Raiders report By Stefani Rebekah Black August 27, 2008     ALAMEDA--The center competition that saw the Raiders Jake Grove win the starting job was not all that easy a task for Grove to win but ask Grove who was like a little kid who just got a big red A+ with a smiley face given to him at report card time when he learned that head coach Lane Kiffin announced that he would start at center this season for the Raiders. Kiffin watched Grove who had micro fracture surgery on his right knee very carefully and if there was that chance that the surgery played on his knee he had John Wade in the wings competing for the job also. Grove looked great in practice and won the job and Kiffin said Grove earned every bit of getting the job, "We gave them equal opportunities and Jake I wouldn't have guessed when we signed (Wade) ended up beating him out. He came out and took the job. He earned it. He didn't get it by default." Kiffin said. Last season Grove competed against Jeremy Newberry for the job and lost the position to him. When Newberry left as a free agent the Raiders signed John Wade as a free agent. Grove didn't blame the Raiders for that move because the team was concerned what consequences the surgery might have had on him, "they didn't know they could count on me to come play. That didn't surprise me. I knew after getting hurt, I couldn't come in and mess around. This was kind of make or break." Grove said. Grove who missed all of the off-season practices and workouts while trying to heal the knee came into camp and split snaps with Wade. Kiffin allowed the center competition to last a month. The Raiders were pretty sure that Wade would have an inside track on Grove since Grove might have slowed with the knee surgery but Grove came off the ball like a champ and won the job at center, "Jake's had a lot of injuries, before Jake got hurt, he was playing well, but he wasn't the same Jake that we see right now. He's much stronger, quicker." Kiffin said. So it's onto Friday night at Qwest Field in Seattle and Kiffin will get another look at Grove at the center position and even though Grove has won the job Kiffin and the coaches will be keeping out a close eye on how their recovered center does on Friday night. Stefani Rebekah Black covers Raiders football each week on Sportstalk Radio.

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