Worst Squad on the Raiders

[Rupert]

Alright Ladies and Gents!

The off-season is slow, so I thought I'd find out where everyone stands on the team as it is.

Which is the worst squad on the team?

Quarterback: No established verteran starting and a bunch of guys who probably aren't more than career backups filling out the depth chart.

Running Backs: A slightly doughy big guy who isn't the traditional power back and a large speed guy who runs like he's on stilts. No power FB of any repute, and a grab bag of unimpressive backups.

Receivers: Our biggest threat can't stay healthy, our highest pick can't hold onto the ball, Murphy's probably the best bet, Higgins on the downslide, Ford's an unknown, and a bunch of wanna-be's knocking on the door begging for a meal.

Tight Ends: A solid two-way threat and credible backup who won't wow you as a starter but won't hurt you either.

Offensive Line: Hendo, a guy who can't get through a whole season, a guy who's got less power than the 298lb Mary we let go last season, a couple promising kids, and a bunch of question marks.

Defensive Line: Big powerful and versatile. Not the fastest group on the planet, and the only NT-sized dude came via the undrafted route. Maybe not as deep in quality as it could be.

Linebackers: Big and fast starters and a bunch of slightly smaller guys coming off the bench (one of which used to start and could cover).

Defensive Backs: one of the game's premier shut down corners and couple guys who run very warm to cold on any given Sunday. Backed up by the newly emerged Huff and Branch with Mitchell providing some solid depth.

Special Teams: two of the game's premier specialist feet and big questions on the return game.

[TheNextStep]

Outside of Robert Gallery, do you really trust any of these dudes? For that matter, do you trust Gallery to stay healthy?

[hawaiianboy]

O-line... Left to right, nothing but question marks across the board...

If Henderson can be the guy that finished strong in 08 and started off good enough in 09...

If Gallery can stay healthy...

If Satele can keep his weight up over 300 and play better than he did last year...

If someone can beat out a guy who should be a backup in Carlisle...

If we can get somebody to step up and be a player at RT...


If either of the highly regarded Michalczik or Cable can coach these guys better than they did last year...

[CrossBones]

We suck. :p

J/K...things are looking up but as I have been saying since last year the offensive line is the key to everything that happens in 2010. If they don't somehow improve 40% our running game isn't going to go; and our passing game will be hampered. To say nothing of the dead QB's we're gonna have.

Hue Jackson has to e an upgrade over Curly calling plays -- he just has to be!

Of course I would like a vet WR but in the scheme of what's most important it's not even close. Give me some fat guys who can block and pass protect and we're golden.

I feel good about the defense but yes they still have to perform on Sunday's.

Our kickers are baaaaaad ass.

[Langlier]

I like the guys we've added in Veldheer and Campbell. I like Barnes if he can regain his early J-Ville form. I like Hendo if he plays like he did at the beginning of the year and late the year before. Gallery is a stud when healthy. Satele I can live with. If we can paste 5 guys of that group together I like what our chances are. That said its a lot more promise then delivery.

[007]

OL without question.

We'll live and die by how they perform.

[Crow]

I refuse to participate in a thread intended to be negative.

[Crow]

If you answered "Because it's no fun to be negative if you can't suck the life out of an otherwise optimistic thread", you're this week's winner. :D

[CrossBones]

I refuse to participate in a thread intended to be negative.You've arrived. Well done. :righton:

[NIPS]

Hue Jackson was the biggest off season move we made

[Langlier]

Hue Jackson was the biggest off season move we made

eh 2nd

the biggest was offloading the biggest

[Rupert]

Not that hard to be worried about the OL. Even the most optimistic guys out there have to use if when talking about the OL.

I was hoping some defensive-minded guys were going to complain about the lack of a NT, or depth at CB.

At least a couple people think we've got more worries at WR than OL, and that's a legitimate concern.

I think we've got decent RB's, probably nothing special, but we've got no FB's, and working behind this line will downgrade their performance. They've also not had a passing game in front of them, and the play calling has been a mess. So they're better than they've show.

[Raider X]

Definitely OL, but I did see some effort and energy when Russell got benched. I'm optomistic that with some rookies fighting for playing time Barnes, Carlilse and Henderson will be either exposed and lose their jobs or they'll step it up.

My concern for the secondary is still the run support from the safties. We need some killers back there.

[wyoraiders]

Definitely OL, but I did see some effort and energy when Russell got benched. I'm optomistic that with some rookies fighting for playing time Barnes, Carlilse and Henderson will be either exposed and lose their jobs or they'll step it up.

My concern for the secondary is still the run support from the safties. We need some killers back there.

Tyvon Branch would disagree with you...dude was top 10 in the NFL in tackles last year. I can also see Mike Mitchell being that in-the-box safety on run downs.

When you are depending on your safeties stopping the running game you got problems...

[CrossBones]

Not that hard to be worried about the OL. Even the most optimistic guys out there have to use if when talking about the OL.

I was hoping some defensive-minded guys were going to complain about the lack of a NT, or depth at CB.

At least a couple people think we've got more worries at WR than OL, and that's a legitimate concern.

I think we've got decent RB's, probably nothing special, but we've got no FB's, and working behind this line will downgrade their performance. They've also not had a passing game in front of them, and the play calling has been a mess. So they're better than they've show.All true Rupe but without that OL getting better I'm not sure a lot of the other issues are going to matter all that much. We'll basically have a redo of the last few years. So getting better play from the OL has to be the #1 concern as I think you alluded to. It's kind of a no brainer. Plenty of time for us to cry about the lack of depth at CB (true) and the lack of a real NT (also true). Mark those two down as the next big thing(s) in Raiderland to complain! :D

[Madturk]

I'd feel a lot better about the Ol if we signed Jamaal Brown and Kevin Mawae. Did I mention I'd like to bring in Mawae? :p

The wr situation is somewhat unsettled too. We're depending on a lot from the oft injured Chaz Schillens and the "hands of stone".

[RaiderNorth]

No doubt OL is the biggest worry. My hope is decent playcalling will make all the units look (and perform) that much better.

[Raider X]

Tyvon Branch would disagree with you...dude was top 10 in the NFL in tackles last year. I can also see Mike Mitchell being that in-the-box safety on run downs....

I want to see more of Mitchell this year in-the-box; I agree with this. However, what I'm looking for is big hits that have an intimidating effect ala Eddie Anderson, Tatum: the type of play that helped the Raiders win championships and made people fear this team. Just racking up tackles is what Morison did and he's gone.


When you are depending on your safeties stopping the running game you got problems


Not saying they should be making the tackles that the DL or LBs should be making, but that they need to be more supportive and blow some people up on occasion. Huff made some opportunistic INTs last season, which is good, but I'd like to see him show more aggressive, much more physical play.

[S and B Executioner]

While the O-line is easily the worst unit we have on the team, I got even bigger questions about the D tackle position. Based on the fact that we have no wide bodied DT to plug holes and collapse the o-line and eat up blockers, we have the potential to get gashed week in and week out.

But as a unit, the o-line just has way too many question marks. My hope is that by this time next year we are talking about how our rooks (Veldheer and Campbell) really played up to the task and we have a pretty good o-line. If you really want the quick fix for this year, you gotta bring in Mawae. He could coach these guys up really improve the whole line by himself!

[TheMadStork]

While the O-line is easily the worst unit we have on the team, I got even bigger questions about the D tackle position. Based on the fact that we have no wide bodied DT to plug holes and collapse the o-line and eat up blockers, we have the potential to get gashed week in and week out.

But as a unit, the o-line just has way too many question marks. My hope is that by this time next year we are talking about how our rooks (Veldheer and Campbell) really played up to the task and we have a pretty good o-line. If you really want the quick fix for this year, you gotta bring in Mawae. He could coach these guys up really improve the whole line by himself!

We should get the guy who sent the billboard message to Al to do one begging him to sign Mawae. Satele did absolutely nothing to impress me last year and unless the Raiders are expecting huge improvement out of him, signing Mawae is about as much of a no-brainer as you can get.

[Diceq]

I'm really concerned about WR's. Besides the drops, the poor timing with Russell was pathetic. Murphy really improved and Schillens seems NFL level but the Chaz injury history, JLH having lost his courage for a good part of the year and DHB yet to turn into Cliff Branch...

I believe our OL will be OK to fine assuming Barnes / Walker can play RG or RT. I think Satale should be recovered from the shoulder injury and familiar with the system. Are we going to run stretch again?

I'm also in agreement about our lack of a wide bodied DT that play at an NFL level. Des Bryant, William Joseph and Chris Cooper...That's a leap of faith.

[RaiderJF]

Right now, OL is at the top of the list for biggest question mark as far as a position squad is concerned. We have brought in some young reinforcements in Valdheer and Campbell and there is some hope that Barnes and / or Walker will help stabilze the unit, but until they come together this currently is our "worst squad". Not far behind is the wr corp - again, have some young talent, but until it develops and actually PRODUCES this squad is way below "NFL average". And while we have upgraded the QB position with some experienced / veteran talent, there remains a big question as to whether any of these guys (Campbell, Grads, Frye) can ever become an above average NFL QB.

[wyoraiders]

I want to see more of Mitchell this year in-the-box; I agree with this. However, what I'm looking for is big hits that have an intimidating effect ala Eddie Anderson, Tatum: the type of play that helped the Raiders win championships and made people fear this team. Just racking up tackles is what Morison did and he's gone.



Not saying they should be making the tackles that the DL or LBs should be making, but that they need to be more supportive and blow some people up on occasion. Huff made some opportunistic INTs last season, which is good, but I'd like to see him show more aggressive, much more physical play.

I hear you about having a physical, intimidating specimen back there at S just layin people out, but the problem is that those kind of guys always seem to be hurt (B. Sanders, T. Palamalu) or usually stink in coverage (G. Wilson, D. Gibson).

OT: One of my favorite players in the league is Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals...he doesn't get mentioned enough as one of the premiere defensive players in the league.

[EZRaider]

No doubt OL is the biggest worry. My hope is decent playcalling will make all the units look (and perform) that much better.

I'm hoping the fact that most of the OL has been together a couple years helps.

Better playcalling and more consistency from all units should carry over to make each unit look better as part of the puzzle. Also, improvement of one key squad, especially the OL, should make everyone else look that much better.

Edit: haha, I completely forgot about the QB position. That improvement alone should make a ton of difference all around this year. May be the whole key, we'll see. I don't think the OL or the receivers even wanted to play for the last guy.

[RaiderNorth]

You gotta think the change at QB will improve the entire offense. No more standing around confused until he takes a sack, no more screen passes aimed at shoelaces. A reduction in drive-killing mistakes will go a long way.

[Crow]

May take a little time for Campbell and the receivers to get in sync, but...yeah. Campbell could come in wearing an eyepatch and reading from the wrong playbook and still complete more passes than The Dummy.

[TheMadStork]

May take a little time for Campbell and the receivers to get in sync, but...yeah. Campbell could come in wearing an eyepatch and reading from the wrong playbook and still complete more passes than The Dummy.

And even though Campbell's not as mobile as Grads, he's not a statue (or a semi-sentient tub of lard). According to the reports from minicamp, he looked pretty good on roll-outs.

[Crow]

He won't ever be mistaken for Vick, but he's definitely athletic. He's always had a nice, fluid rollout. Yeah, the lack of a quick snap release will probably prevent him from ever being a top tier QB. But he is quick between the ears. That alone is going to mean a helluva lot.

All he needs is to have Grads come into the huddle from time to time and yell at the linemen to wake them the fuck up.

[cyanatic]

the offensive line is the key to everything that happens in 2010. If they don't somehow improve 40% our running game isn't going to go; and our passing game will be hampered. To say nothing of the dead QB's we're gonna have.
Pretty much says it all.

Of course, I didn't see "Managing General Partner" as one of the choices...




Am I allowed to say that here?

[Crow]

Yeah, "Executives" or something along those lines warranted a spot on the poll.