Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Greg Knapp and his zone blocking scheme are taking a beating only Rodney King would have envied. It’s that bad and we here at JBB admittedly might have the most blood on our hands.

Now before our Knapp bashing reaches such a level that our collective souls become null and void I’d like to shed a ray of light on an otherwise dark and dismal situation.

That ray of light is Stefen Wisniewski and he just might be the key that unlocks the mystery of the highly discussed zone blocking scheme.

Sometimes it is easy to overlook the fact that we’re watching paid professionals that sacrifice their bodies for our entertainment. Something else that has been lost in the shuffle is the fact that Wisniewski was MIA during some of the most important periods of time during the shift to the infamous zone blocking scheme.

Wisniewski toughed-out a shoulder injury as a rookie only to have offseason surgery heading into his second season. That meant the New Wiz was unable to participate in the OTAs and thus missed a big chunk of camp no thanks to a calf injury.

After sitting out the season opener Wisniewski regained his job as starting center and is now going through the process of adjusting to the zone scheme on the fly.

That’s no easy task. Not when you consider how rushed his transition to the NFL was in the first place no thanks to the lockout and now he’s dealing with learning a new position and scheme. That would be reason alone to pull a New York Jets and quit. But that’s not the Raider Way.

Never forget how important the center is in an NFL offense. For all whatever its worth, playing center is akin to playing quarterback. So the day Wisniewski finally gets comfortable with the scheme could be the day we see the Raiders reestablish themselves as a top tier rushing team. That could and should equate to more wins, baby.

This team is defensively challenged. No real secret there. So controlling the clock, keeping opposing defenses on the back foot and most important of all finding the end zone is a recipe for success. And that is a recipe in which Stefen Wisniewski is quietly the most important ingredient.  All that’s missing is the seasoning which will come with more experience in the scheme.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

No matter how well Alex Parsons played he was always just keeping the starting center job warm for Stefen Wisniewski. Since Oakland let Samson Satele walk it was a given that the New Wiz was going to become a fixture in the middle of the Silver and Black O-line.

Today the Raiders confirmed that Wisniewski is healthy enough to reclaim his rightful job at center.

Though Parsons did hold his own there is no doubt that the time is now for the Raiders to get Wisniewski back on the field. Given the struggles the line has gone through in adjusting to Greg Knapp’s zone scheme it only makes sense to get the core unit in place.

Hopefully Wisniewski’s return will equate to the return of Oakland’s ground game. After some unimpressive preseason showing the Raiders were just as underwhelming running the rock in the regular season opener.

AKelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Stefen Wisniewski was drafted to be Oakland’s starting center for the foreseeable future. He spent his rookie year learning the pro game while playing guard making some occasional cameos at center. This offseason the Raiders allowed their starting center Samson Satele to walk so that Wisniewski could slide into his natural position thus beginning his pro career anew in year two.

One slight problem though.

Wisniewski injured his calf in the first preseason game allowing former practice squad member Alex Parsons an opportunity to play. Not only did Parsons play his way onto the active roster but he’s now threatening to potentially push Wisniewski back to guard.

Just because Wisniewski retuned as a full participate in practice this week doesn’t mean the center job has his name written on it. Quite the opposite in fact if you believe offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.

 “They will both be up for the game to help us inside. We’re going to evaluate them during the week how practice is going to decide who’s the starting center, per se, and the other one will be the backup guard/center rotation guy.”

Should anything be read into Oakland’s handling of Wisniewski? Perhaps not.

This could all just be part of Dennis Allen’s plan to keep it competitive while following Reggie McKenzie’s no-scholarships policy. Then again, maybe Parsons has been playing well enough for the Raiders to consider giving him the gig for good. Time will tell. About all that really matters is that Allen and his staff are opting to go with the best combination of players possible regardless of draft status, contractual obligation or future expectations.