PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Fredrickson Wins a Starting Spot

When Rob Fredrickson arrived in Oxnard for training camp in July, he had already lost some time and his position. But he never lost sight of his goal--the starting lineup.

Fredrickson, the team’s No. 1 draft choice out of Michigan State, reported nine days late because of contract negotiations. An outside linebacker in college, Fredrickson was being asked to move to the middle to back up second-year man Greg Biekert.

Actually, Fredrickson said with a laugh, “When I got to Oxnard, I set a goal of wanting to know what the hell I was doing.”

That didn’t take long. Four games into the season, Fredrickson has realized his original goal, moving into the starting lineup where he feels most comfortable--on the outside. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder will take over for Aaron Wallace on the left side. Wallace will be used on the defensive line in pass-rushing situations.

“I’ve come a long ways since I got here,” said Fredrickson, who is thrilled to not only be starting, but doing so at his old position. “I’ve always played outside. I think it comes more natural to me, the reads and everything. It was always a strain for me to adjust to the inside.”

How does he envision his new role?

“Provided I don’t screw up?” he said with a smile. “I always thought I was the caliber of player to start. I always thought I was worthy of the No. 1 pick the Raiders made. Now I just have to go out to prove it, prove it to everyone and prove it to myself.”

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Fredrickson has earned his new spot, but the move shouldn’t be viewed as a demotion for Wallace. Just the opposite. The best pass rusher among the linebackers, he is being moved up to provide more power to a defensive line that has proved embarrassingly ineffective at times.

The Raiders have only nine sacks in four games, with nobody collecting more than two. Anthony Smith, who had 36 sacks over the previous three years as a situational player, has only one in his first four games as a starter.

The line has been disrupted by the two-week absence of Scott Davis and hurt by injuries to Jerry Ball and Willie Broughton.