SCOTT JACOBS

Spoiler alert: the Oakland Raiders are crazy. But you already knew that. Two first rounders for Carson Palmer? The move reeks of desperation. It has a stench of franchise confusion.  it has NFL pundits laughing at Oakland instead of Miami for a day.  In a sense, the Dolphins are the biggest winners of the day. If for no other reason than the attention gets deflected off of their trainwreck of a franchise, and onto Oakland.  But I’m going to say something that will probably surprise you.  Heck, it might go as far as to stun you. Ready, here goes:

I like it.  No, I love it. I love this deal because it’s unconventional (acquiring a starting QB over a 1/4 in the season? — when was the last time that happened), it’s risky as hell, and it shows Oakland is all in on showing that they are sick of losing in the Bay Area. It doesn’t make sense from a traditional standpoint or from a logical standpoint, but desperate moves rarely ever do.  It means Oakland is willing to do whatever it takes to get back in the race. At 4-2 they have a strong team, a great running game, and a fierce defense.  They play in a winnable division, where only the Chargers appear to stand in their way.  Their owner passed away a few weeks ago, and they have the raw emotion of playing for him to fuel them the rest of the year.

Oakland has heard the doubters, and no doubt this will attract more.  But Oakland doesn’t care what you think.  They never have.  And I respect that, even if their strategies and moves are at times, comical.

This move is no joke. It really bares their April draftboard cupboard — as they won’t have a pick in the 1st – 4th rounds, along with no 7th rounder just for good measure. That’s ballsy.  Oakland has had a good decade to build their team through the draft, and that hasn’t worked out all that well for them.  JaMarcus Russel was a disaster of epic proportions. Robert Gallery was not the man Mel Kiper thought he would be. They’ve drafted speed over sanity, and they reached into the cookie jar again this fall when they plucked Terrelle Pryor from the Supplemental Draft.

I don’t like this move because of stats.  I don’t like this move because Carson Palmer is a savior. I don’t even like this move because I think Carson can still be great.

I like this move because it gives Oakland a face to their QB position — something they haven’t had since Rich Gannon.  I like this move because Oakland is sick and tired of losing and the chance to win now is here and very much realistic.  This trade is worth it to me even if they only win one playoff game.  Just to make the playoffs would be a huge step up for the Raiders who have the longest drought from losing the Super Bowl to making the playoffs in NFL history. The Raiders needed more than just a plug guy. Kyle Boller would have taken them nowhere. David Garrard wasn’t healthy. Trent Edwards peaked like four years ago.

Carson Palmer may have peaked 4 years ago too, but that said, he gives their QB position credibility. Pair him with Darren McFadden who is having a monster year, and a batch of speedy wideouts who can spread the field, and you have an offense that can be pretty scary. If Palmer can open the field for Oakland even a little bit, with the way McFadden is playing this could be a monster coup for Oakland. I know that sounds crazy, but  Oakland is crazy. This move fits right in with their ‘Raider Way.’

Carson Palmer retired because he wanted to be traded. I’ve never heard of a QB that ever did that. He’s rested, maybe a bit rusty, but he hasn’t taken a single NFL hit all season.  If he’s 100% healthy and clearly this move will make him happy, this move could pay off large at the end of the season. Is Oakland really mortgaging their future? They botch draft picks yearly, and let’s just say this trade flops horribly: well, worst case scenario you basically set yourself a year or so back.  Oakland as a franchise has been set back a good decade from being relevent. This move brings them back into the fold, this move gives them a chance. While Palmer’s upside has probably been reached, there’s something to be said for Oakland’s upside. The Jets have made the AFC title game two years ago with Mark Sanchez behind center. Palmer is better. McFadden is a better running back than anything New York has. The Raiders have a lot of young guys who could really evolve with Palmer to tutor them.

Finally the most exciting part? No malcontents! No Chad OchoCincos, no T.O.’s, finally Palmer can just play with a bunch of green wide receivers who will be ecstatic to have him delivering them the ball.

It’s not the perfect trade. It’s not the smartest trade.

I love this trade because Oakland doesn’t care what anyone thinks. I love this trade because Oakland is taking a chance. This hardly ever happens in the middle of the season. Rather than giving into their current circumstances, Oakland went for something.

Only time will tell if the steep price was worth it.

Photo: Getty

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