Oakland Raiders' 8 Best and Worst Moves of the 2012 Offseason

It's the first offseason in what Raider Nation hopes is many for new general manager Reggie McKenzie.

The late, great Al Davis spoiled Raider Nation with nearly 50 such offseasons. Davis had a few good offseasons before he died and set McKenzie up with a solid roster to use as a springboard towards the future.

McKenzie knows that not every move he makes will work out. Some of the moves will be big successes, some will be average successes and others total busts. The idea is to have far more good moves than bad ones.

While most of McKenzie's moves have made a lot of sense, there have been a few head scratchers that will force the Raider Nation to take a wait-and-see approach before jumping on McKenzie's wagon.

Good Move: Releasing Stanford Routt

It came a a bit of a surprise at first because Routt was the Raiders' best cornerback in 2011, but releasing Routt was a sound financial decision by Reggie McKenzie. 

Overpaying an above-average player because of the depth at the position is a sure way to put a bad product on the field. There is a limited amount of salary cap to spread around, and devoting large chunks of it to players who don't play to the level of the contract will result in an average or below-average team with very little depth. 

The Raiders came into a hellish salary cap situation thanks to the in-season addition of Carson Palmer and a few rapidly escalating contracts, and McKenzie had to put the Raiders on the path to fiscal responsibility before he could think about adding players.

Routt is a solid player who was being paid like an elite player, and the Raiders needed the cap flexibility so McKenzie could bring in much-needed depth. 

Delaying the Routt release or keeping him would have tied McKenzie's hands until 2014 when the new TV deals could send the salary cap soaring. 

It would have been a tougher decision had Routt played better than he did, but his play was not up to standard and the Raiders; pass defense was terrible in 2012.

Bad Move: Hiring Greg Knapp

This will be Knapp's second time as the Raiders' offensive coordinator of the Raiders. Knapp joined the Raiders with Lane Kiffin back in 2007 and was fired by Tom Cable two years later. 

Knapp brings with him a run-first mentality and the zone-blocking scheme. Knapp has nine years of offensive coordinator experience but hasn't coordinated a good offense since the 2003 San Francisco 49ers.

Fundamentally changing the run-blocking scheme is just one of many changes Knapp is making to the offense. The other significant change has to do with how Knapp will utilize the passing game. 

Knapp will ask Carson Palmer to move the pocket on roll-outs and bootlegs, but he is not the athletic enough to execute it as designed.

It's a passing league now, and there's the question as to whether or not Knapp's run-first approach can be a success in the modern NFL and concern that Knapp will not commit to a greater run-pass mix with a competent quarterback running the offense.

There are plenty of offensive weapons in Oakland if Knapp is willing to put them in a position to succeed. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Knapp has an established track record as offensive coordinator that doesn't suggest good things are ahead. 

The Raiders have quality offensive personnel that Knapp hasn't had as an offensive coordinator since his time with San Francisco, and the Raider Nation can only hope the reason for Knapp's conservatism has been a lack offensive talent. 

Knapp would be wise to listen to former offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who remains with the team as a senior offensive assistant, about how to best make use of the offensive personnel.

Good Move: Signing Mike Brisiel

Agree or not with the switch back to the zone-blocking scheme, the Raiders were biding time on the offensive line with Cooper Carlisle and Khalif Barnes.

Much like the 2007 switch to the zone-blocking scheme, one of the first moves for the offense was to bring in a starting right guard. In 2007, that was Carlisle, but in 2012, it was former Houston Texans' guard Mike Brisiel. 

Brisiel is well-versed in the zone-blocking scheme and familiar with Raiders' offensive line coach Frank Pollack who also came over from the Texans.

It wasn't just the injury to Darren McFadden that caused the Raiders running game to struggle last season. Much of the blame can be placed upon the offensive line. 

Brisiel will help ease the transition back to the zone scheme and also provide a welcome upgrade to Carlisle.

There is a very low risk with signing Brisiel and a potentially high reward if the line can produce at a high level. 

Bad Move: Signing Dave Tollefson

The Raiders need help on defense, but the signing of defensive end Dave Tollefson doesn't appear to fix what ails them.

Given the depth on the defensive line, it would have made more sense to wait to sign Tollefson until after the draft. The Raiders drafted one defensive end and one defensive tackle which will more than help with the depth issue. If both rookies can play, Desmond Bryant will not have to be confined to a single position.

Now, Tollefson could be standing in the way of a younger player making the roster.

ProFootballFocus.com publishes a metric called "Pass Rush Productivity" that weighs quarterback pressures, hits and sacks versus the number of times the player was rushing. Tollefson was third worst in the league. 

Given the many needs of the Raiders, McKenzie should have thought twice about bringing a defensive lineman that will be 30 when the season starts.

Good Move: Signing Ron Bartell

When the Raiders released Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson, many wondered how the Raiders could possibly find equal or better cornerbacks on the open market.

McKenzie did a fantastic job identifying his first target—Ron Bartell. 

Bartell lost all but one game of the 2011 season due to a neck fracture but is fully healed, and the injury is no longer a concern. 

Football Outsiders had Bartell in the top five in both success rate and yards per pass in 2010. In 2008, Bartell ranked sixth in the league in passes defended with 19.

Bartell averaged 60 tackles, 12 passes defended and two forced fumbles from 2007 to 2010.

Four years of proven production and the Raiders had to put in a minimal investment as Bartell signed a one-year contract.

Bad Move: Passing on a Nose Tackle

It's not that Tony Bergstrom is a bad player, and he could be very good for the Raiders, but the whole point of the zone-blocking scheme is that the offensive lineman can be found later and with less premium picks.

The Raiders used their only top-100 draft selection on Bergstrom, when nose tackles Alameda Ta'amu and Josh Chapman were still on the draft board.

Stopping the run has been a problem for the Raiders over the past decade and did little to address this problem. The Raiders released their only run stopper in John Henderson and added only draft selection Christo Bilukidi at defensive tackle.

The Raiders plan to use 6'6", 300-pound defensive tackle Tommy Kelly as the nose tackle in the 34 alignment. Kelly simply lacks the body dimensions to be really effective as a nose tackle. 

If the Raiders don't jump out to an early lead in 2012, they might have a hard time stopping the run.

The Raiders will face, at the minimum, six elite running teams, and if they can't stop the run up the middle, they will struggle to win those games. 

Good Move: Signing Philip Wheeler

The Raiders came into the offseason without much depth at linebacker. After releasing Kamerion Wimbley for salary cap reasons, the Raiders had to find a suitable replacement that wouldn't break the bank.

Wheeler was a good player on a bad team last season. He's not a big linebacker, but he's agile enough to slip past blockers and to cover tight ends. He's a sound tackler, and the Raiders will see what kind of moves he has when blitzing. 

Had Wheeler started a full season, he may have recorded more than 100 tackles. 

Given Rolando McClain's recent legal mess, the Raiders can use every linebacker they can get. 

Wheeler is a versatile linebacker who should see a lot of playing time. He may or may not win a starting job with the addition of rookie Miles Burris, but the Raiders have a versatile group of linebackers for the first time in years. 

Bad Move: Re-Signing Matt Giordano

Matt Giordano led the Raiders last season in interceptions with five, but interceptions don't always tell the whole story. 

Giordano has solid instincts in coverage but lacks the physicality to be a good safety. 

Michael Huff played a lot of cornerback in 2011 because of the lack of depth at the position, and it was Giordano who got playing time at free safety. 

Obviously, nothing worked for the Raiders secondary in 2011 as the team finished 27th in the league in pass defense with notable collapses against Buffalo, New England and Detroit. 

Giordano doesn't take good tackling angles and shies away from contact too often. He's strictly a finesse safety who's a liability more often than not.

With more younger, more physical players in training camp, I'd be surprised if Giordano makes the final roster.