2007 NFL Preview: Oakland Raiders

Looking At 2006 In The Rear View Mirror

So the Aaron Brooks experiment didn't go so well. And the return of Art Shell was a mistake. As a matter of fact, the Oakland Raiders didn't do much right in 2006.

Their offense looked like it was managed by a coordinator who was more qualified to run a bed and breakfast in Idaho, which happened to be the unfortunate truth.

They got off on the wrong foot immediately as their offensive line was rag-dolled on national television to open the season. The San Diego Chargers completely dismantled the Raiders' offense, which foreshadowed a disastrous season.

It was clear that Brooks wasn't the answer at quarterback, but it's not like he received much help. The Raiders' five linemen were turnstiles and allowed a league-high 72 sacks.

They weren't much better at run-blocking, either, as LaMont Jordan couldn't accomplish much.

Not only were their physical failures on the field, there were mental failures off of it. The team's No. 2 wideout, Jerry Porter, clashed with head coach Art Shell and their feud seeped into the locker room.

Porter openly ripped his coach, which meant it was only a matter of time before Randy Moss did. Safety Jarrod Cooper also took some shots.

The bottom line with Shell was that he simply looked lost last year and his team lost faith.

With the offense completely defunct, the balance of power on this team defected to the defense.

While there were trepidations as to how the defensive line would hold up, there was no doubting the Raiders prospects in the back seven.

Up front, Derrick Burgess was a stud, but nobody was really sure what else was there. Warren Sapp, who was allegedly on the decline, led all defensive tackles in the NFL with 10 sacks. With Sapp and Burgess, the Raiders had a quality tandem to start with. Terdell Sands, the team's top run-stuffer, was also a good piece, but he had a handful of mental lapses. While the Raiders were strong against the pass (first overall), but gave it up like Jenna Jameson in a porn flick on the ground (25th overall).

The good news was that with the emergence of Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard, the Raiders finally had sideline-to-sideline coverage for the first time in a long time.

In the secondary, Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington, both of whom were previously lauded for stellar coverage but ripped for a lack of interceptions, shed the latter criticism. Asomugha, a three-year veteran, and Washington, a sophomore, had combined for zero interceptions. Last year, they combined for 12.

While the Raiders' offense — and coaching staff — was decrepit, their defense developed and instilled some optimism. Equipped with a new bright, young offensive mind, the Raiders will hope that Lane Kiffin can fix what is broken on this team.

Using Numbers To Break Down Letters: Offensive Line

Maybe the Oakland Raiders thought they were protecting David Carr. Maybe they just sucked really bad.

Actually, it's the latter.

The Raiders allowed 72 sacks last season, which was nine sacks clear of the second-highest total.

Robert Gallery, who the Raiders drafted to anchor the left side of their offensive line, was a monumental bust. Even former second-round pick Jake Grove didn't perform to expectations. Nobody did.

When the Raiders signed Aaron Brooks, their selling point to their fans was that Brooks was mobile and would more suited to avoid the rush.

That was false. Brooks got pummeled in Week 1 versus San Diego and was sacked seven times. He took such a beating that he was hurt by Week Two.

But when statue Andrew Walter came in, the offense declined even more. Walter also got sacked twice in Week 1 and was dropped another 44 times in eight starts.

Sacks can sometimes be a deceitful statistic because they don't account for the countless other times that the Raiders quarterbacks were pressure or drilled right after releasing the football.

There's no mincing words here; a turtle with arthritis could have broken through for a sack. When there are this many breaches in the front five, don't expect to get anything done offensively.

How's The League's Worst Offensive Line Coming Along?

By default, it won't be worse. It simply can't get worse.

But on the flipside, outside of the boost of optimism/confidence they'll get from a new coach, the line doesn't look significantly better.

One important ingredient to a credible offensive line is consistency. Right now, in Oakland, there is more juggling going on than at the circus.

It looks like the final five will be Barry Sims, Robert Gallery, Jake Grove, Cooper Carlisle, and Cornell Green. The good news is that a new zone-blocking scheme is being implemented by new o-line coach, Tom Cable, which means that this line should have a good second-half.

With zone-blocking schemes, the sum of the parts seems to play better than the individuals, which is a positive in the Raiders' case. It will take them the first half of the season to adjust, but they should turn the corner at some point this year.

Renewed Optimism

Confidence may be one of the most underrated intangibles in sports and with the hiring of Kiffin, the Raiders have a renewed confidence.

Under Shell, they were like a rejected nerd who slouched over because his backpack was too heavy. But since Kiffin's arrival, there are walking taller with their chest out.

Don't put much weight into their winning preseason — the Raiders always play well in these exhibitions. The Raiders need their offensive line to play cohesively. Until that happens, they won't get much better offensively.

They had the league's 29th-ranked rushing offense last year and although they added Dominic Rhodes and Adimchinobie Echemandu, who has looked good in camp, their success will still be contingent on their blockers.

LaMont Jordan is still the best weapon out of the backfield. He's the best all-around back and is a pretty good receiver. I wouldn't trust Rhodes, who is serving a four-game suspension and played out of his mind in a contract year last year.

At receiver, the Raiders will get back Porter, who couldn't stand playing for Shell, and Ronald Curry. The Raiders also picked up former Lions bust Mike Williams, who has his weight issues under wraps and is expected to be a big part of this offense (mostly in the red zone). Williams thrived under Kiffin in college at USC.

The Raiders have targets, and as a matter of fact, plenty of them. Rookie tight end Zach Miller has the mixings of a classic tight end — just a solid, unspectacular pass catcher who finds the soft spots. He also has great hands.

Although this has been a weakness in previous years, it really isn't. It may be a middle-of-the-pack group in comparison to the rest of the league, but it's not the bottom of the barrel.

Are Rich Gannon or Jeff Hostetler Available?

On one hand, the Raiders' QB situation is better than the past two seasons. On the other hand, that's like congratulating Monique for losing five pounds.

Forget Josh McCown, forget Andrew Walter, and forget JaMarcus Russell (for this season). The best Raiders quarterback — and only hope — is Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper is shaken and definitely doesn't have the confidence from three seasons ago, but he can still be decent. He can move the ball much better than McCown or Walter and gives this team their best chance to win. He's experienced, which immediately gives him the leg up.

Can They Finish Above Kansas City?

The first half of the Raiders season will be a struggle. They will need time to adjust to the new offense and zone-blocking scheme.

But on the flipside, they have basically played without an offense for two years, which means that if they don't commit a lot of giveaways, that will already be a good start.

The Raiders are a far superior team to Kansas City at every position except for running back and tight end.

Their defense, as a whole, is young, better, and on the verge of improving on last year's performance.

They picked up Gerard Warred off of division rival Denver and he's a quality run-stuffer. In a rotation with Sands and Sapp, the Raiders should be content at tackle. They also added veteran safety Donovin Darius, who is also stellar in run defense.

With Darius, Michael Huff, and Stuart Schweigert, the Raiders have a very versatile trio of safeties.

Their defense is better than KC's, but how much worse is their offense?

At this point, quite a bit. But factor this in: their offense is on the way up while the Chiefs offense is on the way down.

As long as Culpepper and the offensive line stay healthy, expect him to only get better as the season progresses. The same can be said for Porter and Curry, who are off down years.

The Raiders do have a good stable of backs and more depth at the position than the Chiefs, which means that once the blocking is up to speed, they'll run it better.

The Chiefs are heading in the opposite direction. Their offensive line is getting worse, their receiving corps is bare, and they plan to insert Brodie Croyle as a starter at some point, which is a scary proposition.

Is a stretch? Maybe. But I wouldn't be surprised to see the Raiders finish above the Chiefs in the AFC West.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line — They are sticking with the same core to develop chemistry, but it is just a matter of whether these guys are any good.

Offensive X-Factor: Daunte Culpepper — If the line strengthened, Culpepper could bring this offense up from "sell" to "don't buy."

Defensive X-Factor: Warren Sapp — He's shown up in fantastic shape and they need him to be a sack threat to keep attention off of Burgess.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

Now we've seen a lot of running backs come in during goal line situations and pickup valuable fantasy points, but how about a wide receiver? Usually, it is tight ends in that spot, but in Oakland, it could be Mike Williams. He's so tall and is really tough to guard in red zone situations. With Porter and Curry on the field, there's no way that any opposing defense can cover Williams with a top-two corner, which might mean a high number of touchdowns for him. Also, take a look at Zach Miller, who is a sleeper candidate at tight end. He catches everything that is thrown his way.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "Hardcore Fantasy" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio. Catch it weekly on Saturdays at 12:00 PM ET.