Oakland’s O-Line O-verrated

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, October 20, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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For years, critics of the Oakland Raiders have seemed to always have held one idea constant: that the Oakland Raiders have a great offensive line. However, since 1998, Oakland has had just one rusher gain over 1,000 yards on a season. One can easily argue that Oakland has lacked the luxury of star-studded backfield ever since the departure of running backs Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson. However, the blame is not to be put on the backfield-Oakland's struggles in the rushing game are a direct result of a poor offensive line.

Historically, the Raiders have never been a first-rate rushing team. Yet, dating back to the first season with Jon Gruden at the helm in 1998, Oakland has been unable to produce even the slightest signs of life on the ground: In 1998, Napoleon Kaufman was the primary rusher-gaining 921 yards on the ground. In 1999, Tyrone Wheatley took over and rushed for 936 yards. In the following season, Wheatley rushed for 1,046 yards-marking Oakland's last 1,000 yard rusher to date. In 2001 and 2002, Charlie Garner became the feature tailback and rushed respectively for 839 and 962 yards. In 2003, Wheatley and Garner split time, earning 678 and 553 yards each with 4.3 and 4.6 yards per carry averages-perhaps their most successful rushing season in eight years. Finally, in 2004, Amos Zereoue became the team leader in rushing with just 425 yards.

It is not by pure coincidence that the Oakland Raiders have seen five different primary rushers in eight years and not a single back has been able to find a consistency rushing behind the Oakland front five. This season, LaMont Jordan is being plagued by the same difficulties that Oakland seems to bestow on all of their rushers. Through five games this season, Jordan has rushed for over 70 yards only one time.

Yet again, Oakland is on pace to produce another sub-1,000 yard running back. With the 62 yards per game average that Jordan currently holds, Jordan will fall short of 1,000 yards by eight yards. The problem is that he is playing in an NFL era where just 1,000 yards in a season will only earn you about the 20th spot on the seasonal NFL rushing list.

Oakland does not need another change at the running back position-they need a transformation in the play of their entire offensive line.
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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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