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2010 Offensive Line Analysis - Oakland Raiders

2010 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Mario Henderson
Left Guard: Robert Gallery
Center: Samson Satele
Right Guard: Cooper Carlisle / Khalif Barnes / Bruce Campbell
Right Tackle: Langston Walker

2009 Injuries:
G Robert Gallery: Weeks 3-8 and 14-17

2009 Statistics:

Overview:
The Oakland Raiders haven’t won more than five games in seven straight years and have had a bottom ten offense for five straight years. Jason Campbell should bring some consistency at the quarterback position and the duo of McFadden and Bush can be dangerous if healthy. During those seven years, the Raiders have always had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL but there will be a few changes this season which could help.

The 25-year old Mario Henderson will start at left tackle for the second consecutive year despite a very difficult year in 2009. Henderson was one of the worst left tackles in pass protection last year, allowing 8 sacks and 17 QB hits, and was also well below average in run blocking. He has quick feet for a 6’7” and 300 lbs lineman but hasn’t been able to get it together at the NFL level. The Raiders are hoping that Henderson picks up his game this year but it would be surprising if he showed major improvement over last year. The right tackle position won’t be much better with the 30-year old Langston Walker. Walker came back to Oakland last season after starting all 32 games in his two years with the Bills. He looked pretty good in his one full game at left guard but we can’t forget that he was below average in both run blocking and pass protection with the Bills. Walker has looked better so far this off-season but the Raiders know he’s not a long term solution because they selected Jared Veldheer in the third round and Bruce Campbell in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. It’s a little surprising that the Raiders didn’t select a tackle earlier in the draft given the weakness at the position but Veldheer has been impressive and could start sooner rather than later while Campbell will get a chance to compete at guard.

At left guard will be Robert Gallery; the Raiders second overall pick in 2004 never lived up to expectations at tackle but is doing a much better job at guard. Gallery is big at 6’7” and 325 lbs but lacks athleticism and made too many mental mistakes to be an effective tackle in the NFL. He was much more effective at guard and was quite surprising in 2008 but missed most of the 2009 season with injuries. Gallery is by far the best offensive lineman on this team and has the abilities to be one of the five or ten best left guards in the NFL when healthy. His injury is one of the reasons the Raiders struggled so much in 2009 and they will be very glad to have him back this year. The battle for the right guard position is wide open at this point. Cooper Carlisle has been the starter for the past three years but he hasn’t been great in the past few years and will get some competition this season. Fourth round draft pick Bruce Campbell was a tackle in college but many believe he may be a better fit at guard in the NFL and he will get his chance this year. Khalif Barnes was a starter in four straight years for the Jaguars but he’s been moved around after his struggles at left tackle in 2008. Barnes has been moved inside to guard, a much better fit for him, and will get a chance to start.

Samson Satele had an up and down season in his first year with the Raiders but will probably be the starter at center in 2010. Satele started all 32 games in his first two NFL seasons with the Dolphins but was very disappointing in 2008. He was a second round pick in 2007 and the bright spot for the Dolphins line in his rookie season but has struggled since then. Last year he had another down year with the Raiders and struggled in both pass protection and run blocking. Satele has the potential to be a decent starting center in the NFL but he hasn’t shown it recently. Chris Morris, who was the starter at the beginning of the 2009 season, wasn’t any better and will likely backup Satele this season.

2010 Outlook:
The Raiders offensive line struggled once again last season but things should be better with the return of Robert Gallery. The starters on this line don’t seem to be any better than they were in the past but the main difference is that there will be much more competition and this line will, for once, have depth. Barnes and Morris both have starting experience while rookies Veldheer and Campbell have impressed so far. It’s hard to expect anything spectacular out of this line, especially in pass protection with Henderson and Walker at tackle, but the run blocking could be above average, as it was in 2008, with the return of Robert Gallery. This line definitely has much more upside than it did a year ago but it’s probably at least a year or two away from turning things around since a third and fourth round pick can’t do miracles in their rookie year.

See all of our 2010 Offensive Line Analysis Articles