Welcome aboard, Ashley Lelie! (Now who’s next?)

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, September 02, 2008  |  Comments( 24 )

Oakland Raiders
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On Sunday, it was bad news and more bad news for the most marginal of Oakland Raider players, as Lane Kiffin announced “more changes are likely coming” despite cutting enough players to create a 53-man roster. The first change came in the late hours of Monday night with the signing of Ashley Lelie.

In response to a somewhat disappointing and thin WR corps, particularly with the placement of Arman Shields on injured reserve earlier in the week, comes Lelie. The former first-rounder out of Hawaii is surely remembered in the Raider Nation for those four years he spent with the Denver Broncos, particularly his 2004 effort which netted him an excellent 1,084 yards and seven TDs on just 54 receptions.

Unfortunately (for himself), 2004 seems to be the last time Lelie put in any serious effort on the field at all. His one-year stint with Michael Vick’s Atlanta Falcons ended with Lelie buying out his own contract and not even Mike Martz’s pass-happy system in San Francisco could inspire Lelie to stay with the San Francisco 49ers for 2008. Would anyone else be surprised to see Chaz Schilens smoke this guy on the rookie’s way up the depth chart this year?

In any case, Lelie was a necessary signing (what else should they have done? Pick up Chad Jackson?) for which Raider backers must hope for the best.

But, as they used to say in the old infomercials, that’s not all! Surely more changes must come to Oakland. Where? How about at the positions of ...

• Fullback. Some have recently been postulating that the very position of fullback is an endangered species in the modern NFL; with the way it stands in Oaktown right about now, one almost wonders if Al Davis & Co. are putting this theory to the test. After backing off (or perhaps never even advancing beyond mere musing blown out of proportion by willing Bay Area sportswriters) from the Michael Bush-as-fullback idea, Kiffin saw Luke Lawton and Marcel Reece go bye-bye on the weekend. We’ve probably not yet seen the last of Reece, but is a practice squad guy really the No. 2 behind Justin Griffith? And, more importantly, um, who’s still out there to sign?

(Tumbleweed rolls past.)

• Linebacker. Talk about your no-name defenses; who are some of these guys? Sure, Kirk Morrison may yet become a household name before his career is over and Isaiah Ekejiuba gives the Raider Nation some hope vis-à-vis special teams, but are the other five really the answer for a team that was 31st against the pass last season? While Kiffin may have to be happy with the likes of Ricky Brown and Sam Williams, wouldn’t you have to believe that there’s a one-year contract for a veteran LB out there? How trashed are run specialists Jeremiah Trotter and Rosevelt Colvin? Or will we see wonderfully named rookie Greyson Gunheim suiting up in silver and black before season’s end?

• Offensive tackle. The line, the line ... oh, woe is Oakland, the line. At OT right now, the Raiders are looking at using Kwame Harris and Cornell Green as their bookends. Behind them are Mario Henderson and Seth Wand. And that’s all, folks! While it certainly may be silly to pick up some beaten offensive linemen off waivers (how about Willie Anderson?) with the intention of starting him, this problem will need to be addressed sooner or ... sooner. It’s a good thing the running attack looks so good in Oakland right now, because the sick (which is to say “nearly nonexistent”) pass protection of the past two seasons might not be greatly improved. Run, Russell, run!

Training Camp: An entirely new kind of fantasy game!</i>">Training Camp: An entirely new kind of fantasy game!
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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