Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Center-John Wade, Jake Grove and others look to be in the middle

Thoughts from the Dark Side

June 27, 2008

Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Center-John Wade, Jake Grove and others look to be in the middle

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As we conclude the offensive section of the "Camp Battles" series, we look at the one player who starts every play, the center. The Raiders have a great tradition of centers that started with the original Raider Jim Otto and continued through Dave Dalby and on towards Barrett Robbins before his meltdown. Jake Grove was tapped to follow in that lineage, but has not lived up to expectations. He will have to beat out free agent acquisition John Wade to become a starter. How do all these guys stack up?

Projected Starter: John Wade

Wade was signed away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this last off-season to replace Jeremy Newberry. He has been a workhorse only missing eight games in his career.

Projected Depth: Jake Grove and Chris Morris

Jake Grove has not yet lived up to the expectations placed upon him as the second round pick in 2004. He has endured the same problems as Robert Gallery in that the Raiders line coaching has been very inconsistent, and essentially a textbook case in how not to properly develop a young player. Chris Morris has been around for a couple of years as a practice squad player and has seen some time as the long snapper. Either one of these guys can also slide over and assist in the guard position if needed.

Outside Looking in:Jesse Boone

Jesse Boone stuck around last season despite being an undrafted free agent. His best hope is to outplay Grove and Morris and make a name for himself as a potential guard/center combination.

What to look for:

Can Jake Grove step it up and grab the spot he was drafted for, or does he lose out yet again to a journeyman? Can Jesse Boone play his way onto the roster?

WildCard:

The biggest wildcard is can any of these guys show themselves to be efficient depth at guard, which currently has no depth?

Thus concludes the offensive camp battles. Next up, defense!

Just battling boredom before camp here at TFDS.

Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, Raiders

Discussion

12 Comments on "Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Center-John Wade, Jake Grove and others look to be in the middle"

Posted by KUSHMAN, June 27, 2008 12:07 AM

good read my man, can't wait till training camp. why must it be at the end of the month!? .. wade will be the man me thinks..

Posted by Rob Calonge, June 27, 2008 6:20 AM

Good write up Patrick. My biggest problem with Grove is that he doesn't play with the mean-streak that any good center needs. When he's playing guard, he's more than capable, but when he plays center he plays much smaller than he really is.

Posted by KA1Z3R, June 27, 2008 6:22 AM

Go Wade! Is it me, or has Oakland got a thing for picking up former Bucs. We got Spires and Wade. It's just something interesting I noticed.

Posted by Raider Blues, June 27, 2008 7:46 AM

Good read... Set it up for a round 2 later this summer!

Posted by sdraidah, June 27, 2008 9:46 AM

Didn't Grove end up on his backside getting bull rushed last year. We need a center who like Rob said has a mean streak and can stay upright. We learned how important the center position was in the 2003 superbowl. Where is Barrett anyways?

Posted by Thoughts from the Dark Side: Oakland Raiders Camp Battles: Center-John Wade, Jake Grove and others l, June 27, 2008 10:04 AM

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Posted by Steve Cooley, June 27, 2008 10:50 AM

you totally forgot Don Mosbar, this is a crime, please add him or apologize to the RaiderNation

Posted by pat T, June 27, 2008 2:25 PM

Great article Patrick... And i agree with Rob and the other posters Grove needs that mean streak... But i dont know if i heard it here or on another page that Grove came in this offseason, and was built and bigger(muscle)... And yeah... I think John Wade will earn a roster spot and might become te starter... I also think Jake Grove is safe for at least this season(unless Chris Morris & Jesse Boone totally outplay him)... But also agree the key for these young guys is can they move out to the guard position if needed... Im not sure but didnt Jesse Boone play tackle for a couple of games in 2005?(really not sure, just a question)

GO RAIDERS!!!

Posted by raiderchris56, June 27, 2008 2:37 PM

Jesse Boone was tried out a couple of years ago by the headlights of some vehicles! He has a mean streak a mile long, much like the red headed kid Paul McQuiston(sp). I hope he makes the roster again, he is an UDFA. If the Raiders are able to keep finding these 'diamond in the rough' type of players and they end up working out, this O-line could shape up rather quickly and cost effectively. We can only hope!

#10

Posted by Rob Calonge, June 27, 2008 11:14 PM

Steve - You're absolutely right about Mosbar. As a matter of fact, Patrick was just talking about how great he was the other day. I'm sure that he didn't leave him out due to forgetting him, but because he only played center for a few years for the Raiders before his horrible career ending injury.

I agree though, he is definitely worthy of mention. :-)

#11

Posted by Patrick Patterson, June 28, 2008 12:09 AM

No disrespect to Mosebar. That was only meant to be a frame the beginning and them the last all pro center in Silver and Black. He will be getting props in a post I am working on for the future.

#12

Posted by In J-Russ We Trust, June 28, 2008 10:30 AM

i heard don mosbar got his eye poked out. is that true.