Building A Foundation

With the acquisition of Samson Satele today, the Raiders made another prudent move to upgrade the offensive line. Satele was acquired from the Fins by swapping 4th round selections (8th pick for 26th pick) and the Raiders giving up their 6th round pick. In this offseason, the Raiders have added Satele (C), Khalif Barnes (OT), and Erik Pears (OT). All 3 men are young lineman who upgrade the talent and competition level, fit the Zone Blocking Scheme, and provide much needed depth. Here is the scouting reports and additional comments for these new Raiders:

Samson Satele
Birth Date: November 29, 1984
Birth Place: Kailua, HI
Height: 6-3
Weight: 300 lbs.
Age: 24
Position: Center
Experience: 2 years
College: University of Hawaii

Grade: 79
Scouting Report:
Satele is coming off a very solid rookie season where he was one of the bright spots in a dismal Dolphins season. He has adequate size with good strength and athleticism. He was a versatile player coming out of college, who played center, guard and tackle. He can snap and step well to gain leverage in a confined area. He works with great body balance and positioning. He uses his hands well and runs his feet to stay connected. Samson is a hard-nosed intense blocker who finishes often. He has good pop and punch with his hands to engage defenders as well as solid foot agility and lateral quickness at the point of attack. Satele can pull and get on the perimeter when uncovered and is able to hit a target down field. He has power on combination blocks to get movement on interior zone-running plays. He can scoop block on the backside or chip to the second level on combination blocks. Satele is a solid gun snapper with consistent quickness and accuracy. He is a smart player who shows great awareness and reactions to changing fronts as well as blitz packages.

CJ's Comments:
Satele was a 2nd round choice who has started every game in his 2 years in the league. With the departure of Grove to Miami, the center position was one of the most critical need areas that had to be addressed. Satele holds his ground at the point of attack, has good lateral quickness which is ideal for the ZBS the Raiders run. This acquisition should pay immediate dividends and be looked upon as a key acquisition going into the 2009 season. In essence, we replaced a player (Grove) who had an injury history, trouble with the bull rush, and priced himself out of Oakland for a younger, more durable and talented player who will be motivated to secure his next big contract in 2 years.


















Khalif Barnes
Birth Date: April 21, 1982
Birth Place: San Diego, CA
Height: 6-5
Weight: 325 lbs.
Age: 26
Position: OT
Experience: 4 years
College: University of Washington

Grade: 70
Scouting Report:
Barners is a fourth-year player who starts at LT. He has very good size, strength and athletic ability. In the run game he comes off the ball with adequate initial quickness. He can arrive with good pad level as an in-line blocker, but doesn't roll his hips to create a lot of movement. He will establish hand position quickly and then try to work his feet to seal or wall off. He has the size and strength to sustain effectively. He does an adequate job on reach blocks using strength rather than quickness. He has enough upper-body strength to recover, if his footwork is late. He has some problems adjusting versus quickness. He will get his weight forward and shows inconsistent adjustment skills at the linebacker level on a straight climb. He will overrun the angle in space and struggles to adjust. In pass pro, he has adequate overall foot quickness. Barnes has good balance and strength in his set and slide. He does a good job working his defender up field and pushing him past the QB. He will flash some nastiness to finish defenders that get off balance. He opens his hips quick at times. He has a good short set and punch in reaction to counters. He has good arm length to extend and strike. He has good strength to anchor a quick power rush. He's not a powerful run blocker, but he seals and sustains his angles effectively.

CJ's Comments:
It is amazing to me that the Raiders were able to secure a starting left tackle for a 1 year, $1.2M contract. Give Davis and Cable credit for playing their cards well in the meetings and negotiations with Barnes. Davis and Cable sold Barnes on this opportunity to secure a long term contract based on his 2009 performance. Barnes knows he is competing for the LT position with Mario Henderson who performed admirably the last 3 games of the season. Barnes has all of the tools to be an above average LT.














Erik Pears
Birth Date: June 25, 1982
Birth Place: Price, UT
Height: 6-8
Weight: 305 lbs.
Age: 26
Position: OT
Experience: 3 years
College: Colorado State

Grade: 62
Scouting Report:
He is a very tall tackle who shows above-average lateral range and initial quickness. His size gives him a lot of room for physical development as well as additional bulk, but it also becomes a liability at times because he is not a natural knee-bender and struggles getting his pad level down to where it should be. He has very long arms and does a good job of using that length to get a good fit with his hands to control and steer opponents on by the pocket. He has a tendency to play the game a little tall and he struggles out on an island in pass protection when he has to react and adjust to counter moves. He can kick-step out to pick up the speed rusher, but struggles to recover and redirect when the rusher comes back inside off the hard upfield burst. He is not real quick or explosive out of his stance when he fires out on cut blocks, which is a big part of Denver's zone-blocking scheme. While he is an adequate starter at right tackle, he needs to add more bulk and strength if he wants to get into the upper-echelon.

CJ's Comments:
Pear's familiarity and experience with the ZBS in Denver makes him a good system fit. He also provides competition and depth at OT. To be more effective at RT, Pear will need to add 15 to 20 lbs. of muscle to his large frame. Under the watchful eye of OL Coach Michlczik and HC Cable, I would expect Pears to develop into a solid, serviceable backup.

Projected starting OLine:
RT: Mario Henderson
RG: Cooper Carlisle
C: Samson Satele
LG: Robert Gallery
LT: Khalif Barnes

Backups:
OT: Erik Pears, James Marten
OG: Paul McQuistan, Chris Morris
C: Chris Morris

Cuts:
OT: Kwame Harris

Unsigned:
C: Jake Grove (Miami)

Soon to Be Released:
OT: Cornell Green
C: John Wade

Practice Squad:
OT: Brandon Torrey