Midweek Thoughts

Thoughts on the upcoming game against the St. Louis Rams, followed by answers to any questions raised in the comments of the previous two blogs:

- Daunte Culpepper will start and is expected to play the entire first half and possibly the start of the second, barring an extremely poor performance he should be announced as the starter sometime after this game.

- Josh McCown and Andrew Walter will also get some reps in that order, at this point it's anyones guess as to who will get cut once JaMarcus Russell finally signs his contract as Lane Kiffin continues to split reps evenly, there have been rumors of a possible trade of McCown or Walter to Atlanta but nothing is likely to happen until Russell arrives in camp.

- The Rams defense will be a provide a much bigger test for the Raiders offensive line than the 49ers did, the 49ers had 3 starters on their defensive line injured for last weeks game, whereas the Rams have a very talented line and are expected to generate a lot more pressure.

- If LaMont Jordan has a similar game to last week where he rushed for 67-yards on 8 carries, it would provide further evidence that he is perfectly suited to the zone blocking scheme the Raiders have brought in this off-season and would indicate the running game could become a real strength, taking pressure off the Raider QB's.

Now my thoughts on questions raised by readers:

- The offensive line is already light years ahead of last seasons version, the feeling is that Jeremy Newberry would win the starting C spot if 100% healthy and probably will even if he's not quite there, Jake Grove is an adequate backup and will still get snaps even if Newberry does start in order to keep him healthy.

- The RT position appears to be the weakest on the offensive line at the moment, the current projected starter is Cornell Green who has an advantage over other Raiders linemen as he's played in the zone blocking scheme before. The feeling is that he's just keeping the position warm until Paul McQuistan or Mario Henderson have progressed enough to take over later in the season.

- The FB position is really difficult to predict at the moment as Lane Kiffin is giving nothing away, it's not known whether he'll carry 1 FB or 2. If he wants a solid lead blocker who can catch the ball out of the backfield then he'll keep Griffith, if he wants a good all-round FB who can also run the ball he'll keep Crockett. If he does carry 2 then I'd expect him to keep Oren O'Neill as a developmental FB who could be a quality starter in a year or two and would be very unlikely to clear waivers to go on the practice squad if released.

- Special Teams should be much improved this season, not only on KR and PR duties after the drafting of Johnnie Lee Higgins but also on kick coverage which already looks improved in pre-season after the hiring of new special teams coach Brian Schneider. It was well reported that last seasons coach Ted Daisher didn't have the respect of his players with regular outbursts and shouting matches with players on the sidelines, the players evidently didn't want to play for him with terrible kick coverage that often left P Shane Lechler or K Sebastian Janikowski to make the TD saving tackle.

- I think the Raiders are likely to carry 6 WR's this season, locks are Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry, Mike Williams and Johnnie Lee Higgins. I think Travis Taylor will get the 5th spot but there is competition for the final place between Doug Gabriel, Alvis Whitted, Johnnie Morant, Carlos Francis and Chris McFoy. Gabriel offers the most right now and McFoy could have the most upside long-term, but Whitted is well known to be an Al Davis favorite and may stick around another season, this one is too close to call.

- The Raiders completed a trade with fierce rivals Denver to acquire DT Gerard Warren for a conditional 5th round pick, this is a good move that should really improve the run defense and adds solid depth to the position. The move could also allow Tommy Kelly to occupy the RE position on run downs and slide across back to DT on passing downs.

Thats all for now, thanks and keep reading!