Why the Oakland Raiders Must Make Moves

I am probably alone in this, but the Raiders can contend for the postseason in 2009.

Here is why:

The AFC West stinks but should not be taken for granted.  Granted, the Chargers are the incumbent winners, and Kansas City is in the right direction, while Denver has taken the reigns of Most Dysfunctional Team in the NFL.

Denver, Denver, Denver.  You terminate Mike Shanahan for Josh McDaniels only for McDaniels to irk the incumbent quarterback to the point where he wants out.  There is really no way for this situation to resolve amicably, because the relationship between McDaniels and Cutler is now strained beyond repair. 

Even if Cutler stays in Denver, the fans will now believe that any struggles by Cutler and the Broncos are the result of the strains between Cutler and McDaniels.  Personally, I think Denver screwed-up by even thinking about an acquisition of Matt Cassell and are now beyond the point of no return with Cutler. 

Detroit wants to trade their pick, and I would say take it—the Broncos will be better off, even if they have to pay more money to that player.  Holding on to Cutler now will only set back the Broncos for a long time. 

Believe me, I as a Raider fan, would like for nothing more than the Broncos to be the new NFL punch line.  I as an observer of NFL clubs not based in Oakland truly believe that keeping Cutler will a detriment to the Broncos franchise, so in other words, cut-and-run from Cutler.

Kansas City has added QB Matt Cassell and LB Mike Vrabel from New England for a second-round pick, but the Chiefs still need to improve the offensive and defensive lines.

The Chiefs might convert to a 3-4 formation as their base defense and select either DT BJ Raji or LB Aaron Curry, or the alternative of an OT like Eugene Monroe or Andre Smith.

That however depends on what the Chiefs do with LT Brendan Albert.  If the Chiefs stick with Albert at LT, then Andre Smith would be the better pick but third overall is now considered too early for Smith. 

However, if the Chiefs move Brendan Albert to left guard—a position he played in college, or even to right tackle—then the Chiefs could select Eugene Monroe.  The Chiefs could then move Brian Waters back to right guard.

The fate of RB Larry Johnson is still uncertain.  Johnson wants out, but unless the Chiefs release him, I doubt that any team will trade for a near 30-year old running back.  I hate to be brutally realistic, but that is just how it is for running backs.

Unless the Chiefs are willing to part with Johnson for a third-or-fourth-round pick to teams like Jacksonville, Arizona and maybe San Francisco (they might be interested in a two-back offense to compensate for their shaky QB situation)—then Johnson is likely there to stay, barring his release (which is unlikely).

San Diego, won the West with a record of 8-8—not exactly dominance.  The San Diego pass-offense has improved though especially with the emergence of WR Vincent Jackson, while QB Philip Rivers led that team from 4-8 to more than a postseason berth but also a Wild Card victory in 2008. 

I do believe that San Diego is vulnerable, while the Raiders will get to set the tone of 2009 on Game 1 of the season in a match against San Diego.  If the Raiders win that game, the Raiders will be taken seriously by the general fan.

The Chargers have long been neither 'here nor there.’  They dominated the regular season with coach Marty Schottenheimer and then terminated him after the Chargers finished 2006 at 14-2. 

Enter Norv Turner.  Turner and the Chargers limp to records of 11-5 and 8-8 but did what Schottenheimer could not—win a postseason game.

The San Diego management likes to tinker and dick around with their roster because GM A.J. Smith hit a few home runs in the 2004 and 2005 NFL Drafts but has since been less than average in the Draft. 

They, however, did the right thing in restructuring the contract of LaDainian Tomlinson but for the Chargers to be true contenders, they need to address their secondary.

However, the Chargers now are one of those teams where you cannot pinpoint the source of their wayward ways, like Jacksonville.  They win, and then lose.  They win again, and then fall off the map.  Only the season can tell the future of the Chargers.

The uncertainty of San Diego’s chances is exactly why the Raiders need to step-up and change their image.  Even a Wild Card berth would rectify their image to a non-qualifiable degree (meaning, it would not hurt). 

Success is like laughter—it is contagious. 

Once you “Just Win, Baby,” then you want more, as opposed to losing, which often results in apathy, discord, and dysfunction.

Thus far, this off-season the Raiders have restructured the contracts of WR Javon Walker and DT Tommy Kelly and possibly others.

The Raiders have retained all of their free-agents except safety Rashad Baker and center Jake Grove, while they released OT Kwame Harris, WR Ronald Curry, FB Justin Griffith and S Gibril Wilson.

The Raiders then replaced Harris and Grove with OT Erik Pears, OT Khalif Barnes, and C Samson Satele by trade—additions that appear to be good value—while OT Mario Henderson is penciled in to replace Cornell Green at right tackle. 

Pears started 16 games in 2007 for Denver while Satele started for Miami in 2008 (and was traded because he was unwilling to play guard).  The addition of Satele could indicate that the Raiders plan to install Wild Cat formations in order to maximize their talent at running back with Michael Bush, Darren McFadden, and Justin Fargas.

The losses of Baker and Curry do not detriment their respective positions. Baker was a practice squad player who came in and made a few plays here and there and then signed with Philadelphia. 

Sounds like Chris Clemons, who led the Raiders in sacks in 2007 then signed with Philadelphia and did nothing in 2008.  Meanwhile, Curry mostly just occupied cap space and playing time, thus his release frees-up time and money to the benefit of the rest of the roster.

I am not sure about the subtraction of Wilson however.  The Raiders' defense was erratic but showed flashes of brilliance.  One day, they would be torched all day.  The next, they would shutout a good offense for three quarters only to be burned in the last eight minutes. 

That instability was one part offense, one part defensive-tackle and safety, and another part Lane Kiffin (the Trojan horse).

I hope that the Raiders now have the right linemen in place on offense.  On the assumption that they do, that leaves question marks around wide receiver, defensive-tackle, and linebacker.

Here is my solution to the questions.

Sign LB Derrick Brooks.  I know that Brooks plays the right side, which is currently occupied by Thomas Howard, but I believe that the Raiders need a veteran leader of Brooks' caliber in order to unify.  Therefore, the Raiders should find a way to make it happen, even if Brooks only plays part-time, or Howard moves to the left side.

Acquire Braylon Edwards from Cleveland in exchange for S Michael Huff—to replace Sean Jones but can also play corner—and a 2010 draft pick.  A swap of Huff and Edwards would be around the same in terms of the cap-hit.

Then focus on the selection of DT BJ Raji in the draft and load-up on defensive value-picks the rest of the way.