A Ray-Rey of Hope for the Oakland Raiders Defense?

Now, when the draft comes around and the number seven slot is about to be chosen, the Raiders can consider drafting USC linebacker Rey Maualuga a few spots early to tandem up with the other Ray, the best teacher and mentor a young defensive player could ever have.  That would add another top ten talent to a defense that is loaded and just looking for the right scheme, and coordinator, to take advantage of it, and use them correctly—Romeo, o' Romeo, where for art thou Romeo!

Anyone who has seen this guy terrorize and dominate the college football scene for the past three years for USC has seen the qualities displayed that are lacking at the position for the Raiders.

While Morrison and Howard are emerging players with potential growth who would only get better with the addition of two playmakers to help them out, there doesn't seem to be a leader in the linebacking core, or the defense for that matter. Ray Lewis would be that leader, and Rey Maualuga would be there for him to pass the torch to over to.

You just get the sense that Maualuga is a natural born leader that seems to always play big in the most important games, and has instincts that you cannot teach but are instilled within. Pair that up with a couple of seasons under the wing of one of the best ever to play that position and you have an up and coming future superstar that has been taught the right approach to the game.

I don't know about you, but it excites me to think about watching those two play together for the next couple of years and the REAL difference they would make in regards to the atmosphere around the facility.

And if there is a REAL leader for the defense, and a change at defensive coordinator, other key free agents might be excited enough by the prospect of joining a young and hungry defense on the way up the league's ladder, and want to be a part of The Silver & Black resurrection.

Heck, they might not even have to overpay them to come here. What a concept!!!

Obviously, there is a gap that could best be described as a "Black Hole" in the front office under the disguise of a General Manager job vacancy. And the coaching carousel for the staff has just begun to get cranked up. I think there are quite a few of us that hope Coach Cable isn't on it, and Greg Knapp and Rob Ryan are, but those are subjects for a completely different conversation.

For now, while I sit up here in the Great Northwest, shoveling snow, picking the icicles off my Raiders Fan Parking sign in my driveway, and forlornly counting down the days as the time I live for as a sports fan dwindles down to it's last few games, I have found great comfort in immersing myself with the unlikely vision that there could be a Ray-Rey light of hope for The Nation, and next years version of The Silver & Black defense!!!

Call me a dreamer, but what else is there to do in two feet of snow, 12-degree weather, and your team is not in the playoffs—AGAIN!?

Did the last six years REALLY happen, or have I been trapped in some recycled nightmare???

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