Did Uncle Al really spend too much?

Gee, I kind of thought the were doing an excellent job in the off-season, but everywhere I turn, in sports pages virtual or actual, the black-and-silver front office is getting slagged off for its extravagance. Maybe Raider Nation is onto something here: Maybe it really is Them against The World (which has all the media in its corner, due to The East Coast Bias).Or ... maybe the Raiders have been a bit free and loose with the question mark, blowing 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
unnecessary capital on players doomed to failure after a successful season/career elsewhere, a history spanning Larry Brown to Dominic Rhodes at least.A consideration, then, of the big-deal deals Al Davis (no relation) and co. made in the off-season.? Kwame Harris became a Raider for potentially $16 million over three years. Considering that Harris was the guy the Raiders coveted pretty much from the signing-period starting gun, that the ‘Nation is clamoring for help on the ‘O’ line, and that few linemen to speak of were available to Oakland, Harris was a key signing for the Raiders. A respectable line isn’t far off now, surely. Harris? Priceless, as the ads say; certainly money well spent here.? The anti-Harris, judging from the deluge of reaction, is Tommy Kelly. Kelly landed a crazy seven-year $50.5 million contract, with $18.125 guaranteed. Let’s see ... dude has never made the Pro Bowl, suffered a ligament tear in late October last season and is already listed as questionable for the start of 2008 training camp. Oversimplifying the numbers a bit give us averages of $7.2 million and about $2.6 million guaranteed for next year, putting Kelly on a breadwinning level with guys like Seattle’s Deion Branch (over $9.38 million in 2007) and Minnesota’s Pat Williams ($6.75 million in 2007, with a contract that bagged him a cool $13.55 mil in special bonuses). Heck, overall, it’s the biggest contract of all-time for a DT! Considering that the Seahawks and Vikings were involved in insane bidding wars last year while the Raiders were bidding against, um, no one for Kelly this year ... this may be a bad contract for Oakland, folks.? On Javon Walker: Take it away, A-Carr! It didn't take long for the media to find the perfect word to describe the six-year, $55-million deal the extended to wide receiver Javon Walker."Lucrative."The word fits. The 29-year-old ex-Denver Bronco cashed in for more than any other free-agent wide receiver this offseason. He'll earn more than Randy Moss in New England, Bernard Berrian in Minnesota, Jerry Porter in Jacksonville and Donte' Stallworth in Cleveland.Compared to the guys on the above list and adding in a potential attitude problem, Walker’s contract seems a tad inflated. Slightly bloated though it may be, Carroll found the Walker deal justifiable and I can toe that party line: The Raiders are pitiably thin at receiver. This deal shores up the position for years; pray Walker can run in this offense at least through decade’s end, Oakland fans.? In direct opposition to the Kelly signing was the Gibril Wilson deal, a move garnering praise throughout the football-loving land. And why not? At six years, $39 million and $16 million guaranteed, Wilson’s salary for 2008 puts him in the neighborhood of Michael M. Lewis in San Francisco (just under $4.2 million in 2007) and Arizona’s Terrence Holt (a bit above $4 mil). And Wilson’s bringing in Super Bowl gold? Translation: A bargain. While other 10 Santonio Holmes White jersey
outlets blast the seemingly headless Raiders for throwing money around, it says here that Davis and co. paid going rate for most of these guys and played it straight-up shrewdly most of the time.Now if someone will just explain the whole Tommy Kelly thing...Studying the big bucks with the coolness of accountacy throughout the year at .