Silver and Black Pride Quick Poll

we should, but we won’t. Davis is too devoted to Fargas to see that Rankin is actually a superior back. Russell will stay since he can play HB and FB, with fullback being his primary position. Rankin is a far better running back at this point than Fargas and Russell is also got an edge on Fargas.

…is just too committed to Fargas. He’s a favorite of both Davis and Cable. Honestly, I can see why. I’m not gonna run him down. I love his heart and his grit and his character.

That being said, a cold-blooded calculus has to come into these kinds of things and the fact is that Rankin is younger and healthier and Russell is more versatile. Still, Fargas is too good a player to just release.

Cornell Green is a liability. There are some teams who are really really really thin at running back: the Jaguars, Bengals and Browns all come to mind. In a perfect world, the Raiders would be on the phone with Jacksonville offering, say, Fargas and a 4th round pick for Tony Pashos. But the organization seems strangely blind to Green’s ineptitude.

This topic was to be my last in the 53-man roster preview, but it would be redundant to post it separately, so I’ll put in my 2 cents here:

RaiderWay, did you ever find the article where Cable said the Raiders would keep 6 running backs? The Raiders have kept 5 backs for the past few years, so it will be interesting to see what actually happens tomorrow.

Obviously McFadden, Bush, and O’Neal have their roster spots sewn up, and all three will be an integral part of the team this year and in the future. The real question is what to do with the other 2-3 spots.

Justin Fargas: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Fargas was the hero of this team just two years ago, and now most people are calling for his ouster. Personally I don’t see it happening – in fact, I’d wager that Fargas is the one named as the starter against the Chargers in two weeks, simply out of respect. Fargas’ role is certainly changing though, as the more dynamic McFadden and Bush take away a majority of his snaps. Still, look for Fargas to pound away at opposing defenses early in the game to provide better opportunities for our young playmakers. Keeping Fargas’ workload down should also keep him a bit healthier through the season. This will be Fargas’ last year in a Raiders uniform.

Louis Rankin: The Raiders always seem to bring in a young RB that destroys opposing defenses’ scrubs and gets all the fans hooting and hollering for his addition to the final roster. Like Adimchinobe Echemandu before him, Louis Rankin has performed admirably the past two preseasons and many have called for Rankin to replace Fargas on the team. If the Raiders actually keep 6 backs it may be possible, but even then he wouldn’t dress all that often, so what would be the difference? Rankin is still practice squad eligible, and probably needs to stay there one more year before trying to replace Fargas.

Gary Russell: I’ve been told that Gary Russell can play fullback, which is funny because I didn’t see him do it even once in 4 preseason games. Russell has, however, played well in his limited RB time and on special teams, so if he actually can be a West-Coast type fullback he’ll push Marcel Reece for that 2nd fullback spot. Having played in 15 NFL games over the past two seasons, Russell is not eligible for the practice squad, so this could influence the decision for the Raiders, as Rankin and Reece are still eligible for the practice squad.

Marcel Reece: Marcel Reece is a pretty prototypical Raiders player – an athletic freak. After playing WR at U of Washington, Lane Kiffin brought in Reece to be a pet project to turn him into a West-Coast fullback capable of catching the ball out of the backfield and running with it. It will be interesting to see if the Raiders choose Reece or Russell for this role. Reece is a bit bigger and may be able to handle the blocking duties better, but as I said above, Reece is still eligible for the practice squad where Russell is not.

Luke Lawton: A throw-away at this point. Lawton doesn’t excel at either blocking or receiving, and with better options in front of him, he’ll be packing up his locker tomorrow.

Projected Roster (5 Spots): McFadden, Bush, Fargas, O’Neal, (Reece or Russell)

Projected Roster (6 Spots): McFadden, Bush, Fargas, O’Neal, Reece, Russell

He suffered some kind of leg injury last night apparently. Not very serious, but it could make an interesting maneuver possible: Put him on IR for the year before tomorrow night.

McFadden, Rankin, Fargas and Russell would work out quite well.

Rankin has shown tuime and again that he can perform in the same role as Michael Bush.

Keeping five running backs is pretty asinine.

He was great for the Raiders, great player and attitude however, we need to win and Rankin is a better back than he is now at this point in his career. Is there any doubt he will be injured, seriously. You all know Fargas is going to get hurt even coming off the bench. Time for the youngsters, good thing is Fargas is good enough to get picked up, so his career is not over, but with the Raiders it should be.