Oakland Raiders: Start Making Sense

I can imagine that many of you who read the headline would think that I'm about to lambast the Oakland Raiders for their woes since the Super Bowl loss in 2003.  Think again.

I love my Oakland Raiders.  Win or lose, they are always "we."  Not "them" when they suck and "we" when they win—I support them regardless of the outcome.  That of course has made me the target of ridicule by many, as I will sport my Raider gear in public. 

People wonder why I would stand-by a team that continues to confuse and lose.  My response however is that eventually they will start making sense again and will begin to win.  When that day will come, I don't know.  But I do know that I would rather be loyal than to be a fair-weather fan.

To me, the fair-weather fans are completely shallow and hollow excuses for fans who need a team to win in order to feel good about themselves.  Weaklings, I say.  I derive my strength from my core values, which permeate through all, regardless of whether the Raiders win or lose.  That is what makes a person strong—not the flash in the pan or the flavor of the month.

I though wanted to take this time to theorize on what I believe could be done to turn things around in Oak-town.  My plan would require multiple changes, and while it is often better to make the fewest amount of changes -- I think Oakland's situation calls for some drastic measures.

The Defense: 

First of all, the Raiders should return to the 3-4 which they utilized until they gave into the fact that DT Warren Sapp was better off playing in the 4-3.  Warren Sapp has retired though, which means they can return to the 3-4 without having to worry about what to do with Sapp.  Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is far more familiar with the 3-4 anyway, as it is in his bloodline from father Buddy Ryan and brother Rex Ryan.  Plus, Rob Ryan was linebackers coach for the Patriots who also run the 3-4. 

To convert to the 3-4 however, the Raiders would need to add a rush-linebacker.  If you have read my Mock Drafts, then you would know that I believe that Oakland should select Vernon Gholston and convert him to linebacker.  The Raiders could also move DE Derrick Burgess to linebacker, and move Thomas Howard from outside linebacker to the inside. 

Furthermore, the defensive-line would need to be changed as well.  Mammoth tackle Terdell Sands would occupy the middle, while mammoth DE Tommy Kelly would occupy the strong side. 

I have yet to decide who I think should occcupy the weak-side.  The Raiders just signed DT William Joseph who has good size for that position, but the Raiders could also use DE Jay Richardson in that position.  The other possibility is that DE Calais Campbell could fall to Oakland in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft—his size and scouting report make him sound like a perfect fit for the 3-4..

The changes don't stop in the Front Seven though.  The secondary could also be improved by signing safety Eugene Wilson from the Patriots.  The Raiders could use Wilson as the free safety and move Gibril Wilson to strong safety, which would allow Michael Huff to move to right cornerback.  That would then allow CB Stanford Routt to be their primary nickelback. 

What about Fabian Washington you say?  Well, the Raiders could let DB/RS Chris Carr sign elsewhere, and then utilize Washington's blazing speed (4.2 in the 40) for returning punts and kicks.

The Offense:

We all know that the Oakland offensive line has been a ghost of what it used to be.  However, in the last stretch of the 2007 season, they did a much better job of opening-up the running game and protecting the quarterback—until JaMarcus Russell came in and made some typical mistakes for a young QB, especially one who spent no time in preseason. 

But look at it this way.  In 2005, San Francisco QB Alex Smith did not throw a single TD until the final game against Houston. Smith had been accepted to Harvard but went to Utah instead, and Smith had the entire preseason and most of the regular season in order to learn enough to throw a TD in the NFL. 

J-Russ on the other hand, threw 2 TDs in about 4 games.  So in a way, I was impressed with J-Russ considering his lack of practice and the fact that Smith is very smart. 

Anyway, what I believe Oakland should do in regards to the offensive-line is to move OT Kwame Harris to right guard and OL Cooper Carlisle to left-tackle, and also resign C Jeremy Newberry.  As for the Draft, it is loaded with offensive linemen.  Surely, there will be value in the later rounds, and so, I think they should pass on taking an OL in the 1st or 2nd round. 

Two guys that intrigue me are Heath Benedict and Mike McGlynn.  Scouts believe that Benedict would make a solid left-tackle and that McGlynn would make a solid center.  However, the Raiders are without a 3rd round pick and without a 5th round pick.  Thus, the Raiders should get back into the 3rd round in order to select one of them, and possibly the other in the 4th round.

As for the running backs, tight-ends and receivers, I like the potential of Michael Bush.  I like what I've seen from Justin Fargas and Dominic Rhodes, as well as fullbacks Justin Griffith and Oren O'Neal.  LaMont Jordan should get traded though.  As for the receivers, Ronald Curry has shown a lot of potential, so hopefully J-Russ will maximize that.  When healthy, Javon Walker is a deep-threat, while the Raiders just signed Drew Carter from Carolina. 

So the Raider receiving corps looks complete to me, the question is just whether Javon Walker can produce his potential.  And finally, tight-end Zach Miller looks like a ProBowl caliber TE in the mold of Todd Heap, while TE John Madsen gives Oakland a nice deep-threat at TE.