Michael Huff Is Making an All-Pro Case for Himself

Despite all the doom and gloom hanging over the Oakland Raiders franchise, there are some bright spots.

The inspired play of free safety Michael Huff has to be considered a welcome surprise.

After three lackluster seasons and a failed experiment at strong safety, Huff has come into his own.  He is now a confident player making big plays as a free safety and nickelback.

In the past, Huff would be late arriving on tackles and pass plays, missing opportunities to slow down an opponent’s drive.  Now he flies to the ball, disrupts passes and is more than pulling his weight as a situational safety.

For reasons known only to the coaching staff, Huff is only a part-time starter, sharing free safety duties with Hiram Eugene.  While Eugene is a solid free safety, Huff seems to have turned the corner and is finally living up to his stock as a first-round draft pick from 2006.

Based on comments by former Raiders special teams captain Jarod Copper (now a post-game analyst for a local television station), Al Davis does not like Huff. That is the alleged reason why Huff is primarily used as a nickelback unless injuries to Eugene press him into service as a starting free safety. 

We can speculate this might be true.  Up to this season, there hasn’t been a lot to like about Huff's play.  Though he was originally thought to be an answer at strong safety, that is not Huff’s strength.  He is not a tough tackler.  He is better suited to use his speed to provide pass defense. 

There are also character traits to be admired about Huff.  Despite the criticism from fans and media over the last three years, Huff never spoke out against the organization or the coaching staff.  He never tried to defend his poor game-time performance.  Huff has remained cool under pressure and has kept working towards becoming a better player.

If his high level of play stays consistent over the second half of the 2009 season, Huff has to be considered a possibility to make the AFC’s All-Pro team. 

Currently, Jairus Byrd of the Bills leads AFC free safeties with seven interceptions, nine pass deflections and 32 tackles.  Huff also has nine deflected passes and three interceptions with 27 tackles.

Close on Bird's and Huff’s heels as far as overall AFC stats for free safeties is Brodney Pool of the Browns.

If Huff continues making great strides to become a polished player, he should warrant consideration come time for All-Pro voting.