The Raiders have signed 30-year old CB Ronald Bartell to a 1-year, $3 million dollar deal.  Bartell played in only 1 game for the Rams last year and he had 1 tackle.  Bartell has now played in 89 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 311 tackles, 8 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 57 passes defensed, 10 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  This was a good signing for the Raiders as Bartell is a solid player when he’s healthy.  He will likely start in the place of the departed Stanford Routt (he signed with the Chiefs).

The Raiders have released 34-year old OG Cooper Carlisle.  Carlisle played in 16 games (all starts) for the Raiders last year.  He played in 79 games (all starts) in his five years with the Raiders.  This move creates another hole on the Raiders’ roster that must be filled in free agency or the draft.

UPDATE:  (3/19/2012) – The Raiders have re-signed Cooper Carlisle to a more cap friendly contract.

The Raiders have released 33-year old DT John Henderson.  Henderson played in 13 games for the Raiders last year and he had 36 tackles and 4 passes defensed.  He played in 22 games in his two years with the Raiders and he had 66 tackles, 7 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Henderson was an average DT at best for the Raiders, so they shouldn’t miss him a whole lot in 2012.

The Raiders have released 28-year old TE Kevin Boss.  Boss played in 14 games for the Raiders last year (his only with the team) and he caught 28 passes for 368 yards (13.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Boss has now played in 72 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 147 passes for 1,968 yards (13.4 avg) with 21 TD grabs.  The Raiders now have a gaping hole at TE that will need to be filled in free agency, the draft or a trade.

The Raiders have released 31-year old safety Hiram Eugene.  He missed all of last year due to a dislocated hip.  He played in 60 games in his five years with the Raiders and he had 153 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 1 interception, 4 forced fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries.  Eugene failed his off-season physical (likely due to his hip) and that was the reason for his release.

The Raiders have used the franchise tag on 25-year old safety Tyvon Branch, so he will be with them in 2012.  Branch played in all 16 games for the Raiders last year and he had 109 tackles, 1 interception, 4 passes defensed, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery and 2 tackles for a loss.  Branch has now played in 56 games in his first four years with the Raiders and he has 347 tackles, 3 interceptions, 16 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 14 tackles for a loss.  It was smart of the Raiders to make sure that their tackling machine is back for at least the 2012 season.

The Raiders have released 28-year old cornerback Stanford Routt.  Routt played in all 16 games for the Raiders last year and he had 49 tackles, 15 passes defensed, 4 interceptions and 2 tackles for a loss.  Routt played in 110 games in his seven years with the Raiders and he had 237 tackles, 51 passes defensed, 10 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 4 tackles for a loss.  This was a money move and little more and the Raiders are going to miss Routt in 2012.

The Raiders have hired 39-year old Dennis Allen to be their new head coach.  He has been an assistant coach in the NFL for 10 years.  He was the Denver’ Broncos’ defensive co-ordinator last season.  The Broncos gave up 126.3 yards rushing (4.1 ypc), 231.5 yards passing (93.1 QB Rating) and 24.4 points per game last season.  It was smart of the Raiders to go for a defensive minded coach in Allen.  I think he did the best he could in Denver with the talent on hand.  I think he will improve the Raiders’ D in 2012 and beyond, especially against the run.

Raiders’ owner Al Davis helped his team with picking quite a few solid players last April.  Don’t forget that he took QB Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft, but he didn’t get into any games.  Here is a look at how the rookies did in their first taste of the NFL:

22-year old guard Steve Wisniewski came to the Raiders in the 2nd round last April.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Raiders last year.  He is going to be a fixture on the Raiders’ O-Line for a long, long time.

22-year old CB DeMarcus Van Dyke was a 3rd round pick of the Raiders.  He played in 14 games for the Raiders last year and he had 13 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Look for him to start having a bigger role on D starting in 2012.

24-year old OT Joseph Barksdale was picked in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Raiders last year.  He could develop into a starter for the Raiders in the near future.

23-year old CB Chimdi Chekwa was a 4th round pick by the Raiders last April.  He played in only 4 games in which he had 8 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  Look for him to play more in 2012.

23-year old RB Taiwan Jones also came to the Raiders in the 4th round.  He played in 10 games for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 16 times for 73 yards (4.6 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg) and he returned 8 kickoffs for 165 yards (20.8 avg).  Look for Jones’ role to expand in 2012.

23-year old WR Denarius Moore was a 5th round steal for the Raiders.  Moore played in 13 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 33 passes for 618 yards (18.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 61 yards (12.2 ypc) last season.  Moore didn’t stop there though as he returned 25 punts for 216 yards (8.6 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 37 yards (18.5 avg).  Moore is going to be a dynamic player for the Raiders because of his speed and playmaking ability.

24-year old TE Richard Gordon was picked in the sixth round by the Raiders.  He played in 14 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 1 pass for 2 yards.  He also had 7 tackles as he helped out on special teams.

24-year old WR David Ausberry also came to the Raiders in the 7th round.  Ausberry played in 12 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -2 yards and he had 7 tackles, earning his money on special teams.

GRADE FOR 2011:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Oakland Raiders have fired 46-year old head coach Hue Jackson after only one year.  He led the Raiders to an 8-8 record and a three way tie for first place in the AFC West with the Chargers and Broncos.  But, the Raiders lost the tiebreaker to the Broncos.  The Raiders averaged 22.4 points per game and 379.5 total yards on offense under Hue Jackson’s direction.  But, the defense was pathetic for the Raiders last year.  The Raiders gave up 27.1 points per game and 387.5 yards per game last season and it did them in.  New GM Reggie McKenzie decided the Jackson was getting a little too big for his britches, so he decided to can him and start over.