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Warren Sapp: Ready To Rock The West

warren_sappWarren Sapp: Ready To Rock The West


When the Raiders swooped in at the last minute to snatch Warren Sapp from the Bengals grasp with a 7-year, $36.6 million deal, people instantly wondered if the Raiders had lost their minds. At 32 years of age and statistically on the decline, the general feeling was that the Raiders had charitably given Sapp a nice retirement pension. And this comes after they gave 36-year old run stopper Ted Washington a 4-year contract. It is a gamble for sure. But I would argue it is a gamble the Raiders had to take. When a quarter of your schedule is played against the NFL's top running backs; LaDanian Tomlinson and Priest Holmes, you had better be capable of shutting down the run game.




2003 LaDanian Tomlinson vs. Oakland

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

|  4  oak  |   28   187  |    24  |  1 |

| 17  oak  |   31   243  |    17  |  2 |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

|  TOTAL   |  59    430  |    41  |  3 |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

2003 Priest Holmes vs. Oakland

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

|  4  oak  |   27   123  |    50  |  1 |

| 17  oak  |   21   91   |   100  |  2 |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

|  TOTAL   |  48    214  |   150  |  2 |

+----------+-------------+--------+----+

The Raiders were murdered as you can see. They lost 3 of 4 games played against Tomlinson and Holmes last season. You can't be a playoff contender without winning some divisional games. The Raiders had to find a way to stop their division rivals from running all over them. They've hedged their bets on a 7-straight Pro Bowler in Warren Sapp, and the jumbo-sized Ted Washington who virtually takes away the entire middle portion of the field when healthy. And therein lies the rub. Can Sapp and Washington stay healthy and play a full schedule in the twilight of their careers? If they can, the Raiders may have instantly turned the tables on their toughest competition.

Photo: [Warren Sapp: Robert Seale]
Stats: [Pro-Football-Reference]

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