Raider Nation it has been awhile. Now that I've enjoyed my little sabbatical off this blog, it's time to talk football again. Welcome in to the regular season preview post for the Oakland Raiders' 2016 regular season campaign. Like last year, I will divide some potential headlines into sections, discuss the schedule, and give my prediction. Keep in mind, this is opinionated and I'll provide my take on all of them.
AC/DC and the Offense Year 2
Last year, we saw glimpses of how good the Raiders' offense can be during the Baltimore, Cleveland, San Diego, New York, and Pittsburgh games. This offense was able to score at will as long as Bill Musgrave opens up the playbook and the offensive line remains in tact. This year, the Raiders added two more running backs in Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington to bolster the running back position since poor Tay Train (Latavius Murray) was getting all the work load. They bolstered the O-line even more by adding Kelechi Osemele from the Ravens and re-signing Donald Penn. With KO, Penn, Hudson, Jackson, and Watson, the O-line has the makings of being elite. Combined with the growth of Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Clive Walford, and others, this offense has great potential to explode. Most definitely, the growth of Amari Cooper and Derek Carr (AC/DC) will be crucial. They showed great promise last year and the tandem will continue to get better and hopefully they add more explosive plays to their arsenal. Probably the biggest concern is the running game. I was not impressed with the running game this preseason, particularly with the way Murray was struggling finding running lanes behind a stout O-line. Unless they're holding something back, then I could understand. Well, it's the preseason, you shouldn't show your cards, but I'd say if Murray performs like he did in the preseason, he could be sitting behind Washington or Richard when it's all said and done. On the plus side, Bill Musgrave will give Derek Carr a lot of freedom to change up plays on the line of scrimmage (whew). In the preseason, it was pretty encouraging to see Carr channel his inner-Peyton Manning and audible some plays and protection schemes. The sky is the limit for the offense and they can be more dangerous than they were last season.
Khalil Mack DPOY Candidate?
Khalil Mack is a beast, let's just leave it at that. No post necessary. Jokes aside, last season, we saw what Mack is able to do. He made a huge leap from 4 sacks in his rookie season to 15 sacks in his 2nd year en route to a Pro Bowl and 1st team honors as an outside linebacker and defensive end. The scary part is that he's still growing as a potent pass rusher. The talent on defense is there for Mack to terrorize QBs at will. The Raiders solidified the secondary by adding Sean Smith, Reggie Nelson, and Karl Joseph and they brought in Bruce Irvin to be Mack's partner-in-crime while Aldon Smith serves his lengthy suspension. Obviously, Mario Edwards' hip injury is deflating because he helps set Mack free by eating up blocks, but likely Denico Autry and Jihad Ward are going to fill in quite well. An upgraded secondary and a deep D-line should propel Mack to put up some Lawrence Taylor-esque sack numbers and possibly dethrone J.J. Watt in the Defensive Player of the Year running.
The "Mike" Hole
If you don't know "football-speak," "the Mike" is another name for the Middle Linebacker position in football. Reggie McKenzie and the Raiders are rolling the dice on Ben Heeney to be their long-term answer at Middle Linebacker and backing him up is a project in Cory James. If there's any position that is the most concerning heading into the 2016 season, it would most definitely be the Middle Linebacker position. Running back is arguable, but it's a deep position for the Raiders. I love Heeney's motor and his nose for the football, but his preseason play has us re-thinking whether or not he can be the guy to quarterback the defense. He struggled in coverage over the middle and he couldn't shed blocks when stopping the run (look at the preseason tape vs. Green Bay). This is a position of concern that we need to keep an eye on as this season progresses.
Viva Las Vegas?
We keep hearing about this all over the media: are the Raiders moving to Las Vegas? It is going to be a distraction with all this relocation talk and it could derail the Raiders from fully taking off this season.This team is poised to bring the franchise back from the ashes of futility and they can't let this relocation talk distract them. In fact, the team and the fans alike shouldn't worry about this, they need to focus on now. Let me say right now, these are the Oakland Raiders. They play in the city of Oakland. Until Las Vegas is set in stone, they'll remain the Oakland Raiders until further notice. Nothing more to be said. Rather than starting a civil war within the Raider Nation about this whole move or stay arguments, this season is the time to unite the Raider Nation and rally around this team that potentially has all the tools to break our 13 year drought of postseason Raiders football.
Schedule
The 2016 schedule is arguably the most favorable schedule the Raiders have had in years' past. They're playing the AFC South and the NFC South and both of them were pathetic last season. Yes, they have an unfavorable East Coast road schedule to start and they have to give up a home game to play in Mexico City. Those are going to be the major hurdles for the Raiders. However, the first half of the schedule before their bye week in week 10, probably 80% of those games are against beatable teams (Saints, Falcons, Titans, Ravens, Chargers, Jags, Bucs). It is essential that the Raiders take advantage of those matchups and get off to a good start, despite the road hurdles. In terms of division rivals, I'm going to be bold and say that the Raiders can sweep San Diego and split with Denver and Kansas City with each team winning in their respective home field.
Conclusion
OK, the Raiders added a couple of top-tier free agents, they had a solid 2016 draft with a full load of draft picks, the coaching staff remains in tact. I see the Raiders taking the last Wild Card spot in the AFC. I think that's a realistic prediction. The talent is there. The coaching staff is there. The schedule is favorable. As long as they put the work in, build chemistry, and execute game in and game out, the sky is the limit for this team. They need to be locked in and dominate for a full 60 minutes. No more going aggressive in the 1st half and being conservative in the 2nd half. Take no prisoners! This Sunday should be a statement game. They're on the road in New Orleans, the Big Easy, going up against Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and the ever hostile Superdome crowd. However, one name who the Saints have justifies that the opening game is a "must win" game for the Raiders: Dennis Allen. "Um, uh, you know at the end of the day uh..." The Raiders offense must show up big time and blitzkrieg the heck out of the Saints defense to make DA look like a fool! We've been waiting too long for playoff football. It's time for this young team to make the Oakland Raiders great again. Go Raiders! #ReturntoGreatness
*Announcement to be made before Sunday regarding changes in game day posts*
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