New Raider D Line Coach Mike Waufle 

New D line coach Mike Waufle will join the Raiders prompting some to speculate Tom Cable will be the head coach at the start of the 2010 season.

Waufle and Cable worked together at Cal for six years.

The Raiders party line states "Mike has an outstanding record of success as a defensive line coach and has participate in Super bowls with the Raiders and Giants."

A former Marine, Waufle was an assistant for the Raider from 1998 to 2003 and coached the Giants D line that dominated the heavily favored New England Patriots in New Yorks Super Bowl upset.

Those are the highlights but Waufle’s career hasn’t been quite as sunny especially of late.

After the Giants went 8-8 last year co-owner John mara sent heads rolling including Waufle who’s lack of defensive line production was cited as one of the biggest failures of the team.

The Giants D was 30^th in the NFL in 2009 giving up a whopping 427 points, 85 of them coming in the final two games.

Opponents scored at least 40 points in five of their wins over the Giants, the first time thats happened since 1966.

In 2007 Waufle’s D racked up 53 sacks to lead the NFL, but have declined since to a League worst 32 in 2009.

Injuries and under production hurt their cause as well with DE Justin Tuck playing most of the year with an injured shoulder.

Among the FA agent flops Chris Canty hobbled by hamstring, knee and calf issues and former Seahawk lineman Rocky Bernard contributing little.

His fellow linemen Fred Robbins and Barry Coefeild were slowed by knee surgeries prior to the season as was DE Osi Umenyiora.

Whether it was injuries or not that kept Waufle’s D from generating pressure Oakland fans will find out soon enough once the 2010 season starts.

In April 2007 I  was blasted for stating the Raiders might be wary of taking another 1st round QB after the Marinovich ordeal, but heading into season three with Jamarcus Russell on the bench and on the bubble, those prognostications may, unfortunately, have had some validity. 

Let it be stated that no one has even hinted at a drug problem with Jamarcus Russell.

The same couldn’t be said for former Raider QB Todd Marinovich.

Though they’d rather not, many Raider fans remember "Robo quarterback" Todd Marinovich and his Draconian father who had his son lifting weights before he could walk, immersing him from infancy in an athletic regimen designed to mold the perfect quarterback. A regimen that would've made the Nazi’s proud.

Thats not an exageration.

Todd’s father Marv was a 2 way lineman for USC’s 1962 championship season and was even a team captain who was ejected from the Rose bowl for fighting.

After college the elder Marinovich studied Eastern bloc training methods, whether he used them on the Raiders of the day is unclear, but he did work for a time as one of the first strength and conditioning coaches Al Davis and Oakland ever hired.

Later, Marinovich used his son as a guinea pig at his athletic research center. Even before birth the "Todd"ler was being trained as his mother was placed on a restrictive diet including no salt, sugar, tobacco and alcohol. (Don’t laugh, things were different back then.)

Todd of course cracked and absent a social life as a child sought one once he decided to emmulate his fathers example and attending USC.

Joining existing family at Southern Cal, he continued to smoke pot and party, a  habit that started in highschool after his parents divorce and only increased with the pressures of the college stage.

 A stage the young athlete would be thrust upon with a leg injury to Trojan starting QB Pat O’Hara forced Marinovich to be the first red shirt freshman to QB the squad since World War II.

After a rocky opener Todd led SC to a 9-2-1 season capped by a win at the Rose Bowl.

Accolades followed, but the next season, off field pressures were beginning to show, culminating in an embarrassing blow up at his coach during a nationally televised game and an arrest for cocaine possession a month later.

After his sophomore red shirt year, he decided to declare for the NFL draft and became a millionaire courtesy of the 1991 1^st round (24^th overall) draft pick of the Los Angeles Raiders.

Russell on the other hand had a solid high school and college career solidly planting himself in the top 5 of all LSU quarterbacks in all but one of the major categories.

Born and raised by a mother who was a law firm secretary and a machinist father, Russell flourished in high school athletics under his coach Bobby Parrish and excelled in football basket ball and track.

Russell’s struggles thus far seem to be more with his weight and work ethic as far as we know at this point and again, nothing has been mentioned or hinted at that Russell has any kind of substance abuse problems, unless you consider cheese burgers a class A scheduled drug.

Marinovich’s drug abuse problems were no laughing matter.

After his coke bust Marinovich was forced to take frequent urine tests but refused to give up pot so he rigged an elaborate, but simplistic way of using "clean" urine for his tests and failing that began using LSD as an after game come down.

After failing another UA in pre season, Marinovich was let go before the 3^rd season of his 3 yr $2.5 million dollar contract was up.

Russell seems to have survived his season 3 but many fans feel there is serious consideration of cutting the former #1 over all draft pick.

First of all, Russell was #1 overall not 24^th in the draft and secondly, the Raiders lost out on maybe a few million with the Todd and would stand to lose considerably more if Russell were announced a complete bust. Play, go or stay, Russell is likely guaranteed $31 million dollars.

                                                                       QB Jamarcus Russell

One thing they do have in common besides being drafted by Al Davis is a curious dispassion for the game of football once they arrived in Oakland.

Marinovich’s problems seemed to stem from a troubled, over structured upbringing. Russell’s NFL woes and immaturity are harder to explain away.

In all fairness Russell has had coaching and system changes in addition to a very weak receiving corps and spotty pass protection from an often broken and under talented o line, but thats no excuse for his oft questioned work ethic.

Both players seem to have a maturity problem but as long as Russell doesn’t start taking drugs in the off season he’ll likely be given a chance at redemption if not because he’s shown growth, then just because Oakland doesn’t want to wash away $31 million with out at least saying they tried.

Marinovich and Russell are worlds apart on some issues like upbringing, salary and substance abuse, but both lack a certain maturity that makes the Raiders "inmates in charge of the asylum" system not the most condusive place for a struggling young man to find discipline.

Can Russell do it? Fans hope so.

We'll know more when mini camps start.

If not, he may go the way of Marinovich. A promising 1st round draft prospect at quarterback who lacked the drive and focus to succeed for the silver and black.

Photo Gene J. Puskar / AP

                                                                                             WR Chaz Schilens

Sundays wins vs the Steelers showed something Oakland has lacked since the Rich Gannon era.

A passing game.

Thanks in large part to Raider receivers the silver and black finished off the slumping Steelers.

The Wides

Chaz Schilens

The 6-4, 225 lb wide out dropped a few balls, but they weren’t of consequence. He made ones that counted like yesterdays touchdown.

Schilens is what analyst Mike Mayock calls a "quick twitch athlete" in that Schilens is extremely quick to his feet after going to the ground. Extremely valuable for getting those precious extra yards after digging out an under thrown or tight catch. Something he’ll need with the Raiders.

3 catches, 45 yds 1 TD

                                 

Louis Murphy

Murphy finally came into his own and finally wasn’t robbed by replays, refs or fellow Raiders.

He arrived on a 75 yd touchdown strike over the middle.

The former Florida Gator made 2 catches on the last drive and sealed the Steelers fate with 9 seconds on the clock, breaking loose in the end zone for the go ahead TD.

4 catches, 128 yds, 2 TDs

Photo Keith Srakocic / AP

                                                                                     WR /KR Johnnie Lee Higgins

Johnnie Lee Higgins

Higgins dropped some passes and got knocked out by a Steelers DB on a play that saw an unnecessary roughness flag and set up Oakland at the Pittsburgh 11 with :21 seconds left in regulation.

Though he got clobbered, it was Higgins best performance of the year filling in for this years 7^th overall pick Darius Heyward Bey who hurt his foot at Fridays practice.

4 catches , 63 yds

Photo Gene J. Puskar

                                                                                                WR Todd Watkins

Todd Watkins

Watkins drew daggers from Gradkowski after a holding penalty negated a nifty 1^st down run by the scrambling QB, but redeemed himself with a 12 yd grab on third down that kept a drive alive after the 2 minute warning.

He did try to snag a late game TD only to have the spectacular grab in traffic swatted away by a super human play by the Steelers FS Ryan Clark.

1 catch, 12 yds

Oaklands wide outs still had trouble catching the ball on occasion, displaying horrible and lazy technique when trying to snag the ball.

Too often Raider wides drop passes that hit them in the hands or because of bad technique, ricochet off their breast plates.

Against the Steelers however, they made more grabs then they have all year and when it counted.

Tight Ends

Zach Miller

6-5, 255 lb Miller’s the real deal and with Oaklands wides forcing Pittsburghs Troyless secondary to play honest, the sure handed TE finally had a good game through the air.

The former Arizona Sundevil did draw a flag for holding, but more than made up for it with solid blocking and chain moving grabs.

4 catches, 43 yds

Tony Stewart

Stewart contributes on special teams occasionally and is the teams player rep, but his blocking and receiving wouldn’t keep him on any other team. Raider fans in the know look to rookie Brandon Myers next year. Myer had a good camp and then disappeared but made a good hustle play down field on special teams yesterday corralling a break away kick returner.

Oakland hopes he can contribute next year as a starter for the Raiders oft rumored 2 tight end sets.

Early indications are, he may be the next Zach Miller.

Till then its, Tony Stewart.

2 catches, 4 yds

Oaklands non existent passing game finally sprang to life and propelled them to victory over the sliding Steelers.

Relief QB Bruce Gradkowski’s as much to thank for that as Oaklands wides, but they played with more conviction and actually held onto the ball for a change and it made all the difference.

Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez

                                                                                            QB Bruce Gradkowski

Player performance review:

The QB 

Bruce Gradkowski:

Showed this Oakland team IS good enough to win if mangaged well enough. The 2nd string QB wasn't stellar and had several passes batted at the line, but made solid decisions, minimized damage and made throws when he had to including 2 scoring drives one at the half and one to cap the game.

The RBs

Michael Bush

A "starter" today Bush saw his carries limited by a selfish Cincy offense and a Raider D incapable of extricating itself from the field in the first half. Limited plays meant limited reps, but 4 carries for 27yds belie a pretty good game despite a late game fumble that could've hurt.

Darren McFadden

Again, limited action with 6 decent runs for 25 yds and 3 grabs for another 10, but he looked solid.

Justin Fargas

Fargas carried the ball 8 times for 32 yds and caught 2 to move the chains and gain 17 yds.

All three backs rotated in and out and produced with workman like authority.

The FBs

Though they blocked well enough, memo to Cable. No more dump offs to Luke Lawton.

The WRs

Schilens led all receivers with 2 catches and gained 41 yds, converting on a 4th and 10 deep in the 4th quarter that extended the game winning drive. If he can stay healthy, he's legit.

Rookie Louis Murphy caught only one ball but he turned it into a game tying score with less then a minute to play. This time, finally, the call went for him.

Darius Heyward Bey arguably had the best game of the three. After dropping a simple hook, he then made a sensational tap dance sideline grab that moved  the chains.

Deep in the third Bey demonstrated veteran savy after a pressured Gradkowski aired one out his way. Bey quickly grabbed excellent CB Leon Hall's shoulder pads by the front neck hole and tugged him to the ground with him.

Result?

Defensive P.I.. First down. He'll need to do more soon, but it was clearly the rookies best performance so far.

The O Line

Oaklands offense protected Gradkowski and allowed the Raiders few running plays to gain critical yardage. They avoided huge penalties against Cincy's simplistic defense and led Raider scoring drives late in the half and at the end of the game.

Kudos.

                              

The Defense

Safeties

It looked like it was going to be a long day after Carson palmer and Chad Ocho Cinco connected several times on scoring drives early, but heads up play not only aggresively stuffed the run, it made good plays in coverage.

FS Michael Huff

Huff looks good ranging in coverage and hustled down field to make a TD saving tackle after a 61 yd break away at 9:54 in the 3rd quarter by Bengal rookie RB Bernard Scott. He's got a long way to go to live up to his lofty draft status, but he's on the right track.

SS Tyvon Branch

One of his best games, aggressively stuffing the run at the LOS, making text book tackles for a loss behind the LOS and playing solid coverage in the secondary, the 2nd year U Conn speedster finished with 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

What has been a weak spot since the death of Stacy Toran, seems to suddenly have some depth.

Branch forced Carson Palmer's fumble on a very effective blitz early in the game and applied pressure several times more through out.

SS Mike Mitchell

Mitchell's yet to make huge plays, but is quietly making a very good showing epspecially against the run and on special teams.

The CBs

CB Nnamdi Asomugha 

Nnamdi's in a class by himself. Ocho Cinco showed him a thing or two in man coverage at the start of the game, but Nnamdi prevailed in the end, sealing the game with a pick and making sveral great tackles including blowing up running plays behind the LOS.

CB Chris Johnson

Though he's been picked on, his coverage has gotten tighter and every catch made against him is contested. Over ran a tackle that helped spring that 61 yd run, but made more then enough solid plays to make up for it.

CB Stanford Routt

Made a bone headed play on 3rd and 6 at the Raider 6. Deep in the 3rd quarter, Routt led with his helmet on a DB blitz catching Palmer in the teeth and drawing a flag that gave Cincy a 1st and goal. Atoned after 2 run stuff by blitzing again and this time stuffing Palmer for an 18 yd loss and a missed scoring opportunity after their 37yd field goal attempt went wide right.

The LBs

MLB Kirk Morrison

 Morrison was out of place less and the defense communicated more aiding in one of their most disciplined and therefore best efforts despite several big plays. In recent history, the Raiders D has folded after giving up big plays or having bad calls againsthem. Not today and the result was a win.

OLB Thomas Howard

Makes great plays behind the LOS and in coverage. Period.

OLB Sam Williams

Getting the nod afterit was announced LB Ricky Brown is done for the remainder, Williams had clearly his best game as a pro, making big tackles for a loss and turning in a very good performance, especially against the run.

Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez

                                                                                                           DE Greg Ellis

The D line     

DE Jay Richardson

Played the game of his life, chasing down ball carriers and making plays all over the field, applying pressure to the QB and snuffing the run. Impressive.

DE Greg Ellis

Ellis had some surgery to his knee and shoulder recently, but returned with a vengeance, looking faster than former team mate Derrick Burgess in his get off the line and making a huge sack deep in Bengal territory that forced a punt late and giving Oakland great field position. Th 6-6, 265 lb 12 yr vet finished with 3 tackles and a sack on the day.

DE Richard Seymour

Pro Bowler Seymour suffered a back injury early on and finished with out a tackle. No word, but its not expected to be serious.

DT Desmond Bryant

The Harvard grad filled in nicely having his best game as a rookie, making 3 tackles. he also forced and recovered a fumble.

DT Gerard Warren

Stats don't show it, but this was a very good game for the former 1st round draft pick.

His burst to the QB when he is motivated astounds. Delivers blows with violence, but hides it like a vet. When he's on, look out.

DT Tommy Kelly

Kelly dutifully absorbed double teams and made solid contributions with 2 tackles.

Oakland got help and great performances by its 2nd string and newbies today and that bodes well for its future.

They may not make the playoffs, but they may have gained valuable confidence by securing todays victory. 

                                       

The Silver and the Black

OFFENSE:

Jamarcus Russell

Russell got yanked. Cable says his last two throws were "All over the place." but the fact is, his right elbow was hit during the throwing motion.

Pulling Russell was a mistake. Russell was in a similar situation last time against the Chiefs and led the game winning drive.

Could’ve built confidence to play poorly and still win it again.

Bad coaching.

Tom Cable

Cable seems out of control especially when Oakland can’t dictate with its run game. They are incapable of making half time adjustments and other teams are. The confusion seen on the field starts on the sidelines.

Sad thing is, because of Cable’s "history of violence" he can’t even kick his under performing players in the ass.

And they desperately need it.

Bruce Gradkowski

Pulled a hammy and might not get the nod next week. Good news because despite how desperately Oakland wants him to be, he’s not better then Russell.

If anything Gradkowski’s drops and interceptions how the Raiders wides consistently make Russell look worse then he is. Gradkowski had 4 drops and 2 interceptions in one quarter of football.

Michael Bush

Bush racked up 119 yds and was the lone bright spot on the day.

Justin Fargas

Fargas actually score in the red zone on the opening drive. Its plain to see why Cable and Davis like Fargas because he runs every down as hard as he can. If the other two did the same Oakland would lead the League in rushing or at least be at the top.

Not this year.

Darren McFadden

Ineffectual. Flirting with bust status.

What a huge, huge disappointment so far. Bigger than Russell.

Louis Murphy

Murphy needed a lot of polish and thats one of the reasons he fell to the 4^th round of this years draft. If refs didn’t fuck him on so many of his big plays Oakland would have more wins, but the mercurial baller drops too many passes and makes "rookie" mistakes at least once every game.

Darius Heyward Bey

Catches like a spastic child with no depth perception. Sadly, so sadly, thats not an exaggeration. He needs professional help rookie WR coach SanJay Lal seems unable to provide.

He may go on to be a weapon, but judging on how poorly Russell, McFadden and hell, even Gallery have done, it might take an act of god.

Johnnie Lee Higgins

Believe it or not, he was the worst offender of the day. He continued his insane lack of common sense and looked lost misjudging punts and tripping all over himself. He is a disaster waiting to happen every time he blows a route or field a kick.

Pray Nick Miller is worth a damn and worth the wait.

Zach Miller

One of the best and completely negated. Part of it had to do with Oaklands success running the ball and part of that of course has to do with the fact defenses don’t even need to cover our wide receivers.

Mario Henderson

He looks like the answer to our prayers as a blind side protector. Unfortunately he plays too high in his pads on run plays and can get stacked by stronger defenders.

Robert Gallery returned from a broken leg and as the Raiders ran left early, they were dominant. KC adjusted at half time and perhaps Gallery’s cardio was spent after such a lengthy absence.

He helps Henderson be a better blocker.

Samson Satele

Played well at the center position and thats good news. It’s the most important slot in the ZBS and something we’ve been lacking. Drew a costly illegal man down field flag on 3^rd and 10. The penalty negated a 15 yd pass to Zach Miller to the Kansas City 7 and killed the drive.

Janikowski attempted a 45 yd field goal and missed with 6:01 left in the 3^rd quarter. J-kow’s first miss of the year would’ve tied the game.

Cooper Carlisle

He’s likely in his last seasons. Nothing special out of him and gets beaten out of his stance too often especially on running plays.

Cornell Green

Green’s the worst right tackle starting in the League. Missed a 2^nd level block against safety Mike Brown that would’ve seen Michael Bush with nothing but green in front of him.

Next: The Defense

Photo Tony Avelar / AP

Owner Al Davis feels his system of football works and frankly, he's right.

Davis feels it’s the coaches fault for not training, cultivating and motivating talent.

And he's right.

But where he's wrong is in assuming todays multi million dollar youngsters are interested in or capable of dedicating themselves to a profession they've already achieved financial success at.

So they play out a lucrative rookie contract and worst case, never play football again.

With a decent agent, placement and investment, he walks away at least a multi millionaire and retired before 30.

Cush.

Throw in Al Davis's unwise willingness to let boys be boys or slackers be slackers and you develop and sustain a culture of losing.

It doesn't hurt enough when they tank.

Al won't allow coaches to cut skulls and set examples, though he's queered a deal or two with legitimate talents once on his pay roll.

Its hard to believe talents like Darren McFadden and Robert Gallery could uner perform so badly at something they obviously excelled at.

Granted, the NFL is a whole other animal and high draft picks fail all the time, but the Raiders of late seem to have stunted the growth and development of some very talented players.

Not to say they haven't chosen and developed any talent, they have, just seems like they're big ticket items are woefully under performing for reasons not entirely Davis's fault, but by design, his actually, are none the less continually struggling.

Davis's penchant for athletes over footballers is sound in theory since speed and size DO matter, but as recent years have proven, they don't matter much at all if the players are unmotivated and or out of position.

How do you fix this?

Do you change the entire philosophy.

Gruden came in and mortgaged the future ala George Allen. After disastrous free agency forays, Davis has tried to rebuild through the draft, but, rebuild according to Davis's bigger, faster, stronger axiom has thus far yielded decidedly under whelming results.

Then again, how could they not?

Everyones familiar with the number of coaches and play callers the unpolished Russell contended with in his fledgling career.

McFadden’s been saddled with a patch work and worse than mid level O line and Russell’s struggling passing game which allows defenses to stuff the box regularly.

A major threat all his career in open space, McFadden is constantly fighting attackers behind his own line of scrimmage.

Now he’s gotten the injury bug and one wonders if he might not be saving him self for life after Oakland.

Wide out has been a particular bone of contention and a place for Russell to hang the blame and by "over drafting" Maryland product Darius Heyward Bey and then turning him and 4^th round starter Louis Murphy over to completely inexperienced "coach" SanJay Lal makes little to no sense.

Then again, to Davis, football is simple. Catch the ball.

Right?

Yes and no.

The nuances of creating separation, running crisper routes, hand placement, etc. etc. can make or break a young talents confidence and even career.

Poor decisions, a rigid philosophy and a tolerance for losing have combined to make and keep the Oakland Raiders the laughing stock of the NFL.

Actually, its much worse than laughing stock.

Some are actually starting to feel pity.

Still, there is hope.

Starters are slowly trickling back and everyone knows any given Sunday could be the day things finally click for this talented if at times unmotivated squad.

It can happen.

But is that likely with the old man still at the helm?

The last 6 years and performances like Sundays 38-0 drubbing by the Jets make that possibility seem remote.

Photo Mario Sanchez / AP

                                                                                           DE / DT Richard Seymour 

ESPN commentators Mike Golic and Steve Young couldn't get over it. Especially Golic who went on about how Oaklands defensive schemes hadn't been seen since "the 70s and 80s."

"Its like the throw back uniforms have them playing throwback football!"

And it was in every sense of the word. Man on man. Our guys can beat your guys.

Straight up.

Oakland dictated and physically destroyed San Diego using "out dated" old school football using execution and domination.

The Chargers tried a few times to utilize "modern" schemes against the Raiders but mostly failed because of simplistic football executed by faster, stronger athletes and were forced to play to Oaklands game time and again.

And they paid for it.

Monday was chock full of violent, brutal hitting by Oaklands D that I don't think the media can or will accept even with a laundry list of mangled San Diego starters.

RB LaDanian Tomlinson (ankle)

NT Jamal Williams (elbow)

RG Louis Vasquez (knee)

C Nick Harwick (ankle)

LT Marcus McNeil (hand / ankle)

If Oakland had posted a win with its stunning performance, Davis football (right down to the go ahead long bomb in the 4th quarter) would have officially been reborn. As it was, they lost, but if the Raiders can come out and play that way again week after week, it will be undeniable.

Sports casters are hanging their hat on the fact Oaklands been a Jekyll and Hyde. Playing well one week and falling off a cliff the next.

Warren Sapp alluded to this on HBO’s insipid and pedestrian "Inside the NFL". The Raiders have faultered after a good performance like in recent years, but what the far removed Sapp and others fail to or refuse realize is that this is not the same Oakland Raiders that they were part of destroying.

This is a new, young team with some key vets that are buying into what the old man is selling and thats personal accountability towards the team and the desire to physically impose their will.

Football IS a simple game.

Being bigger, faster and stronger than your opponent does matter even in todays modern game.

In 2009, Oakland has a chance to prove just that and to relaunch a franchise.

Will they dominate the Chiefs this Sunday or will they, like Sapp suggested, rest on their laurels from Mondays close loss and play down to the competition?

Not long ago, Sapp's barb may have been a given, but somethings brewing in Oakland. This Raider team under Coach Tom Cable did what too many recent Raider teams haven’t and thats compete.

Not only compete, but dominate a team some media types picked for this years Super Bowl.

San Diego limped away with the victory Monday night, but the Raiders may have come away with something more valuable.

          Conflicting reports ranging from the Boston Globe’s story on someone filing a grievance with the NFLPA on behalf of Seymour, to NFLN analyst and former Raider office man Mike Lombardi’s blog saying Seymour had been placed on Oaklands reserve - left squad list, to ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s blog stating Seymour is due to arrive in the Bay area some time today and will play on Monday night.

All of them could be true.

PFT.com seems to confirm Schefter’s report, quoting Seymour as saying "I’ll be the one on top of the quarterback."

Its not beyond the realm of possibility Mr. Davis finally got on the horn with Richard Seymour and told him of the great opportunity awaiting him in Raiderland.

Don’t laugh.

The media storm generated since the news something was happening has been phenomenal all things considered and has made the 6-6, 310 lb hybrid a household name for people who have no clue what the skidding Raiders have been up to.

With that kind of name recognition and some high caliber play, Seymour could land some large endorsements.

Aside from getting paid in Oakland, Seymour’s status could theoretically go up if he miraculously transforms the Raider D into a run stuffing machine and returns to the Pro Bowl.

If Seymour comes to Oakland he can rest assured Al Davis in all likely hood will open his wallet like no one else in the League if he felt Seymour could be a difference maker.

Davis has done it time and again the last few years and even if Seymour chose not to stay, he could only increase his market value by producing once in Silver and Black.

Who wouldn’t want that kind of player on their D line?

Lastly, Mr Davis likely told Seymour that if he came and played for Oakland he would have a shot at adding to the legend of Raider football.

Dimmed of late by the last few years of woe, Oaklands rich history is studded with greatness and to be able to add a new chapter, perhaps the most glorious of all, has to have some kind of appeal even in todays seemingly materialistic" money, me, now" NFL.

Sure Seymour has won Super Bowls with the Patriots, but to win one with Oakland and single handedly relaunch a Dynasty, well, that would truly be something legendary and in the end, truly priceless.

                                                                                          DE / DT Richard Seymour

When Richard Seymour finally joins the Raiders (if at all possible he’ll be on the field against the San Diego Chargers come opening night) Raider fans shouldn’t expect their D to be transformed into a run stuffing machine.

It might take a little time to adjust.

It would be tremendously impressive if Seymour showed up and instantly upgraded the Raiders run defense, but fans should expect some level of adjustment.

Weary Raider fans should abstain from vilifying the 5 time Pro Bowl defensive end if he’s not an instant upgrade.

He should be a help though.

Patience may prevail with Seymour contributing later in the season perhaps around the time OT Khalif Barnes and WR Chaz Schilens come back on line.

Unfortunately, likely after the first 3 games against division rivals.

Some wonder why Oakland wouldn’t have mentioned this trade to New England during the Derrick Burgess deal, but they were two separate issues and may have been better kept that way.

Its feasible if Oakland had done the deal back in early August, contract wrinkles would’ve likely had time to be ironed out, but as it is, things may be happening very fast for the Seymour household and for his agent Eugene Parker who yes, represents 2009 draftee hold out Michael Crabtree.

He also represented Deion Sanders in 95' and though Oakland offered the most money for his Neons services, Parker saw him through to his choice of teams, the Dallas Cowboys, who agreed to a $35 million dollar contract.

That doesn’t mean a deal can’t get done and much of it may be doomsdaying by a media always hungry for an excuse to spout Oaklands win loss record since the "unpleasantness" began.

Then again, it might.

Stranger things have happened and usually in Oakland, on a public stage.

Either Davis is inept, (theres evidence on both sides), or he’s a master of keeping his Raiders relevant. Of course thats if you buy the axiom "No publicity is bad publicity."

Raider fans hope Richard Seymour shows up in Oakland and doesn’t drag them through another media circus like the beginning of last year.

Completely unsubstantiated sources out of Oakland state terms are being hammered out on a 3 yr deal worth millions in the double digits. Its also claimed Seymour will be on a plane Thursday bound for the Bay.

The Seymour deal could be just what Oalands D was looking for or it could be an implosion that could tarnish yet another season.

You just never know.

And thats seemingly, thats just the way Al likes it.

                                                                                     DE / DT Richard Seymour

Taken 6^th overall by the Pats in the 2001 draft, Seymour has been a stalwart defensive end / defensive tackle for Super Bowl caliber teams that have dominated the decade.

And now he's an Oakland Raider.

With the trade of a questionably high 1st round draft pick in 2011 the Raiders secured the deal, but is it good one not only for Oakland, but New England as well?

The Pats walk a tight rope in dealing away Seymour, but need dollars to appease NT Vince Wilfork who’s contract looms on the horizon. With Seymour in a contract year, dealing him was likely their best option. especially for a 1st round pick.

One wonders why a deal could not have been reached during the fairly recent Derrick Burgess trade, one that might not have cost Oakland such a high draft pick.

New England under Belichick has a tradition of dealing away high profile payers like Deion Branch and Lawyer Miloy so the break with the 5 time Pro Bowl defensive end isn’t a complete shock.

Articles already have the value of the pick in the top 6 even though it’s not till 2011.

Oh ye of zero faith.

Not easy to blame them though. Oakland has given more than ample evidence of being woefully inept the past six seasons.

Adding Seymour to an obviously deficient position makes sense and looks good on paper, but can Oaklands veterans help stack the edge, stop the run allowing newbies like Trevor Scott and Matt Shaughnessy to get pressure?

Former Cowboy veteran Greg Ellis hasn’t exactly lit Oakland up and is likely one of the reasons Seymour was sought.

Its hoped Seymour will help shore Oaklands non excitant run D and make the rest of the line look better.

It’s a balancing act, juggling the veterans and newbies in the rotation and theoretically using the old times to do the grunt work and bring in young fresh legs to pressure the pocket.

Sounds feasible and frankly anythings preferable to what they’ve had in terms of stopping the run.

Some cry sour grapes and say Seymour’s best days may be behind him. He does have an injury history, but returned from off season knee surgery in 2007 to help his team make it to the Super Bowl and in 2008 started 15 games, missing only the season ender against the Bills.

Seymour brings more than rings, he brings versatility and experience. He’s played at an all pro caliber level as a DT in the 4-3 and as a 3-4 defensive end.

The 6-6 310 lb is 29 yrs old and some analysts (from ESPN) are stating the Raiders got "fleeced" by the Patriots, surmising that the Raider 1^st round pick will be the very first pick of the draft.

Raider fans certainly hope not. Seymour may have his foibles but he is far from a washed up has been. Compared to what the Raiders have had on defense in terms of stopping the run, he should be an improvement.

His play may however expose another facet of the Raiders weak running game, its line backing corps.

Time will tell if the contract year Seymour is worth his weight in run defensive gold or a declining former super star.

Again, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

                                                                                Defensive End Greg Ellis

Ellis was originally drafted by Dallas 8^th overall in the 1^st round of the 1998 NFL draft.

The former Tarheels best year as a pro came in 2004 when he posted 44 tackles, 9 sacks and a forced fumble.

Ellis began asking for more money, but was forced into a career changing switch from a 4-3 defensive end to strong side line backer in new Coach Bill Parcels 3-4 defense.

At 6-6, 280 lbs Ellis, and the Cowboys weren’t sure if he could make the leap and saw his playing time decreased over the season. His streak of 121 starts ended that year in 2006.

Ellis made it clear he wanted a commitment from the Cowboys and a significant raise in November of 06' Ellis tore his Achilles tendon and was out the rest of the year.

Despite his injury he mentored younger players and help make that years camp a success with his leadership and commitment despite the fact his continued inquiries about a better contract were rebuffed.

Dallas can hardly be blamed at this point given Ellis’s age and current injured status, bu he returned to action in week 4 of the 07' season and ended up co -leading the Cowboys with 12.5 sacks, was voted NFL comeback player of the year and made the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement.

Ellis saw his time decrease and even claimed some of his team mates would "hide" from coaches during games so Ellis could get some field time.

Ellis’s relationship grew more contentious in 08' despite the fact he was fairly productive in a smaller role snagging 28 tackles and 8 sacks, but it was clear players like DeMarcus Ware and draftees like Anthony Spencer, combined with years of contract squabbles meant Ellis’s days as a Cowboy were numbered.

Younger players and a cap savings of roughly $4.5 million saw the 12 yr vet released on June 2^nd of 2009.

Perhaps sensing the departure of their disgruntled defensive end Oakland put pen to paper and signed Ellis to a 3 yr, $10 million dollar contract on June 15^th. The deal includes $5 million guaranteed.

Oakland hopes Ellis still has what it takes on the field and in the locker room. His veteran presence and leadership are needed.

The 4 other defensive ends listed on Oaklands roster, have a combined total of 7 yrs experience.

Does Ellis have anything left in the tank? Will Oakland use him at LB in their 3-4 package? Can Ellis stay healthy and mentor his team mates by example?

Considering the lack of proven players at the position,( Greyson Gunhiem, Jay Richardson, Trevor Scott and rookie Matt Shaughnessy, have a combined total of 7 yrs experience), Oakland certainly hopes so.

In fact, with the release of Burgess to the Pats, they’re banking on it.

Photo Jack Dempsey / AP

                                                                                         RB Darren McFadden

Coach Tom Cable says we have to wait till game 3 of this years pre season for an example of how he may use all 3 Raider running backs in this years rotation, but judging by their performances and strengths demonstrated so far, heres a sneak peak.

Darren McFadden

Paramount in most peoples minds is DMC’s 40 lishious speed, but what many of them forget is he can pound the rock between the tackles and is a much more diverse weapon than just a runner.

Look for McFadden to appear as a QB and a RB in the Wild Cat and to line up out wide or in the slot.

The 6-2, 210 lb former Razor back has been working on his blocking skills too. They’re still inconsistent, but when he gets low and applies proper leverage, he blows up everyone including 300+ lb linemen.

This new found passion for protection could see him make the field as an every down back.

Michael Bush

Bush could be the surprise of 09' if utilized properly by Cable and co. He struggled last year in practices. So much Oakland wouldn’t let him on the field until later in the season or when one or both of the other backs were injured.

Bush showed he can get careless with the ball, but, he can be a diverse and powerful weapon as well.

The former Louisville bruiser has the best field vision by far of any player in the backfield and has the god given knack of slipping hits and avoiding bigger hits, often falling forward for positive yardage.

He's almost never tackled for a loss.

Photo Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images

                                                                                                  RB Michael Bush

After nearly 2 years of rehabbing a severly broken leg, Bush’s conditioning was called into question, but last year Oakland wanted to use him as a battering ram to finish off defenses late in games, sending him on repeated forays into the teeth of stacked D’s.

Bush showed that he can act as a punishing finisher, but he is far more versatile than a mere bludgeon.

Bush arguably has the best hands out of the back field and has already proven he can throw the ball too.

Though necessity brought it about last year, Bush could line up at full back again this year to give the Raiders 2 RBs on the field and a much better chance of a successful dump off to the "fullback."

Justin Fargas

Fargas’s trump card last year was his ability to pass protect. Bush and McFadden were both spotty at best.

The fact they’ve worked diligently this off season to change that is showing up already in camp and during their first pre season game against Dallas.

Fargas was the opposite of Bush and McFad in that he could protect but is not an accomplished receiver out of the back field.

His reckless, bowling ball running style sees him injured a lot and he’s not much in goal line or short yardage. But between the 20's, he can be very effective at churning out positive yards.

Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez

                                                                                        RB Justin Fargas

Used in conjunction with Bush and McFadden, his shelf life could be extended, but with his team mates progress rounding out their game, he could start to see less and less field time which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Bottom line.

McFadden can and should be used as a multi-dimensional weapon from anywhere on the field.

Though he can be used as such, Bush is much more than just a 6-1, 245 lb hammer. His diversity, awareness, obvious physical abilities and off season growth make him the one to watch.

Hopefully Cable will get creative with the 2007 4^th round draft pick coming into his own.

Fargas has been fairly reliable if unspectacular on the field, its just keeping him there thats the problem.

With DMC and Bush sharing the load, Fargas may be able to stay healthier and assist Oakland in clock eating drives and eating up yards between the 20s.

He could also give the added adavantage of giving his younger, more talented team mates a rest when needed.

He could also be asked to start games to keep them fresher in the back half of games and the season.

Does Oakland have a 3 headed monster lurking In the backfield?

Yes and no.

Yes they have 3 talented running backs, but 2 of them are so much more.