Holla At Me Raider Nation!
 
I've been thinking about which Oakland Raider players to watch; After all, it is (kinda sorta) TRAINING CAMP TIME!

 

Training camp time is always beautiful. It's that time of the season when everyone is full of hope and anticipation. T.C.T. reminds me of the early days in a relationship; before you catch her in bed with your best friend and everything goes to hell in a hand basket.
 
So, with all the new blood in Oakland the question is who to watch?!!, who to watch?!?, who to watch!?! For me the answer is simple: It's time to start watching Terrelle Pryor.
 
I for one, was happy to hear that Oakland was bringing in Matt Leinart; Although not for the reasons many may suspect. Listen - or should that be read? - I'm never quite sure, anyway, let's be honest about this situation. Who in Raider Nation is expecting Matt Leinart to challenge Carson Palmer for the starting job? Answer: No one.
 
Rhett Bomar was a 5th round pick by the Giants. Was Rhett Bomar in a position to challenge Terrelle Pryor for the back-up quarterback position? Answer: NO
 
Therefore, no way was Oakland going to go into a VERY important season, perhaps the most important season in the history of the franchise, with Carson Palmer as starter. An untested Terrelle Pryor as his back up? And Rhett Bomar? A 5th round pick who's never seen any NFL playing time as their number three quarterback. 
 
Carson Palmer is entrenched as the starting quarterback for Oakland unless something absolutely crazy happens. I don't see any scenario in which Carson isn't starting for Oakland in the 2012 & 2013 seasons after restructuring his contract this offseason. The real questions that needs to be answered are: A) Is Terrelle Pryor ready to be Carson's back-up? B) If so, how soon can he be ready to start sucessfully?
 
Enter Matt Leinart.
 
As Raider Nation is well aware of, Terrelle Pryor has been with the team for two years and now is his time to move up the food chain. Look, I know that everyone is into being healthy, and eating vegetarian food today. Gone are the days when everyone was a carnivore; However, the reality is that some animals still need to eat other animals in order to survive.
 
Note to Matt Leinart: Matt, you haven't been invited to dinner, you've been invited to BE dinner.

 

As I said, Carson Palmer knows that Matt Leinart is no threat to him starting at quarterback. Pryor has been feeding off of mother's milk for the long enough. Now it's time to give our young Raider something live to eat!
 
What?

 

Did you think that Leinart was just going to walk in here and be handed the back-up job? I don't care that Matt and our new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, former quarterback coach in Houston, have a history. I don't care that Matt Leinart had a great college career (25-1). I don't care that he's had more professional experience then Pryor.

I don't care that Matt Leinart is from California. Matt Leinart is here to serve one purpose and one purpose only; He's here so that we can find out exactly where Terrelle Pryor is at in his development as a quarterback. He is food for Terrell Pryor.

 

Best case scenario is Leinart & Pryor battle for the number two spot. Despite the fact that Greg Knapp is offensive coordinator, Pryor's superior talent and knowledge of the Raider playbook makes is clear that he's ready to embrace his role as heir apparent.

 

Worst case scenario is Leinart & Pryor battle for the number two spot. Although having been with the team for a few seasons, after the battle Pryor's performance indicates that he's not quite ready yet to take a place of prominence within the pack.

In a "worse case scenario" it can't hurt to have a back-up quarterback who is familiar with your offensive coordinator, and does have experience as a starter in the NFL.

 

With that said, I hope Terrelle Pryor rips Matt Leinart into pieces.