IF Darren McFadden stays healthy for all of 2012 then the Oakland Raiders will win the AFC West.

Yeah, not exactly a bold statement when it begins with the dirty if word. But it’s not a reach when you consider how close the Raiders have been the last two years with only a side serving of Run DMC. Imagine what they’d look like with a full helping. He’d be the league’s leading rusher and possibly biggest producer of total yards from scrimmage with a full 16 games.

Carson Palmer doesn’t have to be great. With Jason Campbell being average the Raiders went from hopeless to in contention almost every Sunday. Anything was an upgrade over #2, we know this. But you can’t ignore McFadden’s breakout coming at the same time things improved in Oakland.

Keep in mind the Raiders haven’t had a good defense either. Funny thing is when McFadden is playing the defense is good enough to keep them in the game. Without McFadden the D becomes softer than Clay Aiken at an album cover shoot.

Not saying a homerun threat like McFadden can erase a bad defense. I’m still trying to forget what happened in Jacksonville. But I’ll take my chances in any contest with a weapon that can turn the tide with one touch.

Beyond his talent, he’s also a valued asset for all the other things he does. As a receiver, blocker, decoy and let’s not forget hard worker, McFadden is in that Walter Payton type mold. Not saying he is Payton, just that there is that all-around feel to his game that reminds you of Sweetness.

Darren McFadden is that type of player. MVP level talent with an old school approach.

Despite all of his injury issues, McFadden has avoided any major surgeries too. Keep that in mind. A lot of what he’s suffered has been of the freakish variety. Things that just can happen when you play a brutal sport.

But…here comes the but…

He does have a history of foot problems. That’s a warning sign too big to ignore for a running back. His latest was a condition that caused Matt Schaub to get surgery. McFadden and the Raiders didn’t choose the knife instead opting for rest and rehab. Kelly Skipper has coached him up for years now and he’s already saying McFadden is making cuts at full speed in May. So perhaps the no-surgery approach was best.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Getting back my not-so-bold proclamation of Oakland taking the AFC West back. Let’s be honest about this division. It’s just one big collection of good talent, good coaching and overall average teams.

The San Diego Chargers are Super Bowl champs in July and at home watching the playoffs in January. Get ready for the next round of hype when the football news dies down in the coming months.

Kansas City has teased its fans with some flashes of brilliance then followed that up with worse showings than the 0-16 Lions. They’re trendy right now too but don’t overlook the fact that they’re starting all over again with a new head coach, same as Oakland.

Change is constant in the AFC West so the deck keeps getting shuffled.

Denver is the no-brainer to most. As in you’ve got no brain if you’re picking them just because of Peyton Manning. He hasn’t played in a year and last time he did it’s not like the Colts ran through the league with ease. Plus, let’s be honest, nobody knows how this dude will respond when he takes a hit at game-speed. Don’t act as if this isn’t a gamble by the Broncos cause it is.

That brings me back to McFadden. He’s in his prime much like LaDainian Tomlinson who pushed the Chargers to the top of the AFC West in past years. Forget all that copy-cat talk of the NFL being a passing league. A dominant running back is the greatest luxury there is in football. They’re just few and far between with a short shelf life so when you get one you’ve got to take advantage.

Which brings me back to that dirty if word.

All running backs take punishment so injury is expected. Being able to manage pain versus injury is as old as the game itself. Nobody doubts McFadden’s toughness which means his injuries are serious enough that he just can’t play even if he wanted to. That is concerning cause we know he routinely plays through pain like all true professionals do.

So…if McFadden can stay healthy for 16 games I’m calling the AFC West crown right here, right now for the Oakland Raiders.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

If true then PFT’s report of the Raiders expected signing of Matt Leinart next week confirms what has long been speculated.  Leinart is said to have a visit scheduled in Oakland next week and if all goes well then he’ll be backing up another former Trojan in Carson Palmer.

The rumors of Leinart landing in the East Bay have been swirling for the last few years. Al Davis’ infatuation with all things USC made many believe it was only a matter of time until Leinart put on silver and black on Sundays.

Even without Al’s guiding hand the Raiders and Leinart were again linked once Greg Knapp returned as offensive coordinator and the Texans released the former Heisman winner. Knapp coached Leinart in Houston during his two year tenure backing up Matt Schaub.

While nothing is official this is a welcome addition. Leinart has by no means done anything to warrant much more than clipboard duties but he’s no Kyle Boller. Put it this way, I’d sooner trust Bernie Madoff with my lifesavings than I would Boller to take a snap for my team.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Perhaps the most difficult call to make in the sports world is anything related to injury. Just think of all the factors involved. From the physician’s job of properly diagnosing to the coaching staff’s obligation to protect players while also trying to win. Nothing is ever easy about injury, especially in the brutal business of football.

Today Darren McFadden spoke for the first time since injury claimed yet another one of his NFL seasons. Naturally the initial question thrown his way related to his foot and where he is in the healing process?

His answer was very innocent but its implications could prove problematic for the Raiders.

McFadden simply stated that he’s feeling better physically and that his type of injury takes a long time to recover from.

The latter half being the reason for concern as it relates to the Raiders and their medical staff. You see during the season most were led to believe that McFadden’s injury was a week-to-week kind of deal. Initially the prognosis called for a few weeks of rest. As we all know he never returned to the field.

At no point did the Raiders even place McFadden on injured reserve in order to open a roster spot. At no point was he even healthy enough to do light running. So why did the Raiders keep him around as if a miracle cure was going to pop up at CVS one day?

Even more troubling is that Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans suffered a similar injury and he was shutdown immediately so the recovery process could begin.

How was it that the Oakland medical staff failed to see the nature of McFadden’s injury?

But this isn’t the first time McFadden and the Raider team doctors have had differing views. A few years ago McFadden sought out an outside medical opinion on an injured shoulder. A shoulder he would eventually have surgery on also done outside of the team’s control.

Now I’m no doctor. My medical expertise is limited to anything that requires and ice pack or a Band Aid. But I do know when something smells funky. And the continuing situation between McFadden and the Raiders’ medical staff isn’t passing the smell test.

To be fair Run DMC is just injury prone. It doesn’t matter who his doctor is, that won’t change how his body is constructed.  So I am by no means assigning blame to the Raiders for his injury issues.

However it is more than fair to question whether or not McFadden’s injuries are receiving the proper attention.

What did the Raiders gain by keeping him on the active roster when he clearly had no chance to return? They should have shut him down and removed any urgency to rush to recover. After all, McFadden himself said his injury takes “a long time to heal”.

The real question is what was communicated between the doctors and the individuals that make the final call. In most instances you’d single out Al Davis as he is the one that makes every vital decision. Of course there was no way Mr. Davis could have made that call. So who was making these decisions?

Perhaps there was much more going on behind the scenes with Hue Jackson that we’ll ever know. Could be the Raiders just have an incompetent medical staff. Then again, maybe the extent of the injury wasn’t fully realized until it was too late. Mistakes do happen.

The real concern is what this means to McFadden going forward. Without his services the Raiders are a middle of the road franchise. In order to make Carson Palmer’s Lombardi dream come true a healthy McFadden will be very necessary. Hopefully there are no lasting affects of his injury. Last thing we need is for this franchise to shoot itself in the foot.