Oakland Raider News: Who Stays And Who Goes II: O-Line

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Dec 12, 2008 10:36 AM PST Comment 6 comments

To say that the Oakland Raider offensive line is over performing would be an understatement.

The most talented person on the line is their Left Guard, who was drafted to be a Tackle, and the rest is a hodge podge group of cast offs and under achievers. YET, they have kept JaMarcus rather clean and unhit for the last 3 weeks and with a move this week, Henderson in and KWAYME OUT, they may be improving.

So, going into next year, who is IN and who is OUT?

LT - KWAYME is definitely OUT, which brings the total number of overpaid players who will be cut to 3. He has more false starts than most teams, 11, and has been continually abused by good pass rushers.

Mario Henderson has looked good to me, when he's had the chance. He even looked good to Tom Cable until he looked at the tape on Monday (Part of me wonders if that tape session was a call from Al Davis saying, "We are paying Kwame too much money to be sitting on the bench").

I think that these last three games will tell us IF Mario is our LT or RT of the future because the line, according to Al will be addressed in the off-season.

LG - This is a no brainer. Robert Gallery may be a top 5 RG in the game. He rarely gets beat and is a beast in the running game. He may be overpaid for a LG, but he is definitely a pillar on this line.

C - I have not been sold on Jake Grove, EVER, which is why I wanted Simon Satele in the 2007 draft, but, he has been adequate. I just think that he is undersized and is also too slow for his size at Center. We can upgrade here, but it is not necesary.

John Wade is a servicable back-up and Chris Morris is good insurance, so all in all, unless we can draft an All-American in the 4th round next year, then I'd be happy with the current tandem returning.

RG - Cooper Carlisle is the unsung and unnoticed hero of the line. He rarely gets beat or has his number called which is a good thing. I think that he was a good pick-up last season, but I like Paul McQuistan's size better for a running team. Then again, Coop has done NOTHING to lose his job.

RT - Cornell Green - Aside from Kwame, this is the largest area of need. I am just not sold on old Cornell. He gets beat regularly and does not seem to be a long term answer here.

Options: Paul McQuistan, James Marten, Mario Henderson.

I was really high on James Marten before he was taken by the Cowboys and still am. He is versatile and I see He, McQuistan, Gallery and Henderson as possible long term solutions. I just wish that we would have taken Justice late in the draft last year and have had the opportunity to see what he could do.

As fans...That is what we do...We root...root...root...for the home team.

Go Raiders!!!!!

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O-Line

As the Raiders continue rebuilding its readily apparent that there needs to be significant upgrades made to the offensive line. The running game has regressed somewhat this year, in part because of the O-line and in part because of the loss of Oren O’Neal, and the passing game has suffered from the trifecta of poor pass protection, poor route running, and inconsistent QB play.

As for the offensive line itself, here’s what I see happening.

Left Tackle
Kwame Harris – First, let me say that I don’t believe Kwame Harris is overpaid. His 3 year/ $16 million contract is deceiving, as even Kwame admitted that its really a 1 year contract to try and reestablish his career in the NFL. In reality, he’s probably being paid somewhere around $3 million this year.

Harris’ play has been wildly inconsistent this year. There have been times when I felt that he was doing a fairly good job, only to see him completely miss a DE in pass protection on the next play. The only thing consistent about Harris’ play has been mental mistakes and stupid penalties. Too many times we’ve seen the Raiders deep in the red zone, only to be knocked out by a hold and a false start on #77.

That all being said, Coach Cable has put a lot of faith and stock into Harris, and if Cable is still around next season, Harris may in fact be around next year as well, with a restructured contract of course. If this happens, I see Harris and Henderson fighting for the starting RT spot, with hopefully a nice new draft pick coming in to play LT.

Mario Henderson – Henderson gets the privilege of protecting JaMarcus Russell’s blindside for the last three games of the season, and like I said, it’s really just an extended audition for next season. Overall I don’t see him as much of an upgrade at LT, but in the future may be an upgrade at RT.

Draft Pick – O-line and WR are the consensus needs for the Raiders, and with Davis’ track record of not drafting WRs in the first round, I think it’s safe to say that he will draft a big man next April. The top rated tackles in this years draft are (in no particular order) Michael Oher, Andre Smith, and Eugene Monroe. Based on our ZBS I think Oher and Monroe are the better fits, and I would be happy with either.

Left Guard
Robert Gallery – Not a lot to say here, I’m just very happy that Robert has found a home at RT and has been playing marvelously for two straight seasons now. Yes, he gets paid a lot to be a guard instead of a tackle, but if not for that Scarlet B hanging around his neck from the first 3 year, he’d probably be in the running for the Pro Bowl.

Center
Jake Grove – Grove is a serviceable center and showed a lot of heart by coming off of microfracture surgery to win his starting job back. Like most centers, Jake does a better job facing a 4-3 defense than he does facing a NT against a 3-4 defense. No expected change.

Right Guard
Cooper Carlisle – Last year Carlisle was the unsung hero of the new ZBS and played smart, effective football. This year I’ve noticed a falloff in his game, particularly in pass protection. Carlisle has been getting pushed back against bull rushes from both DTs and DEs, the best examples I can think of being against Carolina. I’m not lobbying for a change here yet, but Carlisle has not played as well this year as he did last year.

Right Tackle
Cornell Green – Oh boy. It’s indicative of the overall talent level of the Raiders when guys like Green are the starting right tackle for your team. Average in run blocking and well below average in pass protection, Green simply does not have the footwork to deal with strong and fast DEs coming off the line. Along with LT, this position is in dire need of an upgrade.

Others Not Previously Mentioned
John Wade – Wade lost out to Jake Grove for the starting center spot in training camp. He’s filled in adequately while Grove has been injured. His age makes him a candidate to be let go after this season to bring in a younger center.

Chris Morris – Morris is Carlisle’s backup and has done nothing to show he’s more deserving of a starting spot. He’s also the emergency center. His versatility makes it likely that he’ll remain in the O-line bullpen next season.

James Marten – Marten was a 3rd round draft choice of the Cowboys in 2007. The Raiders claimed him off waivers on September 8th. The NFL’s statistics state that Marten actually played against Buffalo, which is news to me. With the season basically lost, there’s little reason not to bench Green and see what Marten has got.

Paul McQuistan – McNasty has been on the I.R. ever since injuring his knee in the home opener against Denver. While playing some on the right side in 2007, both Kiffin and Cable said that Paul would be a backup on the left side in 2008 and forward. There’s no way he’s breaking the starting rotation on the left side outside of more injuries, and has done little to justify his 69th overall pick in 2006.

"I love being here. I love these players. I'm loyal to these players and this team, all right? I'm on the side of the players and the Raiders. And anybody who isn't on the side of the Raiders, then I'm not with them." - Randy Hanson, DB coach.

by LiveAdam on Dec 12, 2008 12:06 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Once Again Good Stuff: I Agree

But when they start scheming us the way these guys did, and we weren't particularly ready for it, anything can happen."

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Dec 12, 2008 12:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Good Analysis

We need more guys like you. Make sure your around here during the offseason. I think it will be pretty crazy.

Wack To Mack With The General and The Back. (J-Mac and D-Mac)

by Rayder K on Dec 13, 2008 10:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Marten is good

and why is McQuistan not playing right tackle (other than I heard he got injured but I heard it wasn’t season ending so wth) Last year he was part of a line which gave up 0 sacks for three consecutive weeks.

I’d also like to ask Al, why pass up on Flozell Adams? He was a free agent and is (in my opinion) the best OT in the NFL. Instead you overpay a sucky player who wasn’t even in good in SF. True Flozell is a little bit big for ZB, but he’s versatile and i think he could adjust. That was a big “WTF” moment for me

"Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of themselves without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, 'If I live, I will kill you. If I die, You are forgiven.' Such is the rule of honor." Omerta by Lamb of God

by KA1Z3R on Dec 12, 2008 1:09 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

McQuistan, Adams

McQuistan tore his ACL in his right knee during Opening Night and was placed on the injured reserve, ending his season.

As for Flozell Adams, we would really have overpaid for his services. Adams signed a 6 year, $44 million dollar contract this offseason, with $15 million guaranteed (the only thing that really matters in the NFL,) That’s significantly more than the $3 million or so guaranteed to Harris.

Here’s a comparison: Kwame Harris has given up 7.5 sacks and has committed 15 penalties for 95 yards (11 false starts, 2 holding, 2 other). Flozell Adams has given up 6 sacks and has committed 10 penalties for 70 yards (6 false starts, 3 holding, 1 other). Think that’s really worth an extra $12 million dollars, or more?

Instead, we need to find next year’s Ryan Clady in the draft. The guy has given up half a sack all season, shifting beautifully from the ZBS at Boise State to the ZBS in Denver.

by LiveAdam on Dec 13, 2008 12:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs