Two-a-Days: Oakland Raiders

TheSportsWatchers want to get you in shape for the upcoming 2010 NFL football season. So in the spirit of NFL training camp, we are doing two-a-days to get you in gear for each and every NFL team.

The Oakland Raiders have had seven straight seasons of futility. Seven! During the 2010 NFL football season, one would hope they could turn things around. If nothing else, they may have changed their fortunes at one of football’s most pivotal positions.

2009 NFL Football Recap
The Raiders weren’t as bad as people made them out to be last year. Sure, it was another 5-win season for the Raiders, but it wasn’t like the others. The Raiders were much more competitive in 2009, beating several good teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos. They also had some tough losses to the San Diego Chargers (twice), the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. That’s not to say this team was anywhere near mediocre, but given how poorly their quarterback play was last season, winning five games the way they did is a far cry from the Raiders teams of recent years.

2010 Offseason Transactions
The Raiders made Richard Seymour a franchise player in order to keep him on their defensive line. However, they could not hold on to the services of running back Justin Fargas, wide receiver Javon Walker or DE Gregg Ellis. The ability to trade for Jason Campbell, however, gives the Redskins a solid player at the quarterback position. Campbell is better than any quarterback the Raiders have had since Rich Gannon was behind the helm, and the team can now walk on to a football game believe that their quarterback won’t prevent them from winning a football game. The additions of RB Michael Bennett and Bruce Campbell, should help a running game that struggled with Darren McFadden last season. And while drafting MLB Rolando McClain won’t help the Raiders offense, it does give them a talented linebacker that may hold the Raiders middle-linebacker spot for the next 10 years.

2010 Prediction for the Raiders
I actually don’t feel that bad about the Raiders prospects this season. The addition of Jason Campbell gives the Raiders a quarterback that knows how to win his fair share of games, and that’s something they haven’t had in a while. Yes, Campbell’s season in Washington wasn’t the best last year. However, given how horrible that offensive line and coaching staff were, I can’t blame him for all of his faults this past season. In Oakland, while the offensive line won’t be much better, but if Campbell can do for the Raiders what he did with Washington last year, the Raiders will be at least 8 games better in 2010. We already know the Raiders defense is solid with Seymour and Tommy Kelly on the defensive line and Nnamdi Asomugha and Hiram Eugene in the defensive backfield. So if the running back Darren McFadden is healthy and one of the Raiders receivers steps up with Miller, this team should be 8-8 when the 2010 NFL football season is all said and done.

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