Hopefully Huff will help Hue's horrible defense.

Sometimes as a fan you feel like you know more than the paid professionals. While that might not at all be the case it certainly feels that way after a few IPAs on a Sunday morning. In some instances it is very much true as every Raider can attest to after living through the Norv Turner regime.

When it comes to Michael Huff that certainly has been the case for Raider Nation. For years silver and black faithful have been calling for Huff Daddy to make to the move to cornerback. Finally those pleas have been heard.

Steve Corkran reports that one of the many changes coming to Oakland’s defense involves Huff departing his position of free safety for a permanent place playing opposite Stanford Routt.

As a rookie Huff impressed covering tight ends and has since made the occasional appearance as a nickel corner. This year Huff saw extended time covering slot receivers and let’s just say he was very hit or miss. But when you consider the other players Oakland tried at corner this year Huff’s prospects of securing a starting job must look good.
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There will be a rare Chris Johnson sighting Sunday.

Well, with Tennessee’s Johnson coming off his best effort of the season last week and Oakland’s man of the same name is probable for the first time in a long time. So we could have the double CJ sighting on Sunday.

Oakland’s injury report lists Johnson as probable for tomorrow’s tilt in Miami. All season long the Raiders’ secondary has been thinner than DeMarcus Van Dyke’s ankles. Still they’ve found a way, by hook or crook, to get the job done.

Lito Sheppard will more than likely get another start opposite Stanford Routt leaving Johnson to possibly see action in nickel and dime packages.

While never the model of consistency, Johnson’s veteran presence and great closing speed has been missed as evident by the mixed results Michael Huff has produced as a nickel corner.

Hopefully this will be a continuing trend of Raiders getting healthy for the playoff push. It is going to be an all hands on deck decree from Hue Jackson in the coming weeks.

Now let’s get something straight. This isn’t one of those charity cases where a coach gets props for making magic happen when none was expected. The Raiders should have been in the playoffs last year. For Coach Jackson to see his team not competing would have been proof Al Davis made a bad decision.

The talent in Oakland is real so the expectations were naturally high before the season began.

Instead this is a case of great coaching. Period.

To start, Oakland lost their best interior lineman, best weapon in the passing game and an All-Pro cornerback all to free agency. Aside from the subtractions, the Raiders were looking at an overhaul of the offensive line and had little to no time to get all those new bodies on the same page. To date the defensive secondary is a patchwork unit that features Lito Sheppard starting mere weeks after being signed and journeyman safety Matt Girodano who was a late camp addition.

In case you haven’t noticed the O-line is one of the best in all of the NFL and the secondary is getting better by the week.

Half way through the season, the Raiders lost their starting QB, their best player, their emerging defensive end and have had to deal with an ever growing list of injuries.

To top it all off Oakland dropped two straight at home to divisional foes that left the team at .500 amid rumors of Hue Jackson becoming a control freak in the wake of Mr. Davis’ death.

Oh yeah…I almost forgot to mention that the most iconic owner in NFL history passed away too. The man that was the alpha and omega of the Oakland Raiders was gone leaving a legacy no man will ever match.

Despite all of that Coach Jackson has made no excuses. He’s found a way to keep his team motivated, hungry and humble.

Most important of all, Hue Jackson just wins, baby!
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