A Season in Review: 2014 Raiders

What’s up Raider Nation, welcome in to the annual “Season in Review” post for the 2014 Oakland Raiders. In these posts, I usually reflect back on the season from the offseason to the regular season, the games, and what the team needs to do in the impending offseason.

Another year, another season in the books; to sum up the season in general: what began as an offseason of optimism; turned into a nightmare for us Raider fans in the regular season. Reggie McKenzie fielded a team with a lot of veterans, bringing in guys like Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith, Donald Penn, James Jones, Maurice Jones-Drew, LaMarr Woodley, Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers in the free agency, trading for Matt Schaub. Those moves made us optimistic considering the difficulty of the schedule the team received. We thought this Raider team would be much more competitive than the past Raider teams. Then, Reggie fielded a spectacular draft, adding key cornerstones for the future: Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson, Justin Ellis, Keith McGill, T.J. Carrie. All those rookies saw some significant playing time on the field. Carr overtook Schaub after the Seahawks preseason game and that gave us a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of the future.

Week 1, the Raiders headed to the East Coast against the Jets. It was a tightly contested game till the Jets pulled away in the 2nd half. Derek Carr had an OK game for his 1st regular season start. He did feel the pressure from Rex Ryan’s defensive schemes, but overall the Raiders managed to fall short on a five point loss. There was optimism going forward that Carr will get better and the team is still gelling and will eventually come together. Then, the Houston Texans came around for the home opener and surprisingly, they took a massive dump all over us. It’s no surprise though since then QB of the Texans, Ryan Fitzpatrick plays at his best against the Raiders given his track record against them. Week 3 against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, I saw this as a symbolic game for the Raiders. We still have the Tuck Rule in our heads right? I felt that if the Raiders pulled off a victory against the Patriots, not only would they wake up the football world, but that would be the game that signifies a reversal of fortunes for both franchises. After that faithful game, the Patriots have fielded a winning record plus a couple of Super Bowl titles while the Raiders have been on a free fall ever since with no end in sight. I had that feeling that this was the game to win; this was the game to break the jinx of 12 years of utter BS. The Raiders kept it close. They had that TD from McFadden, and then it gets called back due to a holding call on Gabe Jackson. Patriots held on for the victory after Derek Carr’s pass ricocheted off of Denarius Moore’s hands (typical), into Vince Wilfork’s hands for the INT. The disparity continued on as the Patriots would later go on a hot streak and the Raiders continued to free fall throughout the season. Week 4, the Raiders headed to London for a home game and it just couldn’t get any worse. Despite the Raiders heading there early and the Dolphins heading there late, the Dolphins still managed to give the Raiders a beatdown despite the fact Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill were in hot water. That loss put extreme heat on Dennis Allen heading into the bye. I wanted him gone; the rest of the Raider Nation wanted him gone. We couldn’t stand his emotionless face on the sidelines and his “uhs” and “umms” every post game, lacking an honest answer as to why the team was getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter every Sunday. We just had enough. Then finally the day after, Reggie McKenzie, Mark Davis, the Raider organization relieved Dennis Allen of his head coaching duties and it was a sigh of relief that this failure of an experiment was over with. Worst head coach since Lane Kiffin and Art Shell combined.

So with Dennis Allen out of the picture, Tony Sparano comes in and takes over as the interim head coach. Under Sparano, there was drastic improvement after the bye from the practice schedules to the play calling (still predictable though). The Raiders hung in games tough, but there was still no win in sight. In Sparano’s first game as coach, Derek Carr had the best game of his career against the Chargers Week 5, throwing for 300+ yards and 4 TDs, but his costly INT with the game on the line marred his performance. A few games after that, the Raiders are still standing 0-10. It looked like 0-16 was imminent, which would’ve put a damp on this franchise more with over a decade of frustration and brutality from us fans. Finally, they were able to field a win on Thursday Night against the hated Chiefs and that was a perfect storm to get a win. The Chiefs were coming off a win against the Seahawks; it was a short week, perfect set up for a “trap game” and it worked. What I got from the pattern, is that they win a close one at home, the only decisive home win was against our Bay Area rival, 49ers, then the next game on the road, the Raiders get blown out of the water by the Rams, the Chiefs in Kansas City, and the Broncos. That’s the perfect summary I can make up as the season was about to wind down. After that Denver game, the Raiders finished 3-13, another losing season and more frustration. But those 3 wins were good wins: divisional rival Chiefs, Bay Area rival 49ers, and old AFL rival, Bills. What do those teams have in common? They were all playing for their playoff lives and the Raiders put a damp on each team’s playoff hopes. Which win was sweeter? Of course the Battle of the Bay game because it was for pride and it was personal for me considering I live in Santa Clara, which is heavy 49er territory of course. In a lost season, we get to brag about owning the Bay till another matchup in 2018.

Into the offseason, the biggest priority obviously is the head coaching job. Who’s going to be the next head coach of the Oakland Raiders? We already heard the story regarding Jim Harbaugh going to Michigan, so unfortunately we have to take him off the list. It would’ve been nice to have a coach like Harbaugh of his caliber and considering his past tenure as the QB coach for the Raiders, what better way to snatch him away at the expense of our Bay Area rival? So, we have to look elsewhere. A bunch of names have come up on the candidacy for the Head Coach position: Sparano, Todd Bowles, Jack Del Rio, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rex Ryan. As I said before when I posted the firing of Dennis Allen, I probably want David Shaw out of Stanford. My top two picks would’ve come down to Todd Bowles or David Shaw. Mangini? Hell no, have you seen his track record with the Jets and the Browns? Shurmur? It would be beneficial for Derek Carr’s development, but again, his track record in Cleveland says otherwise. Rex Ryan, I would love to see him as our DC. As our HC, I have mix feelings about that. Del Rio, I think he’s another solid option; he’s from the East Bay, he grew up a Raiders fan, but IMHO, I would’ve loved him as a DC as well. If not one of those candidates want to take the job, then yes if I were Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie, I would give Sparano another shot, just give him better coordinators around him. Greg Olson sucks and Jason Tarver is inconsistent. Bobby April, he’s a respected special teams coordinator and he hasn’t had that dynamic special teams returner, so I’m mixed up about that whether to retain him or not. However, everybody else on the current coaching staff besides Sparano and Al Saunders should not be retained.

Now, concerning free agency and the draft, the Raiders will again have the salary cap in the world to sign people and a load of picks. Last year’s signing with the veterans was kind of a failed experiment. Although I will say, the veteran free agents who have earned their contract money would be Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith, Donald Penn, and James Jones (even though he wasn’t WR1 worthy this season). Charles Woodson does not count considering he re-signed after completing one year of returning to the Raiders. Cut Woodley, MJD, Brown and Rogers, and release Matt Schaub. This free agency class is headlined with big time talented playmakers on both sides of the ball: Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Marshawn Lynch, and Ndamukong Suh are examples that come to mind. I know it’s unlikely that we’ll get some of these star-studded players, but Reggie needs to attack this free agency by mixing some players who are still young (mid to late 20s) and veterans who still have something to prove (early to mid-30s). It can’t be just veterans all the way who are past their prime or are getting to that stage, especially on the defensive side because they will get gassed out easily, especially against younger, quicker offenses. Knowing Reggie’s ties with Green Bay, I wouldn’t be surprised if he dips into their pool again, particularly if he tries to lure in Randall Cobb and Tramon Williams considering they’re free agents in this impeding offseason. Now, concerning the draft, I gotta be honest, I’m in love with Amari Cooper out of Alabama right now. No not that kind of love, but you know what I mean. I know we have a lot of needs, but Carr seriously needs someone to throw to on a consistent basis and the receivers need someone who can draw defenders. Receivers all season long are just dropping balls all over the place and are not trying to get separation from the defender in front of them. By drafting a receiver who can stretch the field and can command respect from the defense, that will relieve a lot of pressure from the current receiving corps. However, I understand Cooper is not the “be all, end all” pick. Leonard Williams is also considered. If Williams or Randy Gregory is still on the board at #4, then yes take them and create a foundation for a scary defense with Williams/Gregory, Mack, and Moore assuming that mantle to terrorize offenses. However, likely those two will be gone by the time the Raiders pick. I say, Raiders should draft Cooper and then use the rest of their draft picks to start addressing the trenches on both the offensive line and defensive line.

Overall, a disappointing season because this was the season we thought was going be the one to set the franchise on the right course. However, we were wrong again like the last 12 years and it makes us grow even more patient. Don’t worry Raider Nation, behind the dark days, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that leads to a bright future. We have our cornerstones in Derek Carr and Khalil Mack and they’re backed by guys like Gabe Jackson, Keith McGill, Justin Ellis, T.J. Carrie, Sio Moore, Mychal Rivera, Menelik Watson, and D.J. Hayden (if he’s healthy). They need to continue build around them. Find the right coach, be smart in free agency, draft well again and the sky’s the limit for this team next season. Here’s to 2015! Thank you Raider Nation for following this rocky path with me. Until next season, I’ll see you guys later.

Week 3 Tuck Rule, Never Forget: RAIDERS @ New England Patriots Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 9 NE 16

That holding call on Gabe Jackson hurts. Some will argue the Denarius Moore taking his eye off the ball was the play that hurt, but McFadden was already in and Jackson decided to hold a defender a little more. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 9 NE 10

Leave it to the kicking game to cut the lead within one, but the Raiders NEED touchdowns! Patriots are threatening right now, hopefully the defense can hold them here. Highlight of this quarter: Khalil Mack hitting Brady.

Q2:

Score: OAK 3 NE 10

Raiders get a break from that botched snap. I hope that Brady to Gronk TD is not a sign of bad things to come. The Raiders dominated in the time of possession, but mismanagement of time and stalled drives are killing them right now. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: OAK 3 NE 0

Still uneasy about this game, but I like how the Raiders are controlling the clock on offense, keeping Brady and Co off the field and take the crowd out. However, they can't always depend on Sebass to bail them out stalled drive after stalled drive, especially against a team like the Pats. Gotta put touchdown points on the board.

RAIDERS @ Patriots Halftime Post

Score: OAK 3 NE 10

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders-Patriots game where the Patriots have a one touchdown lead against the Raiders.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 13 completed passes of 18 attempts, 76 passing yards. I don't know, that's the only positive I can think about. D.C. right now is playing game manager. He's controlling the clock, making great decisions, especially on 3rd down. Carr is holding on hid own, but he needs more help from his supporting cast and he needs more aggressive playcalling from Greg Olson. Carr's already three games in, he is accustomed to the playbook by now, but I don't know, coaching staff is still playing safe with him.


The Negatives

Timeout management. Two timeout in one offensive drive, a timeout when the Patriots are in the red zone. You talk about poor clock management, poor clock awareness, and the lack of processing a play call as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter if you have the ball or not, saving timeouts are critical and the Raiders burned their timeouts as quickly as possible in that first half.

3rd down defense. It has been a problem all season long, even if the season is still young. The Patriots converted 5-8 of their 3rd down conversion against the defense. Short offensive drives is one thing to gas out a defense, but the defense not getting themselves off the field on 3rd downs is another. No surprise there, they did a good job early on, but they're slowly reverting back to letting teams convert on 3rd down plays.

Bottom Line

What can I say? The Raiders just need to avoid letting this Patriot team open it up. The Patriots have the ball in the 2nd half since they deferred in the coin toss. Like I said, I'm still uneasy, but if this game is still like this, the outcome is going to be less hurtful. We'll see what happens.

Raiders Fall Flat in Home Opener vs. Texans

Alright, welcome in to the full recap between the Raiders-Texans game where the Raiders squander an opportunity to tack on a win as they get beat down by the Texans 30-14.

"Wow." That's all I could say when I was witnessing this game. It was pathetic, it was embarrassing; it's hard to express this frustration without any profanity, but I'm sorry this game was just absolute shit. It feels like I'm just saying this now even though I've seen this movie over and over and over again as lifelong fan where game day, you're pumped up, ready to see the Silver & Black kick some ass and then they perform like this, all of a sudden that feeling turns into melancholy. It's frustrating.

The Positives

Darren McFadden, 12 carries, 37 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD. Maurice Jones-Drew out, Latavius Murray didn't see too many snaps, for McFadden I thought he played a decent all-around game. The stats don't say otherwise, but if you watched the game, he converted on 3rd downs when needed, he blocked for Derek Carr. He pretty much kept JJ Watt in check from terrorizing Carr. The outcome would've been much worse if it weren't for McFadden laying down those key blocks when needed.

James Jones, 9 reception, 112 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1 fumble lost. I was really mad about that fumble James Jones made. He was in Houston territory before he muffed it again. He made that mistake and redeemed himself just enough to remove himself off my negative list. He was Carr's go to guy this game. The other receivers were just terrible. D. Mo didn't do anything, Streater, nothing. We signed Jones in the offseason and his acquisition is paying dividends, just at the wrong time when the game is well out of reach. On a little note, if you have Jones on your fantasy team, he's a late round value pick or a good waiver wire pick up as always. I started him today and he gave me solid points when needed as a WR3. Other than that, aside from the wild fumble, Jones had a decent game.

The Negatives

Turnovers. 4 turnovers and all of them turnovers were momentum-killing. Derek Carr, had a good run to put the Raiders in Houston territory, then threw it to Kareem Jackson for an INT, bad throw, the aforementioned James Jones fumbles, definitely that play is going to be on "C'mon man!" tomorrow night, and the Mychal Rivera fumble, it was awful to watch. The turnovers pretty much summed up how bad the game went down.

Defense. Once again, no pressure on Fitzpatrick, the secondary giving up big plays on critical 3rd down plays, it was the same old story as last week, just that the points were piled up more. Nick Roach's absence, the absolutely thin secondary is definitely piling up early on for this defense. The defense wasn't pathetic last week, but man were they absolute trash this game.

Conclusion

Next week, who do we have next? *checks schedule* Crap the Patriots at Foxborough, in Gilette Stadium. Their game today vs. the Vikings showed before this game and whenever you think the Patriots are down, they find ways to bounce back in convincing fashion. It's always tough to go down there to face Brady, Belichick, Wilfork, not to mention, the Raiders are riding a 16 game losing streak in the East Coast. After that, it is the London game against the Dolphins. If the Raiders go 0-4 heading into their week 5 bye week, I can guarantee, Dennis Allen is going to be packing his bags and head out the door, if not maybe earlier considering how this game went down. I'll see you guys next week for the Patriots game.

Oh and by the way, if you guys like the Dennis Allen meme I put up at the end of the fourth quarter section, here's the link: http://memegenerator.net/instance/54337643

Week 2 Home Opener: RAIDERS vs. Houston Texans Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: HOU 30 OAK 14

Stay tuned for the full recap...

Q3:

Score: HOU 27 OAK 0

After three quarters, this is pretty much self-explanatory:

Q2:

Score: HOU 17 OAK 0

Bad back-to-back fumbles by James Jones. I was screaming on him to get down when he was touched after he recovered his first fumble so the Raiders can call a timeout and settle things down for the offense to get set and and then he muffed it again before he got down. That play costed a good drive D.C. was putting together and this is pouring on to how terrible this game is going down. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: HOU 14 OAK 0

Quarter is pretty much over, but what a pathetic start. First opening drive, JJ Watt TD, Arian Foster running all over the place, it's embarrassing. Dennis Allen's seat is not hot, it is on fire the way this game is starting.

RAIDERS vs. Texans Halftime Post

Score: HOU 17 OAK 0

Alright welcome into the halftime post of the Raiders-Texans game where the Texans lead the Raiders 0-17.

The Positives

Positives? What positives?

The Negatives

Defense. Opening Houston drive, giving up a TD to JJ Watt, allowing 105 yards so far for Houston's running game. Last week, I got criticized for giving the defense a rough time, considering they were doing good, but this week, they've definitely put us in a whole, reverting back to the same old shenanigans. They did better in the 2nd quarter, but the 1st quarter is pretty self-explanatory to put the defense on the negative section.

James Jones. He's doing good in the receiving stats, being Carr's favorite target for 5 receptions for 76 yards, but the back to back fumbles. Back to back fumbles, c'mon man. You're a 7-8 year veteran. You can't turn the ball over like that. Before his 2nd fumble, he should've gone down already, they're already in Houston territory looking to score. Just a couple of bad sequences for Jones and he knows he's better that based on his expressions on the sideline after that 2nd fumble.

Bottom Line 

All I can say is, something has to give. This game started off messy, but the old saying goes: "it doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish." The Raiders just need a better 2nd half performance to get back into this game.

Raiders Fall to Jets in Opener; East Coast Jinx Continues

Alright, welcome in to your NFL regular season opener of the full recap here at the True Raider Laker blog between the Raiders and the New York Jets where the Raiders fell short to snatch an East Coast win over the Jets 14-19.

It's no surprise that we start the season, 0-1, I've been used to that a lot as a Raider fan. It's always frustrating to start out the season with a loss. From what I've seen this game, this should've been a dominant win by the Jets. Wipe out all the penalties that the Jets committed this game, wipe out all the mistakes, and you could see that the Jets thoroughly dominated us in the ground game and in the passing game on the offensive side and their run defense played lights out. There's nothing you can say about it, but mistakes happen which is why the score is closer than it should've been.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 20 of 32, 151 passing yards, 2 passing TDs. This is the big storyline this game, how will Derek Carr fare against a Rex Ryan-oriented Jets defense considering Ryan has an impressive record against rookie QBs? From what I've seen, Derek Carr had a decent game, he did not have an amazing game. He recorded his first touchdown to Rod Streater after a Woodson interception and threw a 30 yard bomb to James Jones when time was literally out for the Raiders. He'll learn from this game and continue to grow. At the beginning of the game, he looked really sharp and then the Jets defense pretty much turned up by blitzing the O-line more and that prevented Carr from having a very impressive rookie debut during the regular season. Like I said, Carr will learn, he's not going to hang his head down this game.

The Negatives

There are a lot of negatives all over the place.

Dropped passes. There were a lot of dropped passes in this game, which is one of the primary reasons Derek Carr didn't put up stellar numbers as a starter. When Carr was making a play on 1st down, 3rd down throws, the receivers weren't there to haul in his passes. I mean some of them were covered well and some of them should've been catchable balls.

Running game. MJD and DMC, 26 rushing yards on a total of 13 carries. Not the start you want to see for a potential deadly 2 back tandem. Credit where it's due, the Jets run defense contained them for the majority of the game and they couldn't get anything going. You know a team's run defense is a bulwark when they completely shut out two of the most dynamic running backs in the game when 100%..

Defense. The defense was a huge letdown this game. The Raiders added a lot of well known players on the defensive line, yet the Jets were able to motion their offense with ease over the defense. The defense gave up a total of 402 yards this game. The Jets running game contributed 212 rushing yards out of those total yards of offense and they did make the Raiders' run defense look silly. Passing game-wise, with the way Geno Smith played early, he still managed to rack up 200+ passing yards over our suspect secondary. I'm going to have a watchful eye on that secondary the whole season. The defensive line doesn't have to worry about a dual threat QB until they face Russell Wilson in Seattle and then later Kaepernick in the season, but the secondary is going to be on watch the whole time, especially on 3rd down, where they have been really vulnerable dating back to last season's final stretch. The front seven gets a pass this game, but if they still can't generate pressure especially against a traditional pocket passer these next few games, it's going to be a long season.

Conclusion

Overall, the experts stand corrected to put the Raiders dead last in their power rankings with this loss. The schedule is a steep mountain to climb, but it's not an impossible mountain climb. The Raiders , they gotta win at some point in the East Coast and they get two more tries at New England and at London in a "home" game against the Dolphins. Derek Carr will get better from here, the supporting cast has to get better with him on the offense. The defense has a pink slip in my book and they have a chance to prove what they're made of against the Texans facing a pure pocket passer. I'll see you guys next week for that game. Until then, enjoy the rest of the opening Sunday of the NFL season. Stay classy guys.

Week 1 East Coast Opener: RAIDERS @ New York Jets Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 14 NYJ 19

The Jets gave a lot of opportunities to the Raiders, but the Raiders couldn't capitalize. Credit where credit is due, the Jets were much more physical, they didn't give us any room to run the ball down their throats and Rex Ryan and the Jets D do what they do best to rookie quarterbacks, give them a rude awakening in the NFL. Overall, Carr did good, he didn't do great, there's a lot to learn from this. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 13

I couldn't recall how many times the Raiders received the opening kickoff in the 2nd half and they couldn't put together a good drive. The Jets defense are starting to bring the heat on Derek Carr, they have completely shut down our running game. Raiders are still down by 6, but the Jets have the momentum all on their side to close this out and that does not bode well.

Q2:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 10

The Jets offense, despite all the penalties, they got it going at the end of that quarter. I thought that's a partial momentum killer right there for the Raiders and also Latavius Murray's almost muffed kickoff return despite the fact the Raiders played mistake free. Would've been good to go into the locker room up 6, but the Raiders are just down by 3 and have the ball after deferring. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 3

Old man Woodson, still making circus plays in his 17th season. That was a big interception to set up Derek Carr's first official TD to Rod Streater. Aside from that, 3rd down is still problem. The secondary is being exposed big time giving up a big passing play one 3rd down after another. Luckily, the Jets are gift wrapping penalties on offense, which is why it's 7-3, but they are still threatening after the end of this quarter.

RAIDERS @ Jets Halftime Post

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 10

Alright welcome in to the first official halftime post of 2014 NFL Season of the Raiders-Jets game where the Jets gain the lead 7-10 in the winding seconds of the 2nd quarter.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 9 of 12 passes, 59 yards, 1 passing TD. Derek Carr is going to have a hard time they said, Rex Ryan will surprise him with a lot of packages they said. For the most part, D.C. was calm and cool in the pocket. Credit to where it's due with the offensive line, they blocked well for the rookie, allowing 0 sacks for the Jets defense. Other than that, D.C. is handling this Jets defense pretty well, almost had one INT thrown to Calvin Pryor, but he did well so far.

Charles Woodson, 4 solo tackles, 1 INT. 37 years of age, C-Wood is still playing like one of the best defensive players in the league. I mean, aside from all the negatives that the defense is putting this game, Woodson so far is the only positive. He's active, embracing that role as the last line of defense and made a crucial INT to give the offense some breathing room to work with.

Rod Streater, 4 receptions, 41 yards, 1 TD. Less time to work with and D.C. is starting to make Streater his #1 go to guy. Streater almost went 1,000 yards in receptions last year despite the quarterback carousel, with that position stable, he's due for a breakout and he's starting that against the Jets today.

The Negatives

Secondary. A lot of open receivers, especially on 3rd down. I said in my preview that the secondary is going to be a concern and boy are the Jets exploiting that pretty good with all these big 3rd down conversions in the passing game.

Defensive line/pressure. 0 pressure on Geno Smith, ZERO. It's starting to feel like last year again where the Raiders had no answer for a pass rush and despite bringing guys like Tuck, Woodley, and Antonio Smith, they haven't done much to rattle Smith or put pressure on him and it's another reason why the defense is giving one big play on defense one 3rd down after another.

Bottom Line

Raiders have the ball. They need to put together a good opening drive in the 2nd half to regain some momentum. For the defense, they need start pressuring and get themselves off the field.

Raiders 2014 Regular Season Preview: Make or Break for Dennis Allen and Staff, Last Season in Oakland?

Alright Raider Nation, welcome in to your 2014 regular season preview for the Oakland Raiders presented by yours truly. All 4 preseason games are in the books and a lot is on the line heading into season 3 of the McKenzie-Allen era. The way the Raiders headed into the offseason, they added a lot of guys that display veteran leadership, what it takes to win, and motivation to prove they have something left at the tail end of their careers, then in the draft they focused on building towards the future and selecting the best player available that can help them now. During the first three preseason games, the Raiders didn't look like they were ready enough to face the difficult schedule ahead of them, but after last night's win over the defending Super Bowl champs might've boosted some confidence that hey the team doesn't care if the opposing team is one of the NFL's elite, Super Bowl contender, or Super Bowl champ, they will compete their hearts out to prove experts wrong.

Let's look at the Raiders' offense. A much better QB situation, healthy, bigger offensive line, potential dynamic running back duo, and solid receiving corps. The way the offensive line was built displayed the identity on offense that the Raiders are going to be a run first team and they will run it until the defense can stop them. Yes, the loss of Jared Veldheer still hurts because Donald Penn is known for his run blocking rather than his pass protection; let's not forget Penn gave up a high number of sacks for the first time in his career, but he's only a short term solution. It's obvious this team is grooming Menelik Watson to play that left tackle spot in the future and rookie guard Gabe Jackson is an absolute steal and I'm hoping he beat out Barnes for that left guard spot. Overall, the O-line is a lot better than last season to say the least. At the QB spot, man even though it's better, it's a tough decision for DA to decide who the starting QB is, but the way I saw it in the preseason, it should come down between Derek Carr and Matt McGloin. Yeah we traded for Matt Schaub, but Schaub hasn't done much in the preseason to convince us that he has his confidence back, he hasn't even thrown his first TD as a Raider yet, but Carr has and that's saying something. Looking at Carr's performance last night, I think out of the QBs in this draft class, he's more ready based on his drive to win and his leadership around the offense. I think being passed up in the first round and being unfairly compared to his brother David is going to give Derek the job because the way I saw him play against the Seahawks looked like he has something to prove, he wants to prove he can help the Raiders win now rather than later. Moving on to the running backs, MJD, DMC; almost 4 years ago, these two put on a rushing clinic in Jacksonville and when healthy, they can be a deadly 1-2 tandem. Out of the two, DMC has a lot more on his shoulder. 1 year contract, maybe the last time they'll let him don the S&B, injury-plagued seasons, MJD taking away his spot, no excuses for McFadden to injure himself and stay off the field for a long period of time or he can kiss his 2nd string position goodbye to Latavius Murray. Receiving corps-wise, they say the Raiders need a primary go to guy. I say look at the Saints offense or the Packers offense, they don't revolve around a #1 receiver, sure Brees has Graham, sure Rodgers has Nelson, but they distribute the ball evenly to each receiver in the passing game. Streater, D. Moore, Jones, Holmes, Butler/Little, and Rivera and hopefully Ausberry as security blankets, the receiving corps will be fine.

On the defensive side: pass rushers, pass rushers everywhere, in and out secondary. Losing Lamarr Houston was a big loss definitely, but the Raiders replaced him with three proven pass rushers in Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Antonio Smith, drafted a stud in Khalil Mack, moved Sio Moore to the weak side. Lack of pass rushing was a big concern last season, but that's what Reggie McKenzie emphasized on when retooling this front seven. On paper the front seven is great, Tuck, Sims, Smith, Woodley, Moore, Roach, Mack, I like that front seven. If the Raiders had this front seven and mixed it with last year's secondary, they would've been a top 10 defense for sure. And this brings me to the next topic, the secondary. The most concerning position in the secondary is definitely the cornerback position. D.J. Hayden, out for who knows how many games, Tarell Brown, got burned many times this preseason against first team offenses. Neiko Thorpe, T.J. Carrie will they make the team? Should the Keith McGill project speed up? Let's rewind back to D.J. Hayden. I'm not saying I'm completely giving up on the D.J. Hayden experiment, he's just on a trend of bad luck injuries since his heart trauma, but it's McKenzie's biggest reach to take him in the 1st round when the Raiders needed to fill more important roster holes. Unless Hayden comes back and becomes the shut down corner they drafted with little memorization of the playbook, he's been a disappointment so far and the depth the Raiders have in the cornerback position is putting big smiles on Rivers, Manning, Smith and their receivers' face because they know that the cornerback position is vulnerable and C-Wood and Tyvon Branch cannot guarantee safety help on time.

Onto the regular season schedule, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, that schedule probably came from Hell itself. From an expert view, the most possible wins are Cleveland and Buffalo and the rest of the schedule is all losses. From my view, this Raider team is competitive enough to snatch a few wins among the elite. The past Raider teams from the last decade would probably pack it in, call it quits, and lock on that top pick if they had a schedule like that, but this team has a lot of winning veterans on this roster and they will give the team a reason to not be afraid and keep playing their hearts out. It is a given Denver is still the AFC West king, but I am not scared of the Chiefs, they haven't done much this offseason, I am not scared of the Chargers, the Raiders proved they could hang with them. The NFC West is definitely a scary conference, but the Rams lost Sam Bradford, history has shown that Carson Palmer doesn't have a good track record against the Raiders, the last preseason game against the Seahawks is a confidence booster heading in to face them again with the 12th man, and Week 14 is a potential trap game for the Niners because both Seahawks games are sandwiched in between the Battle of the Bay game. Overall the schedule is difficult, but it is not impossible to overcome.

In conclusion, I believe in this team, the Raider Nation believes in this team. Reggie McKenzie has done a great job giving us hope with his offseason moves and draft strategy this year and now it's time for Dennis Allen to do the same. 4-12, double digit losses is not an option anymore. I'd say at best in order for DA to save his job, he needs to take the Raiders to a 7-9 or 8-8 record to clearly show that progress is being made under the new regime. I think we have a competitive Raiders team, we just need a few more pieces to even talk playoffs or the Super Bowl, but that's just my realistic point of view. This is potentially the last season in Oakland considering the Raiders one year lease at the coliseum. If the Raiders are seriously considering shocking the football world this season after nearly 12 years of futility and frustration among us fans and give the city of Oakland a lasting memory, they need to compete their hearts out and they need to, above all else, "just win baby." GO RAIDERS! ALL IN!

Week 1 @ NY Jets, Q-by-Q reaction, Halftime Post, and Full Recap on Sunday, September 7, 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Blog Changes 08/07

Alright, we're just around the corner of this time of year where I'm going to cover regular season games for the Raiders and later, the Lakers as football season is just right around the corner in early September and then followed by basketball season in late October. The first Raider preseason game is tomorrow and since I usually announce this kind of stuff before the first preseason game, here are a couple changes or things I'm going to retain.

Football

• I will continue to do Q-by-Q reaction, halftime post, and full recap for all 16 Raider games (provided the home games are all sold out) and it's going to be the same format: The Positives, The Negatives, Bottom Line/Conclusion.
• For the Raider preseason games, I'll just pick only ONE preseason game to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap for warm ups. That preseason game will be the third game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. I'm choosing that game because it'll televised on CBS and it'll mark the return of 3 former Packer players to Lambeau Field (C-Wood, James Jones, and C.J. Wilson).
• I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap of the Super Bowl regardless of which team advances and I will still do a Super Bowl preview prior to that.

Basketball

• I will continue to do Q-by-Q reaction, halftime post, and full recap only for Laker games that are nationally televised (TNT, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV) and it's going to be the same format: The Positives, The Negatives, Bottom Line/Conclusion. Any other games that are not nationally televised will follow the old quick recap post.
• Considering I have CSN Bay Area, I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime, and full recap whenever the Lakers face off against the Golden State Warriors in the regular season. 
• I won't cover any preseason games.
• For NBA TV games, I will ONLY do Laker games that are scheduled beforehand to be on NBA TV, that means NO Fan Night games.
• I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap of the NBA Finals regardless of which team advances and I will still do a NBA Finals preview prior to that. 

Applies to both

• I will do regular season previews after the preseason as well as Season in Review posts after the regular season has ended.

Continue to follow up on my Fight Night collaboration with my friend, Stillmattic on his blog, http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com with Bleach Kombat posts. I'll see you guys on the 22nd. Here's to another year of covering Raider and Laker games.

- MechG