NFL 2008 Oakland Raiders
Coach Kiffin Looks to Continue Rebuilding In Oakland
After a successful 2007, Lane Kiffin looks to continue improving in his second year, to do so the Raiders have tough decisions to make on both sides of the ball.
Armed with no later than the fourth selection in the upcoming 2008 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders have many positions to evaluate before making the pick. After finishing the season with a 4-12 record, the Raiders will look to continue to rebuild under 2nd year coach Lane Kiffin.
Offense
Scoring points was a task, as the Raiders averaged a mere 17.7 points per game in 2007. One shouldn’t blame the rushing attack, as they averaged 130.4 yards per game, good for 6th in the NFL, led by Justin Fargas’ 1,009 yards. Fargas only started 7 games, as the Raiders initially went with Lamont Jordan at running back. Dominick Rhodes adds to the depth at that position, to make running back, as a group a deep and talented position for the Raiders.
As much of a positive the running game is for the Raiders the passing game is a negative. Ranking 31st by averaging 164.4 yards per game, the problem is twofold; for starters JaMarcus Russell has to continue to improve his decision making. Russell, last years number 1 pick, completed 54.5% of his passes for 373 yards and 2 touchdowns. The negative side to that is JaMarcus threw 4 interceptions in his limited time on the field. Growing pains aside, Russell is the future at this position for Oakland. The Raiders still have Duante Culpepper, Andrew Walter and Josh McCown providing depth at quarterback.
A talented and experienced group of receivers should help Russell, as he gains confidence in the Kiffin system. The rejuvenated Jerry Porter and acrobatic Ronald Curry offer competent targets for Russell’s missiles.
The offensive line provided holes for the running game, but struggled to protect the quarterback. The line gave up 41 sacks last year causing each of their quarterbacks to miss time due to injury (excluding JaMarcus Russell). The line could use an infusion of talent, but overall didn’t play poorly, considering the new blocking scheme bought in by the new coaching staff.
Defense
Defensively is where the Raiders need to make big changes. In 2007, Oakland simply couldn’t stop the run, teams racked up 145.9 yards per game as the defensive line wore down in the second half of games. Immediate help is needed on the defensive line, as future Hall of Famer; Warren Sapp has announced his retirement. Sapp’s absence will be felt not only in the run defense, but in the pass defense as well. The unit put up a total of 27 sacks for the year ranking the Raiders 28th out of the 32 NFL teams. The defensive line now needs two positions to fill; a stout defensive tackle and a pass rushing defensive end.
The defensive backfield is has the physical talent with three young cornerbacks (Fabian Washington, Nnambi Asomugha, Stanford Routt) that only need a little tweaking of their technique to really become a solid unit. If things get tightened up in the front seven the safeties, primarily Michael Huff, will be free to make more plays from their safety positions. The cover skills of this group were on display, as without much of a pass rush, they still finished 8th against the pass giving up 195.8 yards per game.
Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison lead a steady young group of linebackers that should improve with another season of playing together. A better effort from the defensive line can help this group out by keeping opposing linemen off of them and allowing the linebackers to make plays.
Overall
In his first year, Coach Kiffin has begun to restore the pride and swagger that the Raiders once portrayed every time they took the field. In getting rid of veterans that didn’t want to be in Oakland (Randy Moss, Jeff Blake), Kiffin began his rebuilding in the locker room, now he has to improve the talent on the field.
