Raiders’ Schweigert was too easy to blame

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, May 22, 2008  |  Comments( 22 )

Oakland Raiders
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The Oakland Raiders released a fan favorite this week. A fan’s favorite target, that is.

On Tuesday, the Raiders informed free safety Stuart Schweigert that his services would no longer be needed in Oakland. A third-round pick of the team in 2004, the 6-foot-2 defender started in 42 games with the silver and black before his release. Twenty-six of those nods came over the past two seasons.

For every start, there have been twice as many complaints.

Schweigert was known in his college years as a playmaker. Not only was he a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in each of his last three seasons at Purdue, but he shattered Rod Woodson’s school record of 11 career interceptions by six. The hopes were high when Oakland took him 67th overall four years ago. Though, when it didn’t pan out, fans were the first to call for Schweigert’s head.

“He can’t tackle.” “He’s bad with angles.” “He’s soft.” “He’s late in coverage.” “He can’t hit.”

Among many, those were five of the most visited topics regarding the Saginaw, Mich., native. Sure, there are 10 other players on the field, but Schweigert was always the one sliding across the screen or attacking the ball carrier’s legs. He made himself an easy target.

Sometimes, though, it worked. In 2006, Schweigert ranked fourth among all NFL defensive backs in tackles (107) and second among all free safeties, behind only the late Sean Taylor. Last season, he was on pace for nearly as many before hurting his calf in Week 11 and losing his starting job thereafter.

In 63 career games with the Raiders, Schweigert recorded 315 tackles, 18 passes defensed and four interceptions. Last season, before being replaced in Week 12, the 26-year-old amassed 59 tackles and a pick; as a backup in the final five weeks of the season, he added another 10 tackles and one interception.

By cutting Schweigert, the Raiders took a $316,000 hit against the salary cap thanks to unaccounted for prorated portions of his ‘08 and ’09 signing bonuses.

The move -- though not particularly surprising -- was likely due not as much to bad play as it was to factors beyond Schweigert’s control.

The team signed ex-New York Giants strong safety Gibril Wilson early in the offseason to a six-year, $39-million contract, $16 million of which was guaranteed. The transaction gave defensive coordinator Rob Ryan the perfect excuse to finally move 2006 first-rounder Michael Huff to free safety -- the spot Schweigert had previously held down.

Oakland also re-signed the exclusive rights to safety Hiram Eugene in early April. Eugene was the player who replaced Schweigert late last season at FS; he capped off the year with 31 tackles in five starts. The team also picked former Connecticut defensive back Tyvon Branch in Round 4 of this year’s draft; he is expected to help out at safety.

Schweigert, who held a base salary of about $2.2 million in 2007, was expected to earn about $2.6 million this season and $545,000 in 2009. With a busy offseason behind them, the team is beginning to clean up its roster and preparing to sign first-round pick Darren McFadden.

With No. 30 gone, fans will certainly miss out on plenty of bickering this season. Whether he deserved it or not, Schweigert quickly became the scapegoat of Oakland’s ‘D’.

Without a doubt, however, Oakland parted ways with a very impressive off-the-field character -- one who has put more time into the Raider community over the past four years than anyone on the roster.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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