So, today Al decided to sign DeAngelo Hall for $70 million with $24.5 million guaranteed. Potentially, it could give the Raiders the best corners in football. However, I think it is more likely to expose their swiss cheese run defense in addition to showing that Hall, while serviceable, is not one of the best corners in football. What incentive does Hall have to play at peak performance? He's bagged his pie in the sky. He's damn near as rich as Russell.
The modern NFL is all about maximizing value. The pre-cap NFL was about maximizing talent. In the pre-cap days, you could afford to pool talent and potential talent and take time to develop it. The days of say the 1970's Cowboys with a starting quarterback like Staubach and backup like White are gone. In the post-cap NFL, you must do more than maximize talent. You must maximize value. You must get the most for the least because you are limited in what you can pay. Want the best quarterback in the NFL? The price is money, less team talent and and less depth. The only exception to the rule is a "big push." It works by selling your soul (your franchise's future) to the Devil and getting as much talent in a short period of time in the hopes of making a run at the Super Bowl. Whether you make it or not, the fall out is that you lose draft picks and cap room and end up decimating your franchise for four or five years.
It looks like Al is making a big push. He's 80 and it looks like he's using the new money infusion he got by selling a stake of the Raiders to stock the Raiders with more than enough talent to make a run at the big show. IMO, if the Raiders do not get the Super Bowl in the next two years, they'll fall lower than they are now.
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