, signing him would give the team one of the best secondaries with Wilson and Hall paired with Oakland’s other cover corner Nnamdi Asomugha.

The Raiders but the other two major concerns, the offensive line and the defensive line definitely need to be fixed as well with the loss of Warren Sapp. They signed DL Tommy Kelly to a huge deal that from first look, is way too much and looks like the team got nervous and is throwing money around. They also signed busts defensive tackle William Joseph and tackle Kwame Harris to deals. This is more like a patchwork job and the team needs to find gems in the free agent market or they will still be last in the AFC West.

The San Francisco 49ers tried to find solutions to their terribly passing game which ranked 32nd in the league for the 2007 season. The only notable receiver the team had was Arnaz Battle who had 50 receptions for 600 yards and 5 touchdowns. They started by adding Mike Martz as offensive coordinator which should open up the teams passing attack. They also added wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson to bolster the terrible receiving corps but released Darrel Jackson.
Isaac Bruce is too old to be very effective these days but he still runs precise routes and knows the Martz style. If the team can find a suitable quarterback, I like Shaun Hill’s potential over Alex Smith, Bruce can still be an efficient 3rd receiver and mentor. Bryant Johnson probably has the most upside and showed some flashes of talent when able to start in Arizona. He lived in the shadows of the two super stars there and has a chance to be a number 1 here if he can learn the Mike Martz offensive.

Battle’s numbers would probably improve with the addition of these two receivers and only one quarterback throwing to him in the season. What was interesting is the 49ers releasing Darrell Jackson, even after a bad season for the receiver. The 49ers had three different quarterbacks and you can’t really blame a lack of production on Jackson. He would be a nice fit to the current receiving corp under the Martz pass attack and could possibly have improved his numbers greatly.

Although they didn’t get the best available wide receivers available in free agency, the team tried to make some moves to improve the passing offensive which fans should see as a positive but don’t expect the team to go far in 2008 either.d

For an Arizona team that has improving on defense, I really like this pickup with the loss of Calvin Pace. Defensive end Travis LaBoy has that heart and energy that you love to see. Since his days playing for the Hawaii Warriors, the guy does not give up on plays and always seem to give it his all. Last year he played for the Tennessee Titans and 13 games in a reserve role coming in every few downs he got 6 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. To really utilize his talents, the Cardinals need to use him at what he is good at and that is more speed rushing than power.  Overall he should contribute effectively to the Cardinal defense.

I know Alge Crumpler is one of the better tight ends in the game but it is hard to think that a Titans’ offensive that has no big name receivers going after a tight end before trying to sign one of the better wide receivers available. With a miserable passing offensive that ranked 27 in the league and with two average receivers in Justin Gage and Roydell Williams, the Titans look like they are going to depend on the running game again.

The team also just re-signed wide receiver Justin McCareins who they traded to the Jets in 2004 after a good season but his numbers have just disappeared into a black hole and should not be much help to the team. It would have been great to see them go after one of the big names available. Well, there is still some good potential receivers in the draft for Titan fans.

Pau Gasol is a great player, but he does have a weakness that could be exploited during the playoffs.

The Weakness is Weakness

On Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Pau Gasol came away with the win, but the rest of the league (particularly the playoff bound teams) got a reminder as to how to disrupt the big Spaniard’s game.

His final numbers for the game were pretty impressive. Pau Gasol scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and had 5 assists. Those are numbers that most players in the league would love to have.

However, basketball is more than just stats.

The game showed how to effective play against Pau Gasol on defense. You have to use your strength and move the big man from his comfortable spots on the floor. You have to physically wear him down in order to take away his consistency.

Erick Dampier isn’t a lot of things, but he is strong. On Sunday, he used his strength to make Pau Gasol uncomfortable.

Tough Challenges

When you browse through the teams that will potentially be in the playoffs, a few of them have guys on the roster that could cause some problems for Pau Gasol.

The team that is directly ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the standings is the San Antonio Spurs. Their combination of Kurt Thomas and Tim Duncan has to be a cause of concern.

Kurt Thomas, despite weighing only 235 pounds, is one of the strongest defenders in the league. He’ll definitely use his physicality against Pau Gasol.

Offensively, the San Antonio Spurs will look to have Tim Duncan wearing down Pau Gasol by forcing him to play defense. The team will also look to attack Andrew Bynum as well to get him into foul trouble. If Andrew Bynum isn’t in the lineup, then Pau Gasol is forced to guard Tim Duncan.

The Boston Celtics have PJ Brown and Kendrick Perkins, the Detroit Pistons have an army of big men, the Orlando Magic has Dwight Howard, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have Ben Wallace.

Granted, Pau Gasol isn’t going to be dominated by all of these guys. We’re just saying that these guys have the potential to cause problems for him if they play him physically.

Adjustments

Everyone knows that basketball is a game of adjustments.

It’s a human chess game where you counter a good move with another good move. In basketball terms, if a defense figures out how to stop you, then you change things up to continue scoring.

Pau Gasol is a finesse player. Most European big men are finesse players. That’s nothing new.

On nights where the defense is getting physical with Pau Gasol, the Los Angeles Lakers can adjust by having the 7′0″, 260 center use that finesse of his.

The perimeter players can also provide some help for Pau Gasol on offense as well. The Los Angeles Lakers can utilize a lot of cuts by the guards to help out Pau Gasol against the opposing big men. He’s gifted enough of a passer to make it where his defender has to stay focused in case a perimeter player breaks through the paint.

Having Pau Gasol playing some pick and roll offense also utilizes his strengths as a finesse player as well.

Closing Thoughts

Pau Gasol is going to have to figure out how to adjust in order to help the Los Angeles Lakers win another NBA championship.

The Atlanta Falcons have signed Michael Turner to a 6 year contract worth approximately $34.5 million. Turner, who has been LaDainian Tomlinson backup for the past couple of years, becomes a free agent and with some flashes of greatness in many games, has become the top available runningback in the current free agent market. Turner has that small, compact frame at 5′10 and 237 pounds.

I do not know what the Falcons are thinking here. First there was the thought that they might pickup Darren McFadden who would be a great investment looking at his combine numbers. That thought is gone with this signing. Next, Turner has not played a whole season as starter and is not guaranteed to be an improvement. Also, they have a talented runningback that was never given the chance to start in Jerious Norwood, who looked impressive with his speed. Finally the Falcons have bigger holes to plug than the runningback position. They will most likely draft a quarterback but how about some defense or more anchor on that offensive line.

NFL teams need to look at the free agent market, especially those that need receivers, because there are two guys who I think are really talented and if they can stay healthy will be outstanding additions. The first is Javon Walker who was released by the Denver Broncos and the other is D.J. Hackett who is an unrestricted free agent. Both are coming off seasons where they were expected to contribute big but faced injuries.

Javon Walker is a tall receiver with good speed who had two great seasons for the Green Bay Packers before injuries and one good season for the Broncos before and injury. If he can keep the injury bug away, Walker makes a great target for quarterbacks and has potential to be a 10 touchdown guy. There are a lot of teams that can use an upgrade in receivers and he is a gamble worth taking.

D.J. Hackett has plenty of talent but has had mediocre seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. He is only in his fourth year in the league but has shown flashes of potential in games where he dominated. He has the height and speed and 2007 was supposed to be the year where he broke out but an injury hampered that and the end result was another mediocre season. I still think he has the talent to be a Plexico Burress but needs the right fit which makes him a great sleeper pick. I see more upside to Hackett than Bryant Johnson who is also available on the free agent market.

No team has yet offered a deal to Randy Moss that has peaked his interest and the rumor mills are going crazy of where he could go. One of the ones I found most interesting was the possibility of Moss going to the Greenbay Packers which was also the take a year ago. The Packers had a chance to get Moss last year and Brett Favre was upset at the team not making a move for him. This time around it could be different.

Moss would give the Packers the best receiving corps in the league and the best one Favre has had to throw too. Their lineup would be Moss, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. That is a talented group and if Ryan Grant can do what he did in the 2007 season, the Packers would definitely be front runners. Signing Moss could definitely affect Favre returning as well so the Packers front office should definitely take a look at signing Moss and quickly.

The Minnesota Vikings made a great move by signing Bernard Berrian to a 6 year $42 million dollar deal. This not only adds talent to their non-existent receiving corps, with the exception of Sydney Rice, but also takes away from a division rival. Berrian had 71 receptions for 951 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2007. Berrian is a speedy receiver but he has a mental issue and has some key drops. In a free agency market that is full of receivers, Berrian is one of the top available but his numbers are still up in the air because the Vikings passing game is not very powerful. With Adrian Peterson running like crazy over everyone, you would think their passing game would pick up. Hopefully adding Berrian will improve their passing attack.

Minnesota also needs to get a good defensive end and a quarterback as well because the ones they have now are not cutting it. Taking a receiver in the draft would be a great addition as there is some talent in the 2008 draft. The team couldn’t sign DE Justin Smith so there is still a big hole there to fill.

The New York Jets have finally done something right by picking up outstanding players that will definitely contribute to the team. This off-season has been good so far for the Jets by trading for Pro Bowlers Kris Jenkins and signing free agent Alan Faneca to enhance both defense and offense.

Kris Jenkins, a three time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, will improve the 3-4 defense which requires three outstanding tackles up front that can plug up holes and put pressure on the quarterback. The Jets are lacking in defense and with the trade of Jonathan Vilma, they had to pick up someone upfront and Jenkins makes a solid choice.

Alan Faneca, currently one of the games best left guards, will be a major upgrade for a younger Jets offensive line. Faneca has been protecting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks and helping the running game for over 10 years and will definitely help a Jets offensive that struggles in both offensive passing and running. Thomas Jones should see an increase in his number of touchdowns and yardage and whoever is at quarterback will get better protection from the left side. The Jets signed Faneca to a 5 year, $40 million dollar contract and it is well worth it as finding a Pro Bowl guard is very valuable, especially for a team like the Jets who need the help.

The Jets are still making some moves including the possibility of signing tackle Damien Woody, another free agent, who would man the left side. They definitely have to get him because this will provide great protection for whoever is under center. Woody is a pretty good tackle who played under Mangini in New England. Jet fans should be excited about these pickups but should still be worried about the passing game as a good quarterback is still missing. Hello Jets, Derek Anderson was available.