10 offseason Raider predictions

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, January 07, 2009  |  Comments( 11 )

Oakland Raiders
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OK, so the Oakland Raiders posted their best season since 2004 this past year. Sounds great. But when you’re consistently awful, being just bad sometimes makes you look good.

If you made some sense of that last statement, the next one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you: The Raiders still have a lot of work to do this offseason.

Winning the final two games of the 2008 campaign was a much-needed break for everyone who has ever had anything to do with the Raiders -- the coaches, the players, the fans … the man who drives the truck that carries the Raiders jerseys to the local sporting good store.

For once, fans could look forward to the 2009 offseason with some optimism.

But now, it’s all again in the hands of Al Davis. Will Davis make it a priority to re-sign Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha? Will the owner be as spend-happy as he was last year? Will Marques Tuiasosopo finally go away?

With the Raiders’ 2009 offseason officially underway, here are 10 predictions to look forward to:

1. All three running backs will stay put: Darren McFadden is obviously staying. Releasing Justin Fargas would cost the team $5 million in dead salary-cap money. And Michael Bush won’t prove to be as attractive trade bait as the team originally thought.

2. Nnamdi Asomugha will be franchise tagged: With all his money tied up in studs (duds) like Terdell Sands, Javon Walker and Tommy Kelly, Al Davis won’t be able to dish out the long-term cash needed to retain Asomugha’s services for multiple years. Instead, Davis will slap the one-year tag on Asomugha once more and wait until 2010.

3. Reggie Williams will be signed: He’s a 25-year-old, 6-foot-4 unrestricted free agent wide receiver with mediocre career stats and great potential. Welcome to Oakland.

4. Shane Lechler will be re-signed to a multiyear deal: The only position that truly benefits from being on an awful team: the punter. Lechler hasn’t worn a jersey other than the silver and black since he came into the NFL nine long (they seem short) years ago and won’t be wearing a different one anytime soon.

5. Tom Cable will remain head coach: Here’s the big one. But it seems simple. With the final two wins to close out the season, Davis now has justification to bring back Cable, who seems like the perfect fit for Davis and his controlling, puppeteering ways.

6. Chris Mortenson will not report any news on the Raiders until it actually happens: Not only did the Raiders lose their “privilege” to talk to Sir Christopher Mortensen, but the ESPN reporter likely learned his lesson when it comes to speculating about the Raiders.

7. CB Chris Johnson will be re-signed: This is a deceivingly important signing for Oakland. Luckily, Johnson should know that he won’t receive any greater chance to start for an NFL team than with the Raiders, and gladly accept any suitable offer to stay in the Bay Area.

8. Johnnie Lee Higgins will learn four new dances: And I can’t wait to see them.

9. The team’s first-rounder will be used on an O-lineman: Cooper Carlisle and Jake Grove are both unrestricted free agents; Cornell Green and John Wade are 32 and 33 years old, respectively; and 24-year-old tackle Mario Henderson is no sure thing. With the seventh pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders select [enter mammoth lineman’s name here].

10. Al Davis will make 98 percent of the decisions.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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