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Darren McFadden finds himself in a difficult position. He is on the brink of being a bust. He still possesses extreme talent, but will be competing for the lead back roll with Michael Bush. While McFadden’s sidekick at Arkansas, Felix Jones, is finding success in Dallas, McFadden has struggled staying healthy and with effectiveness. The concern about McFadden coming out was that his legs went dead on contact and fumbling, and he has done little to change that in his two seasons with the Raiders. Far more concerning is McFadden looks for contact. With durability concerns, tremendous speed, trouble with ball security and legs that go dead on contact, he should probably attempt to avoid some of the pounding and attempt to outrun linebackers to the corner. Michael Bush has a different problem to overcome. When given consistent work, he has proven he can carry the load averaging 4.6 yards per carry. The problem has been consistent work. However, consistent work isn’t the fault of coach...

Why haven’t the Raiders signed guys like Kevin Mawae or Keith Bulluck? Is Sanjay Lal qualified to be the receivers coach for the Raiders? Kevin Mawae In the Raiders specific case, there is no collusion going on to keep the NFLPA President from wearing silver and black. Kevin Mawae’s skills have significantly degraded over the past few seasons. Mawae is smart, he will make the correct line calls, but his physical tools have started to fail him. While a still a decent pass protector, he wasn’t effective run blocking for the Titans. The Titans had a good run game in 2009, but if Mawae was pivotal to the Titans run game they would have re-signed him. Profootballfocus.com ranks Mawae the league’s worst run blocking center. Mawae also has never played in the zone blocking system, so he would be starting in a new system at an advanced age. In short, the perceived value of Mawae is higher than his actual return. Keith Bulluck The lack of interest in Keith Bulluck can be attributed ...

Al Davis and the coaching staff face harder cuts this offseason as they attempt to improve the 53-man roster. Below is a projection of the roster locks and bubble players: Comment here, on Twitter or on  Facebook . QUARTERBACKS (4, will keep 3) Locks: Jason Campbell, Bruce Gradkowski Bubble: Kyle Boller , Charlie Frye RUNNING BACKS (8, will keep 5 or 6) Locks: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush Bubble: Marcel Reece, Rock Cartwright, Michael Bennett, Luke Lawton, Manase Tonga, Chane Moline WIDE RECEIVERS (12, will keep 5 or 6) Locks: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, Jacoby Ford Bubble: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Todd Watkins, Jonathan Holland, Nick Miller, Yamon Figurs, Shaun Bodiford, Paul Hubbard, Damola Adeniji TIGHT ENDS (4, will keep 3) Locks: Zach Miller, Brandon Meyers Bubble: Tony Stewart, John Owens OFFENSIVE LINE (15 will keep between 9 or 10) Locks: Mario Henderson, Langston Walker, Khalif Barnes, Bruce Campbell, Jared Veldheer, Robert Gallery, Samson ...

There is no media access until training camp, but by NFL standards, the Raiders have had a good offseason. By recent Raiders standards it was a great offseason. If you had to guess what items were on Tom Cable’s checklist going into the offseason, it might look something like this: 1) Cut JaMarcus Russell - Check 2) Find a quality QB – Check (Jason Campbell) 3) Improve the run defense – Check, Check, Check (Rolando McClain, Lamarr Houston, John Henderson) 4) Fix the return game – Check (Jacoby Ford, Yamon Figurs, anyone not named Gary Russell) 5) Improve the offensive line – Check minus (Veldheer, Campbell, etc) Grading this checklist today, Cable gets 90 percent and an A-. Grading this checklist after training camp, it might look a little different. Grading this checklist after eight games, it might look very different. Grading this checklist after the season, it might look extremely different. It is understandable that the fans are excited. Fans that have had so little to cheer for t...

According to Adam Schefter, the Raiders have signed former Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson. Henderson is likely to be in the rotation, but don't be surprised if he plays behind Desmond Bryant. Good veteran defensive tackles are very underrated commodities. Keeping those big guys fresh is probably the most important thing for a football team. Henderson is likely to play the 1-technique spot. If you are confused as to what that means here is a good breakdown of the defensive line positions. zero technique - would mean a nose tackle aligned nose-to-nose with a center. 1 technique - lined up in the middle of the A gap. 2 technique - nose-to-nose with the offensive guard. 3 technique - lined up in the middle of the B gap or outside shade of the guard. He is responsible for maintaining outside leverage and not letting himself get hook or reached blocked by the offense. 4 technique - lined up nose-to-nose with the offensive tackle. 5 technique - the defensive lineman had his nose ...