Oakland’s new double-five is no double

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, September 05, 2006  |  Comments( 18 )

Oakland Raiders
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When No. 55 hits the field on Monday night, things won't be quite the same.

The former 55, Danny Clark -- one of three linebackers cut by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday -- started 31 regular-season contests over the past two seasons with the team.

The latter 55, Robert Thomas, appeared in two preseason games, recorded just four solo tackles and made the team in favor of Clark.

Just two days subsequent to the departure of the former Raider, Thomas quickly grabbed Clark's old number -- the number he previously wore with the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers.

His production with those teams, however, falls well short of Clark's two-year effort with the Raiders, despite an additional two seasons of playing time.

Thomas, a former 2002 first-round draft choice, began his career with the Rams, where he would stay aboard for three seasons. Slowed by nagging injuries to his groin and ankle, the 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker recorded 163 tackles in 42 appearances with St. Louis.

In 2005, after a move to Green Bay, Thomas suffered a severe injury to his quadriceps in a Nov. 11 meeting with the Minnesota Vikings. As a result, the 26-year-old missed five of the team's final six games, finishing the '05 campaign with just 41 tackles and an interception on nine starts.

Combined, the four-year veteran has recorded 204 total tackles in 52 games.

Danny Clark, in 32 previous appearances with Oakland, has amassed 242 tackles in 30 less games.

"That [cut] was the hardest," said head coach Art Shell. "He's a good guy. He gave us everything he had, worked hard. Not to say the rest of them didn't, but this kid was demoted to the second team and he worked his tail off and never said a word -- just kept working."

Although Clark was listed as a reserve linebacker on Oakland's early-season depth chart, the release of the 29-year-old is rather surprising. By cutting Clark, whose '06 cap figure was set for $2.7 million, the Raiders saved $1,389,000. Put into better perspective, over $9 million was banked on the early-offseason Kerry Collins-cut, while releasing a player like 33-year-old Zack Crockett would have saved $2,079,284 - nearly $700,000 more than Clark's corresponding savings.

What will Danny Clark most remember about his time in Oakland?

"The fans," he said. "The fans are extremely faithful and they believe in us."

"It's a culture versus just being football fans."

Be in Friday's article: Visit RaidersLive.com to submit your questions and comments for the Sept. 8 Raiders mailbag. Get more on the Oakland Raiders at Realfootball365.com.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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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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CommentsComments: 18  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
chris p		05:33 AM
09/05/2006
IT WAS SORRY TO SEE DANNY CLARK GO BUT WE STARTED TRIMMING THE WAISTLINE. OR OTHERWISE THE SALARY CAP FOR NEXT YEAR. LET'S START...
No.2
Spoakland		06:55 AM
09/05/2006
I would like Coach Shell to explain why R. Thomas, I. Ekejiuba, and G. Irons are better LBs than Danny Clark! Clark has been a...
No.3
Raider Duke		09:32 AM
09/05/2006
I'm like most diehard Raider fans, I enter every season very optimistic buying into the reloading phase. This year is no...
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