Oakland Raiders Offensive Line is a Different Kind of Revolving Door in 2011

The Raiders offensive line over the last several years has been horrible in pass protection, earning nicknames like "revolving door" and "swiss cheese." The Raiders line is still a revolving door, but now in a different form.

The "revolving door" once meant that the linemen were like revolving doors in pass protection. This time, the revolving door applies to the new names starting, or expected to start, in 2011 with the linemen of the past revolving out of the starting positions.

There is expected to be a change at center, from Samson Satele to rookie Stefen Wisniewski.  Satele may be the better choice due to the four-month lockout that has taken away valuable training time from Wisniewski. Satele has experience in the NFL and in the Hue Jackson offense.

There will be a change at left guard, once held by unrestricted free-agent-to-be Robert Gallery. The question is who will "revolve" into that spot. It could be Daniel Loper, who got a contract signed before the lockout. It could be Bruce Campbell, a fourth-round pick in 2010 who was a superstar at the scouting combine. Loper got the job last year when Gallery was injured. That could be a spoiler for who gets the start at left guard.

There could be a change at right tackle. Langston Walker is getting old and does not have a contract with Oakland for 2011. The Raiders took a tackle in the draft with Joseph Barksdale. Mario Henderson is another option to take over on the right side after he struggled on the left, currently owned by Jared Veldheer. Keep in mind that Bruce Campbell was a tackle in college. He is a wild card to throw in the mix for the right tackle spot if Daniel Loper starts at left guard.

There are just two spots not expected to change—right guard (Cooper Carlisle) and left tackle (Jared Veldheer). The other three spots are fair game. The question remains: will the revolving door still be revolving in the 2011 season?