2012 gets under way tonight. What I'm looking for.

The Raiders are set to kickoff the preseason tonight against Dallas

Well a lot sure has gone on since I last blogged about 5 or 6 months ago. We hired Dennis Allen as the new HC, had our first draft without Al Davis, made some surprising cuts, and picked up a few free agents.

I've been busy since we were knocked out of the playoffs the final week of the season. While this is possibly the most provacative off-season this franchise has had in years just based on the total unknowns.

New GM for the first time in 50 years, brand new fiery rookie HC, and an entirely new system of defense leaves a whole lot to the imagination. Well tonight we get a preview to the latest chapter in this franchise's history. Here are some things I am looking for.

Allen and the new Staff's Raider debut

Little is known about Allen  to the average fan but he is respected throughout the league.

Tonight we'll get a chance to learn more about him and the new offensive and defensive coaches in a game situation. How is Knapp going to run the offense this time around? how do Tarver and Allen plan on fixing last year's shoddy D? etc.

It's always a new era of hope when a new HC and staff are brought in following a heartbreaking season and it's going to be interesting to see what type of headcoach Allen is and how the players respond.

Seeing Terrelle Pryor in action for the first time

Other than a sneak play which was nullified due to a penalty Pryor has never taken a snap for the Raiders mostly due to the NFL suspending him for an NCAA infraction. (which was ridiculous)

It will be interesting to finally see TP in a game situation  for the first time since he was the MVP of the 2011 Sugar Bowl where he rushed for 115 yards and a TD while throwing for 221 yards and 2 TD's.

I'm excited to finally see Al Davis' final draft pick suit up in the silver and black and take the field. With his pure athleticism if he can get his footwork sorted which he's been working on all off-season he can be frightening for opposing defenses.

The conerback position battle

The corner position battle promises to be intriguing all preseason. With the subtraction of Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson and addition of veterans Bartell and Spencer in the off-season. 

And with the continued development of talented second year corners Van Dyke (who has beefed up in the offseason and impressed all training camp) and Chekwa. Enter former Packers Brandon Underwood and Pat Lee. The latter passing up Chekwa (who was impressive when he was healthy last season) on the depth chart in training camp. 

All that added up gives you a competitive, talented, and diverse mix of vets and youngsters who will battle it out all preseason long to be the starting corners. What many have seen as a weakness for this team with the departure of Routt I see it as along with the D-Line the position with the most depth on the defensive side of the ball.

Well it's been a long wait. But finally we can see some Raider football. 5PM sure as hell can't come fast enough for me.

So long Hue

To say a lot has happened within Raider Nation since I last posted would be an understatement. The last time I blogged the Raiders lost to the Chargers failing to advance to the playoffs for yet another year. I sort of slipped into a football depression choosing not think about it and trying my best to avoid the playoffs to no avail.

Hue was canned moments after McKenzie was hired and just before the press conference introducing him.

I felt after the season that Hue should've got at least one more year given the circumstances this team faced in his rookie season. There were multiple injuries that crippled the offense (McFadden, Campbell, Ford, Moore) and the injuries on the defense were numerous which forced the Raiders to basically pull in guys off the street to start in the secondary.

Not to mention the mental aspect that came with losing Al. The team's owner/GM/boss. Add that to the fact that after Al passed everyone's favorite DC Bresnahan was left to his own devices with horrendous results.

All in all I thought 8-8 was good enough for Hue to keep his job given everything that had to be dealt with in one of the most bizarre seasons of recent memory.

That being said the more I sat back and thought about the situation as a whole the more I was fine with moving on and starting over again.

The team came out this season and looked like it was playoff bound then McFadden and Campbell go down in successive weeks. We make the big trade for Carson Palmer and then we suffer successive emberassing defeats at the hands of the KC and Denver and our playoff hopes looked to be dashed.

But then we come out blazing against SD and and go on a win streak once again looking like a team headed to the playoffs. But somewhere along the line it appeared Hue lost the team. The lackluster performances to close out the season say just as much.

I think Hue did a good job and he'll be a good HC somewhere someday but something had to have happened to this team in the locker room. Because in the final five weeks of the season this team looked totally flat and uninspired while fighting for it's playoff life.

So in other words. I liked Hue. I thought he was a good coach. But I am ready to move on.

A horror show ending.... But a new beginning

After a promising start to the season where it appeared we were playoff bound for the first time in years it all came crashing down in the final five weeks.

And what a horrible five weeks it was. Two back to back blowout losses, a big meltdown at home with a two score lead and seven minutes to go, a fortunate squeaker against the Cheifs and an embarassing display at home against the Chargers in a game that could've clinched the west for us.

The season seemed to be derailed when first starting QB Campbell goes down in the first half against the Browns. And just a week later McFadden sprains his foot in the first quarter against the Chiefs. What followed was two straight embarrassing losses to division foes. But then Palmer showed signs of life and Bush appeared to be able to carry the heavy load on offense with consecutive wins at San Diego, at Minnesota, and then at home against Chicago.

Although all three wins were ugly and not impressive by any stretch it appeared the Raiders were on the fast track to the playoffs with San Diego collapsing, Kansas City free falling, and Denver being mediocre at best. But what followed that three game stretch just totally crushed any dreams of a division title. It was possibly the worst 5 weeks I've ever experienced as a Raider fan. Nothing more to be said than it was just a pathetic showing really and an embarrassing collapse.

But yesterday the Raiders interviewed Packers exec and former Raider Reggie McKenzie and this morning have reportedly hired him as the new GM. Reggie comes from a great system of drafting and developing players in contrast to a team who over the past decade or so relied heavily on trading for and acquiring free-agent veterans while filling gaps with rookies.

There's many questions to be asked. Will Reggie be hands on with the coach or let Hue make the decisions himself? Does he even keep Hue around or find a new hand picked head coach? And the QB situation. Does he let Campbell go? Or does he bring him back and have an open competition for the QB spot with Palmer?

There's many things to be done including making decisions on important upcoming free agents such as Bush and Branch. This will probably the most interesting off-season in decades. That's for sure.