So the story is set. The protaginist Raiders have a chance to turn the tide on the future of their season. The only thing in their way is the problems of an eratic throwing quarterback, a young and thin secondary, the insurance policy running backs behind Darren McFadden, the injury bug, and of course the antagonist Detroit Lions. Like any good story Oakland has to first analyze the problems before they can be fixed.

1) The Carson Palmer project has had great potential, but potential doesnt win games. Palmer suffered through a season plauged with interceptions last year. The question is, now that he knows the playbook and his teammates can he throw to the guys in the same jersey? If Palmer fails to fill in his role his team could be left with a losing record and a bust draft pick (Matt Leinart) to salvage the team. However, if Palmer manages to control his cannon then there is a possibility of adding a ring to his throwing hand.

2) Every football fan has experienced a fan-fit. That brief moment of flailing one’s limbs in extreme frustration due to a mistake made by a player. Unfourtunatley Oakland’s secondary caused many of these fan-fits last year. To be the contender every Raider fan wants to watch the secondary in Oakland needs to be able to at least slow down a superb passing attack. Tonight’s game against Megatron and company will be the perfect test. Demarcus VanDyke has turned heads in camp, Tyvon Branch is primed for another good season, and Mike Huff has had an impressive pre-season, but can the rest of the secondary finish the job? To be a superbowl contender Shawntae Spencer and Ron Bartell both need to be more than capable of making plays.

3) With Micheal Bush taking hand-offs from Jason Campbell in the windy city, the Raiders have got to see some production from those running backs who arent named Darren McFadden. To keep McFadden healthy the Raiders will have to be able to give him a break on occasion. Obviosly they cant do that with Mike Goodson fumbling the football. Taiwan Jones has yet to show that he will be of any significance in the NFL, and unless one of the two step up the Raiders seem to have all of their eggs in Darren McFadden’s basket. A basket that in recent years seems rather brittle. Tonight’s game will have to show that the Raider’s can pick up tough yards.

4) The injury bug seems to have found a home in Oakland. Not many franchises in sports can say they have been hit by this problem as bad as Oakland. Last year the Raiders managed to go .500 without Jason Campbell, Darren McFadden, Marcel Reese, Jacoby Ford, and numerous others. This year there are plenty of things to deal with other than injuries. So it is vital that the Raiders eat all of their veggies and concentrate on winning games.

5) The Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders have never been big rivals. However, after last years dissapointing and embarrasing loss to Stafford and Megatron this matchup could be a highlighted one in years to come. Tonight the Lions dont stand in between Oakland and the playoffs. However, they do have a great oppurtunity to crush team moral and leave the Raiders with one week to prepare for their last chance to prove themselves before the season begins. If the Raiders do not play with intensity tonight then we might not see any intensity all season. If they do come out hot and embarrass the Lions then the hype in Oak-town will be similar to the hype in 2002. Lets just hope the result of tonights game is the latter.

Tonight the Raiders will become the protaginist of either a gruesome horror novel or the tale of a determined underdog team on a mission. Fortunately for the silver and black this book has yet to be written.

Stanford Routt, Kamerion Wimbley, Kevin Boss and even Hiram Eugene were all victims of the benevolent dealings done by Al Davis. So too were Michael Bush and Jason Campbell among others who were either shown the exit or just weren’t welcomed back.

Despite all the salary shaving, the silver and black are still just barely avoiding the red. McKenzie’s first foray into free agency was more like a collegiate shopping spree at the local Vons. There was plenty in the cart at checkout but most of the items that made their way to the checker were of the Top Ramen variety.

Even with the cost conscious approach McKenzie’s franchise is another year away from being in a better place financially. That’s why there are still two unsigned draft picks despite the fact that Oakland wasn’t on the clock until the end of the third round. It’s also why there has yet to be any movement on the Cedric Benson front.

There has been some rumoring that the Raiders were considering bringing in Benson for the upcoming camp in hopes of finding a productive vet to backup Darren McFadden. While the inactivity in the pursuit of Benson could be more closely related to other issues the financial constraints can’t be ignored.

That top pick Tony Bergstrom, the man whose name wasn’t called until the 95^th pick, is still unsigned says it all. Juron Criner, the 168^th choice in 2012 and a standout in OTAs, is also waiting to put his name on a pro contract.

Now the Raiders aren’t flat broke. They’ll get their remaining unsigned rookies inked before camp commences. However they’re not exactly in a position to sign Bergstrom, Criner and Benson with enough cash leftover to address other needs that will surely arise as the season nears.

So for the time being it’s more Ramen dinners followed by coupon cutting with a big glass of water for dessert. Until McKenzie can rid his team of more costly contracts its more of the frugal approach.

Before this turns into another Carson bitch sessions let’s also point out that on Palmer’s worst day he’s still better than 50% of the stiffs that call signals in the NFL (just don’t tell that to Ron Jaworski).

Jan 1, 2012, Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) throws a pass against the San Diego Chargers at the O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

With Palmer there are certain allowances that must be made. Just take a look at his performance against Denver last season. In that game you pretty much saw all that Palmer has to offer. From his unreal TD toss to Marcel Reece to his overthrow of a wide open Denarius Moore it was all on display – the good and the bad of Palmer.

Palmer’s good is still good enough to border on great. That’s the good news.

The bad news is his bad is bordering on Rex Grossman awful.

Somewhere in between is where Dennis Allen needs his QB to be this season.

Unlike Jason Campbell, Palmer is completely unafraid of taking risks. That’s a great thing when you’ve got the weapons Palmer has around him. As much as I loved JC his paint-by-numbers approach just didn’t allow Oakland’s offense to be all it could. With Palmer pushing the pedal to the metal you feel like this team is on the verge of becoming a top 5 offense.

Of course with that mentality also comes some Favre-ian moments. Palmer’s placement of his high risk passes isn’t always the best and when your margin for error is none then…well…you just can’t err at all. That goes without saying.

So the real question now is how will Greg Knapp’s play calling get the most out of Palmer while also minimizing his tendency to try and do the impossible?

The reality is no matter Knapp’s play calling if Palmer sees a window to throw into then he’s going to make like a paperboy on a Friday and throw it without thinking twice.

That’s why Allen, Knapp and Raider Nation as a whole will just have to accept the good and bad of Palmer. The hope is simply that the good outweighs the bad. He might not be in the Aaron Rodgers category but he’s not anywhere near the Charlie Frye zone. Somewhere in between is a quarterback capable of leading a highly productive offense. The key is getting him to take calculated risks while also knowing when to just toss it out of bounds, take a sack or (God forbid) check it down.