Today is the start of the actual activities for the 2012 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Today, the first group of players will get their measurements and weigh-ins, which are all important to scouts to know what kind of shape the player is in and what type of frame the player has. 

The Draft, and by extension the Combine, are of lesser importance this year for Raiders fans with the Raiders low amount of draft picks – they currently have only two of their 7 draft picks remaining prior to the Compensatory picks being awarded. Therefore, instead of examining who the Raiders will be looking at in the draft – because I honestly have no idea – we'll instead look at the Raider's top 5 needs and whether the team is likely to address them in the draft or free agency.

Everyone who follows the NFL knows the draft is seven rounds. But when the last player in the last round has been taken, there have been enough players for eight rounds of 32 players each. The reason there are these extra 32 players hidden in the draft are the compensatory picks. Awarded every year since 1994, the league gives extra picks at the ends of round 3-7 to certain teams based on a formula that is not released. The basic requirements to be eligible have been released, though. But that doesn't mean there isn't evidence out there to suggest which picks the Raiders could receive.

Oh, snap. Stanford Routt is a Kansas Chief. And...does anyone really care?

I suppose some people care. Namely, Raider fans who see KC signing Routt as a good thing. Because now they get to hear "Pass interference, number twenty-six of the defense.." coming from an AFC West rival, rather than from one of their highest-paid, selfish players on a bad defense.

Today is the first day that NFL teams can franchise players for the upcoming season.  Teams are able to franchise eligible players through March 3 under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  There has been a change in how the Franchise tag now works.  Previously, the franchise number was determined by taking an average of the top five salaries of the position of the player from the previous season.  Under the new CBA, the franchise numbers look to be less player-friendly, which may mean more use of the Franchise Tag.

What if you woke up one morning and realized you had set yourself up for future success without even knowing it?

You know, like positioning yourself on the toilet for your morning dump without even waking up? Or accidentally sending flowers to the 'wrong' girl at work who turns out to be hotter; who then proceeds to shove you into a bathroom stall and go Big Ben all over your ass?

Well, if your name is Hue Jackson...then the 'what if' is 'whatever', because you kind of just did that.

Last season the Raiders – led by the ever-confident Hue Jackson – executed the trade of several seasons by acquiring the rights to Carson Palmer for no less than a first and second round pick in the 2012 and 2013 drafts, respectively. Palmer started the season in a rough position, coming in unprepared to play and throwing 3 INTs the next Sunday against Kansas City before cramming as much of the offense as he could the following bye week.  With so inauspicious a start, it seemed a worthwhile question to see how he looked at season's end – as a barometer for what he does well and what he does poorly.

I thought it only right that I let all the loyal Thoughts From the Dark Side readers (and anyone else who happens to pop in) know that I will be moving on to an exciting new sports writing venture that will mean I will no longer be producing content for TFDS. I will be covering the team we love as the Lead Writer for our friends over at Silver and Black Pride and SB Nation.