First year Head Coach Lane Kiffin is about to begin his first training camp in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders in Napa starting July 22. The good thing is Kiffin does not have to worry about his practices being to demanding in training camp like he did in mini camp. Players can complain all they want to, but the NFL won’t be able to place any restrictions on how Lane Kiffin conducts his business like they did during OTA’s. One thing that Lane knows from coaching at USC is the ability to recognize talent. Kiffin won’t only be concerned with getting the best players on the field for this season, but I’m sure Kiffin will have a list of players and positions that may play this year because there was not a better option, but next year those spots will be upgraded. The main positions to pay attention to are the QB position, the WR core and the stable of RB’s.
The Raiders drafted JaMarcus Russell with the number 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Oakland also has third year QB Andrew Walter who the Raiders considered their QB of the future just a year ago. On draft day the Raiders traded for former Detroit Lions QB Josh McCown. Kiffin has stated many times that the job is there for the taking and whom ever performs the best in training camp will win the job. The first key to the QB competition is how quickly Russell signs his contract. If JaMarcus misses more than a week of camp it will be very difficult for him to be the starter in Week 1. McCown only has 1 year remaining on his contract and the best-case scenario for him would be to win the job, win games and drive his stock up so he can cash in during Free Agency in 2008. Andrew Walter wants to reassure the Raiders that they were correct for believing that he is the team’s QB of the future. Drew Brees kept Philip Rivers on the bench for two years and Walter should try and accomplish the same thing in Oakland by forcing the organization to sit JaMarcus for a year or two. Kiffin is creating a pressure filled environment that will pay dividends for the Raiders in the future no matter what player wins the job.
The RB back position is a little bit cloudy the Raiders FA RB Dominic Rhodes will be suspended the first four games of the season. Rhodes was brought into Oakland as a change of pace back. Lamont Jordan is being paid like he is one of the best RB’s in the NFL, but he has not played like he is a top NFL RB. Jordan restructured his contract this off-season so this season will determine if he will remain a Raider next season. Justin Fargas has been a serviceable RB for the Raiders, but he is also a change of pace back. Oakland may have selected the steal of the 2007 NFL Draft by selecting RB Michael Bush out of Louisville. Bush would have been a 1st round Draft Pick if he had not suffered a broken leg last season. The only question about Bush is his health. If healthy Bush will split carries with Jordan and if he plays well he might convince the Raiders that he can take over the bulk of the carries in 2008. The Raiders may have wanted to bring Bush along slowly, because of the injury but after Rhodes suspension they might have to rely more on Bush during the first four games of the season. If Michael Bush plays well in the first four games it will just be a matter of time before he is the feature back in Oakland.
The Raiders have a good WR core. The problem with the receivers is that there is not one great WR on the roster. The #1 option will be Jerry Porter. Porter will get every opportunity to prove that he is being paid like a #1, because he can produce like he is a feature WR. Porter had a spectacular season in 2002 when he had 51 catches and 9 TD’s. In 2002 he had the luxury of being the slot WR when Tim Brown and Jerry Rice were getting all the attention on the outside. Porter has not had a 1,000-yard receiving season yet and that is what he must do for the Raiders to be successful in 2007. Ronald Curry is the #2 WR in Oakland and he has proven when he is healthy that he has excellent hands and runs very good routes. Last year Curry was under utilized, but still lead the team in receptions with 62. The real competition will be for the 3rd and 4th WR position. The wildcard that can make all the difference is Mike Williams. Williams was a very dominant WR at USC and is now reunited with Lane Kiffin and he is in an offense that he was unstoppable in at USC. If Williams can’t be a dominant player in Oakland then he is incapable of playing at a high level anywhere. The Raiders also have Doug Gabriel who has shown a lot of flashes but no consistency. Travis Taylor was added to the roster during the off-season and he is a player that has never fulfilled his potential. The only player with deep speed is rookie Johnnie Lee Higgins. Higgins isn’t expected to challenge for that much playing time so any production from him outside of returning kicks will be an added bonus.
The Raiders will be one of the few teams that will have people on the field in the 4th quarter of NFL Pre-Season games that will be competing for a position with the first string. Fans in Oakland will not be complaining about the prices of Pre-Season games because they will be getting more than their money’s worth. Kiffin’s first training camp will have more of a bearing on the 2008 roster than it does for the 2007 roster.
