J. Long vs. Clady
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 12:21 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Second in a series regarding players the Raiders are evaluating as the NFL draft approaches April 26-27. The Raiders currently hold the No. 4 pick in the first round.
So Lane Kiffin keeps his trap shut for the better part of the last three months and then blabs to reporters that the Raiders are probably going to take a defensive lineman with the fourth overall selection in the NFL draft on April 26.
This is the same Kiffin who at last year’s owners meetings, claimed he’d never had a conversation with Randy Moss about a trade and said, “I think he’ll be on our team. I really do.”
Kiffin later admitted Moss told him in their first conversation he had no intention of playing for the Raiders and wanted a trade.
So while Kiffin gets points for being candid about his rocky offseason in the aftermath of a 4-12 season, anything he says about personnel is to be viewed with skepticism, and that’s exactly how it should be. Mixed signals and misdirection has long been a part of the draft process.
Besides, as Kiffin made clear Monday, coaches will have input but Al Davis, as always, will make the call. Davis has made three attempts at locating a left tackle in the draft since 1998, and none of them ended up at the position.
Mo Collins (1998) moved inside and became a decent power-blocking guard, Matt Stinchcomb (1999) came in with a bum shoulder and couldn’t hold a starting position at guard, tackle or center, and Robert Gallery started at both tackle spots but was dubbed a “square peg in a round hole” by line coach Tom Cable and is now the left guard.
If Davis wants to try again, Michigan’s Jake Long (6-foot-7, 313 pounds) and Boise State’s Ryan Clady (6-6, 309) are considered the top two tackles, in that order.
Long is the classic Big Ten power-blocking tackle. He gave up just one sack as a senior, to potential top-five pick Vernon Gholston of Ohio State. In his entire college career, Long gave up two sacks and committed two penalties, a hold as a redshirt freshman and a false start as a senior.
He is also an honest man.
“I’ll admit that I hold. I’ll get my hands inside and hide it that I’m holding,” Long said. “I try to hide it so that the refs can’t see it.”
Long hopes to have the same effect Cleveland’s Joe Thomas, the No. 3 overall pick last year, had as a rookie.
“He’s a great player and represented his school in the Big Ten very well. He had a great rookie season. I’m going to have to follow in his footsteps and represent for the Big Ten,” Long said. “He showed me and all the other rookies that you can come in and make a huge impact, have a great season. That’s encouraging to me and to other players I’m sure.”
Most people believe Long won’t last until No. 4, which means if the Raiders wanted a tackle, Clady would be the most likely pick. Considering Clady already has experience in a zone blocking system, he might be the better fit anyway.
“We were primarily a zone team, I’m kind of like a Denver Broncos type offensive lineman, we cut a lot and position block a lot,” Clady said.
Offensive linemen on roster: LT Kwame Harris, LG Robert Gallery, C John Wade, RG Cooper Carlisle, RT Cornell Green. Reserves_T Jonathan Palmer, T Mario Henderson, T Mark Wilson, G-T Paul McQuistan, C Jake Grove, C-G Chris Morris, LS Jon Condo, C Jesse Boone.
Kiffin on the offensive line: “There are still a couple of things to look at. We’re going to give Kwame Harris a shot at left tackle. He’s already been working with us the past two weeks at left tackle on the field. Gallery will still be at left guard. At center, adding John Wade from Tampa was very important to us. Four of the past five years he’s played 99 percent of the snaps. Very intelligent, very tough, kind of like Jeremy Newberry was for us at center as far as a leader. Hasn’t battled nearly as many injuries as Jeremy . . . Cooper Carlisle returns at right guard . . . he really has become the leader of the group as far as the most playing time there. At right tackle, we signed Cornell Green, who was the starter before he got hurt. And then Mario Henderson, who was drafted last year, through a trade in the third round, will get a shot to compete with Cornell.
The bottom line: The Raiders haven’t had much luck identifying tackles in the draft. Henry Lawrence, who succeeded Art Shell, was a first-round pick in 1974. John Clay, a first-rounder in 1987, was one of their great draft busts. Don Mosebar, a first-round pick in 1983, eventually became a center.
Cable is a coach in the mold of a Bobb McKittrick or Alex Gibbs, who favor linemen who can move and cut block. Both McKittrick and Gibbs rarely had premium draft picks, often using castoffs from other teams and later-round picks that fit their scheme.
As much as the Raiders future depends on protecting JaMarcus Russell, don’t expect the Raiders to use the No. 4 overall pick on a tackle.
