Oakland's offense was one of the team's positives last year. Even when starting QB Jason Campbell went down, the Raiders traded for Carson Palmer to keep the passing game going, with Darius Heyward-Bey having quite the breakout season (led team in receptions and yards) and Denarius Moore looking like a rising star.
The running game was also off to a great start with Darren McFadden leading the league in rushing until he got injured against Kansas City in Week 6. The Raiders luckily had a serviceable replacement in Michael Bush.
In the offseason, the Raiders brought in Gregg Knapp to take over the offense, with Knapp bringing in the ZBS (zone blocking scheme). The Raiders brought in free-agent Mike Brisiel, backup QB Matt Leinart and draft picks Tony Bergstrom and Juron Criner.
I wanted to watch the first preseason game to get a look at the offense a little more closely and found the three things that stood out to me.
Backup Offensive Tackle
The left tackle spot is locked up by 2010 third-round pick Jared Veldeer, who has become one of the steals of that draft and a top-10 left tackle in the league. The right tackle position, on the other hand, was thought to be a competition between Khalif Barnes and Joseph Barksdale. Barnes has been playing with the first team all training camp and did in the Raiders' first preseason game, taking the spot with Barksdale not showing well in camp and preseason.
So with backup tackles Kevin Haslam and Ed Wang along with Barksdale being very much a weak spot on Monday night, the Raiders should upgrade the position.
Possible Additions: Kareem McKenzie, Stacy Andrews (can play guard) and Chad Clifton.
Backup Right Guard
Behind starters Cooper Carlisle and Mike Brisiel, the Raiders hav...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
