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The Raiders aren't making much noise in free agency and will attempt to build through the draft. Missing are five of their original seven draft selections and in their place are five players that may contribute in 2012. A couple more selections may be awarded as compensatory selections, but that is yet to be determined. What is the best case and worse case scenarios for the Raiders' 2012 draft? Not only does it depend on the players they draft, but how many they draft and how the players perform they obtained for those picks.   1st Round: Carson Palmer Hue Jackson orchestrated a trade that brought Palmer to Oakland. It was too much to give up, but what's done is done. The Raiders have their franchise quarterback, right? That's the hope. The new regime is hitching their wagon to Palmer and putting a new offense around him. There wasn't many other options for the Raiders. Best Case:  Palmer, with an offseason with the receivers and studying the offense, turns in a pro...

Prediction 1: Matt Shaughnessy will have 10 sacks or more. Result: Shaughnessy played in three games registering 1 sack. There is no way of knowing is Shaughnessy would have made it to 10 sacks and the three games was too small of a sample to project out a full season. 0 for 1. Prediction 2:   Taiwan Jones will have at least two touchdowns longer than 70 yards. Result: Jones also had an injury that derailed what could have been a promising start to his young career. No dice. 0 for 2. Prediction 3: Darren McFadden will have 2000 total yards from scrimmage. Result: Yet again injury hurts he possibility of the bold prediction coming true. McFadden had 768 total yards from scrimmage in seven games. Projecting McFadden's season over 16 games means he falls short at 1751 total yards. 0 for 3. Prediction 4: Darrius Heyward-Bey will catch twice as many passes as he did last year. Result: Twice as many? That wasn't enough for DHB who caught more than twice as many passes and it w...

What can you expect of the Raiders this season? More on that in the season preview later this week. This is about bold predictions. We will revist them at the end of the season and see how we did. I try to keep this as positive as possible so this is going to have a homer-like vibe to it. Just know, this is bold predictions. Hitting on 1/3 of them is probably an excellent hit rate, like baseball. 1. Matt Shaughnessy will have 10 sacks or more. 2. Taiwan Jones will have at least two touchdowns longer than 70 yards. 3. Darren McFadden will have 2000 total yards from scrimmage. 4. Darrius Heyward-Bey will catch twice as many passes as he did last year. 5. Jason Campbell will have 3000+ yards passing and 20 touchdowns. 6. Denarius Moore will return two punts for touchdowns. 7. Jacoby Ford will return two kicks for touchdowns (despite the new rules). 8. Michael Bush will rush for just 500 yards....but with 10 touchdowns. 9. The Raiders will have a top 5 offense and lead the league in rushin...

Remember the dumb brother from the movie "Corky Romano"? Trying to order rum raisin nut, rocky road, then pistachio. The guy keeps telling him we only have the three flavors on the sign; Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry. That's what Hue Jackson has served us this pre-season, a big cup of vanilla-flavored offense. Which is perfectly fine, he gets to see what the players can execute and at the same time doesn't expose too much to other teams. Insert one Chuck Bresnahan. The old/new defensive coordinator re-hired by Al Davis in the off-season. When he was initially brought in his role on the staff was not given, was he the linebackers coach? This leads one to believe Al had someone else in mind that he wasn't able to land for the position of defensive coordinator. So after a week or so the Raiders quietly named Chuck the coordinator and everyone said "oh....". Bresnahan went into this preseason with a defense who just lost its biggest name, Nnamdi Asomugha. H...

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Michael Huff agreed to terms with the Raiders. Was Tyvon Branch not a fit at free safety or was it Michael Mitchell not ready to be the starter on the strong side? The Raiders 2010 secondary remains intact less Nnamdi Asomugha. The Raiders went 1-1 without Asomugha in 2010. The secondary should continue to be strong in 2011 with the additions of rookies Demarcus Van Dyke and Chimdi Chekwa at cornerback. Huff's versatility is perhaps his best trait as he can also help out at cornerback when needed. Next up, Zach Miller, but he must wait for Kamerion Wimbley to sign his long-term extension.

The Raiders took the field for the first time in 2011. Missing were key free agents Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller and Michael Huff and restricted free agents Michael Bush and Marcel Reece. Missing also were the slow tempo learning-intensive practices deployed by Hue Jackson's predecessor Tom Cable. Training Camp Report Hue Jackson is taking a different approach. Jackson's practice was high tempo and he wants it even faster. With practices shortened an an abbreviated offseason, Jackson must install the playbook in significantly less time. Higher tempo means more learning in less amount of time. It's simple, the Raiders should have high tempo practices to get as much done as possible before the season. Stefen Wisniewski probably had the most interesting media session when he mentioned the new playbook. He mentioned how the Raiders are going to use a lot of misdirection and motion to utilize the Raiders excellent offensive speed. It's something worth keeping your eye on. -...

The NFL and NFLPA agreed to a labor deal today, meaning there will be football in 2011 and no regular or preseason games will be missed. Training camp will begin Wednesday. Camp and free agency will be simultaneous and abbreviated. Zach Miller will be the Raiders top priority in free agency. With the Raiders sitting roughly $5 million over the proposed new salary cap this could be harder than previously believed. Based on the new rules, teams would be able to use a one-time veteran exemption up to $3 million and can also borrower $3 million against the 2012 salary cap. The details aren't fully known on how this all works yet. Any cap savings that can be saved by releasing players would likely happen on the first day of the new league year to clear room for Miller and hopefully a veteran offensive guard. That could be as early as this afternoon. The Raiders manage the cap in such a way that they never have a problem landing a big free agent. However, the Raiders often find themselve...

It's natural for fans to get excited about football players . The fan DNA is encoded to cheer and root for athletes we could only dream of being. It can be dangerous when fans get carried away and before we know it a rookie receiver becomes a savior. It's not negative to point out what players are having unrealistic expectations placed on them. This list isn't to say the player is not good or to thrash on them. Rather it is like hitting the reset button because you have been playing Madden on rookie for too long. The coaching staff is also having to work with a short training camp and no mini-camp. It wouldn't be surprising to see many young players have their professional growth stunted by the abbreviated offseason. So what players are overrated?   Nnamdi Asomugha He isn't likely to be a Raider in 2011, but this might be the last opportunity to point out the fans that the Raiders will not be significantly worse in the secondary without Asomugha. Even the best corne...

After crunching a few numbers, making a few educated estimations, and updating some old salary cap data one thing is clear: The Raiders can't afford Nnamdi Asomugha. The Raiders may only be able to afford Zach Miller or Michael Huff, and not both. If the Salary Cap were in place in 2010, the Raiders total salary cap figure would have been $132 million. As of  January 13, the Raiders cap figure for 2011 was $85.8 million. This was prior to new deals for Stanford Routt, Richard Seymour as well as the franchise tender given to Kamerion Wimbley. Based upon my calculations, the Raiders figure is between $118 million and $130 million for 2011. The two methods deployed to come up with this range were using the $85.8 and adding the money committed in contracts after January 13. The second was utilizing the contracts page on Rotoworld.com and compensating for any guarantees the player may have. Obviously both methods are flawed which is why the range is so large. $12 million could be the...

The Raiders had a renaissance of sorts in 2010. A stellar draft class helped propel them to an 8-8 record and the first non-losing season since 2002. The draft is nearly a national holiday for NFL fans, but for the Raider Nation it has become the national day of prayer. Praying and hoping Al Davis doesn't do something completely crazy. Recent examples include drafting a quarterback with questionable work ethic and giving him $30 million guaranteed and drafting a raw and unproven receiver with questionable hands with the seventh overall selection. It is Al Davis who calls all the shots on draft picks and his recent track record in recent years suggested the man may have lost touch with the modern NFL. Then came 2010, with what appears to be a great haul of picks including Rolando McClain, Lamarr Houston and Jacoby Ford. The Raiders also used picks to acquire Kamerion Wimbley and Jason Campbell. Coach Davis, as new head coach Hue Jackson calls him, has just one glaring team need and ...

Revisiting 20 early predictions from last May. How did I do? I said then I was as steadfast as a politician making campaign promises. I only changed one before the season began (projected win total). Lets take a look. 1. The quarterback depth chart will be Jason Campbell, Bruce Gradkowski, JaMarcus Russell barring injury. 2/3 right? 1/2 right? It was 2/3 correct when the season started. Conservatively, 1/2 right. Who cares about the 3rd QB? Score: 0.5 2. The Raiders will win nine games or more. Close, but no cigar. I later amended this prediction to eight games, but I have to stick with my May prediction here. Score: 0 3. Darren McFadden will have 1500 all-purpose yards Nailed it. (Jack Black voice) Score: 1 4. The offensive line will continue to be Achilles Heel of the team. Debatable? Not in my mind. Score: 1 5. The Raiders will have a top ten defense. By yards, the Raiders ranked 11th. Again, I was very close. No credit for being close. Score: 0 6. The Raiders will have a top 15 run...

Stanford Routt received a new contract for $31 million over three years with about $10 per year over the first two years. Richard Seymour will be paid in the $12-15 million per year range for the next two years. Kamerion Wimbley will receive a one-year franchise tender around $10 million. Throw in $8 million to John Henderson and a ham sandwich for Rock Cartwright and you have about $80 million worth of spending on players. $80 million is a lot of money in a normal NFL off season, but it is even more considering the uncertainty surrounding the CBA. There are still free agents to be signed too. Nnamdi Asomugha, Michael Bush, Zach Miller, Michael Huff and Robert Gallery are all potentials. While the Routt contract would seemingly indicate the end of the Nnamdi Asomugha era, don't be surprised if Al Davis continues to open his wallet for his players, including Asomugha. Signing players before a new CBA is signed is risky business. The market for players could completely...

The Oakland Raiders have found their next head coach. Hue Jackson will lead the Raiders into the 2011 season, if there is one. The move was expected for the better part of two weeks. The San Francisco Chronicle felt confident enough to report that Jackson had the job 13 days ago. It wasn't really the hire of Hue Jackson that the fans have been waiting to hear. Nnamdi Asomugha commented that the only way letting Tom Cable go made sense was to elevate Jackson. It was apparent to just about everyone. Who are the coaches who will coach under Jackson? That's what everyone really wants to know. Who will be the offensive and defensive coordinators? The new offensive coordinator will be Al Saunders, who has interviewed many times with Al Davis to be head coach. Saunders worked closely with Cam Cameron in Baltimore to develop offensive game plans in 2009 and 2010. Philosophically Saunders is a passing coordinator who is a member of the Don Coryell coaching tree. He worked under Ma...

Is Nnamdi Asomugha worth $16.875 million? When Al Davis signed Asomugha to an unprecedented three-year contract it contained simple language that voided it after two years if Asomugha didn't meet not-likely-to-be-earned incentives. Don't be confused by the name, these incentives weren't that hard to attain. If Asomugha had played in a greater number of defensive snaps in 2010, the contract would not have been voided automatically. Asomugha played in 14 games in 2010 as opposed to the 16 games he played in 2009. There was another way for Asomugha to earn his incentives: record one sack or one forced fumble or two interceptions. Each would have been one more than he recorded in 2009. He recorded zero in all these categories. The Raiders have paid Asomugha handsomely over the past three seasons and for little statistical achievement. The only why to compare the impact Asomugha has is to compare the passing yards the team allows when Asomugha isn't playing, but two games is...

The looming question headed into the off season is if Tom Cable will be retained as head coach. Cable's contract expires January 18 unless owner Al Davis picks up a one-year, $2.5 million-dollar option. That means Al Davis will have a couple weeks to evaluate his team and its performance this season. Davis convinces himself every year that his team is primed for a Super Bowl run. This is why there is a vast difference between 7-9 and 8-8 in the eyes of Davis. At 7-9, the team had a losing record and wasn't a real threat to challenge for the playoffs. At 8-8, you are close and just need to catch a break and win a couple close games to be in the playoffs. Going 8-8 also means 6-0 in the division and owning the division is a good springboard into the next season and something Cable can sell to Davis as reason to keep him around. Players almost always say they want a coach to return when asked. It isn't what players say, it is how they play. When players play hard and fight for...

Nnamdi Asomugha went down with a high ankle sprain injury against the Seahawks and when he returned last week against the Dolphins after three weeks of rest he clearly wasn’t himself. Now it appears his ankle is worse than previously believed or got worse during the game on Sunday. Asomugha could miss more time. Chris Johnson was also out with a groin injury and could also miss this week’s game in San Diego. That leaves Stanford Routt and rookies Jeremy Ware and Walter McFadden as the only healthy cornerbacks. Jeremy Ware drew poor reviews from the coaching staff in Pittsburgh and was inactive last week. Walter McFadden was active and had a rough day against Miami. Both will be relied upon against the second best passing team in football. When the Raiders defeated the Chargers in Oakland, Philip Rivers threw for 431 yards and two touchdowns. He was unstoppable against the Raiders secondary, which included Asomugha and Johnson. Michael Huff will likely see additional snaps at corn...

92-17. That's the Raiders combined score the last two weeks against the Broncos and Seahawks. The Raiders also have 500+ yards of offense in back-to-back victories. Darren McFadden continues his resurgence and had 135 total yards against the Seahawks. This actually lowers his per game average. Bush added 51 yards and a late touchdown. In a game in which the Raiders needed a receiver to step up in the absence of Louis Murphy, Darrius Heyward-Bey hauled in five balls for 105 yards including a 69-yard touchdown. Fullback Marcel Reece added three receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. Jason Campbell completed 15 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns and his performance has begged the question as to who the Raiders starting quarterback will be once Bruce Gradkowski is healthy. The Raiders defense combined for eight sacks and held the Seahawks to 47 yards rushing. If there was any concerns that came out of the win, it was Nnamdi Asomugha injuring his ankle and Zach Miller only having...

People line up to declare the next Al Davis draft selection a bust because the Raiders are well known for draft blunders. These people point to a lack of football instincts in the players Al Davis drafts. They say things like, “He’s just a track star, he’s not a football player.” Let me know if you can figure out what a saying like that means. It sounds good but means nothing. Can a track star not be good at football also? You don’t hear people say, “He’s a wrestler, he’s not a football player.” Those same people turn around and say, “Speed kills.” What? So now speed is good in the NFL player? Yes, there is much more to being a good player than speed, but much of it depends on how smart the player is, how much they can learn and if they are dedicated. Are these traits not also desirable in a track star? Why does running track have to be a negative stereotype? Some guys have more smarts, have learned more or have been more dedicated to football when they enter the NFL. This is the re...

Now the hard part; recovering from the win. The Raiders have had the uncanny ability to recover from losses, but a marked inability to recover from a win. Back-to-back wins would be a marker for this team. The concept is simple. Take one game at a time. Win a game, the next week you are 0-0 and looking to go 1-0. Lose a game, the next week you are 0-0 and looking to go 1-0. It’s cliché, but that doesn’t reduce it to rubble. Each team must be able to do both, focus on the next week instead of the prior week. Next week Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks come into Oakland on Halloween. The Raider Nation doesn’t need a holiday as an excuse to dress up, but on Halloween you will get more than your fair share of crazy costumes and the FOX broadcast will love it. A win next week means the Raiders could be playing for the division lead when the Kansas City Chiefs visit Oakland in week nine before a bye in week 10. The Raiders sit at 3-4 and have yet another chance to get back to .500 for the ...

Last season, the Raiders went into Denver and got a win on the back of JaMarcus Russell. Charlie Frye started the game and Russell came in when Frye was injured to lead the Raiders to victory. Michael Bush had 144 total yards and a touchdown. Darren McFadden had 74 yards rushing. Chaz Schilens made the game-winning catch. Brandon Marshall had seven receptions and a touchdown and Kyle Orton went 19/34 for 278 yards. The Broncos couldn’t run the ball that day and haven’t been able to run the ball much this season. The worst rushing offense in the league happens to be doing very well passing. The addition of receiver Brandon Lloyd and subtraction of Brandon Marshall has the Broncos ranked third, behind San Diego and Indianapolis in the NFL. Offense The Raiders may not be able to run the ball on Denver like they did last season. The Broncos added nose tackle Jamal Williams to help with their woes stopping the run and have held five of six opposing rushers under 100 yards. Maurice Jo...