5-11 in 2009
Simply put the Raiders were just an all around terrible team in 2009, and I wouldn't be surprised to see much of the same in 2010. Al Davis needs to die already because the Silver and Black are a shell of the fearsome team they used to be. This year's draft may have shown glimpses that Davis is letting go of the reins, or maybe he is dead already who knows. There was alot of talk that the Oakland Raiders would take workout warrior Bruce Campbell with their first round pick. Way, way to early in the draft but I don't think it would have surprised alot of people after some of the drafts the Raiders have had. Instead the Raiders took the extremely intelligent, and talented Rolando McClain in the first round and grabbed Campbell in the 4th round. Campbell is a great prospect but was not a first round talent.
There is a new QB under center in 2010 for the Raiders in the form of Jason Campbell, replacing the bust that was JaMarcus Russell. I was never sold on Campbell when he was in Washington and I think it will be even worse in Oakland. In the past 3 season he has had a completion percentage of 60% or more, but his stats are weak and I am just not impressed by anything he does. On offense the Raiders are anemic, with neither back showing much of anything last season and an offensive line that is sub-par. The WRs are young and have speed but Campbell does not have a big arm and the guys they have are not underneath players. Should be a slight improvement on last years 12.3 points per game, but I think the Raiders are in for another tough year offensively.
The Raiders defense is a bit more respectable than their offense and should continue to improve with Rolando McClain. Nnamdi Asomugha is still one of the top corners in the NFL, and gets paid as such. The Raiders defense has some good pieces in place with the likes of; Richard Seymour, Quenten Groves, Kamerion Wimbley, LaMar Houston, Thomas Howard, and Michael Huff, but the offense is so bad it might not matter. With a solid offense, this defensive squad could be very good but it is tough when you are on the field most of the time, as even the best of players will get worn down. The defense should keep the Raiders in games, and may steal one or two on the season, but the offensive struggles should hamper the defense’s overall ability.
The Raiders have a bear of a schedule, and even without Russell and his Codine syrup, they should be in for another brutal year. Matching the 5 wins in 2009 might be the best they can do but my final prediction is 4-12 for the Oakland Raiders in 2010.
The Raiders defense is underrated. The reason why they had such poor stats is because they were on the field the whole game. It was either a turnover or a punt every drive for their offense. While Campbell is no Drew Brees, by any means, he is a drastic improvement over what they had prior. And he's safe with the ball. He won't make the big plays, but he doesn't make many huge glaring mistakes either. Look for their offensive consistency to finally show off how strong their defense is. I fully expect the Oakland defense to finish in the top 5 this year.
ReplyDeleteI also think you are overrating their strength of schedule this year. Their schedule is about average in difficulty with some poor opponents sprinkled in there. I expect them to finish 7-9. Mark it down.