OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 PREVIEW
OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
When previewing teams looking to make that jump from bottom-dweller to playoff contender, the process generally whittles down to identifying one or two key factors that will ultimately decide the immediate fate of said team. For example, the San Francisco 49ers will become a playoff team if they find a solid quarterback to lead their offense. The New York Jets will become a playoff team if their passing game can evolve just enough to take pressure off their defense. The Buffalo Bills will become a playoff team if their pass-rush blossoms.
But it’s not so simple with the Oakland Raiders. The stunning turmoil of this once-proud franchise leaves any postseason hope trapped behind a litany of complex factors and virtually unconquerable obstacles. It’s been like this since the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. That said, it’s summer, which means Raider fans are looking at their team’s raw talent––which is always as good as any in football––and formulating anticipation for a sudden revival. It’s no use trying to explain to a Raider fan that their joke of a team––which is 24-72 since that Super Bowl loss––is destined for another four-or five-win season. The logic falls on ears that remain deaf until late October, by when all hope is usually lost for the Silver and Black.
So, just for fun, we’ll play along with the Raider fans this year. We’ll approach this intro with the question, What must Oakland do to become a playoff team? Here it goes…
The Raiders will become a playoff team if…
**Quarterback JaMarcus Russell suddenly becomes accurate, intelligent and accountable.
**Running back Darren McFadden learns to read NFL defenses and maintain balance when moving laterally. (In other words, if McFadden starts playing well.)
**Rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey disproves doubters and justifies his No. 7 overall draft status, and if one of the host of other young pass-catching options steps up. (At this point, not one of Oakland’s wide receivers would be any more than a No. 4 for most clubs.)
The Raiders will become a playoff team if….
**They can coax talented but unreliable offensive tackles Mario Henderson and Khalif Barnes into playing fundamentally sound football.
**Defensive tackles Gerard Warren and Terdell Sands can regularly play like the blocker-eating forces they’re supposed to be––and if linebackers Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison can become playmakers against the run.
The Raiders will become a playoff team if…
**Two quality safeties can emerge from the hodgepodge of injury magnets and underachievers currently filling the position (this group includes Michael Huff, Hiram Eugene, Tyvon Branch and second-round rookie Mike Mitchell).
**De facto first-year head coach Tom Cable can command a hint of authority. For that to happen, owner Al Davis must remove himself from the day-to-day operations.
And herein lies the problem. The odds of all the above mentioned what-if scenarios actually coming to fruition are just a tick above nil. With Davis meddling in affairs, those odds fall to zero. It’s sad to see the 80-year-old pro football pioneer tarnish what might be the league’s most impressive legacy. But that’s exactly what Davis, with his archaic management style, is doing. His influence over the gameplan renders the Raiders offense embarrassingly predictable on Sundays. His insistence on traditional man-to-man defense makes for a reactionary unit. At times, Davis’s management of the salary cap can be downright absurd; his draft moves are often even more bizarre. (Davis could have traded down and still snatched Heyward-Bey in Round One, and many expected his second-round pick, Mike Mitchell, to be available in Round Six or Seven.)
You’re naïve if you believe that Cable––whom Davis hastily hired after firing Lane Kiffin, even though the owner “(didn’t) know much about him”––has an ounce of political capital in the locker room. Cable talks a brave game and might classify as a “no nonsense” guy, but bullets trump words when it comes to curtailing anarchy. The only man in Oakland who is truly armed is Davis. And he’s shown that he’ll fire at coaches well before he ever fires at players.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/oakland-raiders-2009-preview/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
When previewing teams looking to make that jump from bottom-dweller to playoff contender, the process generally whittles down to identifying one or two key factors that will ultimately decide the immediate fate of said team. For example, the San Francisco 49ers will become a playoff team if they find a solid quarterback to lead their offense. The New York Jets will become a playoff team if their passing game can evolve just enough to take pressure off their defense. The Buffalo Bills will become a playoff team if their pass-rush blossoms.
But it’s not so simple with the Oakland Raiders. The stunning turmoil of this once-proud franchise leaves any postseason hope trapped behind a litany of complex factors and virtually unconquerable obstacles. It’s been like this since the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. That said, it’s summer, which means Raider fans are looking at their team’s raw talent––which is always as good as any in football––and formulating anticipation for a sudden revival. It’s no use trying to explain to a Raider fan that their joke of a team––which is 24-72 since that Super Bowl loss––is destined for another four-or five-win season. The logic falls on ears that remain deaf until late October, by when all hope is usually lost for the Silver and Black.
So, just for fun, we’ll play along with the Raider fans this year. We’ll approach this intro with the question, What must Oakland do to become a playoff team? Here it goes…
The Raiders will become a playoff team if…
**Quarterback JaMarcus Russell suddenly becomes accurate, intelligent and accountable.
**Running back Darren McFadden learns to read NFL defenses and maintain balance when moving laterally. (In other words, if McFadden starts playing well.)
**Rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey disproves doubters and justifies his No. 7 overall draft status, and if one of the host of other young pass-catching options steps up. (At this point, not one of Oakland’s wide receivers would be any more than a No. 4 for most clubs.)
The Raiders will become a playoff team if….
**They can coax talented but unreliable offensive tackles Mario Henderson and Khalif Barnes into playing fundamentally sound football.
**Defensive tackles Gerard Warren and Terdell Sands can regularly play like the blocker-eating forces they’re supposed to be––and if linebackers Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison can become playmakers against the run.
The Raiders will become a playoff team if…
**Two quality safeties can emerge from the hodgepodge of injury magnets and underachievers currently filling the position (this group includes Michael Huff, Hiram Eugene, Tyvon Branch and second-round rookie Mike Mitchell).
**De facto first-year head coach Tom Cable can command a hint of authority. For that to happen, owner Al Davis must remove himself from the day-to-day operations.
And herein lies the problem. The odds of all the above mentioned what-if scenarios actually coming to fruition are just a tick above nil. With Davis meddling in affairs, those odds fall to zero. It’s sad to see the 80-year-old pro football pioneer tarnish what might be the league’s most impressive legacy. But that’s exactly what Davis, with his archaic management style, is doing. His influence over the gameplan renders the Raiders offense embarrassingly predictable on Sundays. His insistence on traditional man-to-man defense makes for a reactionary unit. At times, Davis’s management of the salary cap can be downright absurd; his draft moves are often even more bizarre. (Davis could have traded down and still snatched Heyward-Bey in Round One, and many expected his second-round pick, Mike Mitchell, to be available in Round Six or Seven.)
You’re naïve if you believe that Cable––whom Davis hastily hired after firing Lane Kiffin, even though the owner “(didn’t) know much about him”––has an ounce of political capital in the locker room. Cable talks a brave game and might classify as a “no nonsense” guy, but bullets trump words when it comes to curtailing anarchy. The only man in Oakland who is truly armed is Davis. And he’s shown that he’ll fire at coaches well before he ever fires at players.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/oakland-raiders-2009-preview/
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