Centers of attention

For the first 26 opening games in franchise history, the Raiders had two starting centers — Jim Otto (15) and Dave Dalby (11). This season will mark the sixth year in a row there will be a different Week 1 starting center:

2012: Stefen Wisniewski or Alex Parsons: The plan was to move young Wiz inside and be the starter for the next decade. Injuries have slowed implementation.

2011: Samson Satele: After three years with the Raiders, Satele moved on to a lucrative free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts.

2010: Jared Veldheer: Tom Cable’s experiment of putting the 6-foot-8 rookie at center lasted one game. He was the starting left tackle for the last 11.

2009: Chris Morris: A solid, scheme player similar to Parsons, Morris was good enough win out over Satele to start the season.

2008: Jake Grove: A former second-round draft pick, Grove put together one last solid season and got a huge contract from Miami, with Raiders trading for Satele.

2007: Jeremy Newberry: Brought in for veteran leadership, Newberry was a solid starter for 14 games but his practice time was limited.

Note: The last Raiders center to start in consecutive openers was Grove in 2005 and 2006.