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At 1 p.m. PDT, March 13, 2012 the NFL's free agency period starts and the Raiders must be under the salary cap. There are a number of player contracts that have not yet restructured or otherwise addressed which will likely have an impact on the salary cap and the Raiders' free agency plans. Kamerion Wimbley The two sides aren't talking and extra guarantees are triggered on Friday and Wimbley is likely to be released before they do. Wimbley's release would save the Raiders just $2 million in cap space and leave the Raiders without a strong-side linebacker on the roster. John Henderson His contract is due to pay him $4.75 million in 2012. It's far too much for part-time backup with Henderson's miles. The Raiders would save approximately $4 million by releasing Henderson, but that also leaves the Raiders with a need for a run-stuffing defensive tackle Tommy Kelly Kelly's cap number is nearly $9 million and one would expect a restructured contract would have ...

The  Oakland Raiders  may not do much shuffling on the offensive side of the ball, but the 29th ranked defense will be altered. Stanford Routt has already been released and Reggie McKenzie promises even more change. Of the 11 positions on defense, only two have unquestioned starters. Had the Raiders been healthy, the starters at the end of the season would have been nearly identical to the starters in Week 1. The lone exception would be Aaron Curry starting over Quentin Groves. Since the Raiders will use both three-man and four-man fronts, we'll have to predict the starters for both schemes.   RDE Matt Shaughnessy (4-3 only) Last season, Shaughnessy was among the favorites during training camp to have a breakout, but hurt his shoulder and missed 13 games. He'll return in 2012 and hope to revive the buzz he generated last offseason. Shaughnessy managed to record just one sack in three games in 2011 and will be ready to add to that total. The introduction of the 3-4 will be very ...

When you look at the Raiders current 4-3 defense, it appears the problem is very easy to solve. The Raiders have run a strict man-to-man defense for years. At certain times and with the right personnel it was successful. However, when creative offensive minds are scheming against it, the holes in it become clear. Another big problem is the linebackers are trying to cover slot receivers, tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. A lot of the big plays that Oakland surrenders are the result of players playing outside of their “comfort zone” or natural ability. Using the last game against the Chargers as an example, when the Raiders needed a key stop San Diego would run a “rub” route or get Gates matched up with Kamerion Wimbley, Aaron Curry, or even LaMarr Houston (on at least one occasion) and make a big play. Those guys have little to no shot at covering Gates. Using a 3-4 defense would allow Oakland to disguise their defense more, integrate more zone coverage, and keep player...

The Raiders land in Miami to face a rejuvenated Dolphins team. It was a few short weeks ago Tony Sparano was on the chopping block. Now, after winning three of the last four, Sparano's team looks to play spoiler in the AFC. The Dolphins are finding out what they have in quarterback Matt Moore, the defense is playing well and Reggie Bush may be relevant once again. It was a week full of distraction for the 7-4 Raiders and perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. The focus could have been on how the Raiders are still unable to get three offensive playmakers on the field. Jacoby Ford Denarius Moore and Darren McFadden remain out of action. Tommy Kelly did not participate in practice and is questionable with toe injury. There is good news for the Raiders, they get back veteran corner Chris Johnson and Richard Seymour is getting healthy. The offense has been able to manage without Ford, Moore and McFadden, but the defense has been patchy and can use all the help they can get. The Dolphins a...

Defensive Matchups Rolando McClain vs. Matt Forte Before Cutler’s injury, Forte carried the Bears offense with nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage. 926 of those yards come on the ground. With continued success and Cutler's injury, Forte can be an MVP candidate. McClain needs to show leadership and consistent playmaking ability to limit Forte’s production. Stopping Chicago's offense starts with containing Forte. Tommy Kelly vs. Roberto Garza With Seymour’s injury, Kelly becomes the Raiders best defensive tackle. Garza, the Bears’ center, anchors the Bears offensive line. The winner of this matchup will go a long way in showing what team will control the tempo and what team will control the line of scrimmage. Chuck Bresnahan vs. Caleb Hanie With very limited tape of Hannie, Bresnahan is going to test the young quarterback. Watch for Hanie’s mobility to play a key part as Bresnahan mixes coverages and blitz packages. X-Factor Matt Giordano Giordano is not great at tacking in the ope...

The Raiders slogged through the second half again and it nearly came back to bite them. A better team may have been able to capitalize on the Raiders penalties, but the Vikings without Adrian Peterson were powerless to do so. The defense looked suspect again and the Raiders offensive line struggled more than they have all season. A few welcome surprises this week and the reappearance of duds from 2010. STUDS Jared Veldheer Veldheer handled Jared Allen on Sunday and held him without a sack for the first time this season. The Raiders finally found their franchise left tackle from Hillsdale College. If Veldheer can handle Julius Peppers this Sunday, he'll start getting national recognition and should get a decent amount of Pro Bowl consideration. Allen did get pressure on Palmer on back-to-back plays in the first half, but Veldheer adjusted and was pushing Allen well wide of Palmer for the rest of the day. On one occasion Veldheer flattened Allen on a run. A great performance from the...

The most successful teams in the NFL have their franchise quarterback. No other position in the NFL is as valuable. Teams, however, don’t need a spectacular quarterback to win. Look at San Francisco, Tampa Bay and the Giants. More than anything, teams need a reliable quarterback to hold it together that does not give away the game. When NFL teams struggle for years, it’s largely due to the team’s perpetual ineptness at quarterback. This year Miami, Indianapolis and Minnesota have arguably the worst quarterback situations. It seems every week these teams get embarrassed like the Raiders did last week against Kansas City. Not since the inept team of 2006 have the Raiders been shutout at home versus an AFC West rival. Hue Jackson has reminded everybody how valuable a stable, quarterback is. If the scrappy game against the Houston Texans was this emotional high of the season then the embarrassing loss in Oakland vs. Kansas City was the low. Hue Jackson’s “gamesmanship” caused a resurfacing...

The strength of the Raiders defense as everyone knows is the defensive line. It is anchored by six-time pro-bowler Richard Seymour and 300-pounder Tommy Kelly. The defensive line also features two young stout defensive ends, Matt Shaugnessey and Lamarr Houston. This season has also featured plays by run stuffing 330 pounder John Henderson and a resurgent Jarvis Moss. This unit is the undeniable strength of the defense. Coming into this season the biggest question regarding the Raiders defense was in the secondary. With Nnamdi leaving, the spotlight has been on Stanford Routt and he has quietly delivered. Tyvon Branch has made his fair share of plays, but he's still working to improve his consistency. These two starters of the secondary are the only two starters that have stayed healthy and that played four games. Michael Huff, Chris Johnson, Mike Mitchell and DeMarcus Van Dyke have all missed time and the backups have played like backups. Once these four players return the play and...

The pain of defeat had a nasty sting to it Sunday when the Raiders blew a big lead in the second half and were downed by the Bills in the final minute. This game, unlike the first game, had many more standout performances. Unfortunately for the Raiders, some of the performances were horrible. Fortunately,  many are correctable. Luckily, the team now comes home for five out of the next six games where they were 5-3 a year ago. Thankfully, the Raiders found out important things about their team in the process. Studs Denarius Moore Yes, the rookie can play. He proved it Sunday. It's going to be hard for the Raiders to keep him off the field. Who's playing time does he cut into? It would be logical for him to cut into Darrius Heyward-Bey's time, but that won't be the case. Most of the damage done by Moore was from the Z receiver position. Jacoby Ford plays this position. Certainly the Raiders will not rob from Ford to give to Moore. Moore is cut into the playing time of the...

By Rick Drummond, Profootballfocus.com It would be hard to argue that this wasn’t the most outstanding position group for the 2010 Oakland Raiders (though the running backs could make a case for themselves.) With impact performances coming from all spots along this 4-man front, a foundation was established for an improved defense and some enthusiasm about the future. In a 4-3 defense, there is typically a pass-rushing force coming off one edge or the other and some combo of blocker-eating big bodies in the middle. Interestingly, the final version of the Raider D-line boasted two pass-rushing beasts inside and two run-stuffing edge players. For veterans Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour, the battle cry clearly was not “Let’s keep Rolando clean!” The two did not spend much time occupying blockers as they fully embraced the “cut it loose” mentality and spent the season slicing through gaps. As a result, both ranked among the top four pass-rushing DT's in the league as rated by profootba...

It wasn't pretty, but the Raiders got a win to improve to 1-1. Studs Tommy Kelly and John Henderson Stopping the run was the goal and these two guys were the biggest reason. Henderson’s efforts were almost entirely stopping the run, while Kelly also was getting to the passer. Kelly did have two penalties, but on this day he was dominant despite them. Darren McFadden A recipe for success is stopping the run and running it well. The Raiders were able to do this Sunday. Tom Cable has been impressed with McFadden “running behind his pads.” Indeed that could have been part of his issues in the past, lower his head and basically losing balance too often. McFadden is also pumping his legs after contact. This is newly learned skill for McFadden and it is benefiting him greatly with yards after he is first hit. Certainly his health and Hue Jackson’s scheme are helping him. He even had a couple nice blitz pickups. Bruce Gradkowski He came in and ignited the offense. He got the ball out quick...

In 2008, the Raiders gave Tommy Kelly a monster contract in the form of $18.125 million in guarantees with $25.125 million total in the first three years. It is worth noting, Kelly stands to make about $4.5 million in 2010, having already collected all but $300,000 in bonus money. He will also now be bound to the Raiders until 2014 with only base salaries. He could be easily cut in future seasons. The Raiders get much for those millions they paid Kelly as he recorded just 5.5 sacks in the two years since signing the deal. All of this adds up to Tommy Kelly being a lightning rod for criticism. Some of the criticism merited and some not. Instead of waste away as another member of Al Davis’ 2008 spending spree, Kelly has remained a professional. After playing the season at nearly 350 pounds, Kelly has trimmed down to 315. Kelly looked quick and punishing as a 295 pound defensive end. Moving him inside to the pass rushing three-technique tackle position was logical, but after two seas...

Fifth in a series analyzing players that need to step up their game in 2010 for the Raiders to be a playoff team. Keeping Everyone Fresh Desmond Bryant is the 290 pound defensive tackle who played 28% of the snaps in 2009. He is a Harvard graduate. By comparison, Tommy Kelly played 69% of the snaps, Gerard Warren played 70% of the snaps and Richard Seymour played 23% of the snaps at defensive tackle. This offseason, Warren was released, Seymour was given the exclusive franchise tag, Lamarr Houston was drafted, and John Henderson was signed. Kelly is still playing on his huge contract and Bryant was penciled in as the team’s new starting defensive tackle with Seymour slated to start at end. In a surprise move, it was announced Houston would play end as well. As it turns out, Houston would play end because Seymour will play more inside. At least this has been the case in training camp to this point. Where does that leave Bryant? Bryant has gone from the potential starter opposite Kelly ...

If football games are won in the trenches, it only seems appropriate to take a closer look at the Raiders’ defensive line. The Raiders released Gerard Warren this winter and drafted Lamarr Houston from the University of Texas to solidify the defensive line. Warren was inconsistent, showing flashes the past couple seasons. The former first-round selection has never played to his talent level. The Raiders were the third team to give up on him. Of course, he was also due a sizable salary in 2010 and that money can be put to better use. The Raiders have surprising decided to put Houston at defensive end, instead of his college position of defensive tackle. What on the surface seems like an odd move is actually a very logical one. Houston’s talents would be wasted playing the one-technique tackle position and the three-technique tackle position is still being occupied by Tommy Kelly. Kelly has been much criticized due to the large contract he received in 2007. While Kelly may never liv...

Changes are in store for the 2009 Raiders defense. http://is.gd/IS01 #NFL #Raiders

I was at the game, so this is from a live perspective this time around. I should attend a number of games this season, although I don't forsee another pre-season game in me. I got to see the rotations and I paid very careful attention to the RB rotation. Fargas played only against the starters, and struggled a little bit, but he ran hard and it wasn't as if we were tipping our hand as far as running plays go. Solid. He had a couple nice gains. I find it hard to believe Fargas isn't going to get banged up and hurt again the way he runs, but at least we have some nice young backs to back him up this season. McFadden got a few carries against the starters and looked really good. It wasn't flashy, but he only got one outside run the whole game and never lined up as a WR nor was he thrown a screen pass. He runs hard and fast and its only a matter of time until he breaks some big ones. McFadden also got rotated with Bush against the second string defense (With second string o...

I think it is a lot, but the guy was our very best defensive lineman until he got hurt. Kelly was playing out of position at DT before he moved to DE. He played along side of Sapp at DT where he wasn't able to use his speed. With Sapp's departure he will play the 3-technique. Kelly should be able to dominate at the 3-technique position. Think about this, he was constantly a force against the opposing team's very best lineman last year (the LT). How much better will he do against a RG? I'd say he would maul a RG. From Football 101: "If you want to be especially good at rushing the passer you'll find four relatively athletic, perhaps somewhat smaller defensive linemen and line them up in a 1 gap scheme. Now you will have at least three gaps unprotected, so it's important in this scheme that you have three very solid linebackers who can cover these gaps." Sounds like our scheme and personnel to a tee. We are a team that wants a pass rush from our front 4,...

I am thinking more and more about Sedrick Ellis. I am thinking he might be the perfect fit for our team. He is the perfect 3-technique DT. Sapp was our 3-technique. Dorsey may be an even better fit because he plays the 3-technique and is better at beating a double team. He also has size on Ellis and should be stouter against the run. In our defense, a 3- technique is important because we rush with just four lineman a lot. So we really need to a get a good 3-technique. Dorsey is stouter against the run and can eat up more blocker in the run game than can Ellis, which is why I still have Dorsey as my #1. I also think it is possible Kelly could play the 3-technique. When he played DT before he wasn't playing the 3-technique Sapp was. So maybe he could be a cheaper solution to our problem. Still if you have a chance to get a good DT like Dorsey or Ellis, it is hard to pass on them. Ellis didn't play the 3-technique at USC, so he may need adjustment time in the NFL. Dorsey did play ...

Based on the salary cap and performance, the following are players that will or might be gone or need to restructure, may be traded, should be re-signed or will be moved to a new position. THE CAP CATEGORY 1. Jordan - His cap number and performance make this a certainty. No sense on spending any time on him 2. Rhodes - His cap number makes this near certain. He would have to restructure and may find himself as the 3rd stringer. Expect him to opt for being cut over a restructure, he complained last year about playing time, I don't think he would take well to being a 3rd stringer. 3. Warren - At times last year he was a very good lineman, but was rather inconsistent. Better than Sands, but also a cap monstrosity (Like Sands). It will be tough to swallow if we cut him loose because we gave up a 5th rounder. I'd bet we try and restructure his deal and make him more cap friendly, however there is the chance he could be gone. He might challenge Sands for the RDT starting spot. 4. San...