45-year old rookie head coach Hue Jackson did a great job of transforming the Raiders’ offense into a physical run first bunch in 2010.  Expect more of the same from the Raiders’ offense in 2011.  Jackson has been an NFL assistant head coach for 10 years, so he has plenty of experience.  Jackson couldn’t have been happy when ex-Raiders head coach had his new team (the Seahawks) sign TE Zach Miller and OG Robert Gallery away from them.  The Raiders were 8-8 last year and owner Al Davis won’t be happy with anything that includes not making the playoffs in 2011.  I think he’s going to be really grumpy in 2011.

The Oakland Raiders will likely lean on the running game in 2011.  23-year old Darren McFadden really had a breakout year in 2010 and the Raiders expect more  of the same in 2011.  McFadden played in 13 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 223 times for 1,157 yards (5.2 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 47 passes for 507 yards (10.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  McFadden was electric last year as he has the speed to go the distance any time he touches the ball, from anywhere on the field.  McFadden has now played in 38 games (25 starts) in his first three years with the Raiders and he has carried the ball 440 times for 2,013 yards (4.6 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He has also caught 97 passes for 1,037 yards (10.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.  The only thing that can hold back McFadden is an injury, and he has been a tad injury prone so far in his career.

27-year old Michael Bush is a good partner in the backfield for McFadden, because he’s a pure power back.  Bush played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 158 times for 655 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 18 passes for 194 yards (10.8 avg) last year.  Bush has now played in 45 games (10 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 376 times for 1,665 yards (4.4 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  Bush has also caught 54 passes for 461 yards (8.5 avg) so far in his career.  McFadden’s speed and Bush’s power is what gives the Raiders such a rock solid running game.

23-year old rookie Taiwan Jones will likely emerge as the Raiders’ #3 back in 2011.  He was a 4th round pick out of tiny Eastern Washington last April in the NFL Draft.  Jones is really fast, which is something the Raiders love about him.  It will be interesting if Jones can pick up blocking assignments in the NFL.  If nothing else, he will likely help the Raiders on special teams in 2011.

31-year old Rock Cartwright is in camp with the Raiders once again in 2011.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 9 times for 22 yards (2.4 ypc).  Cartwright also caught 1 pass for 10 yards last year.  Cartwright is a good special teams player and that will likely earn him a roster spot in 2011.  He has now played in 139 games (5 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 224 times for 911 yards (4.1 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Cartwright has also caught 60 passes for 565 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his NFL career.

32-year old Michael Bennett is trying to hang on in the NFL with the Raiders.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc).  Bennett also caught 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg) last year for the Raiders.  Bennett has always been a solid RB in the NFL but he’s getting a little long in tooth.  Bennett has now played in 107 games (50 starts) in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 842 times for 3,703 yards (4.4 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He has also caught 159 passes for 1,294 yards (8.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS RBS IN 2011:  A

The Raiders hope that this is the season that 29-year old QB Jason Campbell really steps up.  Campbell played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Raiders last year and he completed 194 of 329 passes (59%) for 2,387 yards with 13 TD passes and 8 INTs (84.5 QB Rating).  Campbell also carried the ball 47 times for 222 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Campbell has always been a solid QB that protects the football.  The Raiders hope that this is the season that he really takes charge of the offense.  Campbell has now played in 65 games (64 starts) in his first 5 years in the NFL and he has completed 1,196 of 1,966 passes (60.8%) for 13,247 yards with 68 TD passes and 46 INTs (82.6 QB Rating).  Campbell has also carried the ball 200 times for 1,008 yards (5.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  Campbell is only 27-37 (42.2%) as a starting QB in the NFL but he hasn’t played on many good teams either.

27-year old Trent Edwards will head into the pre-season as the Raiders’ #2 QB but things could change before September 12th as Kyle Boller is back in 2011.  Edwards played in 5 games (3 starts) for the Bills and Jaguars last year and he completed 55 of 101 passes (54.5%) for 521 yards with 2 TD passes and 5 INTs (54.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 58 yards (4.1 ypc) last year.  Edwards has never lived up to his “ability” and he’s been very brittle so far in his career.  Edwards has now played in 37 games (33 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 561 of 927 passes (60.5%) for 6,019 yards with 26 TD passes and 30 INTs (75.4 QB Rating).  Edwards has also carried the ball 78 times for 330 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Edwards is 14-19 (42.4%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.

30-year old Kyle Boller will enter camp as the Raiders’ #3 QB.  Boller played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Raiders last year and he completed 2 of 4 passes (50%) for 25 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (30.2 QB Rating).  Boller also carried the ball 7 times for 18 yards (2.6 ypc) last year.  Boller’s super strong arm is the reason why Al Davis keeps him around despite him not being a very accurate passer.  Boller has now played in 65 games (46 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has completed 846 of 1,491 passes (56.7%) for 8,770 yards with 48 TD passes and 51 INTs (70.4 QB Rating).  Boller has also carried the ball 167 times for 534 yards (3.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Boller is 20-26 (43.5%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS QBS IN 2011:  C

26-year old Johnnie Lee Higgins will battle 27-year old Yamon Figurs and rookie 4th round pick Jacoby Ford for the starting job as the kickoff return man in 2010.  Higgins did not return any kickoffs last season for the Raiders.  He has played in 47 games in his three years with the Raiders and he has returned 36 kickoffs for 842 yards (23.4 avg).  Higgins probably is at the top of the depth chart heading into the pre-season.

Yamon Figurs is a pretty solid return man in his own right.  He played in 6 games for the Bucs & Lions last season and he returned 5 kickoffs for 105 yards (21.0 avg).  Figurs has now played in 32 games in his 3 years in the NFL and he has returned 80 kickoffs for 1,851 yards (23.1 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has a really good chance of winning this job.

Rookie 4th round pick Jacoby Ford out of Clemson is a Al Davis favorite.  The 5’9″, 185 pound Ford ran a 4.2 40 at the scouting combine in Indy.  He has the most speed of these three guys but he will need to prove himself this pre-season if he wants to get a shot returning kickoffs when the bullets fly for real in September.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C

LT Mario Henderson is a big guy at 6’7″, 300 pounds but he sometimes loses out to power rushers who at times push him backwards.  He is a solid athlete though and he can compete with speed rushers.  LG Robert Gallery is the best O-Lineman the Raiders have.  His strength is  his run blocking as he doesn’t miss many targets.  Center Samson Satele is a tough guy who’s a better run blocker than a pass blocker.  RG Cooper Carlisle is a power blocker who has a non-stop motor.  He’s both a good pass and run blocker.  RT Khalif Barnes is a average tackle at best.  Rookies Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell will provide depth at tackle in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS O-LINE in 2010:  C-

46-year old head coach Tom Cable is a tough guy and the Raiders’ front office likes that.  He got into a scuffle with another coach in the locker room last season and he busted him in the chops fracturing his jaw.  Sure the Raiders were only 5-11 last season but that’s because Al Davis wanted Cable to start JaMarcus Russell over Bruce Gradkowski.  With Russell out of the picture this season I see the Raiders winning a few more games in 2010.  Think .500.  Cable has a 9-19 record (32.1%) in parts of two years with the Raiders but I see that winning % going up in 2010.

32-year old lefty footed kicker Sabastian Janikowski has a big time leg.  The Raiders even had him try a 75-yarder last season!  He played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 26 of 29 field goals (89.7%).  Janikowski also made all 17 of his extra points as he finished up with 95 points for the Raiders last year.  Janikowski has now played in 157 games in his NFL career and he has made 229 of 292 (78.4%) field goals.   He is also 313 of 316 on extra points as he now has 1,000 career points.  Janikowski seems to be getting better with age and the Raiders hope that continues in 2010 and beyond.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS KICKERS in 2010:  A

The Raiders corps of WRs have only 134 combined catches in the NFL, but they have speed to burn.  The Raiders hope that 24-year old Chaz Schilens can stay healthy in 2010.  Schilens has played in 8 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 29 passes for 365 yards (12.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Schilens has now played in 24 games (14 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has caught 44 passes for 591 yards (13.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs. 

23-year old Darrius Heyward-Bey was a huge disappointment for the Raiders as a rookie last year.  He played in 11 games (all starts) and he caught 9 passes for 124 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) last season.  Heyward-Bey might be one of the fastest receivers in the NFL but he should put some meat tenderizer on his concrete set of hands.

23-year old speedster Louis Murphy had some solid games as a rookie last season.  He also made a game winning catch at the end of the game in Pittsburgh that pretty much sealed up a huge win for the Raiders.  Murphy played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 34 passes for 521 yards (15.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) last season.  Murphy has the potential to easily move up the depth chart this year for the Raiders.

Rookie Jacoby Ford out of Clemson (4th round) in a absolute speed burner as he ran a 4.2 40 at the Scouting Combine.  But he is on the small side at 5’9″, 185 pounds so it will be interesting to see if he can take the pounding of the NFL.  Still, owner Al Davis loves speed and Ford has more than enough of that.

26-year old Johnnie Lee Higgins is also pretty quick.  He played in 15 games (5 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 19 passes for 263 yards (13.8 avg) without any TD grabs.  Higgins also carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) last year.  Higgins has now played in 47 games (10 starts) in his three years with the Raiders and he has caught 47 passes for 676 yards (14.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Higgins has also carried the ball 7 times for 58 yards (8.3 ypc) in his career to date.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS WRs in 2010:  D

24-year old Zach Miller will probably see a lot more action in the passing game than he did last season now that the Raiders have a legit QB in Jason Campbell.  Miller played in 15 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 66 passes for 805 yards (12.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 47 games (46 starts) in his three years in the NFL and he has caught 166 passes for 2,027 yards (12.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs. 

30-year old Tony Stewart will likely be the #2 TE for the Raiders in 2010.  Stewart played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg).  He has now played in 115 games (31 starts) in his 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 76 passes for 623 yards (8.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Stewart is more of a blocker than a pass catcher.

24-year old Brandon Myers could see more action in 2010.  Myers played in 11 games (2 starts) as a rookie for the Raiders last season and he has caught 4 passes for 19 yards (4.8 avg). 

30-year old John Owens played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg).  Owens has now played in 76 games (19 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 22 passes for 178 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He is more of a run blocker than a receiver.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS  TEs in 2010:  B

The Oakland Raiders don’t give the ball to the fullbacks much so their main job is blocking.  29-year old Luke Lawton tops the depth chart for the Raiders heading into training camp.  He played in 13 games (3 starts) for the Raiders last season and he didn’t get to carry the ball.  He did catch 7 passes for 31 yards (4.4 avg) last season.  Lawton has played in 44 games (10 starts) in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 5 times for 13 yards (2.6 ypc) and he has caught 17 passes for 90 yards (5.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.

25-year old Marcel Reece is a converted TE.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) last season for the Raiders and he caught the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 avg).  He also returned 3 kickoffs for 58 yards (19.3 avg) last season. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS FBs in 2010:  C