Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Raiders Add John Wade

By Rick Richardson

As per Oakland Raiders.com, the silver and black have continued to reload by adding center John Wade formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This might not be as flashy as previous signings, but could prove as important. This area definitely needed some investment. Jeremy Newberry is an unrestricted free agent and may possibly be considering hanging it up due to past injuries. Jake Grove has suffered the injury bug recently and has never really been physical enough to claim the job. Games are won and lost in the trenches, and I am all for Tom Cable having every option he needs to work his magic.

Wade is a very good run blocker, and adequate in pass protection. Center is the quarterback of the line, making the blocking adjustments according to the defensive techniques. Wade is smart and very capable of being the offensive line leader. I haven’t watched him play much since his Jacksonville days, but his bio on Buccaneers.com seems promising.

http://ww.buccaneers.com/team/playerdetail.aspx?player=Wade,John,76

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think signing Wade is significant.His signing makes it obvious,if it wasn't already, that coaching staff/management in Oakland have decided Jake Grove is not the answer at center,which is the truth. It is a shame due to where he was selected in the draft.The draft really is a gamble,center was a huge need and Grove was the best center in that years draft.He was given every chance.But he proved he isn't a starter a while ago,fortunately it didn't take Tom Cable long to come to that conclusion.It would also,logically means Newberry is done in Oakland as well.I imagine his asking price was too high for a guy his age with artificial knees.

April 1, 2008 at 6:15 AM  
Blogger Rick Richardson said...

Your right on all points. It is a shame we haven't had really good center play since Robbins. Newberry was okay, but nothing spectacular due to the knees.

Mo

April 1, 2008 at 8:01 AM  

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