Division: AFC West
Last Years Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Lane Kiffin
Offensive Coordinator: Greg Knapp
Defensive Coordinator: Rob Ryan
Schedule(home games in CAPS, all times EST):
Week 1: Sept. 8 10:15 PM DENVER BRONCOS (ESPN) Monday Night Football
Week 2: Sept. 14 1:00 PM @ Kansas City Chiefs (CBS)
Week 3: Sept. 21 1:00 PM @ Buffalo Bills (CBS)
Week 4:Sept. 28 4:05 PM SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (CBS)
Week 5: Oct. 5 BYE WEEK
Week 6: Oct. 12 1:00 PM @ New Orleans Saints (CBS)
Week 7: Oct. 19 4:15 PM NEW YORK JETS (CBS)
Week 8: Oct. 26 1:00 PM @ Baltimore Ravens (CBS)
Week 9: Nov. 2 4:15 PM ATLANTA FALCONS (FOX)
Week 10: Nov. 9 4:05 PM CAROLINA PANTHERS (FOX)
Week 11: Nov. 16 1:00 PM @ Miami Dolphins (CBS)
Week 12: Nov. 23 4:05 PM @ Denver Broncos (CBS)
Week 13: Nov. 30 4:15 PM KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (CBS)
Week 14: Dec. 4 8:15 PM @ San Diego Chargers (NFLN) Thursday Night
Week 15: Dec. 14 4:15 PM NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (CBS)
Week 16:Dec. 21 4:05 PM HOUSTON TEXANS (CBS)
Week 17:Dec. 28 1:00 PM @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (CBS)
Key Losses:
Warren Sapp
Chris Clemons
Tyler Brayton
Chris Carr
Tim Dwight
Josh McCown
Dominic Rhodes
Jerry Porter
Barry Sims
Fabian Washington
Jeremy Newberry
Key Additions:
Darren McFadden
Javon Walker
Drew Carter
Kalimba Edwards
DeAngelo Hall
Kwame Harris
Ed Hartwell
Gibril Wilson
Michael Waddell
William Joseph
Homer Disclaimer: I have been a Raider fan since I was a little kid in Hawaii, and the love for the Silver and Black has grown every year. There have been ups and downs throughout my years following the Silver and Black but times are a changing. I am stupidly optimistic and it will show in this post. So beware, it may be fallacious.
Breakdown of the offense:
Any Raider fan could notice the difference between the Raiders of last season and the Raiders of 2006. They played tougher and with more discipline. Resulting in closer games, but it seemed as if one play could lose the game for the team. Either way, the Raiders are a better team with Lane Kiffin as head coach, but can he get them to play more consistently? If he can, they can be a better than average team. If not, bye bye Lane and hello to the top five in the draft; once again.
Jamarcus Russell will take the reins at quarterback. The number one pick in 2007 didn't get substantial playing time until week 16 and had his only start in week 7. He had a rough time on the road against Jacksonville where he threw 3 picks on 7-23 for 83 yards and one touchdown. In his one start, he showed some signs of good things to come. Against division rival San Diego Chargers at home, he was 23-31 for 224 yards with one touchdown and one interception. For the Raiders to achieve, Jamarcus needs to minimize rookie mistakes and play smart.
The strongest offensive position for the Raiders is at running back. Justin Fargas returns after a fantastic season where he had 1,009 yards. What makes that remarkable is he missed the last two games due to injury and did not start until week 7. The number four overall pick Darren McFadden is a dangerous number two option for Oakland. He will get his fair share of the carries and will be utilized out of the backfield and the slot as a receiver. The third back will be former Heisman contender Michael Bush, if he can recover from the broken leg he suffered in college, he can be another weapon for Oaklands offense. At fullback will be Justin Griffith who brings leadership and a great locker room presence, but he will be challenged at the position by Oren Oneal. Oren is said to be a devastating lead blocker.
The wider receiving position for the Raiders brings tons of questions, and will be critical to their success. Will Javon recover from the robbery where he suffered facial injuries, is he ACL better after surgery? Can Ronald Curry play an entire season injury free? And can Drew Carter become more consistent at the third slot? If the answers to these questions are yes, Jamarcus Russell will have plenty of down field options.
Zach Miller came out strong late last season, showing chemistry with Russell. John Madsen is a tweener with great receiving skills and so-so blocking skills. These tight ends can't block well, but may turn out to be Russell's number one and number two options.
Last season, the offensive line improved greatly under new line coach Tom Cable. They cut their sacks allowed almost in half (from 72 to 41) and went from 29th in the league in rushing to sixth. Robert Gallery finally looked comfortable after being moved to left guard. John Wade replaces Jeremy Newberry at center, Wade brings durability and veteran leadership to the Raider line. Cooper Carlisle will start at right guard and was Oakland's most consistent lineman last season. Kwame Harris is going to be at left tackle, he is a great run blocker and a question mark in the passing game. At right tackle journey-man Cornell Green and third rounder Mario Henderson will vie for the starting gig.
If this offense can continue to improve, the brighter days ahead will be much closer, if not, I am afraid Lane won't be given a third year to prove his ability. And Lane will join the list of coaches Al Davis should not have fired or pushed out.
Breakdown of the defense:
In 2006 the Raiders defense was one of the best in the league (ranked 3rd in the league in total defense), and last year they took a major step in wrong direction (ranked 22nd in total defense). These inconsistencies almost cost Rob Ryan his job, he and Lane agreed that Rob should move on. But thanks to Al, his last year of his contract was picked up. The Raiders main problem on defense last year was their inability to stop the run, where they ranked 31st.
With Warren Sapp retiring, the Raiders decided Tommy Kelly would replace him at the 3-technique tackle and he deserved a huge contract($18.125 million signing bonus) even after a season where he only played 7 games due to a torn ACL. Terdell Sands, was counted on to stop the run at nose tackle, but had family tragedies that affected his play. Jay Richardson was a pleasant surprise at defensive end. Although his pressure seems to come in the form of a long reach and blocking the quarterbacks vision, instead of an explosive rush. Starting Left end Derrick Burgess is the stud of this line group, but his output has been dwindling the past three season from 16 to 11 to 8.
Gerrard Warren was picked up after Denver dropped him, and continued his career trend of looking amazing and then mediocre, kind of like Rex in Chi-town. Rookie Trevor Scott will have an opportunity to show his skills, and the Raiders hope he can emerge as a pass rusher, but I would not expect from the Buffalo alum who has only played end for two season.
Kalimba Edwards comes in from Detroit to try and replace Chris Clemons. But it will be a tall order for Edwards trying to match Clemons output of last season of 8 sacks as the nickel rusher. Kalimba was a disappointment in Detroit, but if he can get the same numbers he had in Detroit in Oakland, the Raiders will be happy.
Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison represent two of the best linebackers in pass coverage in the NFL, they combined for 10 interceptions last season. Morrison has led the Raiders in tackles the past three seasons and Howard's sideline-to-sideline speed ranks with any LB in the league. But neither could help with the run game as the Raiders gave up 100 yards rushing to 10 different backs.
Robert Thomas took injury-plagued Sam Williams spot on the strong side but is the first person out on passing downs. Isaiah Ekejiuba and Ricky Brown are mostly spared for special teams duties.
The secondary is where the Raiders swung for the fences this past offseason, trading two picks and handing Hall a monster contract (7 years for $67 mil). Hall will be paired with Nnamdi Asomugha, with hopes of making this one of the best corner back combination in the NFL. Asomugha was ignored last season by opposing teams, those teams decided to throw towards Stanford Routt. With the Hall trade, Routt will slide into the slot corner position.
Former first rounder Michael Huff has been a terrific safety in coverage, but as a first rounder you expect much more than coverage skills. In his two seasons, he only has one pick. But with hard-hitting Gibril Wilson coming in from the New York Giants, Huff can move to free safety and focus more on the passing game. Expect Huff to have a breakout season and to have much more interceptions at the end of the season. Tyron Branch, a rookie fourth-round pick, is expected to be a safety who can help with the shaky tackling on the Raiders.
Breakdown of the Special Teams:
Sebastian Janikowski is back following his worst season as a pro (71.9% 9 misses) and has continued to be far too unreliable for anyone to stomach.
Shane Lechler continues to be one of the best punters in the league and is returning from his best season where he had 49.1 net and a 41.1 gross (first time over 40 for gross). The best sign of Lechlers ability he limited his touch backs to 6, down from 19 in 2006.
The coverage unit was jekkyl and hyde last season, one week shutting down returner extraordinaire Devin Hester and the next week giving up two punt returns for touchdowns. They were great when Ekejiuba and Jarrod Cooper were healthy and struggled mightily without them, they will need to develop other core special teamers if they want to be more successful. There is no clear-cut returner identified yet.
Position Grades:
QB's: C, with Russell coming in with his huge arm and bigger body, its too early to tell if he will turn into a Brady or a Bust. Andrew Walter moves back to his more comfortable spot as the back-up.
RB's : B, Fargas and McFadden can become one of the best backfields in the NFL
Wr/TE: D, too many question marks at the position to give them a passing grade, but their better than the Bears.
O-Line: D, I have had confidence in these guys in the past and they burn me every time, I will wait for them to prove that they can play better without making stupid penalties (I'm looking at you Gallery)
D-line: C+, Derrick Burgess has been the most consistent player for the Raiders in the recent seasons and will continue to bother qb's.
LBs: B-, if they can step up in the running game this will be a great group of linebackers.
DBs: A, DeAngelo Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha will force QBs to pick between two of the best corners in the league. Gibril and Huff will punish passes across the middle.
Season Outlook: 6-9 wins, I would put it higher but I can't. I have not been this optimistic before the season since Bill Callahan took over and we got blown out in the Super Bowl. They have terrific weapons in the running game and a better than average defense. If they cannot play more consistently and error-free, it will be another tough year for us in the nation to watch and you can expect more youtube clips like this
LCB Staff Opinions:
Teachs Thoughts: Hopefully the Javon Walker Saga Continues.
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