As Kurt Warner infamously said, “the most important position in the NFL is the QB. And the second-most important position is the backup QB.” That being said, who the hell will be Oakland’s starting QB week one? It is speculated and most obvious that Matt Flynn will be the starting QB; however, that was the same case last year in Seattle, where, despite being handed the starting job, the Seahawks still gave backup Russell Wilson a fair opportunity to compete for the starting job – which he did – and he won. If the same objective discretion occurs in Oakland, then will Tyler Wilson or Terrelle Pryor be the starter come week one? Hopefully we find out if they are all given a fair shot. Wilson is in the best situation in competing with Flynn because he is a rookie who has not been in a different pro system, where Pryor had Hue Jackson’s system one year and Greg Knapp’s the next; now it is Greg Olsen’s offense he has to adjust to. The dimension that Pryor brings to the table, which the others don’t is his ability to extend plays, something we saw in his first career start last year in week 17. All three QBs will have to put in extra work this upcoming TC, and hopefully the best QB is the starter week one, not the one handpicked because of their contract. Oakland’s Offensive Line was disastrous last year aside from the obvious two, Jared Veldheer and Stefen Wisniewski. RG Mike Brisiel was signed in 2012 for Oakland’s attempted adjustment to a Zone Blocking offense, which completely failed. Brisiel was in a ZBS system his entire career as a pro, so adjusting to a power scheme will be a test for him, as he has Lucas Nix pushing him for a starting job. To the right of those two, rookie RT Menelik Watson is penciled in to start heading into TC over veteran Khalif Barnes. Whether Watson can keep that starting job is up to him. He has another veteran in Alex Barron also on that side fighting for a roster spot, so it will be an interesting challenge for the rookie and how he fights to keep his job. Oakland has an intriguing, inexperience group of WRs. Denarius Moore is more than likely the #1 WR heading into camp, but undrafted second-year WR Rod Streater will push him for that job, as he came out of thin air and surprised a bunch of people. Jacoby Ford is in the last year of his contract and has missed about the last 24 regular season games. When healthy, Ford is dynamic and electrifying in the slot and on the outside at WR. He is also a phenomenal kick returner. He, along with RB Darren McFadden will be fighting for a new contract this season by staying healthy and continuing to be productive, as they have been in the past. 2012 fifth rounder Juron Criner had a golden opportunity in front of him last year, but undrafted WR Rod Streater and veteran Derek Hagan both surpassed him. He has a golden opportunity once again to get more playing time and a better roster spot this season. He is competing with three rookies in Brice Butler, Sam McGuffie and Connor Vernon. All four will more than likely not miss the 53-man roster, so being that Criner has more experience, he is in a make-or-break situation this training camp and preseason. As far as defense goes in Oakland, their DT positions are wide open for either the youngsters Stacy McGee and Christo Bilukidi or the veterans Pat Sims and Vance Walker to steal the starting job. “Old man” Andre Carter is more than likely to be the starting DE opposite of Lamarr Houston, or at least in passing situations, as his game has been questioned against the run. The LBs will also duke it out, as Nick Roach is probably the only person with a starting job at MLB. Kevin Burnett, Sio Moore, Miles Burris and Kaluka Maiava will all be fighting for a starting job. Moore has been used as a DE in college, so don’t rule him out as a possible DE in nickel situations. The DBs will also be a bit complex, as Tyvon Branch is the starting SS and Charles Woodson the starting FS. Having Woodson in one position ruins having him on your depth chart, so it is believable that he will come down in nickel situations and Usama Young will plug in at FS. The starting CB jobs are up for grabs. First round miracle survivor DJ Hayden will be ready for camp, and being that he is a first rounder, he should be one starting corner. But the other starting CB job could go to either Phillip Adams, Tracy Porter, Mike Jenkins or even Chimdi Chekwa. Oakland took its weaknesses on defense (except pass rushers) and addressed it by stacking up, which will bring out the best in players to prove they deserve to start. The corners should be the most interesting to watch
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:31:52 +0000
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