Once a Raider, Never a Bronco

by HBBeough on Jun 15, 2008 6:28 PM MDT Comment 11 comments

After the 2007 season where Javon Walker was injured or ineffective for all but two games he told reporters he was not a good fit for the team. When the Broncos found there was no trade market for high salary injury prone wideouts Denver cut him. He was then picked up by the Raiders with a six year $55 million dollar contract.

So, that leads to the question: Who will miss the other guy more? Jay Cutler or Javon Walker?

Not even his doctors know for sure if JW can remain uninjured for any stretch in the future but let’s just assume he can or else this whole post is a waste of bad typing skills.

Walker is young but has proven he can rack up big numbers. It does hurt to have a Hall of Famer like Brett Favre dishing you the rock or playing in a superbowl caliber offense like Mike Shanahan runs but when Javon wasn’t in rehab he was among the best in the league at his position.

As far as motivation is concerned remember this?

from ESPN

Pretty bold remarks for a guy that was afraid of competition for his job from a fourth round pick.

Further motivation, Javon has to know that he’s coming to the end of the line. If you have talent there are always teams that will give you a second chance but almost none that will be a fourth after you don’t work out with the Raiders (ask Jeff George).

Enough about bad fro-hawk Javon, let’s take a closer look at his new team the Raiders. Walker is going from a 13th ranked passing offense to a 30th ranked. His new team averaged 54 yards per game less in the air than Denver last year. Most likely Javon will be thrown the ball from JaMarcus Russell who has only one NFL game posting double-digit completions. His career completion percentage is less than 55 and averages 5.65 yards per compared to Cutler’s 62+% and 7.4 ypa. Hey maybe Al Davis’s crew is beginning to turn their train wreck around... who knows but last year Randy Moss took a 6.75 million dollar paycut to get out of Oaktown… maybe he just wasn’t selfish enough.

Maybe Walker will be the next Lyle Alzado, or maybe the next Bill Romanowski or (Cooper Carlisle), only time will tell.

Anyway, let’s look at the other side of the argument. Walker was there for Cutler in 2006 and for two games in 2007. Jay pretty much said where he stands on the discussion with his arm after Javon returned from his injury... "No passes to uninspired paycheck only concerned me guys who aren’t getting open." was my interpretation. Cutler read Walker’s attitude way before the WR’s locker room rant. And now he’s someone else’s problem.

Can you replace a guy like Javon Walker? Super7 presented a good argument that the Broncos already have with Darrell Jackson. Then there’s Keary Colbert who Shanny really likes and the rookie Eddie Royal who many think will be as freaky as Steve Smith. One way or another I don’t think Jay C. is losing a lot of sleep over it.

Forgive my obvious bias and let’s vote. Remember OakFoSh, 1 vote per person…

Poll

Who will miss the other guy more?

Jay Cutler (will miss Javon Walker)

2 votes

Javon Walker (will miss Jay Cutler)

61 votes

63 votes | Poll has closed

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

3 recs | Comment 11 comments

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Comments

Character

Thanks for the remind of this years theme…character.
Good Post. Walker will not be missed.

by Mike Clark on Jun 15, 2008 7:48 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Clark, your Royal mini-camp post...

Covered the new attitude Broncos nicely. I liked the feel and wanted to comment but most of the thoughts I had were things you had already covered. It is a nice piece and this may just be details on one item.

I think Walker bailed on something special here. His loss.

by HBBeough on Jun 15, 2008 8:07 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

HB

I agree

by Mike Clark on Jun 15, 2008 9:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I noticed

Last year JC did not even miss that ingrate. Look the Broncos have Marshall and some good character WR’s. I am glad he is gone. Its sad the Broncos lost an ingrate in Lelie who is obscurity in SF, and replaced him with another ingrate in Walker. Who now will be in obscurity in Oakland. All trash heads towards the Bay area. If Randy Moss could be happy in Oakland and he a way better receiver I cant wait for Walker to start complaining after he gets shut donw week 1

by broncfanstuckinsd on Jun 16, 2008 11:23 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Very nice.

Well done, and balanced. I like that you are honest enough to write that Walker is a great WR when healthy (I think a lot of us instantly forgot that when we got mad at him). But you also did a fantastic job of comparing JM to Cutler, and showing how much trouble Walker may be getting into.

Good stuff, and recommended!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Jun 16, 2008 1:17 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks HT

by HBBeough on Jun 16, 2008 1:26 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

But dont forget

For every good season he has had, he came out the next and became what he really is. He becomes selfish. He even got called out by Brett Favre and he is gonna be a 1st ballot HOFer. Sure a lot of us Bronco fans are pissed at him, but it is not like he has not earned his reputation. Plus I think the player replacing Javon is Marshall not Jackson. Because if you look at it Javon got 17 receptions in 2 games then got hurt. After that it was Marshall. Then when he did come back (IMO) he never really tried to be a compliment to Marshall. He wanted to be the man. He can say all he wants how he wanted to help Marshall get his 100 receptions, but actions speak louder than words. Plsu after the seasons last game he stated he wanted leave this team. Good be gone.

by broncfanstuckinsd on Jun 16, 2008 5:11 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

"I think the player replacing Javon is Marshall not Jackson"

I thought about that too when I was putting this together. There were actually 2 Javons in 2007, the #1 WR and the #2.

As a #2 he was worthless so DJack doesn’t have to do much to better that.

As a #1 a fair comparison would be Walker’s 2006 stats against Marshall’s 2007. We’ll even take out of consideration the fact that Marshall didn’t line up as the #1 wideout for all 16 starts but anyway, Marshall had more receptions, total yards, YAC and 1st downs. Walker wins long, average yards per and got 1 more TD. Giving Walker the benefit of the doubt to try to match up numbers, I think Marshall’s numbers are better.

Considering more than just stats I like Marshall as a guy too. I know he’s made some bad decisions but he’s still a kid and I give him some slack (I think the fine he got for playing in the snow vs the Chiefs was actually one of the best TD celebrations ever). Javon has attitude problems I just don’t think are good for the team or the game.

On a personal note, I live in socal too. I have been to several Broncos/Chargers games at Qualcom and it is just recently that there are more Chargers jerseys than blue and orange. Hopefully it will turn around again soon and the old Murph will be another home game for Denver again.

by HBBeough on Jun 16, 2008 6:08 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I did like your analysis. I just wanted to maybe add my 2 cents that were a bash. I can agree with the Jackson replacing the Walker that ended his season. Plus Marshall is strong and it does takes a few guys to take him down. A lasting play with Marshall I will remember is Cutler’s first start in 2006 against Seattle when he took that short pass from JC and turned into a 70 yd TD. It was awesome and I think he will only get better. Plus cleaning up the locker room will help
On the SD/Socal front it just makes me remember that once SD goes back to losing we will see more Denver and fader jerseys around here

by broncfanstuckinsd on Jun 16, 2008 6:57 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Walker did show talent.

It will be interesting to see what that talent plus the motivation he claims to have will produce when he finally lines up against the Broncos. Of course, this time he will be across the line from Champ mostly , who has h.o.f. (de-emphasis added) talent and brains and two years of experience going up against him every day in practice.

Let’s see: Future h.o.f. cornerback in his prime vs. over paid, talented but under achieving WR?

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Jun 17, 2008 9:59 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I posted this before I knew about his injury.

I hope he gets better soon. I’ll say a prayer for him and hope he finally puts two and two together and realizes it really does equal four, no matter how hard you try to make it add up to something else.

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Jun 17, 2008 11:58 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs