On The Way to 83

By Jon McClanahan aka Raider Jon  |   Saturday, September 05, 2009  |  Comments( 37 )

Oakland Raiders
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Today will be the final day for some players as Oakland Raiders and while I'll be happy to see some of the dead weight cut, I will be equally sad to see some of them go. In this article, I am going to attempt to dissect a few key battles and positions - while I know some of you will not agree, this is what I think should happen.

First off - Quarterback...

Rumor has it that the Raiders will likely not hold on to veteran Jeff Garcia, as Garcia was planning on competing to be a starter and will not be content as a backup in Oakland. If the Raiders are to release Garcia, then there is a void at backup that neither Frye or Gradkowski can fill - both being questionable as 3rd stringers. If not Garcia, then who can the Raiders get to play #2 behind Russell? They missed out on Michael Vick, and I don't think I want to trade with the Vikings for Tavaris Jackson. I personally think the Raiders should try to hold on to Garcia and if Russell shows an inability to lead the team, then the Raiders should put him on the bench like the Titans have done Vince Young. As for our #3 QB - neither of them are someone I want to see running onto the field. There is upside to Gradkowski in that he gives the defenses a more accurate depiction of upcoming opponents, but if I were to be a player - wide reciever imparticular - I'd rather have a Charlie Frye pass being thrown to me. Fact is though - he'll not likely be throwing and Gradkowski will help the team more down the road. Case settled, right?

O-Line

Samson Setele will have a spot on the roster - backing up Chris Morris. No real surprises here... cut loose James Marten, John Wade, Seth Wand and Mark Wilson.

D-Backs

Cut Bowie, J. Miller , Hawkens, Brown and Boyd. We would need to pick up a CB somewhere to provide us with a viable backup.

D-Line

Though the way teams have steamrolled the Raiders with their run game, you'd think that the Raiders should consider trading the whole bunch off. However, the starting lineup here looks to be one of the strongest spots on the team and when all starters are playing and healthy, I believe we will see a different story once the season begins. Ellis, Warren, and Kelly are beast. Two players that may not be a part of this final roster are Terdell Sands and Greyson Gunheim. Sands has not done anything worthy of the pay Mr. Davis gave him and Gunheim has just never developed into anything.

Linebackers

Ricky Brown, Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, Jon Alston, Isaiah Ekijiuba, and rookie Slade Norris... Cut the rest!!

Wide Recievers

Keepers: Chaz Schilens, Javon Walker, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, Johnny Lee Higgins, Nick Miller (Got rid of Justin, so Nick will be the KR and JLH will handle PR).

and lastly ... the Running Backs

Darren McFadden should easily get the #1 role

Michael Bush should easily be #2 - he had a lot of really nice looking carries, a few negated by stupid penalties. He looks like he'll be special.

Controversy arises... Justin Fargas needs to be let go. He's such a great asset to the Raiders but he only scored 1 touchdown last season and only 4 the year before when he was the hero of the franchise because he ran for over 1,000 yards? The same year Lamont Jordan rushed for 3 touchdowns with near 80 less carries on the year. What good is a running back that can not find paydirt?

Let Fargas go and keep Russel and Rankin.

If the Raiders are to get back to winning, the ball has to be put in the hands of playmakers... not players. Al's choices have never been much more than the latter and it's time for a new era in Oakland.
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