My Michael Crabtree Blog

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

Chris Limburg is the fanatical purveyor of gothicfootball.com: A Oakland Raider and fantasy football blog that provides commentary on everything that is the NFL and fantasy football. Sign up for my free newsletter at: [http://www.gothicfootball.com]