Paving A New Raider Way

Well, if reports are to be believed, we have a general manager, one who comes from a first-class organization, and who was endorsed by Ron Wolf and John Madden, and who actually played for the Raiders back in the day.

I don't know a lot about Reggie McKenzie as an executive, but his endorsements and pedigree sound promising.

I honestly don't care what happens with Hue Jackson. For some strange reason, I'm completely ambivalent about him. I thought that he started his tenure strong, but I was pretty unimpressed by the end of the season. I suppose that he could still have some upside, that he could still be the guy, but I think that is open for legitimate debate, and I wouldn't be surprised if McKenzie decided he wasn't the guy.

The Raiders defense was a grease fire in 2011. Apparently, Jackson had the power to hand out draft picks like Christmas candy in his pursuit of Carson Palmer, but no authority to demote a woefully ineffective defensive coordinator?

Worse yet, the Raiders set the NFL record for penalties and penalty yardage, which I believe reflects directly on the coach. In the end, Jackson sounded overly exasperated and a bit in over his head, which is no way to hit the ground running in 2012.

The injuries at key positions like quarterback and running back are no excuse for finishing in third place in a weak division. If we were going to accept mediocrity as a result of injury, then there was no reason to mortgage our future drafts for the sake of fielding Carson Palmer. If Michael Bush was such a drop off the cliff, how did he run for nearly 1,000 yards and earn consideration for a franchise tag?

The Palmer deal could really blow up in our face in the long run. Big Ben, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco and even Tim Tebow...Do you see a trend with the teams who are in the playoffs this year? Hint: each of their quarterbacks was drafted by their own team (okay, Manning was traded on draft day) and groomed from the ground up.

Drew Brees is the exception. There's also the Texans, who ostensibly should be fielding Matt Schaub, and Alex Smith and Tim Tebow are flukey, but there's a clear pattern with the teams that seem to be there time and time again.

I'm not writing off Carson Palmer, he could still become our Drew Brees or Kurt Warner, but it's time for the Raiders to take a holistic, ground-up, visionary approach to building the team, and it starts at quarterback.

In that context, they should be drafting their QB of the future sooner rather than later. This is a QB-driven league. Carson Palmer should not only be our starting quarterback for the next few years, but he should also be a mentor to our next quarterback for the subsequent 10 years.

But here's the rub: we have several other holes to fill, but also a dearth of draft picks.

Statistically, Jason Campbell and Carson Palmer were in a virtual dead heat in 2011. In 2012, Palmer needs to prove that he's a few high draft picks better than the guy we already had. And if McFadden remains injury prone, then we can expect an encore starting performance from Michael Bush. It should be good enough to win a weak division.

But it won't be if the defense doesn't get squared away. Hiring a capable defensive coordinator is the first step, but not the only one. Our defense is loaded with high-priced veterans and lofty draft picks who have no business getting embarrassed like that, even if Mickey Mouse were on the sidelines calling the schemes.

Again: it's time for the Raiders to take a holistic, ground-up, visionary approach to building the team. It's time to pave a new Raider Way.

That's why Reggie McKenzie is here. And that's why Hue Jackson may be gone, and that's why I wouldn't be terribly surprised or disappointed.