During the off-season owner Al Davis wanted head coach Lane Kiffin to step down after leading the Raiders to a 4-12 record in his rookie season.  Kiffin refused but he’s definately firmly on the hot seat which might not be entirely fair.  After all, the Raiders’ success is going to depend more on QB JaMarcus Russell than anything that Lane Kiffin can do.  It will be interesting to see how much Kiffin lets Russell throw the ball as he will be tempted to keep the ball on the ground and that would be a smart thing due to the Raiders’ RB corps. 

The Raiders have signed 30-year old safety Adam Archuleta.  Archuleta played in 15 games (10 starts) with the Bears last season and he made 61 tackles, had 2 sacks, intercepted 1 pass and he defensed 3 passes.  The Raiders were lucky to find a safety of Archuleta’s quality this late in training camp.  Archuleta has now played in 103 games (86 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 530 tackles, has 18 sacks, defensed 21 passes and he has 4 interceptions (one he returned 85 yards for a TD).  This was a nice signing for the Raiders as Archuleta will likely be able to help with depth at safety and he can help out on special teams.  The Raiders cut safety Greg Wesley to make room on the roster for Archuleta.

The Oakland Raiders looked like a good football team last night.  The Raiders kept the play calling close to the vest last night leaning heavily on a good running game and it was effective.  JaMarcus Russell started the game last night as he completed 2 of 5 passes for 13 yards.  Andrew Walter looked really good last night as he connected on 10 of 12 passes for 82 yards.  Marques Tuiasosopo only completed 1 of 3 passes for 16 yards but he also carried the football 2 times for 36 yards (18.0 ypc).  Louis Rankin led the Raiders in rushing with 91 yards on only 8 carries (11.4 ypc).  Darren McFadden made his NFL debut last night and he was solid carrying the ball 12 times for 48 yards (4.0 ypc).  Michael Bush rushed for 27 yards on 8 carries (3.4 ypc) and he had a TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg) last night.  Starting running back Justin Fargas also looked good carrying the ball last night as he had 5 carries for 25 yards (5.0 ypc).  The Raiders finished up last night with 248 yards rushing on 41 carries (6.0 ypc).  They also completed 13 of 20 passes for 98 yards as they had possession of the football for 34:32 last night.

The defense looked pretty good last night for the Raiders.  Linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba led the way for the Raiders last night with 4 tackles.  CB Michael Waddell was the star of the night however with 3 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries.  The 49ers finished up with 70 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.7 ypc).  The Niners also completed 20 of 37 passes for 199 yards last night.  This was a good first step for the Raiders and hopefully they will build off of this effort.

Sebastian Janikowski is banged up right now and that is the reasoning for the signing of 30-year old Aaron Elling.  Elling last played in the NFL in 2005.  He has played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has made 19 of 28 field goals (67.9%).  He also has converted all 50 of his extra point attempts.  Look for Elling to get cut as soon as Janikowski starts feeling better.

30-year old left footed Sebastian Janikowski has great leg strength as he can nail a 60-yarder on occasion but the Raiders need him to be more accurate as he sometimes is off target leaving points on the field.  Janikowski played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 23 of 32 (71.9%) field goals.  He also converted all 28 of his extra point attempts last season.  Janikowski has had issues his whole career with accuracy.  He has played in 125 games in his NFL career and he has made 179 of 233 field goal attempts (76.8%).  He has also made 271 of 273 extra points (99.3%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

The Raiders would be smart to look at the TE more in the passing game in 2008 with JaMarcus Russell learning on the fly.  22-year Zach Miller proved to be a very solid receiver as a rookie in 2007 and he’s just scratching the surface of his potential.  Miller played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 44 passes for 444 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Miller will definately have better stats in 2008 for the Raiders.

25-year old John Madsen will be the backup TE this season for the Raiders.  He played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 8 passes for 102 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Madsen might get a few token receptions in 2008 but don’t expect too much from him.  Madsen has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has caught 19 passes for 248 yards (13.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs. 

28-year old Tony Stewart will be the #3 TE for the Raiders this season.  He didn’t play last season due to injury.  He is more of a run blocking TE as he is a big guy at 6’5″, 260 pounds.  Stewart has now played in 68 games in his NFL career and he has caught 55 passes for 464 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

The Raiders needed a facelift at WR and they have done that bringing in Javon Walker and Drew Carter as free agents.  Javon Walker almost retired after his assault in Las Vegas but Al Davis and company talked him into playing this season.  If healthy and focused, Walker will be the #1 WR on the Raiders.  Walker played in 8 games for the Broncos last season and he caught 26 passes for 287 yards (11.0 avg) without a TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for -3 yards (-1.5 ypc) last season.  The thought here is that Walker will be a good fit for the Raiders as JaMarcus Russell has the arm to hit Walker if he gets behind the defense and he should be able to if healthy.  Walker has now played in 72 games in his NFL career and he has caught 252 passes for 3,815 yards (15.1 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  Walker has also carried the ball 14 times for 132 yards (9.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.

29-year old Ronald Curry had a breakout season for the Raiders last year and he is a very solid #2 WR.  He played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 55 passes for 717 yards (13.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Curry to top those numbers in 2008 for the Raiders as he has the speed to get deep.  Curry has now played in 62 games in his NFL career and he has caught 174 passes for 2,166 yards (12.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 4 times for 2 yards (0.5 ypc) in his NFL career.

26-year old Drew Carter is a speedster who was a tad underrated for the Panthers.  He will be the #3 WR for the Raiders this season and he should get a lot of action.  Carter played in 16 games for the Panthers last season and he caught 38 passes for 517 yards (13.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Carter to at least match his numbers from 2007 with the Panthers in 2008 with the Raiders.  Carter has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has caught 71 passes for 977 yards (13.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc) in his career.

Johnnie Lee Higgins has great deep speed but he will need to start to show it on Gameday if he’s going to be anything more than a special teams player in the NFL.  Higgins played in all 16 games as a rookie with the Raiders last season and he caught 6 passes for 47 yards (7.8 avg).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 3 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.

Rookie Arman Shields could move up the depth chart with a good training camp.  He caught 160 passes for 1,930 yards (12.1 avg) with 13 TD grabs in his career at Richmond. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C