Theodore Roosevelt once said, "In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: hit the line hard."

In 2006, "T.B." better take T.R.'s quote a bit more literally then intended if he wants to maintain possession of 1/53rd of the Oakland Raiders ' roster spots in the near future.

Over the past three seasons, Tyler Brayton, a former 2003 first-round draft selection, has seen his NFL life-expectancy clock near the zero mark. Before it strikes zero, however, the Richland, Washington native will have one final opportunity to set the clock back on his career.

No more daylight savings time, though. He has to earn it.

Thus far this offseason, Brayton has ostensibly taken a lengthy stride in the right direction. During the Raiders' recent minicamp itinerary, Brayton saw extensive practice time at the end spot on the team's first-string defensive militia.

Prior to this offseason, though, Brayton has seemingly played every position opposite the ball sans cornerback and safety. A former first-rounder out of Colorado, the 6-6, 280-pound end was labeled as one of the draft's best defensive prospects of his class. However, much like most of the defensive end class that he was a part of--Chris Kelsay, Michael Haynes, Jerome McDougle--Brayton quickly became an underachiever early in his career.

And up to this point, you can't argue in opposition to the case that Brayton has underachieved considerably. You can argue, though, that it wasn't entirely number 91's fault. After a relatively solid rookie outing with the team in which he tallied 61 total tackles and 2.5 sacks in 16 starts, Brayton was looked to as a linebacking body in a 3-4 defensive unit deficient of linebackers. His numbers didn't slide off the map as a result, but more importantly, they didn't improve. Seeing most of his playing time at linebacker and some at end, Brayton carried over his 2.5-sack total, but registered 16 less tackles with 6 extra pass deflections and an interception.

That's as good as it gets, though. Last season, Brayton was nearly nonexistent playing his hybrid role on the defensive unit. Despite remaining healthy throughout the entire course of the season, he accrued just 16 tackles, a single sack, and nil in the pass deflection column.

In 2006, the former 32nd-overall draft choice will be shuffled back where he belongs on the defensive facade--defensive end. Besides the six sacks registered by Brayton at the position as a pro, he amassed 12.5 sacks in his 47 collegiate starts, along with 152 tackles--25 of which were for a loss. The combination of both this historically sound track-record and the fact that Brayton has missed just one out of 48 possible games on the professional plane, Oakland is set to give the 26-year-old another shot towards redemption.

Whether or not Brayton has been able to effectively play the end position in the past is not the cornerstone of concern for Oakland, however. But whether he can return to this position and contribute to the team's run defense while still being able to consistently find the quarterback is the source of apprehension.

As a winner of the Buffalo Heart Award for team-spirit at Colorado, Brayton's NFL team hopes he can lower the spirits of a few opposing quarterbacks in 2006.