The deep and shallow ends in Oakland (defense)

By Anthony Carroll  |   Friday, June 23, 2006  |  Comments( 10 )

Oakland Raiders
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After exploring Oakland's deepest and shallowest offensive positions yesterday, let's take a look at the defensive side of the ball.

The deep end

Cornerback: Oakland spent their first two draft picks in 2005 on two cornerbacks, grabbing Fabian Washington and Stanford Routt in rounds one and two, respectively. Additionally, in 2003, starter Nnamdi Asomugha was selected out of California via the first round. Together, the trio of first and second round draft choices forms a solid base of potential in the secondary. Along with the offseason acquisitions of 34-year-old Tyrone Poole and 32-year-old Duane Starks, Oakland's roster runs rampant with playable options. Throw special teams standout, Chris Carr, into the mix and Oakland should look no further at cornerback.

Linebacker: Last season, Oakland was digging for players to line up at linebacker. This offseason, the task will be to pick out the best options from a fairly intriguing pool of players. 29-year-old Danny Clark has posted two straight 100-tackle seasons with the Silver and Black, while first-year standout, Kirk Morrison, tallied 116 takedowns in '05. In April, Oakland went out and drafted two more options to fill in for 2006. From UTEP, Thomas Howard was picked out of the second round, while USC playmaker, Darnell Bing, became a Raider early in the fourth round. Furthermore, on May 5th, four-year veteran Robert Thomas was acquired. Thomas last saw playing time with the Green Bay Packers, posting 41 tackles and an interception with the NFC team last season. Recovering from yet another injury is 25-year-old Sam Williams, while 2005 late-rounder, Ryan Riddle, also anxiously lurks in the shadows. With two proven starters and an overabundance of anxious helmet-fillers at linebacker, Rob Ryan should have no trouble finding a set of fresh playmakers for the 2006 campaign.

Middle ground

Defensive end: Derrick Burgess, in his first year with the Raiders, amassed a league-leading 16 sacks coming off the end last season. With their second first-round draft slot in 2003, Al Davis chose Colorado standout, Tyler Brayton. As a rookie end in the NFL, Brayton contributed solidly for Oakland up front, posting 61 tackles and 2.5 sacks. After two straight seasons out of position, Brayton will be returning to the line, where his production will most likely be felt. Also on the roster are veterans Bobby Hamilton and Lance Johnstone, who together have suited up for five different NFL organizations in their 21 years on the line, racking up 814 total tackles. With four-year veteran, Grant Irons, also likely returning to the line, and Tommy Kelly able to shift in and out, the Silver and Black have plenty of options to fill the two end slots up front.

Safety: With the seventh overall selection in the 2006 draft, the Raiders selected Michael Huff out of Texas. Huff--playing to full potential--should hold down a safety spot for years to come in Oakland. Expected to work alongside No. 24 is 25-year-old Stuart Schweigert, who has posted 139 tackles in two years with Oakland, starting one year. Fan-favorite, Jarrod Cooper, also tops the list of viable options at safety, while five-season underperformer, Derrick Gibson, undertook a hefty pay cut to remain on Oakland's roster. Together, the four defensemen craft a mediocre crew of safeties; however, if Huff plays up to his towering potential and Schweigert shapes up in the takedown department, Oakland will be just fine in 2006.

The shallow end

Defensive tackle: Like the running back position, there are plenty of options on the roster; however, plenty of the options are less than apt replacements. Warren Sapp, who is attempting a full recovery from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for six games in 2005, is Oakland's most proven plug up front. Beyond Sapp sits 300-pound Tommy Kelly, who has played both at tackle and end for the Raiders over the past two seasons. 2005 sixth-rounder, Anttaj Hawthorne just completed a long, title-winning season with the Frankfurt Galaxy, while 27-year-old Rashad Moore recently joined Oakland from Seattle, inking a $460,000 salary. Lastly, 26-year-old Terdell Sands possesses both the size and athleticism to make plays up front in 2006. However, for the past three seasons in black, Sands has remained all but absent from the defensive plan. Again, many options at the inner-front of Oakland's defense are present; however, for such a vital defensive role, far too many of the options are surrounded by an array of question marks.

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Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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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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