Oakland Raiders: Will the Offseason Acquisition Trend Continue in the New Year?

Throughout the epoch of the Raiders' struggles, Oakland has continued two trends every offseason.

Yes, they have seemingly been in a hunt for a coach in every offseason, but hundreds of articles have already been written about the head-coaching vacancy.

The other trend has been offseason acquisitions.

Despite struggling since the 2003 Super Bowl, Al Davis has always brought in talented players. Unfortunately, they have not fit the chemistry factor necessary, and many have just not fit in to the system.

Al Davis has demonstrated to all of us that he is willing to spend money, and he is willing to make trades.

Now, the only catch is to get the right players.

Since 2003, big names have certainly been brought in, the likes of Randy Moss, DeAngelo Hall, Warren Sapp, Javon Walker, and Daunte Culpepper.

Unfortunately, few have worked out. The question is: Whom would we sign?

We can't do what we have done in the last five or so years, we cannot be like Obama and change something just for the sake of changing, and we can't be like McCain, and keep things the way they are; there must be an equilibrium.

My biggest fear would be bringing in a guy like T.J. Houshmandzadeh just because we need a receiver. We can't just bring in a good wideout, we need to bring in the right one.

Is it true that Stephen Hawking could cover our current receivers? Yes, but we cannot sacrifice talent for chemistry. It didn't work with Moss; it won't work now either.

The same would apply to a guy like Roy E. Williams.

We are in a great circumstance for our offensive line; several linemen are expected to be free agents this year.

Guys like Jordan Gross, Matt Birk, and maybe even Mike Goff. Even the less expected offensive lineman like Jon Runyan, Pete Kendall, or Chris Gray. One of those guys has to be a free agent. There are many more linemen that are not expected to be free agents but may become free agents.

These are the guys we need to pursue. When was the last time an offensive lineman ruined a team for something other than poor play. These guys won't ruin the team.

Al Davis should NOT go after huge paying guys. Signing a guy like Julius Peppers or Albert Haynesworth may not be motivated after a signing a huge contract—think DeAngelo Hall.

Terrell Suggs or Bertrand Berry would make more sense for the Raiders.

Tommy Kelly played very well for us this past year, and we need him to keep that up. Derrick Burgess struggled, but he dealt with injuries, he deserves a second chance.

Ask all Raider fans, and they will tell you we lack in the trenches; this offseason would be a great one to invest in. Many linemen are free agents this offseason, so we need to take advantage.

We know that Al Davis is willing to spend the money. He has already proved that. Now he has to invest properly.

For position players, let the draft make the impact. If we sign the correct players, Michael Crabtree would be great for us. However, first we need to deal with other problems. We need a wideout, but maybe free agency is not the best.

Al, you haven't done it in a long time, but please, for Raider fans all around America, make the right investments. With the right trades or signings, and the right coach already addressed by other writers, this team can return to prominence.

Many writers have already addressed coaches, but players are important as well. Mr. Davis, please sign the correct players, not just the most talented.

Teams like Miami, Atlanta, and Baltimore have proven that the right additions can turn your team into a playoff team immediately; that would be awesome to see, after all, it has been six seasons.