Fantasy Football Update: Bruce Gradkowski Could be the Starter in Oakland

Added on Sep 20, 2010 by Barry in

NFL

It is no secret that the Oakland Raiders have had their fair share of struggles of the offensive side of the football over the years and this season seems to be no different as a quarterback controversy has begun for head coach Tom Cable.

Fortunately, the ground game for the Raiders seems to get better with every passing week as running back Darren McFadden has started to come into his own and has become an impact player in fantasy football, but the question surrounding Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski under center in Oakland is getting thrown around this week.

Against the the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 the Oakland Raiders couldn’t get anything going offensively and ultimately were dominated by Vince Young and company 38-13, but when they took on the lowly St. Louis Rams in Week 2 the consensus was that we would see the real Raiders and the offense and defense would finally get going.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the first half as newly acquired quarterback Jason Campbell continued to struggle under center and forced the hand of head coach Tom Cable who pulled his new starting quarterback in favor of backup Bruce Gradkowski.

Even though a lot people questioned this move, especially since the team dealt with having draft bust JaMarcus Russell under center for three years and pulled Campbell in Week 2 of this season, it turned out to be the right move as Gradkowski immediately got the Oakland Raiders moving down the field and led his team to the 16-14 victory over Sam Bradford and company.

It is uncertain whether or not Cable will continue to keep Gradkowski as his number one quarterback under center, but the results of having the veteran as the number one guy definitely seems to work in the team’s favor and in my opinion he will be the starter from here on out unless owner Al Davis gets involved.

In terms of fantasy football, I believe that Bruce Gradkowski could be a viable backup and if he continues to play well he could turn out to be a very valuable starter in your league.