Watchman Raider Review 19th April - The State of The Raiders Part 1: The Offence

The draft is fast approaching with much speculation as to what the Oakland Raiders will do with the 4th pick. Will they take McFadden? Dorsey, Ellis or the legends son? The Raiders do have holes throughout the roster but let’s look to see where the priorities should be focused.

Quarterbacks

The Raiders are set at starting QB. JaMarcus Russell will be entering his 2nd season with much expected of him. He'll have the benefit of a full training camp (his hold out cost him a chance to start earlier than he did last season) and a year in Kiffin’s system. I personally don't believe the stories about his weight (he'll always be a big guy) and I expect him to be fully conditioned by the time training camp starts if not before.

The back up QB role seems to be where most of the questions lie. Currently, it's former starter Andrew Walter. I like Walter and his struggles 2 years ago weren't all of his own making but that of a very porous o-line. He would play competently if called upon but I'm not sure if he would be in a position to carry the load if Russell was out for any great length of time.

Despite what it says on the roster page of the Raiders official site, Culpepper is not a Raider anymore. It is still possible that he makes a return to mentor Russell, who is seen as Cpep clone.

There are 2 other QB's on the roster, Erik Meyer and Jeff Otis and maybe one of them could turn out to be our 3rd QB. Last year the Raiders carried 4 through the season but I don’t expect that to happen again this time. Kiffin could well do what other Head Coaches do, notably Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak and carry just 2 signal callers. That would free up a roster for other positions.

Draft Outlook: No significant additions to the Quarterback position.

Running Back/Full Back

The Raiders currently have 8 players on the roster that are either Running Backs or Full Backs. Of those I expect 5 of them to make the 53 man roster.

This is also one of the reasons why I don't think the Raiders will take McFadden at 4 and is something Kiffin himself hinted at in a recent press conference. (Which could of course be a smoke screen).

Both FB's, will more than likely, make the final roster. Justin Griffiths has been a solid if unspectacular addition and played well as lead blocker in the running game which, lets face it, was the only part of the Raiders offence that worked last year.

Oren O'Neal is a good back up and the long term heir to the FB role. Lets hope he has a career that's as successful as his namesake Lorenzo.

At Running Back, Justin Fargas was the highlight of last seasons Raiders. He played with heart and commitment and deserves all the accolades he has since received.

Dominic Rhodes has re-structured his contract which either means he's a cert to be here for the forthcoming season or he'll get traded. For me that depends on the outside chance of the Raiders drafting McFadden. If they do I think he will be gone.

The unknown quantity is Michael Bush who, prior to his injury was drawing McFadden like praise. Now that his injury has cleared up he's going to be in the mix and I'm excited in seeing what he can do.

The odd man looks like to be Lamont Jordan who was the starter on the opening day against the Lions. I actually feel sorry for Jordan, as he started very well in the first 4 games:

Detroit 15 carries 70 yards 4.7 average
Denver 25 for 159, 6.4 average
Cleveland 29 for 121, 4.2 average
Miami 15 for 74 4.9 average
They are not bad stats and if you extrapolate those over a season he'd have had over 1600 yards. Okay that’s hypothetical but it is a shame he was injured in the Miami game.

Still that doesn't disguise the fact that the rest of the season he was awful and spent it whining about his lot.

I doubt that any team will trade for him due to his contract so it would be no surprise if he got cut. The only chance of him making the team is if he re-structures his deal and I doubt that's going to happen.

Draft Outlook: The only addition would come from drafting McFadden. Kiffin has said that we have no need for another RB. Who knows what’s going through Al's mind?

Tight End

The Raiders drafted TE Zach Miller last year and the second rounder had a reasonable year. He had 44 catches for 444 at a shade over 10 yards per catch. He chipped in with 3 TD's also.

I'd like to see at least the same level of production - with perhaps a higher average yards per catch and to double that number of TD's. He should benefit from the presence of Walker, Carter and Curry, hopefully creating some mismatches he can exploit.

Behind Miller there are a number of competent veterans. John Masden is primarily used as a blocker. Tony Stewart played special teams and though he saw action at TE had zero catches. Ex- Cardinal Fred Wakefield spent the year on IR after being signed as a FA last March.

Draft Outlook: No significant additions through the draft

Wide Receiver

Before the start of Free Agency I would have said that the need at receiver was as great as the need on the offensive and defensive lines. Porter was unhappy, Curry had faded at the end of the season and the rest of receiving corps had little NFL experience. However, with the acquisition of 2 FA's I have had to re-evaluate that thinking.

Javon Walker can be productive and has demonstrated that in the past. If he fully recovers from his knee surgery he is capable of putting up over 1000 yards as he did in 2004 and 2006. On the down side he has only once in his career started all 16 games and that was with the Broncos in 2006.

Drew Carter is a big guy with good speed and should be able to stretch the field which will suit JaMarcus Russell. He's had a patchy career but in 2005 averaged over 20 yards per reception. More of that and the Raider Fans will be happy.

Curry had 55 receptions last year but in the last 5 games caught just 11 passes for 140 ish yards. In the first game of the season he had 10 for 133. That puts his end of season performance into perspective.
However, I believe he will flourish this season with Walker on the opposite side or if he becomes the 3rd receiver and plays in the slot position.

Behind that there's last season's 3rd round draft pick Johnnie Lee Higgins who had 6 catches last year. Unless he shows dramatic improvement he'll be the 4th WR, though I guess he might have a chance to return kicks. Tim Dwight provided veteran presence at the end of the season and I would be tempted to bring him back for his versatility and work ethic.

After that there are a number of receivers with 1 or 2 years NFL experience but very little in terms of game experience and catches. For training camp last year we had over 12 WR's and there's very chance that this happens again.

Draft Outlook: Every chance the Raiders take a receiver with one of the late picks.

The Offensive Line

And over the last two years that's just what it's been. In the 2006 campaign the Raiders surrendered 70 sacks and whilst things were better last year they were far from perfect. The Zone Blocking Scheme worked well in the run game as the Raiders ranked 6th in rushing yards (130 yards a game) but were 31st in passing (164 yards a game).
Despite adding to the o-line in free agency it is still a concern. The o-line is currently the weakest aspect of the offence and its ability to protect Russell will determine whether he and the offence as a whole progress in the forthcoming season.

Barry Sims was cut earlier this year with the Raiders signing Kwame Harris as the replacement at LT. Whilst having undoubted ability his time in San Francisco was a disappointment and a number of 49ers fans welcomed his departure. However a fresh start could just be what’s required and he is an upgrade from last year.

The other tackle spot was manned for most of last season by Cornell Green (before going on IR) who is a solid veteran; but no more than that. Potentially a “franchise” right tackle could be available at 4. Jake Long could start straight away on this line. He is a top 5 player but would the Raiders choose another tackle with a high draft pick as they did with Robert Gallery? I’m not so sure.

Gallery seems to have improved his play since moving to guard and I see no reason to move him from that spot, though with hindsight using a #2 pick on what has turned about to be a just above average guard is a mistake and is one of the reasons why I don’t think we’ll take Jake Long.

Over at the other guard spot will more than likely be Cooper Carlisle who has a vast amount of experience of the ZBS and who played in all 16 games in his first season as a Raider.

The Raiders have made no attempt to re-sign Jeremy Newberry after his one year stint on the East Side of the Bay and instead brought in former Buccaneer John Wade who will compete with Jake Grove for the starting job at centre. Wade has a good reputation as decent run blocker but is not so good in pass protection and frequently gets flagged for holding.

Paul McQuistan played RT towards the end of the season and there was no major loss in production after Green was injured. Personally feel McQuistan is better suited to playing Guard.

Signed towards the end of the season was Seth Wand who was LT for a period whilst David Carr struggled in Houston. I don’t expect major things from him. I’m intrigued as to what Mario Henderson will do in his second season. I’d like to see him compete for a starting spot but that would probably mean competing against Green and McQuistan.

Draft Outlook: There’s an outside chance we could take Jake Long but I’m predicting he’ll be drafted by the Rams – second overall.

Overall the offence does possess a number of quality players at the key skill positions. Last years draft saw us bring in our “franchise” QB and TE to supplement the squad of running backs. This year’s free agency has gone some way to improving our receivers.

The o-line is still an area of concern which I don’t see the Raiders drastically addressing in the draft. Jake Long is still a possibility but if we don’t take an o-line player in the first then we’d be waiting till the 4th round.

McFadden is also an intriguing prospect to add to the stable of Running Backs, it’s not an area of need but McFadden would be an explosive addition. In some ways the hype around him reminds me of the hype that surrounded Reggie Bush. Bush is a good player but he has yet to make the impact some expected. Could McFadden go the same way? Yes he could. The draft is an inexact science at the best times – or how else could you explain Tom Brady going as the 199th player picked in 2000?