What the Oakland Raiders Must Do This Offseason

Here we go again.  Another off-season of promise to return to glory.  Another off-season to hear Raider-haters denigrate the legacy of the Silver and Black, when they root for teams that cannot hold a candle to the legacy of Oakland.

I, however, fear more foolishness by Al Davis.  More attempts to scotch-tape a roster together with bloated salaries (i.e., Javon Walker and Kwame Harris).  I would rather see Davis make an effort to clean up the payroll, lock-up the talent and focus on the Draft and value rather than project players: do you remember Teyo Johnson and even Sam Williams?

The Raiders also need to design plays to maximize Zach Miller and Darren McFadden as receivers.  Miller and D-Mac can beat their man after the catch, so in the event that the Raiders cannot select Michael Crabtree, I think Oakland should focus on maximizing them as receivers with WR Johnnie Lee Higgins available for the deep ball and Michael Bush for the tough screen and check down.  And Bush to carry north-south and McFadden to carry east-west and Louis Rankin and Oren O'Neal as wild-card runners (so the opponent can't predict the play).  The most important ingredient to the equation however, is better protection from the offensive-line to give time to JaMarcus Russell.

Here again is my meager attempt to convey the fan perspective to a franchise.  Some might label my previous articles about executive incompetence as "brash."  The reality is that I am merely the jester, uttering from a fan's perspective but with an effort to incorporate the business decisions that executives must make, in hopes of providing insight from outsiders.  It is time to see the "forest from the trees" (the big picture) instead of "hyper-focusing" on the trees.

Pressing Holes to Fill

The areas of most need for the Raiders are the line(s) of scrimmage and receiver.  When the quarterback cannot get good protection from the offensive line, chances are, he will struggle.

Meanwhile, the defense will struggle if the defensive line does not exert consistent pressure on the offensive backfield.  A lack of consistent pressure often results in accelerated attrition for the linebackers and secondary, which would explain why the Raiders get burned by big plays in the fourth quarter—after shutting out the opponent for three quarters.  That in my mind is why Michael Huff has struggled at times.

Free Agents to Sign

The most pressing issue at hand is to resign CB Nnamdi Asomugha, P Shane Lechler, CB Chris Johnson, OL Cooper Carlisle, RS Justin Miller, and STG Isaiah Ekejiuba.  Asomugha, Lechler, and Miller have been Pro Bowlers.  Ekejiuba was selected as an alternate from a special teams unit that led the league in cumulative touchdowns from punt returns (three) and kickoff returns (two), and of course, allowed Lechler to earn another Pro Bowl selection.  Carlisle is the most versatile lineman on the roster, but offensive-linemen are in abundance (one of which will be San Diego's Mike Goff).

None of these men will be easy to resign.  I think though that should be Oakland's priority and to clean up their payroll, rather than jumping into the free-agency frenzy of signing players from other teams.  Instead, they must look for value and focus on the draft.

The other issue at hand is to shed the bloated salaries and/or retreads: Gerard Warren, Terdell Sands, Cornell Green, Justin Fargas, and Javon Walker.  At their salaries, the Raiders should look elsewhere (i.e., the Draft).  Fargas has played admirably for Oakland but I think it is time to move-on.

Shoring Up the Lines

Assuming that Oakland resigns the majority of their free agents:

In my estimation, the most critical missing pieces are center and defensive tackle.  My gut says that the offensive line would improve with an upgrade at center, then tackle.  I still do not know why OT Mario Henderson has not played more than he has at right or left tackle, while Paul McQuistan showed promise in 2007 before being shuffled around the line.

As for the defensive tackles, Gerard Warren and Terdell Sands seem to eat up more salary than they should.  If the Raiders upgraded at the position, that would affect the play of DE Jay Richardson, DE Trevor Scott, and DE Derrick Burgess.

Don't Fall for Boldin

As tempting as it might sound to enter the Anquan Boldin sweepstakes, I am not sure that Oakland should.  The Raiders need to focus on their free agents in order to retain good defensive and special-teams players, rather than start over. 

If, however, the Boldin situation were not resolved after the Draft, I would then say that the Raiders should make an offer.  In other words, it should be the last priority and only if the Cardinals cannot resolve the dispute before the draft.

Plus, the Cardinals will probably angle for a first-round pick, so with the Raiders in good position to select a top receiver in the first round (like Michael Crabtree), I would hope that Davis defers from trading their first-rounder, as he did in 2005 for Randy Moss (ahem).  After all, in the worst-case scenario, the Raiders would still be in position to select an offensive lineman if Crabtree goes sooner.

I would say the Raiders should only acquire Boldin in exchange for a 2010 draft pick(s), and WR Ronald Curry or WR Javon Walker.  The Cardinals are loaded with receivers, so Boldin is, in fact, expendable for Arizona.  With Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Jerheme Urban, and Early Doucet all on the roster, the Cardinals are in no real position to dictate a trade for a guy with baggage.

Draft Well

As for Draft boards, I am not going to speculate.  Every team has a different board and ranks players differently, so I generally prefer to avoid too much speculation on that issue.

However, I do believe that the Raiders should take an aggressive approach to this draft.  I would like to see the Raiders acquire additional draft picks in 2009 and draft well.  Rather than, more receiver freakouts in the later rounds (Carlos Francis, Johnnie Morant, Ryan Hoag, Doug Gabriel, Johnathan Holland etc), I would like to see an effort to build depth with value picks. 

For whatever reason, the Raiders find revelations in later rounds but botch the early picks: WR Ronald Curry, DE Trevor Scott, OL Kevin Boothe (now with NY Giants), DB Tyvon Branch, FB Oren O'Neal, DE Jay Richardson, and RB Michael Bush amongst others.  I would rather not list the flops (ahem).

This draft appears to be loaded with offensive linemen, so I hope the Raiders capitalize on that opportunity by acquiring additional picks in order to stock the offensive line.

Even though I said I prefer not to speculate on draft boards, I can confidently refer to some players as Top-10 picks.  One of which is Michael Crabtree.  Therefore, my "fantasy draft" would be for Oakland to select Crabtree and then load up on offensive linemen -- it might be wise for Oakland to trade 2010 picks to acquire offensive-linemen in the early rounds.

Still, DT

That leaves the issue of defensive tackle.  Albert Haynesworth is the guy on the market that everybody wants.  This might sound counterintuitive, but rather than pursue the top free agent and potentially waste your time, why not focus on—like I said—the draft, incumbent players, and value? 

Trust me, with Washington's Dan Snyder likely to pursue Haynesworth, why not let him?  Do not waste valuable time.  Intriguing names like Marcus Tubbs, Tank Johnson, and Chris Canty will be available, so why not avoid the Haynesworth fray, and use your time elsewhere?