Observations from Raiders Camp

[AC Transit]

NAPA, Calif. -- Here are five observations on the Oakland Raiders, based on Monday's and Tuesday's practices:

1.
The key to the season should be how the offensive line comes together. After years of being an older line, the Raiders are finally going young. Robert Gallery moves from right tackle to his natural spot at left tackle. He's 26. Center Jake Grove is 26. Right tackle Langston Walker is 27. Rookie third-round choice Paul McQuistan, who is starting at right guard, is 23. Left guard Barry Sims is the veteran of the unit at 31.

It will help having a Hall of Fame offensive lineman, Art Shell, as head coach. Former NFL linemen Jackie Slater (also a Hall of Famer) and Irv Eatman are double-teaming the position as coaches. The group is talented. Except for Sims, an undrafted player who was a good left tackle most of his career, the starting lineup is filled with first-day draft choices.

Gallery started camp with a quad injury and is on the physically unable to perform list. Trainers won't allow him to play until he's 100 percent healthy, so he may be sitting for another week or two. Journeyman Chad Slaughter is behind him. Gallery was great as a rookie but struggled last year. Still, being back at his natural position at left tackle should help.

Walker is an interesting comeback story, but will he make it all the way back? He almost died last year. A blood vessel ruptured in his abdomen because of a hit last season and he had to have surgery after doctors discovered internal bleeding. He lost almost a gallon of blood. He lost close to 40 pounds during his recovery. The 6-foot-8 Walker is the key to the season at right tackle. McQuistan is a mauler and should be an asset even though he's a rookie. Grove and Sims will be solid. Kerry Collins didn't have enough time to throw last season, so the line will be the key to the whole season.

Michael Huff
David Paul Morris/Getty Images
The Raiders selected Michael Huff with the No. 7 overall pick in the draft.

2.
The defense has a chance because it has speed -- lots of speed. The influx of youth from an interesting draft should give coordinator Rob Ryan speed and flexibility to work with. For Ryan, having speed means blitzing and more blitzing. First-round pick Michael Huff has as much range as any safety in football. He has great blitzing speed, and he's working at cornerback in some schemes and both safety positions in other schemes. Fourth-round choice Darnell Bing is being tried at linebacker but his background as a safety adds more versatility in nickel packages. Second-round choice Thomas Howard is explosive at outside linebacker. Watching him in one-on-one pass-rush drills is impressive. He can beat a tackle with outside speed.

Ryan came out of the blocks blitzing on the first day of practice. They've moved back mostly to a 4-3 defense, which pleases defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Sapp was out of place as a 3-4 defensive end. Speed should help create some turnovers. The Raiders had only five interceptions last year. With the pressure of the blitz and the rush talents of defensive end Derrick Burgess, who had 16 sacks, the Raiders' defense should be interesting to watch.

3.
Aaron Brooks has to win over the Raiders' offensive players in his first year. Brooks is a talent. He has a strong arm and good mobility. He's had success, too. He averaged 22 touchdown passes a season from 2001 through 2004 before everything fell apart last season with the Saints.

He was developed as a West Coast offense quarterback, but he never had the 60 percent completion percentage needed to get over the top. But Brooks is excited to be getting away from the structure of the West Coast offense.

"It gives me the freedom to do all the things I want to do," Brooks said. "I feel that I'm free at last. The West Coast offense is a high-percentage system, but if you go against the coordination of the system, you can't make a play.''

Randy Moss likes the fact Brooks has more mobility than Collins, which should help buy more time for longer passes. Brooks is expected to take more chances. He'll have more seven-step drops than he had in New Orleans. Brooks is unchallenged as the starter. While the team may be grooming Andrew Walter as a future starter, Walter has a long way to go. Walter has the arm, but he's working on the accuracy. He has moved ahead of Marques Tuiasosopo as the Raiders' No. 2 quarterback.

LaMont Jordan
Running Back
Oakland Raiders

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
Rush Yds TD Rec Yds TD
272 1025 9 70 563 2
4.
LaMont Jordan looks as though he's in good shape. Some wondered if he was a little heavier during the minicamps. That problem -- if it really was a problem -- seems to be behind him. Jordan had a decent season in his first year in Oakland, rushing for 1,025 yards and a modest 3.8 yards per carry. He caught 70 passes for 563 yards (8 yards per catch). Former Raiders coach Norv Turner ran a running back-friendly offense, so Jordan had plenty of opportunities to excel. To his credit, he demanded the ball and responded. Jordan shouldn't have any complaints with Shell's scheme. Shell will try to establish a running game. He'll probably get Jordan involved with more sweeps, and he certainly will take advantage of Jordan's pass-catching skills. It will be critical for Jordan to average more than 4 yards a carry for the running game to be successful.

5.
A lot of things have to come together for the Raiders to be a factor in the AFC West. The offensive line has to come together. It will be vital for more production to come from the tight end. Courtney Anderson had only 24 catches for 303 yards last season. Randal Williams is a receiver who converted to tight end and he had only 13 catches. Now that the Raiders are back to a 4-3, they need the defensive tackle position to step up. Sapp needs a big year. Tommy Kelly has to hold down the other tackle spot. The Raiders could miss the run-stopping bulk of Ted Washington, who is now in Cleveland. Ronald Curry is coming off another Achilles tendon tear and Shell is going to need him in the three-receiver set.

Overall, the Raiders have the talent to be better than their 4-12 record last season. They have speed and playmaking ability at receiver. They have speed and youth on defense. They lack depth in some spots, but should have enough experienced backups to lean on if there are injuries.

 

[AC Transit]

Rookie Huff key to Raiders
Insider
Horton
By Gary Horton
Scouts Inc.
Archive

For years the Oakland Raiders have put a premium on straight-line speed and athleticism, but often haven't paid much attention to playmaking and production on the field.

Their secondary is a perfect example of this philosophy. The Raiders have a bunch of gifted athletes who look great in shorts, but when they put the pads on they don't make enough plays. In 2005 Oakland's defense intercepted a paltry five passes, an all-time NFL low for a 16-game season. Even though the secondary features a lot of speed and youth, it simply doesn't produce enough. With Charles Woodson headed to Green Bay and Derrick Gibson a disappointment, the Raiders will have a young secondary that needs to grow up fast.

The key to this unit will be rookie free safety Michael Huff, who the Raiders selected with the No. 7 overall pick. For all of their past mistakes drafting defensive backs, the Raiders may have gotten this one right. Huff is a great athlete, with speed and size, but he's also a football player. He has good instincts and reactions versus the pass along with the aggressiveness and toughness to play the run. Huff is already signed and in camp and he could be an impact player.

However, after Huff, there are a lot of question marks, with players who pass the "eye test" but don't produce enough on the field. The starting corners likely will be youngsters Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington. Both started in 2005, but they had their problems. Asomugha has yet to record an interception in three seasons, and opposing offenses target him in the passing game. Washington has great speed but it's mostly straight-line, and he has some problems in transition with his hips. The Raiders play a lot of man-to-man coverages, and these guys must hold up on an island and make more big plays.

Stuart Schweigert will line up at safety with Huff, who hasn't officially been named a starter. Schweigert has some potential playmaking abilities but is also prone to giving up big plays. Gibson, the team's 2001 first-round pick, is a backup safety and has been a major disappointment. Last year's second-round pick, cornerback Stanford Routt, has speed and athleticism, but the question is whether he has the instincts to play in the nickel package. Veteran castoffs Tyrone Poole and Duane Starks could compete for a role in the dime package at corner, but neither is a long-term answer.

This secondary likely will feature four starters with three years or less experience, and these guys will be asked to mature quickly. Oakland will play a combination of 3-4 and 4-3 defensive fronts, and when they play the 3-4 they will blitz a lot. That means that Oakland's young secondary will have to play a lot of man-to-man coverage. Without help over the top, the Raiders may also play some two-linebacker and five-defensive back schemes as part of their base defense, and they will really change their fronts a lot, which puts additional pressure on the secondary.

You have to give the Raiders some credit for at least addressing their secondary in past drafts. Four first-round picks (Huff, Washington, Asomugha and Gibson), one second-round pick (Routt) and one third-round pick (Schweigert) are playing in this unit heading into 2006. But that's a lot of high draft picks with marginal production so far.

When you break down this secondary, it's easy to go either way when predicting its success or failure in '06. On the negative side, you see straight-line speed guys with marginal instincts and marginal ability to adjust and make plays, and it becomes easy to classify them as a group of athletes who aren't very good football players. On the positive side, you see youth, speed and athleticism in a talented young group that can grow and mature together. The Raiders have a terrific young prospect in Huff, who could pull everything together if he lives up to his ability.

There is something about this unit that intrigues me, and I think it will play better than most people expect. And I predict that Michael Huff will be the NFL's defensive rookie of the year.

 

[Solitary 1]

GREAT POST, AC... KEEP EM COMIN!!!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO START!! RAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDEEEEERRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZ

 

[Stealth]

Good post. If Gallery is healthy is the line can block long enough for a 7 step drop, Brooks and Moss will be connecting all day long.

Who do you got at linebacker?

 

[thascary1]

I love training Camp....

 

[Stealth]

^ Yeah my training camp starts tomorrow. Its only 20 minutes from my mom's house too, so I'm goin home for the weekend.

 

[Tony]

Damn.... Seven step drops kind of worries me.... The line better block. I wonder if Brooks is going to be throwing to Moss when he's double covered???? Because we all know Moss will be drawing double coverage most of the time.