Dominic Rhodes signs with Raiders

It's official.

Two years - about $7.5 million.

I just read about the rumor this morning and didn't think anything of it. Wow. This is great news. Simply great.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am pumped up. Not just because he was the running back on the Super Bowl winning team, but because I think he has legitimate stuff to help us out immediately.

I have always thought Rhodes was a very solid player. Granted, he is making the move from the team that won the Super Bowl to the team with the worst record, a jump that is difficult to understand. Why would anybody make this move? Well, hopefully he saw something he liked with Oakland. Hopefully he liked more than one thing. Hopefully he sees that progress is being made. I think his stats were amazing for what he was asked to do. Again, he was playing for the Colts. With a great offensive line. And Peyton Manning. But he played well and he ran smart. He can do the same thing here in Oakland. I would prefer to see him the #1 guy and delegate back-up duties to Jordan. Or at least split the carries, with Rhodes getting 60/40. But I don't want LaMont being the #1 anymore. He did run for 1000 yards a while ago, that's true. But I am high on the prospects of Rhodes and I don't think he's even run the ball to the best of his ability yet.

The thing that does bother me is his character issues. He was arrested not very long ago for drunk driving. I am not one to shove this issue off to the side, this is a very big problem that a lot of athletes have and is so dumb and reckless, and yet you get used to it because it happens all the time. Hopefully this is the only mistake he has made and I hope he can change himself, it just bothers me slightly that the Raiders are looking past character issues when it seemed Kiffin was going to be a very stand-up guy about guys being held accountable. I am just assuming they are looking past the DUI and realizing his ability is extremely solid.

All in all, despite the character issues, this is a very encouraging sign and I hope he can be the running back that we can count on and that we need in Oakland.