CSNbayarea.com has a video link up that says, "JaMarcus Russell Speaks."

When I saw it I laughed and said, "Does he sit down, roll over, and play catch too?"

And then I thought, ‘no, he cannot play catch because he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!’

Speculation says that he is down to 271 pounds after, "Significant weight loss." It definitely makes you wonder about those 300 pound rumors. I tell you what, if he was 300 pounds last year, 50 of it was in his butt. That would explain why he looked like a statue in the pocket last season and had major mobility issues.

On another note, a bunch of people keep saying the Raiders should switch back to a 3-4 defense. But I don’t see what was wrong with last year’s defense besides the fact that the offense couldn’t sustain drives and give them a break once and a while. You’re going to suffer long break away plays when you don’t have time to catch your breath on the sidelines. It’s my opinion that the biggest problem with the defense is the lack of production by the offense.

I think the Raiders need to get stronger on defense, yes, but I can’t imagine they will change the scheme completely. How can Desmond Bryant, who never started a game last year, get almost as many tackles as Gerard Warren, who started every game last year? Simple, strength and stamina; see Bryant is what you might call physically fit. Warren is like Terdell Sands part two, the Raiders defensive coaches recognized this and have proceeded to cut Warren and Sands from the team.

Which is exactly why Oakland should not draft Terrence Cody; they need to get a physically fit guy with a high motor. For all of you who want the Raiders to trade Nnamdi Asomugha, I’m going to throw you a bone right now: Imagine if the Raiders traded Nnamdi and their eighth overall pick to the Lions for their second overall pick (or the rams for their first) and draft one of those beastly defensive tackles, Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh. Would the defense be better off, or worse for the wear?

It’s definitely something to think about right?

Trouble is I don’t think Chris Johnson is number one cornerback material, and it’s not as though this draft is high in quality cornerbacks. Drafting a cornerback this year is going to be like finding that diamond in the rough, the needle in the haystack. In fact, a good cornerback in this draft might not even exist.

Perhaps they believe in the high tendered Routt, but I sure don’t. I’ve seen him play far too much bad football to think that he has a anything resembling a bright future.

 Nilbymouth, who is a commenter on an article I wrote for www.tfdssports.com, said "I would be interested to see Scott given a chance at MLB."

That is a fascinating idea. I think Scott is a tremendous athlete who can compete at whatever position the coaches put in front of him. Not to mention he is really fast and quick to adapt. He took over the starting outside linebacker position last year over four year starter Thomas Howard in the middle of the season.

To add to that, he did a tremendous job. After taking over as the starter, Scott accumulated 26 of his 43 tackles and had five of his seven sacks. That was in six games; the guy is a play maker…a game changer.

Many folks think that the Raiders need to draft a franchise left tackle as their first pick in the 2010 draft. I think guard Mike Iupati (pronounced ee-yu-pah-ti: for those of you who keep spelling it with an "L") would make just as much if not more of an impact if he was added to the starting line-up.

Iupati would also make it possible for Oakland to trade down in the first round. Possible candidates being the 49ers, who have two picks in the teens (13 and 17), or the Patriots who are always looking to trade stuff with Oakland, and have the 22^nd pick this year.

Iupati is ranked the 14^th best player in college football by Scouts Inc. That puts him ahead of Trent Williams and 16 spots in front of Bruce Campbell who is ranked 30^th. To add to that, he is also only two spots behind Brian Bulaga, who is ranked the second best tackle in the draft but, like the T-Rex, has really short arms.

Iupati is also high on Tom Cable’s radar. It’s something to keep an eye on as we head closer to the draft. Don’t be surprised when Iupati has a private workout with Oakland in April.