"Back to School" Time for the Oakland Raiders

Ah, the joys of training camp.

Raiders players started the trek back to the teams' training facility in Napa, California on Tuesday.  With only Darius Heyward-Bey presently missing, the general feeling is that the team wants to move forward.

Some players come into training camp knowing this is their stage where they'll shine or flop.  One bad move here, one foul-up there, and they're hoping to hook up with another team.

Other players are coming in hoping to use this time to their benefit.  Training, learning, trying to gain something useful and tangible for the season that will pay back in the future.

This year, the Raiders have both the players and the coaches learning; most of the Raiders coaching heads are new.

By the same token, the coaches are hardly inexperienced.  John Marshall—30 years of experience as an assistant coach in the NFL—is a good example.  Dwaine Board comes over from Seattle and San Francisco with over 15 years of experience.

For Oakland, primary lessons will need to be worked on, studied, reworked, and hopefully improved on.

The first priority is to boost the run defense.  Oakland has been unable to stop any AFC West running back within the last six years.  Finding a way to solidify the defensive line would do wonders for the team's chances of returning to respectability.

Secondly, the team must provide better protection for the quarterback. If JaMarcus Russell is the one chosen to lead the Raiders into the next decade, then he will lead the team.  If Jeff Garcia has to step in, give him protection.  Without time, both quarterbacks will have a lot harder job ahead.

At the same time, the wide receiver corps needs to be figured out.  Last season, the situation was horrid.  Sure, Zach Miller stepped in nicely at tight end, and Darren McFadden helped some.  Without wide receivers able to catch the ball and take advantage of defenses designed to stop the run, once our running game shuts down and the offense is in for a world of hurt.

During this training camp, everyone has a chance to show what they can bring to the team.  Johnnie Lee Higgins and Chaz Schilens performed well in the last three games of '08.  Beyond those two guys, there are questions that need to be answered.

Back on the defensive end, the safety department needs to be examined.  Michael Huff, who was drafted with the number seven pick, has become a target for his poor play and inability to tackle.  Some feel this might be directly linked to Rob Ryan, and a change in coaching styles may help, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was suddenly dropped before the season starts.

Oakland has a lot of homework to do in a one-month time period.  Here's to hoping for no injuries, that some great talent will emerge, and a better team will come out and play the Chargers in September.