If there's one thing I don't like about the Raiders, besides Al Davis, it's Tom Cable. No offense to the guy, but when there are coaches like Mike Shannahan, Jon Gruden, and Mike Martz looking for jobs guys like Cable, Eric Mangini, Dick Jauron, and Jack Del Rio shouldn't have jobs, at least not head coaching jobs. IMO, Cable's at the bottom of that list. He's got more to prove than any of those guys, and they aren't exactly the cream of the crop in terms of head coaching.
Other than that, I think it's a good year for the Raiders. We'll see how the running back by comittee goes, but it's a WC offense anyways and versatile backs are better than backs who are going to rush for 1,000+ in their system. I expect McFadden and Bush to have at least decent years. Heyward-Bey's more of an unkown, but I do like speedy receivers. Their problem is they have too many speedy receivers and not enough big, physical ones. Should've never gotten rid of Randy Moss. I also think JeMarcus Russel is going to break out. I think it is a weak division this year. I'm sorry, but I just don't see the Chiefs or the Broncos plowing over them. Cassell/Johnson is unpredictable and the Raiders have a better scondary than any of the ones Cassel faced in his division last year, barring team practices. The rest of the defense is questionable, but if you saw a Raiders' game last season you know how hard they play and you know how close they came to winning in many of their games. As for the Broncos, I think it's the same thing. Unless Moreno has a year like Matt Forte's rookie year he won't be enough to get it done in the running game, and Kyle Orton can't carry the offense. I think they'll do well in a weak division. SanDiego's still gonna kill them, They have a tough schedule, though. Expect them to go maybe 500 and have an early shot at the wild card before falling behind. Sooner or later they're going to have to stop drafting the fasest receiver on the board and start working on their D. Bad receivers can be servicable, but you need a D that can stop playmakers to be a Superbowl caliber team.
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