Face it, by getting CB DeAngelo Hall to pair with Nnamdi Asomugha--the Raiders are now the team to beat in the AFC West. The Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos don't have enough weapons at receiver to break that tandem. I can't think of a team that could -- on paper. As opposed to the Denver tandem of Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, the Raiders also have S Gibril Wilson, S Michael Huff, plus Stuart Schweigert, Stanford Routt, and Fabian Washington. Gibril Wilson was part of a secondary that shutdown the best offense in NFL history--and the other D-backs in that NYG secondary were no where near Hall and Asomugha. I will thus look for KCs Brodie Croyle, SDs Philip Rivers and Denver's Jay Cutler to have career records in 2008 -- for interceptions. So with the pass defense under control, LB Kirk Morrison and LB Thomas Howard would be all over the aging runningbacks known as LT, LJ and the Schmo Who Gets Plugged Into the Denver Backfield. Don't forget to, that Morrison and Howard also have a knack for intercepting passes too. So what if the DL will be patchwork at tackle--the line will surely set the record for "coverage sacks." Plus, Derrick Burgess has been a beast with or without much support from the tackles. With this coverage, Burgess will surely continue to be a beast.
Hall and Asomugha to me are unquestionably the best CB tandem in the NFL right now.
With Hall, the Raiders will be leaving the Niners in the Bay Area dust as they will begin to regularly win for the next 5-10 years. I wasn't excited when Oakland acquired Randy Moss in 2005--but I talked myself into it. Getting DeAngelo Hall to pair with Nnamdi Asomugha is exciting. Usually, my initial instincts are right in regards to Oakland--they've just been difficult to listen to in the past several years. Not now. I was comparing Nnamdi Asomugha to Pittsburgh HOFer, Mel Blount, of the Steel Curtain defenses--before they acquired Hall. I don't expect Oakland's D to be as good as the Steel Curtain--but I do believe that this D could be legendary. Really, the only holes appear to be strongside end and strongside linebacker....but with that secondary, it's hard to imagine those weaknesses getting the better of the Raiders.
The two areas that remain in question are the Offensive Line and the Defensive Line.
The Defensive Line:
As for the defensive-line, I'd like to see Oakland sign DT Grady Jackson. Jackson fell out of favor with Bobby Petrino in Atlanta last season which is why he was cut, and is also why CB DeAngelo Hall became disgruntled with the managment of the Falcons. I know that Jackson has been negotiating with Tennessee, but perhaps now that Hall is a Raider, Jackson will decide to reunite with his comrade and former team. Jackson is exactly the type of run-stuffer that Oakland needs right now, and is probably the best pure-DT on the market. With Jackson in the fold, the Raiders could then select DT Glenn Dorsey in the Draft and leave Tommy Kelly at defensive-end. Between the pass-rushers of Derrick Burgess and Glenn Dorsey, and the run stuffing of Jackson and Kelly, the Raiders could develop a defense of legendary proportions. Seriously. Furthermore, with QB Trent Dilfer considering the Raiders as his new team, maybe just maybe, the Raiders will become the 2nd great defense that "the worst QB to win the Super Bowl" can lead--that of course is only to let JaMarcus continue learning so that he doesn't get "wrecked" by playing too soon. With that said, I also believe that if Oakland commits to the run-first offense that JaMarcus Russell would be just fine in the Raider offense, where he can watch his go-machines, and then when the opponent wears down, J-Russ can throw the bomb to Javon Walker.
The Offensive Line:
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