|
2009 Oakland Raiders Preview
Well here we go again. Another season of Oakland Raider
football is rapidly approaching. What will the Oakland Raiders
be like in 2009? Will it be more of the same or will the
Raiders finally make some headway in an AFC West that in my
estimation is wide open. First, I will start off by saying that
I like Tom Cable as a coach and I believe that the Raiders made
a smart move by keeping him aboard. I think that the Raiders
have shown more promise under Coach Cable than any coach since
Gruden. When one looks at the realistic candidates for the
Oakland job one realizes that keeping Cable in an effort to
bring some stability to a franchise that has lacked it for
years makes sense. Cable is a former OL coach and with
McFadden, Fargas, and Bush this team is built to be a power
running team and I think that Cable will really work on
establishing the run this year.
Unlike past off seasons where the Raiders have tried to land
some big name free agents this year's free agency period has
proved to be relatively uneventful for the Silver and Black.
Outside of signing QB Jeff Garcia the Raider's biggest off
season move has clearly been the re-signing of CB Nnamdi
Asomugha. Asomugha is one of if not the best cover corner in
the league today and he invoked memories of Lester Hayes when
you watch him play. The Raiders also resigned punter Shane
Lechler which I also believe was a solid move. We all saw in
last years playoffs how valuable a punter can be in terms of
field position. Lechler is one of the best and I am please to
see him back.
In my estimation the Raiders OL is a mess which is a shame
because they have 3 backs that can tote the rock effectively in
McFadden, Fargas, and Bush. It remains to be seen whether there
will be any holes for any of them to run through. To bolster a
line that has underachieved for years the Raiders added LT
Khalif Barnes from Jacksonville. While it appears on paper that
this is an upgrade over Kwame Harris this is still a position
that the Raiders need to address in the draft next weekend.
Former 1st round pick Robert Gallery has played virtually every
position on the OL and been dominant at none of them. Jake
Grove is gone to Miami and in his place comes Samson Satele who
should benefit from the Raiders zone blocking schemes that
Cable likes to utilize.
Defensively the Raiders have numerous glaring weaknesses. After
Asomugha the secondary is extremely thin despite ranking 10th
overall in passing yards allowed with 201.2 per game. Former
Texas standout Michael Huff has been a tremendous
disappointment much in the same way that Gallery has and
towards the end of the year was replaced in the starting lineup
by Hiram Eugene. Chris Johnson is a solid player but Stanford
Rout and Justin Miller are situational players at best. The
LB's are fairly solid with Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard
anchoring down the middle but this corps could use some help
from the DL which was a nightmare last season with the
departure of Warren Sapp. The Raiders allowed 159.7 yards per
game on the ground in 2008 to rank 31st in the NFL. Tommy Kelly
had a horrible year and Gerard Warren has never made any kind
of an impact anywhere he has played.
So, who should the Raiders draft with the 7th pick overall? I
have been saying that the future of this franchise remains QB
JaMarcus Russell. Obviously, we all know that Russell has a
cannon arm but his throws are erratic and he has been hurt not
having anyone to throw the ball to outside of Zach Miller. If
Russell pans out the Raiders will be fine but if he is a bust
and you are already hearing whispers to that effect the Raiders
are done for another 5 years at least. Cable subtly hinted
recently that Russell's work ethic could be better and that he
needs to establish himself as more of a leader on the team.
Russell responded by showing up to the Raiders off season
workouts and hopefully has gotten the point because Cable is
right when he says that if he matures and works on his
mechanics he could be great. With that in mind I unquestionable
believe the Raiders need to select either Michael Crabtree or
Jeremy Maclin with the 7th pick this Saturday.
To Russell's defense he has never had a go to guy since his
inception into the NFL. Javon Walker is a joke and Ronald Curry
had been release and has since signed with the Lions leaving
the Raiders virtually nobody at the position. The Raiders need
to give Russell a go to guy; someone to work with and grow
together much in the same way Peyton Manning and Marvin
Harrison used to do it in Indy. The Raiders and Russell in
particualr need a receiver desperately. I am hearing many so
called "guru's" saying the Raiders will draft OL Andre Smith
out of Alabama. This would be a HUGE mistake no pun intended.
Smith's pysique is atrocious which to me is a sure sign of
laziness. Laziness is one thing that the Raiders do not need
anymroe of. What the Raiders do need is someone to step in
right away and be a playmaker for the team and especially
Russell and either Maclin or Crabtree would provide it. Further
down in the draft the Raiders can then address some of their
other need positions such as DL, OL, and the secondary.
It has been a long time 2001 to be exact since the Raiders have
had any glimmer of success. Hopefully this is the year that
Russell makes some strides and gives all Raider fans something
that Michael Irvin said is the only thing a man needs in order
to keep going: Hope. Till next time.
Cheers and Beers
About the author: Chris Limburg is the fanatical purveyor of
Gothicfootball.com: A Oakland Raider/fantasy football blog that
provides commentary on everything that is the NFL and fantasy
football. Visit today at: http://www.gothicfootball.com
Chris Limburg - May 3,
2006
Back to
Top
| 
