Oakland Raiders: 2010 NFL Off-Season Halftime Report

It's a little hard to believe that the season ended over four months ago. There is still another four months until the 2010 regular season begins. So I decided to summarize the first half of the Raiders off-season.

Tom Cable Stays; Hue Jackson Joins As Offensive Coordinator: Most fans agree that another coaching change should not have happened whether or not they liked Tom Cable. The thought of how well this team could play if it had continuity is very interesting. But Cable even agreed that he had too many duties as the head coach/offensive coordinator/offensive line supervisor. Hue Jackson is a good young offensive mind. He had great success in developing the Bengals wide receivers and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. Many thought that Jackson was here just for JaMarcus Russell. So much for that. Another coaching staff addition, Mike Waufle on the defensive-line, will help this team. He coached the Raiders' D-line in the Super Bowl run of 2002-03, and won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in 2007.

Bruce Gradkowski Tendered RFA Offer: Some fans thought that Gradkowski was about to be released because he posed a threat to Russell's depth chart throne. Almost all Raiders fans wanted to see him back to compete for the stater job, especially after he rallied to beat the Bengals and Steelers. He is at least a quality back-up to Jason Campbell.

With the #8 pick, the Raiders draft...Raider Nation was crossing its fingers all day on April 22, and then partied all night after the selection of Rolando McClain. McClain is expected to be the Raiders best draft pick since Nnamdi Asomugha in 2003. That may be a lot of pressure, but McClain is a hard-hitting S.O.B. (in a good way) straight out of Alabama. He will instantly be a starter. 

Rest of Raiders Draft: The Raiders not only hit a potential jackpot in round one, they kept up the good work for the rest of the weekend. DT/DE Lamarr Houston from Texa...

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