Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

The Raiders have already been embarrassed once in their own crib by a rookie running back this year. If history repeats itself Sunday it will signal rock bottom for the Silver and Black in an otherwise forgettable season.

What Doug Martin did in Oakland will go down as one of the great performances by a rookie in the history of the NFL. Cleveland’s Trent Richardson surely has designs on one-upping Martin.

What made Martin’s performance so painful to watch was he was hardly touched by the Oakland defense. But that is nothing new as countless runners seem to be doing the same to the awful Raiders defense.

Now if Dennis Allen can actually inspire his defenders to get close enough to get a hand or two on Richardson he’ll be half way home to slowing the roll the Alabama alum. But getting to Richardson is one thing. Getting him on the ground is quite another.

All season long Allen’s disastrous defense has been plagued by errors of the most basic kind. Bad angles, lack of gap responsibility, poor communication and terrible tackling have highlighted the many errors made week in and week out. If that continues the Raiders will again find themselves on the wrong end of a dominant performance.

Richardson is currently playing the best ball of his freshman year in the pro game. His combination of speed, agility and a body built like a fire hydrant make Richardson a nightmare for teams like Oakland.

With the ability to run through or around tacklers the Raiders could very well be facing their toughest test of the season with regards to stopping the run. That might sound crazy but get back to me on Sunday if by the start of the second quarter Richardson has already hit pay dirt twice. That is a real possibility as one man could carry the Browns past the slumping Raiders.

Simply put it must be a team effort to contain Richardson. Gang tacking, swarming to the ball and maintaining gap integrity are all keys to victory. Earlier this week Richardson sang the praises of his former teammate at Alabama – Rolando McClain. Obviously McClain won’t be playing which is likely a good thing for the Raiders. Then again, a situation like this call for all hands on deck and all those hands had better get a good grip of Richardson. If Oakland allows another rookie to run rampant then this season will hit its lowest point.

Jennifer Hilderbrand-US PRESSWIRE

If you frequent JBB then you know we’ve spent the last month digging deep to find potential prospects for the Raiders in the upcoming draft. In any other year that would be an easy task. Not so much when you’re talking about mid to late round prospects and nothing else. Anybody can talk Andrew Luck, RGIII and Trent Richardson all day. Get back to me when you’re breaking down Bill Bentley and Andre Hardy.

That being said there is one name that isn’t likely to be called until the end of the draft, if at all, yet is sure to be discussed just as much as any first round pick. I’m speaking of that sparkplug of controversy known as Vontaze Burfict.

At this time last year Burfict was being called a first round pick. What a difference a year makes.

The now former Arizona State Sun Devil was being compared to Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis. Now at days he’d be lucky to be the next Brian Bosworth. At least the Boz got a lackluster acting career for his troubles. For Burfict it’s looking like pro wrestling could be calling.

The book on Burfict is that he’s an aggressive middle linebacker capable of dominating a game, imposing his will on the opposition and creating absolute havoc in every way possible. Sounds like it’s exactly what you’d want from a player. Too bad Burfict’s poor attitude, problematic penalty issues and horrible conditioning have all contributed to his free fall on NFL draft boards.

So the question has got to be asked. With the Raiders holding only 5 draft picks, the first of which isn’t until #95 overall, does it make sense to roll the dice on Burfict?

From a pure competition standpoint it could make a lot of sense. Getting Burfict on the way down could be ideal. If the Corona Centennial alum has any pride he’ll be eager to prove everybody wrong. The hope would be his fiery nature might inspire Rolando McClain, pushing Oakland’s current middle linebacker to reach his full potential.

Of course the concern with Burfict is that he doesn’t know where the line is. A guy like that could be explosive in the locker room especially during the heat of training camp battles where tempers boil over like unwatched pots on the stove.

Beyond what he might bring competition wise and to the locker room, the football issue is Burfict’s inconsistent play.

In some instances Burfict looks like an all-pro making plays all over the field and absolutely destroying the offensive game plan. At times he’s also as lost as Tim Tebow in a strip club.

Then there’s his penchant for racking up personal fouls. That’s something the Oakland Raiders are in desperate need of correcting coming off a record setting season for penalties. In that instance adding Burfict to Oakland would be like taking an AA meeting to a wedding with an open bar.

Oh…and we haven’t even discussed how horribly he’s handled himself in the draft preparation process.

All that being said the Raiders badly need a shot in the arm on defense and an inspired Burfict would be B-12 to an exhausted marathon runner.

Reggie McKenzie is no Al Davis. There is no doubt Davis would have taken the Burfict challenge. McKenzie on the other hand has a different approach. Still, you can’t ignore his talent and if the stars lineup getting Vontaze Burfict in the 7^th round could go down as one of the great steals in the history of the draft. But that comes with plenty of ifs.

Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Never has a scouting department been under such pressure. If you’re evaluating talent for the Oakland Raiders at the combine in Indianapolis then chances are you’ve got one eye on the field and the other over your shoulder. Among the few staffers that were able to retain their jobs under the Reggie McKenzie regime the scouting department knows they’re auditioning to keep those checks coming.

When McKenzie took over it made sense to start fresh so most everyone he didn’t hire be fired, let go or simply allowed to walk free. Keeping the scouts around boiled down to all the work they’d done during the season. Starting from scratch with a new coaching staff is made easier due to the off-season. With an entire scouting department you’re talking about losing valuable time with hirings and firings mere weeks before the combine begins.

As if the task of doing enough to keep your job weren’t a heavy enough burden to bury, how’d you like to be looking for talent knowing you’ve got next to nothing in terms of draft picks?

With just two late rounds picks currently at their disposal the Raiders need to make sure they look over every player possible in order to find some forgotten gems in the draft. As it stands the Raiders have pretty much pulled a Mike Ditka by trading away most all of their 2012 draft. The losses of Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller and Robert Gallery will yield compensatory picks but none of those will be valued any higher than a late third-round pick. Combine those with the 5^th and 6^th rounders the Raiders are currently sitting on and you’ve got yourself the essence of scouting.

Anybody that watched college football or opens their ears to the plethora of draft gurus out there knows Andrew Luck, Robert Griffith III, Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, blah, blah, blah. For the teams looking to draft these men it’s a matter of kicking the tires.

For the Raiders they’ve got some test driving to do. Not only do they need to find talent but they’ll need talent that can contribute immediately. McKenzie’s mission is to rid the franchise of some “out of whack” contracts. Stanford Routt was the first to fall under that sword. No matter who is next they’ll free some cash but will also leave holes on the roster.

Routt might not have been the best corner on the planet but replacing him will take a more inspired pick than DeMarcus Van Dyke or Chimdi Chekwa. Last year Al Davis tried to fill the void of the departing Asomugha with two rookies that showed some real potential but never contributed in a meaningful way.

With all that you can see why this year at the combine will require more than the usual stopwatch. This time around the Raiders can’t rely on physical ability alone. The Al Davis doctrine of drafting athletes and molding them into football players is gone for the time being. These days ‘potential’ is a dirty word in the East Bay. What the Raiders will need from their draft class next season is what they got from Stefen Wisniewski last season. Finding a first year player who steps in and plays like a seasoned vet is rare but not impossible. Here’s hoping the scouting department in Oakland can make that miracle happen again but this time with limited draft picks. Not only are the prospects of improving on last season riding on it so too are the jobs of the scouts.