Last Year:
The Raiders made quite the run last year, one that was unexpected after the departure of Chucky. Many people were questioning if that was a good decision as the Raiders were only 4 ? 4 after 8 weeks but the Raiders went on a tear after that. Led by the #1 offense in the league and the #11 defense Oakland pulled off a nice little 7 ? 1 to head into the playoffs with a full head of steam. In the pinnacle of all games, the Raiders were matched up against their former coach in a battle of the #1 offense, and the #1 defense which they came out on the bottom. For a team that returns virtually all of its talent again this year, the only question they really have to answer is ?Did Tampa lay out a blueprint of how to beat Oakland?? Even if they did, not many teams have the talent to do what Tampa did so therefore Oakland should be poised for, at the very least, another invitation to the playoffs.
What we Learned from Last Year:
The Raiders kept it simple on offense. I really wish more teams would just learn from them. Here?s what they did. They spread teams out with three receiver sets and passed the ball. You throw in one of the better offensive lines in the league, a great QB who can spread the ball around, add in a running back who is deadly as a receiver out of the backfield and they are hard to stop. What this does, is it gives Oakland a lot of one-on-one match-ups and all that is left is a nice an easy accurate pass which is not too much to ask from Rich Gannon who is ranked third in passer rating. This offense is really built on big plays, but what they do get is a lot of short plays that go for big yards. The reason for that is because when you have one-on-one match-ups and the defender misses a tackle, then that can result in a big gain. What is important is that they have found a way to succeed and they will stick with it. Unlike Buffalo who had success last year in a pass-happy offense, but has now changed to a ball-control offense. It?s foolish to do something like that, just like it would be foolish for Oakland to start running the ball a lot more than they pass it. Expect Oakland to continue to put up points.
Defensively, I was surprised to see them do so well. Charles Woodson missed significant time and standout rookie Phillip Buchannon also missed time throughout the season but the team didn?t seem to suffer too much. Teams normally don?t ever bother looking at whoever Charles Woodson is covering because he is such a good DB and with him being back in the lineup will be huge. Even though this team had a pretty good pass rush last year, they won?t have to use extra DB?s in the secondary if Woodson is playing, therefore they can send an extra guy on a blitz if they like.
Although this team made it pretty far last year, their sweep of Denver was really the key to their season. If they don?t win both of those games, then they would have tied with Denver for first place, and who knows where their season goes after that. They?ll need the same thing again if they plan on going that deep into the playoffs again.
One last thing, the key to beating Oakland is getting to their quarterback. I know that can be said as well for the other 31 teams in the league but it is truly the only way to stop this offense. Stopping the run against this team won?t help a lot since they don?t run the ball that much to begin with, and stopping the pass is very hard to do when Gannon has time and there is single coverage on all of the receivers. Opposing teams have to mask their blitzes, and get to the quarterback. It?s the only way.
What has Changed?:
For a team that is returning 19 starters from last year?s AFC Championship team I think it?s pretty safe to say that not a lot has changed. As Martha Stewart would say from her jail cell ?That?s a good thing?. The offense is intact, and the defense will have a couple more healthy bodies. In all honesty this team just has to beat Denver this year once again and the division is theirs. People like to say Kansas City is better than Oakland but I can assure you that Oakland can match them point for point. We all know San Diego still has some work to do. The biggest question on this team is will any of their older aged players lose a step? Will Gannon, Brown, Rice, Romanowski, or Rod Woodson?s age catch up to them? One thing that Oakland was blessed with was health from all of these guys. Defensively I think they will be ok, but if they lose Gannon, Brown or Rice for any period it will have a big impact on what they do. Spreading the field will not be as easy for them. In all honesty, if anyone on this offense were to get injured, I would prefer it to be Rich Gannon. Marques Tuiasasopo looks fairly competent behind Rich Gannon; they even look like similar quarterbacks. The dropoff between Gannon to Tuiasasopo may not be as noticeable as it would be if they had to replace a WR starter and move up all their receivers up the depth chart. The best Oakland can do is hope to be healthy once again.
O/U 9.5:
There are only two concerns about Oakland?s bid to win 10 games: The health of their older gentlemen, and their ability to sweep Denver once again. You can?t handicap any sport assuming that somebody will be injured so as of now the only thing standing in Oakland?s way is Denver. I doubt Denver will be swept again this year but Oakland should definitely get a split. K-City will be tough wins, but Oakland is capable of a sweep. 3 ? 4 wins out of this division is a minimum if Oakland wants to win 10 games. The rest of their games are: @Titans, Bengals, @Bears, @Browns, @Lions, Jets, Vikings, @Steelers, Ravens, and Packers. This looks like child?s play for Oakland but it won?t be if injuries factor in.
Fantasy Sleeper:
On offense, there are no sleepers. Not much of a surprise since this is the best offense in the league. If you want a sleeper, then try their defense out. The Raiders ranked 11th overall last year and with a healthy Charles Woodson, Phillip Buchannon and Trace Armstrong the defense should be on the upswing. If the offense has any setbacks whatsoever, this team?s defense can take on a bigger role.
The Raiders made quite the run last year, one that was unexpected after the departure of Chucky. Many people were questioning if that was a good decision as the Raiders were only 4 ? 4 after 8 weeks but the Raiders went on a tear after that. Led by the #1 offense in the league and the #11 defense Oakland pulled off a nice little 7 ? 1 to head into the playoffs with a full head of steam. In the pinnacle of all games, the Raiders were matched up against their former coach in a battle of the #1 offense, and the #1 defense which they came out on the bottom. For a team that returns virtually all of its talent again this year, the only question they really have to answer is ?Did Tampa lay out a blueprint of how to beat Oakland?? Even if they did, not many teams have the talent to do what Tampa did so therefore Oakland should be poised for, at the very least, another invitation to the playoffs.
What we Learned from Last Year:
The Raiders kept it simple on offense. I really wish more teams would just learn from them. Here?s what they did. They spread teams out with three receiver sets and passed the ball. You throw in one of the better offensive lines in the league, a great QB who can spread the ball around, add in a running back who is deadly as a receiver out of the backfield and they are hard to stop. What this does, is it gives Oakland a lot of one-on-one match-ups and all that is left is a nice an easy accurate pass which is not too much to ask from Rich Gannon who is ranked third in passer rating. This offense is really built on big plays, but what they do get is a lot of short plays that go for big yards. The reason for that is because when you have one-on-one match-ups and the defender misses a tackle, then that can result in a big gain. What is important is that they have found a way to succeed and they will stick with it. Unlike Buffalo who had success last year in a pass-happy offense, but has now changed to a ball-control offense. It?s foolish to do something like that, just like it would be foolish for Oakland to start running the ball a lot more than they pass it. Expect Oakland to continue to put up points.
Defensively, I was surprised to see them do so well. Charles Woodson missed significant time and standout rookie Phillip Buchannon also missed time throughout the season but the team didn?t seem to suffer too much. Teams normally don?t ever bother looking at whoever Charles Woodson is covering because he is such a good DB and with him being back in the lineup will be huge. Even though this team had a pretty good pass rush last year, they won?t have to use extra DB?s in the secondary if Woodson is playing, therefore they can send an extra guy on a blitz if they like.
Although this team made it pretty far last year, their sweep of Denver was really the key to their season. If they don?t win both of those games, then they would have tied with Denver for first place, and who knows where their season goes after that. They?ll need the same thing again if they plan on going that deep into the playoffs again.
One last thing, the key to beating Oakland is getting to their quarterback. I know that can be said as well for the other 31 teams in the league but it is truly the only way to stop this offense. Stopping the run against this team won?t help a lot since they don?t run the ball that much to begin with, and stopping the pass is very hard to do when Gannon has time and there is single coverage on all of the receivers. Opposing teams have to mask their blitzes, and get to the quarterback. It?s the only way.
What has Changed?:
For a team that is returning 19 starters from last year?s AFC Championship team I think it?s pretty safe to say that not a lot has changed. As Martha Stewart would say from her jail cell ?That?s a good thing?. The offense is intact, and the defense will have a couple more healthy bodies. In all honesty this team just has to beat Denver this year once again and the division is theirs. People like to say Kansas City is better than Oakland but I can assure you that Oakland can match them point for point. We all know San Diego still has some work to do. The biggest question on this team is will any of their older aged players lose a step? Will Gannon, Brown, Rice, Romanowski, or Rod Woodson?s age catch up to them? One thing that Oakland was blessed with was health from all of these guys. Defensively I think they will be ok, but if they lose Gannon, Brown or Rice for any period it will have a big impact on what they do. Spreading the field will not be as easy for them. In all honesty, if anyone on this offense were to get injured, I would prefer it to be Rich Gannon. Marques Tuiasasopo looks fairly competent behind Rich Gannon; they even look like similar quarterbacks. The dropoff between Gannon to Tuiasasopo may not be as noticeable as it would be if they had to replace a WR starter and move up all their receivers up the depth chart. The best Oakland can do is hope to be healthy once again.
O/U 9.5:
There are only two concerns about Oakland?s bid to win 10 games: The health of their older gentlemen, and their ability to sweep Denver once again. You can?t handicap any sport assuming that somebody will be injured so as of now the only thing standing in Oakland?s way is Denver. I doubt Denver will be swept again this year but Oakland should definitely get a split. K-City will be tough wins, but Oakland is capable of a sweep. 3 ? 4 wins out of this division is a minimum if Oakland wants to win 10 games. The rest of their games are: @Titans, Bengals, @Bears, @Browns, @Lions, Jets, Vikings, @Steelers, Ravens, and Packers. This looks like child?s play for Oakland but it won?t be if injuries factor in.
Fantasy Sleeper:
On offense, there are no sleepers. Not much of a surprise since this is the best offense in the league. If you want a sleeper, then try their defense out. The Raiders ranked 11th overall last year and with a healthy Charles Woodson, Phillip Buchannon and Trace Armstrong the defense should be on the upswing. If the offense has any setbacks whatsoever, this team?s defense can take on a bigger role.
