Comments on The Eye Patch: 5 Holes Worth Plugging

First I'd like to mention that we had the 3rd ...

2007-03-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

First I'd like to mention that we had the 3rd ranked defense (Yards per game allowed) & the 1st ranked defense(passing yards per game allowed) All of our defensive starters are under contract, and have the same defensive coach Rob Ryan. So there will be even more cohesion. So D is not our problem it is the O.

How do we solve our offensive woes?
Well we have 3 main holes to fill.
1st and foremost - offensive line
2nd -running back
3rd -a real quarterback competition

Before I mention my version of a fix I want to mention that we should not be entering the draft in almost 2 months like a crap shoot.
We should know exactly who we are going after by how free agency plays out.

To the fix:

1st- We have to get an established veteran offensive tackle or guard through free agency. This is a must. Actually 2 would be ideal.
(an Eric Steinbach, Leonard Davis, Mike Gandy type)

2nd- We need to get a solid running back through free agency(an Ahman green, Domonic Rhodes, Chris Brown type)

3rd - Andrew Walter has not been given a fair chance to show what he can do. I believe he is a good QB. But he needs competition ( If we are able to get a solid running back through free agency then we draft Russell) or if the Raider management believes in Walter like I do then we should pick up a Garcia or some other stop gap QB in free agency and draft Adrian Peterson while Walters improves.

A few things to consider.

We will have at least 4 picks in the first 100 picks.

Lamont Jordan gained over 400 yards in only 9 games. At that rate he would have gotten over 700 yards if he would have played in all 16 games. Even with our horrible O-line. Imagine what he could do with a good O-line.

The WR problem with sort itself out. Porter is now in. If Moss isn't dump him and go after a free agent like Horn.

So to sum it up-
The Raiders need to get O-line help. Spend all of our cap money if need be. We can live with Lamont Jordan and our receiving corps but Walter needs competition so Russell is a need.

By addressing the O-line and either getting Russell or Peterson I believe we will be in contention next season.
Don't get me wrong upgrading on defense is always a good thing but it should not be our priority this year.
Late- Raiderdog

I disagree with your smmarization of the defense, ...

2007-02-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

I disagree with your smmarization of the defense, and old addage comes to mind "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". And I would also suggest that QB/RB be number one and number too, with studs there it can make u for some of the other problems.

Hey Doc, very good points about the OL. I'll stic...

2007-02-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hey Doc, very good points about the OL. I'll stick to my opinion on Schweigert. His tackling is sub-par for the NFL. I think the rest of the defense has made up for his defficiencies. He's certainly the weak link in the secondary.

One thing everyone needs to understand is that it'll be impossible for the Raiders to plug all these holes with guys that can make an immediate impact in one fell swoop. This is something that's going to take a couple of years. You start with the draft and teach these young guys how to play. I do agree wholeheartedly on establishing an offensive scheme that will be able to deal with today's defenses...teaching that scheme isn't something that will be absorbed by new or old players overnight unfortunately.

docmayhew - you make many good points with your ob...

2007-02-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

docmayhew - you make many good points with your observations. However, I disagree with you about the safety situation.

How often does a Strong Safety have coverage responsibilities on a WR? If I'm not mistaken, a SS is used mainly for run support and coverage responsibilities on a TE. Bing is plenty fast enough to cover a TE. He would be awesome in run support (the Raiders big deficiency on D). Don't get me wrong about Stu. I like him. I just think that Huff is more suited at FS than SS. The Huff to FS, Bing to SS makes sense on many levels.

I have to disagree, Mike. I think the Raiders need...

2007-02-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

I have to disagree, Mike. I think the Raiders need 2 or 3 new faces on the O-line. Gallery should be moved back to RT. #1 need is a new LT, which will have to be addressed with a free agent since the Raiders will take J.Russell at #1 pick and the 2 rookies who could start at LT next year (Thomas and Brown) will be gone in round 1. No way Slaughter could play LT as a starter. McQuistan started the last 2 or 3 games at LT guard and probably will next year. He has all the physical tools, but so far he spends too much time looking around for who he is supposed to block when they are already gone or were never there. The killer is that neither Grove or Boothe are better than marginal. Grove is a battler, but he is too small to move NFL nose tackles off the line. Boothe was a nice surprise, mobile and athletic, but he is very raw , doesn't know where to go on pulls and traps, is just not that strong a run blocker and gets beat inside by pass rushers with good moves. Gallery, in spite of his many detractors and a very bad season at LT, is still the best offensive lineman the Raiders have and will make a solid RT. Maybe Sims's contract can be renegotiated, we could really use him.

Better people on the O-line and a modern offensive system designed around taking advantage of the incessant blitzing of the present day will take care of a lot of holes. The opposing defense's LOLB came in totally unblocked 2 to 4 times a game all season last season every game because the offensive play called didn't account for having a hat to put on that guy. Insane! And they never fixed it all year!

I'm also tired of the Schweigert bashers. Admittedly he isn't a star player, but he is a solid tackler, he hustles, he is football smart, and he routinely shuts down what could be long gainers with saving tackles. Moving Huff to FS and starting Bing at SS is not the answer because Bing is way too slow to cover NFL caliber WRs.

Scorpio - Who knows what will happen? I would not ...

2007-02-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

Scorpio - Who knows what will happen? I would not be the least bit suprised if the Raiders take David Carr. Nevertheless, I feel we are in a good position to address most of our needs on the ofensive side of the ball. We have a better than usual cap position, the 1st pick in each round, a few compensatory picks, plus whatever additional picks we can gain via trade.

calico - i'm still shaky about russell at #1 but i...

2007-02-17T17:29:00.000-08:00

calico - i'm still shaky about russell at #1 but i like the rest of your comment. especially #4. i'd love to see bing and huff back there in their natural positions.

Good post Mike.

Here is my take on how to...

2007-02-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Good post Mike.

Here is my take on how to address some of our offensive needs:

(1) QB - No brainer #1 pick JRuss.
(This is priority #1 for me)

(2) OT - draft either Levi Brown (PSU) by moving up into the mid 1st round via trade or draft the best available OT in the 2nd round (ie. Joe Staley, Aaron Sears, Tony Ugoh) or sign a free agent (Leonard Davis, Max Starks, Marc Colombo)

This is how I would see our O-line;
RT Gallery, RG Boothe, C Grove, LG McQuistan, LT Draftee/FA

Other potential OG to consider in the draft; Justin Blaylock (UT); Ben Grubbs (AUB)

(3) RB: Draft Marshawn Lynch by moving up to the mid 1st round via trade (Moss) and using one of our extra compensatory picks or draft Michael Bush (Louisville) or Kenny Irons with the 1st pick of the 2nd round.

(4) FS: Move Huff to his natural position (FS) and Bing to his natural position (SS). Gibson should be released. Cooper is more of a SS back-up, special teams ace while Carr can be used in dime packages & special teams. If the Raiders go to a Big Nickel formation (2 CBs, 3 safeties), Stu can be used. I like Stu's attitude but he is a poor tackler and has no "ball hawking" skills as evidenced by ZERO ints last year.

(5) WR: Assuming we trade (or release) Moss, I personally believe that the Raiders can manage using Porter, Curry, Gabriel as the 3 primary WRs since all are experienced, physical, versatile WRs who can run all the routes in the playbook. Look for the Raiders to use more 3 WR sets this year under Kiffin. This was a big part of USC's offense. For depth we have Madsen (a big, slot WR), Buchanon (raw but talented), and Morant (still developing) and possibly Francis or Whitted depending on roster cuts.

Off base? Would love to understand where they thi...

2007-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Off base? Would love to understand where they think the holes are then? If the Raiders take a stud defensive lineman or linebacker in the draft, it doesn't necessarily mean they've addressed a problem. It means they took the best available player available at the time. This was my whole point about passing on the best available player and focusing on the problem areas.

Now, do you pass on Jamarcus Russell to fill the gaps on the offensive line? Of course not. Russell has the potential to be a stud in the NFL, but the Raiders can't look past their holes and grab the best available player at every round. They certainly know a lot more about running a football team than I do, but the Raiders do some odd things at times.

Would you take Janikowski with a 1st round pick if you were a GM? I certainly wouldn't.

I hope they don't pass on an O-lineman to add depth at linebacker.

To bad your totally off base with your analysis. ...

2007-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

To bad your totally off base with your analysis. The next three weeks will show you just how "off" you are. As usually, to many conclusions drawn from nothing but speculation.

I believe your No.#5 hole can be addressed with pu...

2007-02-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

I believe your No.#5 hole can be addressed with putting Mr.Huff at free safety and putting Mr.Bing back at his natural position which is strong safety.

Stew is a good FS with a great attitude. You just ...

2007-02-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

Stew is a good FS with a great attitude. You just can't screw with excellent team chemistry by shaking up the backfield. He's a keeper.

Everyone points to the lack of production from the...

2007-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Everyone points to the lack of production from the offense as evidence that the key contributers need to go. And maybe they do, but last season can't be used as evidence. With the pathetic scheming and coaching of the Shell/Walsh regime dictating the offense, it wouldn't matter if you had Farve at QB protected by Walter Jones and Orlando Pace. Nine step drops coupled with a blocking scheme utterly incapable of picking up any semblance of zone blitz... that would have left the offense impotent with any kind of talent.

Gibson unseating Schweigert at fee safety? Man, y...

2007-02-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

Gibson unseating Schweigert at fee safety? Man, you have got to be joking? That would be a horrible move.