Oakland Raiders 2015 Season Preview

Oakland Raiders

2014 Record 3-13

2015 O/U 5.5

Off Season Overview

The Raiders off-season on paper is very Raider-esque. A couple old vets leave, a couple old vets come in, rinse and repeat. Excpet this year, for potentially the first time in twelve years the Raiders may have themselves a quarterback. They also got him his top target in the draft. It makes the Raiders a team at least worth digging into to potentially see where they are going. Guys like Rodney Hudson, and Dan Williams are good pieces, in that Hudson is a veteran Center to help a second year quarter back, and Williams is the only interior defensive lineman worthwhile on the roster. Guys like Michael Crabtree, Roy Helu, Malcolm Smith, Nate Allen, and Curtis Lofton fill in as the guys coming in because they get to move to California. Not to disrespect any of them, but for what the Raiders think they may get from the majority of those names is just not what they are going to get. The Raiders need to continue to draft strong, and hope that the mentality in the locker room is now geared toward winning, because there is now young talent on the team. Some of these names can be good leaders and I would hope that they could fill that role.

Offensive Strengths

The young gunslinger is the offensive leader after just one year, and the Raiders seems to be ready to build a team around him. Lets face it, Carr was a rookie and made rookie plays last season. He also led his team on late touch down drives, albeit some in garbage time, and he really looked like the team leader. Throwing for 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns isn’t all garbage time luck, Carr has skill and winning three games with the roster constructed is all any average vet can do, let a lone a rookie. The first step to building around the kid is to find him a go to weapon. Amari Cooper is as safe of a wide receiver prospect as they come. He has the footwork that you just can’t teach and is going to be a gamer in his first season. I think it is apparent he is the top dog on the depth chart, and needs to be Carrs’ go to weapon. Cooper is a guy who can burn you after the catch so short drags, and bubble screens should be seen constantly to get the ball in Coopers hands. Aside from the two futures play makers, the upside is limited in this offense, and it will really come down to those two to win this team games. Marcell Reece deserves to be included as a strength as he is a do every full back, and he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned with the rest.

Offensive Weaknesses

A lot of people can be high on a 24-year-old running back that ripped off 5.2 yards per carry and now enters his third year. You can also see that he has only played three games in those two years, and without a 90 year run, his career long, the small sample size brings his average down to 4.1. Also, in the pass game I cannot think of a way that he will be more productive Roy Helu. I think Helu was signed to be a strong third down back and he can absolutely be that, but like his colleague, Helu has had his injury issues in his career. A rookie Michael Dyer is on the roster but they have had to turn to Reece for snaps at running back before, and I just hope it doesn’t get to that point this year. The offensive line doesn’t exactly help the running game. They have some young names, but little in the development and the unit helped the team in being the worst rushing team in terms of efficiency. As I mentioned, are we expecting much from Crabtree? Can Andre Holmes consistently be a second option? Is Reece going to play tight end too?!?! The Raiders do have a rookie at the position, but tight end is one of the toughest positions for a rookie to learn. Overall Carr will either be finding Cooper, bombing to Holmes, or they will be doing some punting and field positioning this season.

Defensive Strengths

The Raiders found their Derek Carr of the defense in the same draft with number two overall pick Khalil Mack. Mack is going to be a high-end pass rusher in this league for years to come. Disruption equals production and while the sacks will come Mack is already the best player on this defensive line, and that includes Justin Tuck. Tuck, now at 32 has lost a step, but he is the absolute presence you want hanging around Mack in the locker room. The team added to the two talented pass rushers, and will hope that eventually second round pick Mario Edwards can add to the rotation in 2015, and eventually surpass Tuck as well. Edwards was a prospect I had mixed feelings about, but the fit across from Mack is potentially interesting and should be able to provide strength against the outside zone. Edwards would be the key to watch, because if consistent rush is coming in the back field maybe the Raiders can compete, but aside from these pass rushers the Raiders are in complete rebuild mode.

Defensive Weakness

It doesn’t help when you lay your hat on DJ Hayden. Hayden was drafted 13th overall in 2013 to take over this secondary, and while he is one on their depth chart, I think most around the league would hope he is their slot. They also have a problem that no one seems ready to take his crown, and it basically a revolving door at the corner back position. The safety position features 38-year-old Charles Woodson, who is just happy to still be playing, and with Nate Allen across from him there aren’t going to be any hard hits or big plays in the box from these two. Sio Moore is a talent at linebacker, but his attitude on the field suggests he needs to be hanging around Tuck a little more as well. He has missed the entirety of training camp and in what was going to be a strong developing year any missed time will hurt Moore. Beside Moore is Lofton, and Smith and lets get real these guys got cut from their contending teams and are now looking for jobs. Whether they want to put good tape out there, or collect checks in the sun is the big question, but I think Lofton is passed his prime, and doesn’t have many teams left anyways. Dan Williams adds some beef in the front line, but this is really Mack, and whoever can help him, helping him. At pick four when Amari Cooper was available, I myself would have selected Leonard Williams. While I love Coopers game, I think a wide receiver is easier to find than a defensive lineman, and I think with a guy like Mack, this team will be looking to win games in the trenches. With Williams I could have really saw potential with this defense, and while now I see potential in the offense, the defense still has holes. It isn’t the prettiest thing and I would suspect they are in the bottom ten in defensive units for the year.

Where do they rank O/U 5.5

The team does now have a core, but this whole things needs gutted. I think the rebuild is on and maybe one more high draft pick can put this team in contention. The Raiders haven’t won nine games since 2002, and haven’t won more than four since 2011. I can’t see this roster being the roster that bucks the trend. I would be looking for this team to finish fourth in their division and I have a hard time finding more than five wins. I see at the worst you find yourself in a bad beat betting against a 6-10, but this team screams 4-12 to me, and if the second year Carr doesn’t progress, it will certainly be worse than that. I would advise the under bet, and would expect them to compete with the Tennessee Tkans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars for the cellar in 2015.

Parkers Pick: 4th in the AFC West, under 5.5 wins

Logans Pick: 4th in the AFC West, over 5.5 wins