Trimming the Fat: The State of the Oakland Raider Franchise

Dr. Nick Chicoine – Mar 19, 2012

An NFL franchise is very similar to the human body.  A football team has multiple positions, just as the body has multiple organs.  Some organs, just as some positions are more vital to a team than others.  Regardless of vitality, when one organ fails, the rest are sure to be affected (see: every disease in existence).  In the words of Aristotle:

The Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Just like humans, a football organization can become sedentary (Lazy).  When this happens to an NFL  franchise, they do things such as; overpay for sub-par talent, set a record for penalties, fail to adapt to the ever changing league around them, fail to provide legitimate back up plans (see: Kyle Boller), and fail to win at least one division title in the last decade. 

When the human body becomes sedentary, it becomes fat.  Although it is usually the first thing you notice externally, the concern isn’t just about the fat around your waistline. It’s the fat around your HEART (OL),  your BRAIN(QB), your LIVER/IMMUNE SYSTEM(Defense), your LUNGS (WR/RB) and your TISSUES(SPT).  Not only that, but also the strain it puts on our BONES (Front Office) which is the structure that has to support it all. 

One out of every three people die of heart disease making it the #1 killer in the United States.  The #1 cause of heart disease is obesity, making this a very preventable problem.  The easiest way to prevent inevitable death is to simply trim the fat.  Reggie McKenzie has made it his first duty of business to trim as much fat as he can, and by that I mean releasing players with fat and unhealthy contracts that could have a negative impact on the overall health of the franchise.  

The healthiest way to lose weight is a diet, and an efficient diet should NOT be well balanced, because you can't lose weight if what you are eating is balanced.   Just as it's hard to give up you're favorite foods in order to lose weight, it has been hard to give up some of our favorite Raiders (I'm looking at you @RockGotti25), but just like losing Nnamdi, Woodson, and Gruden, this too shall pass.  

Like any diet, once you lose all the weight, it's important to have a sustainable exit strategy so you don't resort back to your old ways and become unhealthy once again.  One way Reggie McKenzie has already implemented this plan is by dealing with all of the "out of whack" contracts he inherited.  No longer will Oakland be a place where unheralded contracts are the norm, and no longer will Oakland draft players based only on their speed (sorry Madden players).

Once the fat is trimmed, it's important to slowly, but efficiently reintroduce more calories to balance your every day diet (Calories = money in this analogy).  The Oakland Raiders right now are somewhere in-between being on a diet, and just getting off of a diet.  Now that all of the "out of whack" contracts have either been restructured or released, it's time to start revitalizing the rest of the team by balancing out the roster.  

This is the Oakland Raiders current thin, yet contract healthy depth chart:

Offense:

QB:  1)Palmer  2)Pryor

RB:  1)McFadden  2) T. Jones

FB:  1)Reece  2) M. Tonga

LT:  1) J. Veldheer

LG:  1) S. Wisniewski  2) B. Campbell

C:

RG:  1) Mike Brisiel 2)Cooper Carlisle

RT:  1) Joseph Barksdale

TE:  1) B. Myers  2)R. Gordon  3) D. Ausberry

WR: 1)D. Moore 2) D. Heyward-Bey  3) J. Ford  4)L. Murphy

 

Defense:

DE:  1) L. Houston  2) M. Shaughnessy  3) D. Bryant

DT:  1) R. Seymour  2) T. Kelly

LB:  1) R. McClain  2) Aaron Curry

CB:  1) Ron Bartell 2) Shawntae Spencer 3) C. Chekwa  4) D. Vandyke   

S:  1) T. Branch  2) M. Mitchell  3) M. Huff  

 

Primary Needs:  LB, OL, CB

Secondary Needs: QB, WR, RB

Players in communication with Oakland:

CB-Tracy Porter

TE- Joel Dreesen