Oakland Raiders fans don’t have a lot to cheer for. They also don’t have jobs. Add that up and there was a mob on hand to welcome former Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson back to the Silver and Black on Wednesday.
Word got out that Woodson would be stopping by Raiders headquarters on Wednesday to sign his contract and the fans congregated. They mobbed pretty much any car that passed into the facility and some of the other players stopped for pictures and so forth. But the fans were clearly there for Chuck.
And why the hell not?
Charles Woodson is one of the best defensive backs to ever play the game. He started his NFL career with the Raiders and he’ll likely end it there. It was like the return of the king.
And yeah, we love Charles, but let’s be honest. The Raiders aren’t going anywhere this year and we’ll probably start to feel bad toward the end of the season when Woodson is anchoring some crap-ass defense for a five or six-win team.
Then again, this is Ted Thompson protege Reggie McKenzie‘s show! He traded for former Packers backup QB Matt Flynn and now he’s signed Chuck.
Those two moves will probably prove more fortuitous than his past attempts to sign former Packers. Pat Lee, anyone?
Anyway, here are the photos of the fans awaiting Charles’ arrival. Note how comfortable they look behind that large cage-like fence. Must think they’re in the yard at San Quentin.
Seriously though, we’re happy for Charles. He wanted to play, the Packers didn’t want him and he didn’t go sign with the Vikings.
Remember, there was a time when no one wanted a former-cornerback-turned-safety named Rod Woodson. He signed with the Raiders and led the league in picks in 2002. Just sayin…
Sure they’re excited. They’ve got a real, legitimate, professional football player on their team for the first time in decades. Charles wasn’t good his first go-round there, no… He had to come to GREEN BAY to learn how to be great. Unfortunately, Chuck just wasn’t good enough to crack our roster anymore, so we had no choice but to jettison him. Our trash instantly became Jokeland’s best player… Good for them, that’s what ol’ Fitzy says. It’s just a shame Charles couldn’t finish his career with a contender, beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.
They got him cheap too…remember that when we’re asking ourselves, where’s the leadership on this Defense mid season?
Yup, $4.3-5M/yr is super cheap, especially when the PAckers have a 1st and 2nd-round draft picks to sign.
It was even cheaper than that.
$1.8M, the rest was incentive laden.
Still, you can’t give that excess to another player unless you have sufficient room on the cap, in the event he meets those incentive requirements. The Packers don’t have all that much money left ($10-13M after Rodgers’ extension and before the draft pick/FA signings) and have yet to sign their first 2 draft picks and Sam Shields. At this point would you rather have Shields or Woodson?
He was around last year… didn’t see a SuperBowl win come of it…
Leadership?
Hey, fellas — this is how ya heal up an old, broken-down collarbone…
Can’t cover.
Too slow.
Too slow to even grab, and get penalized — which results in a new set of downs for the opponent. Real bonus there !
He gambles. As a safety, he’s supposed to cover-up the gambles of other teammates.
Were you not around for two — NOT ONE — but two, broken collarbones ?
HE’S NOT THE GUY HE WAS.
It’s becoming apparent that your “thing” for Woodson has nothing to do with football (not that there’s anything wrong with that…)
It least Charles will have some better weather to enjoy. I bet he’s at the beach right now. Good for him
The Raiders have not won 9 games in a season since 2002. Consider that and dismay.
Gotta sell tickets, yo.
One of the ballsiest moments in Super Bowl history is after C-Wood snapped his clavicle diving for the ball while covering Mike Wallace, he PLAYED the next play. Remember that?
Hahaha… The Packers had to call a timeout to get Woodson off the field. Classic!
Woodson should retire a packer.
Fuck Oakland.
That’s all fanfare stuff. Canton doesn’t delegate their HOF Inductees as members of certain teams. The media and fans take care of that.
But I think it will be interesting when his retirement day comes whether he seeks a single day contract to retire “as a Packer” or not.
I have made a closer inspection of the pictures above, and I have determined that those are NOT Raider fans. They are likely paid actors.
None of those people look like they just got out of San Quentin or the local mental health facility.
In fact, I even spotted a pair of breasts, which no woman not whacked on illegal substances would display in a crowd of real Raider fans without the fear of being accosted.
Woodson, like Favre before him, finds himself at the end of the road. Your previous employer let you go (whatever led up to it is immaterial at this point). So you find a place where you can pad your account with several million dollars before you retire.
More power to you – only wish I could find that gig.