So, What's Changed in Raider Land?

Now that the 2009 version of the Oakland Raiders has been assembled, I can’t quite wrap my arms around this team. The fact is Oakland’s going to have to prove it on the field. Of course, that’s exactly the pessimistic line of thinking a bad preseason can produce and it was awful.

So without consideration to hard core game planning and scheming, which can be the difference in close games, allow me to diagram the strengths and weakness of the 2009 Silver and Black.

Quarterbacks: Russell, Gradkowski and Frye. Smart move to cut Garcia, he wasn’t as productive and he’s injury prone. As for Russell, he needs to make quicker decisions with the ball or decent pass rush is going to eat him alive.

However, I do think Russell has shown signs of improvement. He protects the ball well (low interception rate) and seems to have a better grasp of the offense. Baring injury, I see 20 touchdowns, 2,500-3,000 yards passing, and nine interceptions.

Translation…Not a great NFL quarterback, but improving and by no means a bust. Frye is the most interesting one of the three Raider quarterbacks. He once had potential to be great, now he’s just a journeyman. Is he following in the mold of castoff greats like Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon?

Who knows, but I’m calling my shot right now. If Russell goes down with injury, Frye should be called upon as the starter, he could resurrect his career in Oakland.  

Running backs: Let’s face it, the Raiders running backs are only as good as the offensive line will allow them to be. Fargas is already nursing a hamstring injury, so the pressure is on McFadden. The second-year back must stay healthy and must produce big numbers.

Why?  For the simple reason that nobody else on the team can.  McFadden must carry the offense, until Schilens or another wild card (Zach Miller) comes to the forefront. Bush seems to be out of the loop at this point.  

Secondary: A core strength of last year’s team, this group seems to have dropped off just a wee bit. Namdi Asomugha is hurt but not seriously, Michael Huff is still on the team, but why? And we haven’t seen hard hitting safety Mike Mitchell.  I do like how Chris Johnson has stepped up to the challenge.

He won the job over Stanford Routt and is primed for a big year. I like this group and it should be equal to last seasons secondary, but a lot of that optimism depends on how healthy Asomugha is.

Defensive line:  They don’t put pressure on the quarterback and you can run through them like they were the Golden Girls. Not too bad at all…Raider fans better hope the preseason was just an aberration, because the front seven of the Oakland Raiders is a sieve. Warren, Kelly, Scott, and Ellis have no chance to stop the run unless they find away to change that and change it quickly.

Or the next thing you’ll see is Darren Sproils doing the electric slide in the south end zone.

Linebackers: Humm…Let’s see, no Capt. Kirk for a while. He’s out with dislocated elbow, but he may return for Monday night’s opener.  Thomas Howard is good, but how’s the rest of the depth chart? Ricky Brown is a gamer, but he’s undersized, Jon Alston is fast but can’t tackle. Wow, can you bring back Ted Hendricks? What’s Rod Martin doing these days? This could be the weakest area of the defense and the raiders will get killed because of it.

Overall, the team didn’t make any major changes to the roster, and the new crop of rookies won’t make an impact right away. So what’s changed in Raider land?  I’ll give you a prediction for the first month of the season, how about 2-2.

They lose to the Chargers (-9 in Vegas, that’s a huge number) on Monday night. Bounce back with a win at Arrowhead, if they’re lucky. Beat the Broncos at home, in week three and then get blown out in Houston. Tell me why I’m wrong, I want hear from the Raider nation.