I envy the patience it takes to be a Raiders fan that doesn’t jump on and off the bandwagon. Some of the moves that Al Davis has made over the last handful of years have turned this once-proud franchise into a complete joke. This is a team that made it to the Super Bowl only 8 years ago. However, the few moves that this team did make this off-season have made Raiders fans believe that may have turned the franchise finally back into the direction of winning. Just don’t expect the winning to happen right away.
The biggest positive is that the Jamarcus Russell experiment has finally been abandoned. At the hefty cost of 39 million in guaranteed money, Russell might supplant Ryan Leaf as the biggest bust in NFL history. His play was so bad that it set this franchise back for about a decade. But with Russell out, in comes Jason Campbell. Campbell was no longer needed in Washington when the Redskins picked up Donovan McNabb, so Campbell will get to experience the Black Hole as a host and not a guest.
The problem for me is that I view Campbell as an NFL bust and I don’t see the Raiders being so much better with Campbell over any of the other fringe QB’s that the Raiders have used over the last few years. The difference with Campbell over everyone else is that people always seem to look for excuses as to why he doesn’t play well. After a while, it’s hard to overlook the overwhelming evidence.
Couple that with the fact that he doesn’t really have any weapons around him and you have a recipe for bad football. His running game may have name recognition with Darren McFadden as the starter, but with only 856 yards in two seasons, he may not offer much. His wide receiver options are slim at best, so he’ll be relying a lot on Zach Miller at the tight end spot. I like the offensive line for this team though. They will really need to play well to give this team any sort of chance.
Defensively, they’ve got some names and some talent, but other than Nnamdi Asomugha and Richard Seymour, they don’t really have the game-breakers that can change the course of a game or create opportunities for turnovers or points. The biggest change is at middle linebacker where Raider-favourite Kirk Morrison was allowed to walk in favour of first-round pick Rolando McClain. That’s a lot of pressure for a young guy, but Al Davis is banking on him being able to handle the spot.
Two players to look out for in camp are Derrius Heyward-Bey and Michael Bush. The Raiders passed on picking Michael Crabtree and Percy Harvin in order to pick Heyward-Bey and for their troubles, he caught 9 passes for 124 yards. Saying they need more from him would be a huge understatement, but he’s pencilled as a starter right now. Bush is in a great position to supplant McFadden as the number one running back. Can he make the step up in training camp to take the spot away?
2010 Prediction: 4-12