Re-visiting the Oakland Raiders class of 2009

The first move the Oakland Raiders made in the 2009 offseason was claiming QB Bruce Gradkowski off the waiver wire from the Cleveland Browns on February 10th. Little did they know the ultimate effect of the transaction would result in the release of 2007 first round draft choice QB JaMarcus Russell.

Along with the new face at QB, the Raiders also made several coaching staff changes, including a new defensive coordinator formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, John Marshall. James Lofton was let go as the receivers coach in favor of rookie WR coach Sanjay Lal. Due to Tom cable’s promotion mid-season in 2008 to Head Coach, Jim Michalczik was brought in to coach the offensive line. Dwayne Board was brought in with Marshall to coach the defensive line. John Fassel was promoted from special team’s assistant to special team’s coordinator, Paul Hackett was brought in as QB’s coach, and Ted Tollner would become the “Passing Game Coordinator”. As far as I know, Tollner was the only “Passing game coordinator” in the league last year, and as far as I can tell, the only one in league history. Believe me when I say, there is a reason for that; Oakland’s passing game was atrocious last year.

Another key move of the 2009 offseason was the resigning of their two starting cornerbacks, Chris Johnson and Nnamdi Asomugha. But Pro Bowl Punter Shane Lechler came first, when he signed the biggest contract ever given to a punter, and deservedly so. Asomugha was signed just one day later in a contract that would make him the highest paid CB in the league in 2009.

Soon thereafter, the team released Gibril Wilson, Kalimba Edwards, Ronald Curry, Kwame Harris, and Justin Griffith.

Then the Raiders turned their attention to special teams and the offensive line. With that came the re-signing of 2010 AFC Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo, special teams ace LB Isaiah Ekejiuba, CB/KR Justin Miller, and special teamer LB Sam Williams. Tackle Eric Pears was brought in from Denver’s zone blocking scheme along with former Jaguars starting left tackle Khalif Barnes, and they acquired Samson Satele from the Miami Dolphins for a sixth round pick, in addition to swapping of the fourth round picks.

Just before the draft, the Raiders brought in Jeff Garcia, in hopes that he could take the improving JaMarcus Russell under his wing and teach him the inner workings of becoming a winner at the quarterback position. At first, Garcia seemed open to the idea, but his reluctance soon became transparent, as he went on numerous talk radio shows and local television pleading his case as being the better of the two quarterbacks. It was obvious that Garcia’s intentions had become of his own regard, and he would be cut prior to the 2009 season opener, some say at his own request.

The draft produced more talent for the Raiders to add to their classes from 2007 & 2008:

Darrius Heyward-Bey may go down in history as one of the most boneheaded moves the Raiders have ever made. Not because they took a WR, which was a position of need for them, but because they passed on a “can’t miss” WR in Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, who would ultimately go across the Bay to San Francisco three picks later. His first season as a Raider is one he will likely want to forget. In 11 games, Heyward-Bey made only nine catches, and also managed to cost the team a come from behind victory against rival Kansas City in Oakland. Hope, however, springs eternal on the young wide receiver, as Head Coach Tom Cable claims Heyward-Bey has made tremendous improvements during his time off this offseason.

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The second round selection of Mike Mitchell was criticized almost as heavily as the pick of DHB. Oakland Raiders fans around the globe could only hold their heads in their shaking hands as they watched the draft unfold. It appeared that Oakland owner Al Davis was the crazy old man everyone had made him out to be, yet it turned out to be not that ill-advised after all. Apparently, the Chicago Bears had called Mitchell at the beginning of the round to tell him to prepare to be a Bear. He never made it to pick 49 and Chicago, Oakland took him 47^th. Both he and DHB missed plenty of time working out with the team when they both suffered injuries in mini-camp pressing too hard towards proving their worth the NFL world. However, Mitchell made the first kickoff coverage tackle of the second half in his first game for Oakland against San Diego, and he came on strong at the end of the year in a defensive formation the Raiders called the three safety set. Plus once people saw this highlight reel, they quickly forgot about what round Mitchell was selected.

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Matt Shaughnessy made his presence known about halfway through the season when starting defensive end Greg Ellis started suffering reoccurring knee injuries. Shaughnessy showed up strong in the second half of the 2009 season for Oakland registering 19 of his 29 total tackles for the year, along with three of his four sacks, and four of his five tackles for a loss. Shaughnessy proved to be a coach’s dream type of player; a hard worker who has great talent to go along with it. He loves the weight room, and in just two seasons, he hulked up from a linebacker-sized 253 pounds to a substantial defensive end weight of 270 pounds. At 6’5″ with 4.88 forty time, Shaughnessy made himself into a front runner to fill the starting spot left by the 2010 release of Greg Ellis. But, he’ll have to hold off 2007 fifth rounder Jay Richardson as well as 2010 rookie Lamarr Houston, and 2010 UDFA Alex Daniels.

Louis Murphy has become a legit weapon for a floundering Raiders passing attack. In 2009, he amassed 34 catches, 521 yards receiving, and 4 touchdowns. He also made the NFL referees scratch their heads on calls more than once; producing choruses of boos from Raider Nation that could be heard throughout the NFL kingdom. Murphy has all the makings of a future All-Pro wide receiver: Outstanding teammate, tremendous worker, productive blocker. He reminds me of a young Hines Ward, always smiling, feisty, and going all out on every play. In Ward’s first year he only caught 15 passes, but jumped to 61 in his second year for Pittsburgh. I’d expect similar results for Louis Murphy. In college, Murphy won two national titles, and he’s looking to bring that winning Florida Gators mentality to his new home in Oakland.

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2009 UDFA’s Desmond Bryant and Nick Miller worked hard enough to earn roster spots on the final 53 man roster for the Raiders following training camp. While Miller would never play a down for the Raiders during the regular season, Bryant really made a name for himself as a lengthy 290 pound defensive tackle. He totaled 32 tackles, which was just three behind 2009 starter Gerard Warren. Rumor has it that Bryant has been working since February with new defensive line coach Mike Waufle and has beefed himself up to around the 310 pound mark. Nick Miller became known as “Mr. Dark-horse” during the 2009 offseason and made a very memorable catch from QB Bruce Gradkowski on a deep ball in a preseason game against the Cowboys. He was expected to be the return man for Oakland in 2009, but still hasn’t fully recovered from a broken shin suffered during the preseason.

On August 6^th, 2009 the Raiders traded former Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Burgess to the New England Patriots for a third round pick that later became OLB Kamerion Wimbley, and a fifth round pick that later became Quentin Groves. Just 30 days after the Burgess trade, the Raiders acquired six-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl Champion Richard Seymour for a 2011 first round pick.

Heading into the 2009 season, the Raiders looked like an almost completely new team from their predecessors in 2006. Some people blame the recently cut QB JaMarcus Russell for the Raiders lack of production. Some say it is due to the poor play calling put forth by Tom Cable. Some say it was due to poor offensive line play and injuries or the ever-porous run defense. Most likely, the 5-11 record was due to a combination of factors, but one thing perhaps we all can agree on is that the team could have won more games. Tom Cable pointed out that if it wasn’t for a missed tackle here or a turnover there this is a team that was talented enough to win 8-10 games last season. In 2010, they just added to that talent level. Now the hope is that they can fix the small mental errors that tend to separate the good teams in this league from the worse off teams.