The Oakland Raiders' 2008 Roster Review

They seem to forget it was the work of a (medicated) Barrett Robbins, Lincoln Kennedy, and their brethren that made that team go. If you don’t believe me, go pull up a tape of the Raiders/Steelers game from 2003 and see how many times Rich Gannon was touched on his 65 pass attempts.

First, the good news.

This is year two of Tom Cable’s zone-blocking scheme, and they should only be better.  Gallery has found a home as a guard, and Kwame Harris is an underappreciated run blocker.

Now the bad.

Harris may be able to run block, but there’s nothing to suggest that his pass blocking has improved. There are far more questions about the right side of the line than answers, and honestly, how good can Mario Henderson be if he can’t crack into this group? 

One of camp’s true battles this year is at center. Former Rimmington Award winner Jake Grove gets one last chance to earn a starting nod, but he’s battling the very definition of “grizzled veteran” in John Wade. 

Look for Wade’s experience to win out over Grove’s youth. The Raiders will need career years across the line to have any hope of a winning campaign this season.

Running Backs

Projected Starters: Justin Fargas, Justin Griffith

Depth: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Oren O’Neal

Fargas will keep the seat warm for McFadden, but if Darren shows the explosiveness we saw in Arkansas, don’t be surprised if his name is called out on Monday night under the lights in the opener.

Huggy Bear matured into a tough, inside-the-tackles ball carrier last season before his injury and, even with McFadden, he’ll be an important role in the offense. The NFL is no longer a single-back league. Every elite team has at least two, capable ball carriers, and depth here is important.

One area where McFadden can provide a significant lift is as a pass catcher. As we’ve seen through the first two weeks of camp, JaMarcus has worked hard on knowing his check downs. It seems one lesson he did manage to learn from the sidelines last year is that 3rd-and-5 is a heck of a lot better than 3rd-and-10.

D-Mac will have to continue to serve as a dual threat, if only to keep Russell alive. The good news is that his ability to motion to the slot and get isolated against a linebacker should give Kiffin’s offense an element of versatility that he didn’t have last year. 

McFadden will have to monitor his ball safety, as he’s been plagued by fumbling issues over the years. The depth of this year’s squad is impressive, with Michael Bush, a former Heisman candidate, relegated to special-teams work.

The good news is that if someone does go down, insurance, thy name is Bush. 

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