Working Toward the 53-Man Roster: QB/Special Teams
by KA1Z3R on Aug 22, 2009 9:03 AM PDT
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Today on, "Working Toward the 53-Man Roster" I give the Raiders quarterbacks and special teams. With the 31st. pass offense last year, Oakland will be looking for Russell to step up his game this year. Lechler will be looking for yet another Pro Bowl year at punter and Jano is going to be itching to boom a 53-yarder. But who will be the Raiders backup QB's? Can Nick Miller unseat Justin Miller at kick returner? My thoughts on these and more, after the jump
Quarterbacks:
As previously stated, the Raiders were a terrible 31st. ranked pass offense. In the previous post I covered the new receiving options, but now we'll take a look at who will be throwing to those receivers. Andrew Walter and Tuiasosopo were cut, and Jeff Garcia, Bruce Gradkowski, and Charlie Frye were added to the mix. The Raiders are only expected to keep 3 quarterbacks (after all we're not Tampa Bay), and with Russell's job secure, who of these three quarterbacks will take the other two spots?
Russell's first full season was anything but great. Russell struggled a lot with his accuracy and mobility in the pocket which lead to a lot of three-and-out's. Though many argue he had a bad receiving corps and bad O-Line. While I agree with those people, Russell does have a lot of work to getting more consistent with his accuracy.
Just when it seemed Russell had a true #1 receiver to work with, Schilens broke a bone in his foot and will most likely be out for a couple games this year. However, Russell still has a lot of targets to work with. But the big thing is that he'll have what appears to be a good O-Line this year. Henderson's building off a stellar showing last year and Satele brings a more athletic option at center than Grove. Though the line still needs to work on its penalty problems.
In camp so far, Russell is still pretty inconsistent, but has been making a lot of good plays. Weaving passes between defenders and lobbing perfect rainbow arc passes. But it seems we can still expect a lot of dumping off to players underneath as Russell continues to struggle with the accuracy of his deep throws. You can expect Cable to keep calling deep pass plays for Russell in preseason to work on his timing on said throws.
I know it was only on one play, but Russell is actually pretty nimble and a quick-decision maker. With everyone covered and McFadden walling off a pass rusher, Russell took off and showed some speed running for 18 yards, avoiding Dallas defenders along the way. If he can make those kinds of good decisions all year long, I'd be very satisfied with JaMarcus this year.
While many have called for Garcia to start, I very highly doubt it'll happen. Cable's already stated that it's Russell's job. Barring injury, I don't see garcia starting a game this year.
Jeff Garcia
via imgs.sfgate.com
I've been scratching my head on the Jeff Garcia deal since he was signed and I still can't find a way that this a good move. For one, the Raiders are going to be much more of a downfield passing team this year with DHB, Higgins, Murphy, etc. Garcia struggles making those deep throws and is much more of a west coast offense QB. Kinda bad to have your backup not fit your scheme.
Secondly, Garcia was brought in to mentor Russell. Instead, all we've seen is Garcia trying to dethrone Russell as the starting QB. Actually, this was his primary reason for being here.
Thirdly, Garcia makes a lot of questionable decisions. Mainly, he never stays in the pocket. As soon as he gets the ball in his hands, he almost always rolls out of the pocket. The Raiders O-Line looks to actually be able to maintain a pocket this year, but you can probably still expect Garcia to roll out causing more harm than good.
The one good thing I can take from this move, the Raiders will still be doing dumpoffs a lot this year. With Garcia's short and medium range accuracy, it makes him a viable backup in those situations. But Garcia can't just dink-and-dunk with all these deep threats available. Hence why I disagree with a lot of people who believe him to be the one who should be starting for Oakland.
Garcia will most likely be the primary backup because of his great accuracy on short throws and his ability to win games.
Bruce Gradkowski
via www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com
I honestly couldn't tell you much about Gradkowski, but I can tell you he's been making some really good plays in camp. He's also got a better deep ball than Garcia, Gradkowski struggles with his medium range passes.
Gradkowski hasn't exactly had a great career, though when he's had to be a starter for an extended period of time, he hasn't been too shabby. In his rookie 06 year, he completed 177 of his 328 throws for 1661 yards wth 9 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 13 games. Not exactly great, but not bad for what should be our third-string QB, if not second string.
If Gradkowski has good showings throughout the rest of camp, i have no doubt in my mind that Bruce can take over the backup spot behind Russell.
Charlie Frye
via www.raiders.com
Frye to me is going to be the odd-man out. While he's fairly strong armed, he makes a lot of bad decisions. 25 interceptions in 23 games, several of which he only saw limited time in. He hasn't been very good in camp and is pretty far behind Gradkowski and Garcia. I like Frye, but I doubt he makes the roster.
Projected QB depth chart:
Starter: JaMarcus Russell
Backup: Bruce Gradkowski (yes I think he'll manage to pass Garcia on the depth chart)
Third String: Jeff Garcia
Special Teams:
A bright spot for Oakland last year was it's special teams unit which saw new life after many below average years. The return game was incredible, Lechler was amazing as always, Jano can still kick field goals from 55+ yards out, and special teams ace Ekejiuba was a Pro Bowl alternate.
Kicker
Oakland's record-breaking kicker, Janikowski has the strongest leg in all of football. Easily pounding kicks 55+ yards with ease and booming kickoffs for touchbacks, his only flaw his accuracy. Jano's not horrible, but his kicks often slice too far left or right quite a bit of the time. It's a problem that's not gone away over the years, but he's definitely working on it. If Seabass can refine his accuracy a little bit more, he could be a Pro Bowl kicker.
Punter
via www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com
What can be said about Lechler that hasn't already been said? He's basically the greatest punter in raiders history, if not NFL history. He holds the NFL record for best average yards per punt with 46.8 yards per punt. You can expect Lechler to continue going out every Sunday and blasting punts inside the opposing team's 20's like he has year in and year out.
Punt Returner
Johnnie Lee Higgins
via imgs.sfgate.com
A speedy receiver, a fantastic dancer, and one of the best return threats in the NFL, Johnnie Lee "Blue-Suede Shoes" Higgins does it all. Higgins turned 44 punt returns into 570 yards and an amazing 3 touchdowns. His touchdown returns were a big reason for wins against Denver and Houston last year. I expect Higgins to continue being a game-changing return threat this year as we should see similar numbers from him if he stays healthy.
Kick Returner
Justin Miller
While Justin isn't a great corner, he is a great kick returner that brought new life to Oakland's special teams. Oakland hadn't returned a kickoff for a touchdown in years, Justin Miller did it twice last year. Returning 32 kickoffs for 794 yards and the aforementioned 2 touchdowns, Miller might be being challenged by another Miller. Nick Miller that is. Justin's going to have to prove he's still the top kick return man in Oakland, or face losing his starting spot. Definitely something to keep track of until the regular season starts. But I expect Justin to keep his starting role.
Nick Miller
via www.raiders.com
There's some genuine competition here for the job of kick returner. Nick has been getting chances throughout camp and early on in preseason. Nick is definitely as fast as Justin, but does he have the moves that Justin has to create some big plays on kickoffs? If he does, we could see a different Miller returning kicks on Monday Night.
Projected Special Teams:
K- Seabass
P- Lechler
PR- Higgins
KR- Justin Miller
Backup KR- Nick Miller
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I agree with all of the above
The only caveat that I have is that if it comes down between Nick and Justin, then Nick will stay since he is a bigger offensive threat than Justin is a defensive player. It is a little difficult to keep just a kick off return man who can’t help in other places. It appears to me that Nick could play on special teams, return both punts and KO’s and be a receiver.
As for the 3rd QB that is somewhat of an academic exercise since they should never be used so who cares.
true
but I think if Manning doesn’t show any spark in his play, Miller’s going to be playing dime corner. If miller is released with Manning as the dime, we’re going to be weak in the regard on defense. Miller isn’t bad as a dime corner, he’s just kinda average for a dime corner. i wouldn’t want him moving up if there’s an injury or anything, but he’s better than anybody else on the depth chart at that spot.
"You'll take my life but I'll take yours too. You'll fire you musket but I'll run you through. So when your waiting for the next attack. You'd better stand there's no turning back"- "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden
you know
charlie fry may be looking bad, but matt cassel looked just as bad as well with us, and we wanted him out. maybe charlie fry could do the same.
I would like to see............
Bruce Gradkowski make 2nd QB
by Raiderfanaddict on Aug 23, 2009 3:15 AM PDT reply actions
Garcia is done. When a guy decides he’s the most important person on the team, it’s over. Add to that the fact that he seems to stay hurt. What would be considered a nagging little injury puts this guy out for 4 weeks.
Go with Jamarcus, Gradkowski, and Frye
Then go get somebody who can stop the run. I could get 100 against what was out there last night.
I was born twins, but the other one died laughing at me
Garcia's time should come to an end, one
at his age it is far easier to get injured, and by the way he is no Brett Farve by a long shot. Two, both Gradkowski and Frye are fairly young QB’s and though they have had average at best play in their careers, both are respectable back ups. So J-Russ, Grad Ski, and Frye have my nod at this point, two more games could change that.
J-Mill or N-Mill well, both bring different things to the table, and it is a good battle, it is also too early to call. Both are football players with speed they just need to hone their skills. Though Nick does have an advantage in that he can return kicks, punts and play receiver now, and J-Mill can play the dime corner if need be, we have to see, and N-Mill may be a better receiver than J-Mill is a nickle or dime back, their jobs may be based upon the performance of other players more than their own.
by Rodney Sacramento on Aug 24, 2009 5:03 PM PDT reply actions
QBs
Frye has had better ‘ink’ than what has been shown so-far, via non-public observations, and would like to see more of him in these last preseason exhibitions. Gradkowski has shown a penchant for having a winning attitude and hustle, but his medium and long range throws under pressure becomes suspect.
Without a doubt Russell has ‘stepped his game up;’ however, still looking for that ‘fire’ that emits a winning personae; winners become leaders by default, if nothing else. The jury is still out on Garcia if for no more than the lack of playing-time/chemistry with his fellow teammates; too bad he didn’t go to the Russell Receiver’s camp, now, with the injuries and all. We know he knows-how and performs to win games but the uneasyness or the discombobulation (sp) among the offense-at-large was glaring during the two-minute drill he orchestrated. Maybe Garcia’s time has been well spent already; though the other two back-ups do not have stellar w/l numbers, they at least have some under-fire experience (except Pro Bowl.) Wish we could go into the season with three back-up qbs to see what comes out of the ‘wash.’
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