Week One was Week 17 for the Oakland Raiders ' tight ends.

Courtney Anderson was on the receiving end of 12 of Oakland's 20 points in the team's Week One loss at New England.

In the following 16 weeks, he added just one additional touchdown to his season total, finishing with just 24 receptions for 303 yards.

Along with Anderson at the tight end position was Zeron Flemister and Randal Williams. In 12 active games, Flemister's stat table remained vacant, while Williams caught 13 balls for 164 yards.

Throw all the numbers into one pile: 37 receptions, 467 yards, and three touchdowns. That's not much for a position that has risen up the offensive hierarchy over the past several seasons--especially in the AFC West, where players like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates consistently make headlines.

But at 6-7, 270 pounds, Courtney Anderson is not a modest name. Anderson has the athletic, basketball-driven talent that made Gonzalez and Gates premier tight ends in the NFL. Anderson measures up larger than both, as Gonzalez is listed at 6-5, 251 pounds, while Gates is listed at 6-4, 260 pounds.

On the university level, Anderson saw action in 23 games with the San Jose Spartans, catching 36 passes for 477 yards and seven touchdowns. Although he only started one season during his collegiate career, he received draft recognition due to his great size and raw athletic capacity. As a result, Oakland made him their seventh round, 245th overall draft pick in 2004.

In his rookie season, Anderson was benched in favor of a more experienced Doug Jolley. Teyo Johnson was also a part of the 2004 Oakland Raiders ' roster that ran deep with respectable talent at the tight end position. Since then, however, Jolley was shipped to Jets, while Johnson was set free from the team.

In recent years, Oakland has underutilized the tight end position for the same reason why their big-named receivers have struggled to reach the 1,000-yard plateau--their offensive line. With Collins at the helm, much of the team's completions came at the flats to the running back. In his first season with the team, LaMont Jordan hauled in 70 passes for 563 yards--a per catch average of eight yards. And while having a valve at the running back position is always a luxury, it shouldn't be the primary focus.

With his 70 catches factored into the equation, Jordan touched the ball 342 times last season, totaling 1,588 offensive yards. Quick reminder: all of the Raiders' tight ends amassed 467 yards together.

But back to the source...the offensive line. Regardless of who lined up under center last season for Oakland, the partition up front would still have likely underperformed. Gallery and Grove both struggled in their sophomore campaigns, while Barry Sims had one of the worst outings of his seven-year career, as he let in 12 sacks for 105 yards.

As a result, the tight ends stayed in to block, the quarterback faced increased pressure, and the wide receivers were unable to complete their routes. The answer then came in the form of the running back with a small dish-pass out of the backfield.

Next season, Oakland's line looks to be greatly improved from a mix-and-matched batch of players that made up the front in 2005. Robert Gallery finally packed up his bags and is ready move to left tackle, while Barry Sims will shift inside to an easier guard role. With Hall of Fame lineman, Art Shell, as head coach as well as Jackie Slater and Irv Eatman focused exclusively on the offensive line, one can only expect improvement upfront. Oh, and don't forget about that mean-looking kid, Paul McQuistan.

Make way then for Courtney Anderson, who in his short NFL career has given the impression that he possesses the ability to both hurdle and push a car.

Like always, though, it all starts up front in the NFL.