How Badly Are Oakland Raiders Hurt by Robert Gallery Loss?

You have to admit, Robert Gallery is a deep-down blue collar Raider.

Here is a guy the Raiders had hanged their hats on as a tackle, but then found a second life as a guard. He played his position well, with some murmurings that he should make a pro bowl selection, if the Raiders can win games.

Now, the Raiders are going to be forced, to win without him.

Gallery, did not want to go quietly, insisting that he needed a second opinion to the lower back injury. It can be imagined, that even with the pain, here was a fighter, willing to put it all on the line.

Tough fighter, he finally resigned to the fact he wouldn't be able to, with that tingling feeling that would disturb the best football players.

Now for the Raiders, some wonder if this will be a repeat performance for the team who lost Robert earlier to injury.

When Robert was lost early on, the Raiders had protection issues that were evident in several games. The offensive line was forced to alter the lineup, including moving Chris Morris to other positions. With the rotation in, it took several games for this group to adjust which in turn didn't help JaMarcus Russell withstand blitzes.

How does this affect the Raiders, with Bruce Gradkowski behind the center?

For one, Bruce will need to be more mobile. This shouldn't be a problem as he's already proved in the last three games. He should have better pocket awareness, just in case of a blitz package.

And above all, he should be ready to dump off passes at will, to avoid the fumbles or sacks that Russell experienced early on.

Against the Redskins, this should not be as much of a problem....the key games in this matchup, will be the last three clubs, with Denver, Cleveland and Baltimore to finish out the season against.

For Sunday's game, i'll be watching the Raiders over a birthday cake as my daughter has her birthday party Sunday...Enjoy the game, I'm looking for a back to back win, and DeAngelo Hall to be humiliated severely.