Are the Giants using the Oakland Raiders as a farm team?

[BleedinBlue]

Fun read:

 

Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.co..._LEFTTopStories)

 

Raiding Oakland's Free-Agent Talent

 

By JONATHAN CLEGG

 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Baseball and basketball teams have long scoured the globe looking for talent, but today's NFL has also become an international enterprise.

 

In the first two rounds of April's NFL Draft, team executives tabbed players from Ghana, Germany, Britain and Estonia.

 

But none of those far-flung regions is quite as surprising as the destination the Giants chose to direct their scouts this off-season. Frustrated by missing the playoffs and determined to get back to the Super Bowl, the Giants dipped into the free-agent market and recruited a handful of players from what may rank as the unlikeliest location on Earth: Oakland.

 

"There's a few of us, all right," said tight end Brandon Myers, one of three former Oakland Raiders signed by the Giants this off-season. "It's nice to walk in here and see some familiar faces."

 

For a franchise seeking the postseason, raiding Oakland for players may seem like a curious move. The Raiders finished with a 4-12 record last season, haven't made the playoffs since 2003 and have accumulated the second-fewest regular-season wins of any team in the past decade.

 

Making matters worse, the Raiders have a dismal history of identifying talent, having drafted fewer of the league's active players than any other franchise.

 

But the Giants seemingly have a higher regard for Raiders players than most. In addition to signing Myers to a four-year, $14 million contract, the team has signed one-year deals with Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry and receiver Louis Murphy, who spent his first three seasons in Oakland before he was traded to the Carolina Panthers last year.

 

"There's talent out there in Oakland," said Myers. "That was never an issue."

 

To be sure, the Giants haven't focused all their off-season attention on Oakland. Since free agency began in March, the team has acquired 11 players who suited up for other teams last season and only three have ever worn the silver and black.

 

It is possible the decision to pursue players from the Raiders was simply a pragmatic move. Thanks to a string of ill-advised deals in recent years, the Raiders have over $45 million in dead money against their salary cap this year, which has hindered their ability to re-sign their top players.

 

With the Raiders unable to make a competitive offer for Myers, who hauled in 79 catches for 806 yards and four touchdowns in a breakout 2012 season, the Giants swooped in for a player viewed as one of the league's rising talents.

 

But Giants safety Stevie Brown, a seventh-round draft pick by the Raiders in 2010, believes there may be other reasons for targeting Oakland's players.

 

For starters, Brown says Raiders players may be undervalued by fans and front-office executives because they receive so little exposure. "People don't know them," he said. "With them not having many winning seasons, being out there on the West Coast with the time difference, it's like they're never on TV."

 

But Brown also feels these drastically dissimilar organizations are linked by a shared philosophy. They have an approach to team-building that places a greater emphasis than most on two attributes: size and speed.

 

"Oakland is really known for that, but I do notice it's the same here," Brown said. "Both the Raiders and Giants, they really love those big, athletic players that can run."

[Treehugger]

It is possible the decision to pursue players from the Raiders was simply a pragmatic move. Thanks to a string of ill-advised deals in recent years, the Raiders have over $45 million in dead money against their salary cap this year, which has hindered their ability to re-sign their top players.

 

If these guys work out we should send a fruit basket to JaMarcus Russel for helping out.

[BleedinBlue]

The funny thing is, the Raiders go after our castoffs as well. The difference is, they pay Jacobs, Manningham, Boss, Tollefson, etc., outrageous salaries to sign them....whereas the Giants get the Raiders players on the cheap.

[osi724dasack]

Don't forget when the Raiders made Gibril "TheThrill" Wilson the highest paid safety in NFL history.

 

Lol.

[BleedinBlue]

Don't forget when the Raiders made Gibril "TheThrill" Wilson the highest paid safety in NFL history.

 

Lol.

 

LMAO...forgot about that one!

[Sephiroth]

If these guys work out we should send a fruit basket to JaMarcus Russel for helping out.

 

Maybe we should sign him, too!

[CrazedDogs]

If these guys work out we should send a fruit basket to JaMarcus Russel for helping out.

 

Thats basically what I was about to say.

[Treehugger]

The funny thing is, the Raiders go after our castoffs as well. The difference is, they pay Jacobs, Manningham, Boss, Tollefson, etc., outrageous salaries to sign them....whereas the Giants get the Raiders players on the cheap.

 

Jacobs & Manningham went to the 49ers, not Oakland.

[BleedinBlue]

 

 

Jacobs & Manningham went to the 49ers, not Oakland.

 

good point...I always get those two cities mixed up. It's like mixing up the New York Knicks with the Brooklyn Nets.....or Tampa and St. Petersburg, or Minneapolis and St. Paul. To me anyway. Thanks for correcting. Maybe we can get some of the 49'rs throw offs when they can't keep a player because of cap!