Straight from the Sports Desk

Here's an excerpt from McDonald's blog (www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog/2008/03/21/a-question-of-faith/) he wrote on Friday, March 21:

"I remember NFL Films making heroes out of Haynes and Hayes as well in the “Black Sunday” depiction of the 38-9 destruction of the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl.

Of course, another memorable part of that game was the beating inflicted upon the Redskins offensive line and Joe Theismann by the likes of Howie Long, Bill Pickel, Reggie Kinlaw, Lyle Alzado and Greg Townsend. When was the last time the Raiders truly beat up opposing quarterbacks over a series of games?"

Indeed.

When was the last time someone other than Burgess has terrorized opposing quarterbacks the last three years?

Al Davis has gone leaps and bounds to improve his secondary, but the Raiders' owner still hasn't touched upon his defensive line.
Offering defensive tackle Tommy Kelly an uber-rich deal can help. But as Kelly has shown throughout his football career -- dating to his college days -- he has all the ability but the desire doesn't match up. The departure of future hall of famer Warren Sapp doesn't help the situation.

I'm sure Davis saw what a brutal pass rush can do for NFL teams. The New York football Giants eradicated Tom Brady and the Patriots' offensive line en route to a Super Bowl title last season.
Sure, Hall and Asomugha are indeed an imposing pair at corner back. The addition of safety Gibril Wilson (part of the Giants' Super Bowl win) and Michael Huff can also cast a shadow on opposing wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.

But the battle is won or lost in the trenches, d-line vs. o-line.
Does Oakland have the talent on the defensive line to bring the pain to opposing QBs?

I don't believe so.

Other than Burgess -- who has been quietly pushing for a pay raise -- none of the Raiders' front-four lineman strike fear into opposing offensive coordinators. Teams have to scheme for Burgess. Other than that, it's free game. Take care of D-Burg and tada! Let your QB sit in the pocket and scan the entire field.

The loss of free agent defensive end Chris Clemons -- who tied for the sack lead with Burgess at 8 -- to the Eagles certainly hurts Oakland's pass rush ability. And the team has little to nothing to offer as a replacement.

To compound matters even worse is the fact Oakland still needs to find a way to stop the run. And while Hall and Asomugha are a pair of sure-tackling defensive backs, they'll tire of the constant pounding they take when opposing running backs find the second level, something they're sure to do against Oakland's mediocre-at-best defensive line crew.

Davis has gone out of his way to improve his roster during the free agency period.

In April he gets another shot to do the same with Oakland holding the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

If Davis stayed at No. 4 and doesn't trade down to gather some of the picks lost due to deals (something I don't believe he will do since he doesn't like to slide down the draft's totem poll) he gets a shot to land two prime defensive tackle prospects -- LSU's Glen Dorsey or USC's Sedrick Ellis -- or two equally impressive defensive ends -- Virgina's Chris Long or Ohio State's Vernon Gholston.
Adding any of those four names should help Oakland against the pass or the run. Which, in turn, would help Hall and Asomugha tremendously in pass coverage.

But as the draft approaches (and we all know it's a crap shoot) Davis appears to have his sights set on something else. That something is Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.
Surely, DMC is a beast at tail back and adding him can not only provide Oakland's $60 million investment -- JaMarcus Russell -- a cushion but give the Raiders more punch offensively.

However, if Davis was confident he could rekindle the glory days of Hayes and Haynes with DeAngelo and Nnamdi, going the McFadden route will hinder those plans.

Either way, April seems like a decade away, doesn't it?