| 24 August 2010
Vin Narayan of The Rolling Good Times Online, a Vegas odds betting website, gave the Oakland Raiders a 3/1 shot at making the playoffs in an article posted on www.rgtonline.com yesterday.
"JaMarcus Russell was a monumental bust at quarterback for the Raiders," said Narayan. "Bruce Gradkowski was not spectacular, but when Gradkowski was in the game, Oakland played like they had a chance to win. When Russell was in the game, it looked like every Raider on the field knew they were going to lose.
"Campbell is a better quarterback than Gradkowski and Russell. And if he can limit turnovers, the team will believe in him" he continued. "The Raiders play in the weak AFC West, alongside San Diego (good), Denver (not good) and Kansas City (not good). Throw in winnable games against Tennessee, St. Louis, Arizona, Seattle and Jacksonville and you have the possibility that Oakland could sneak into the playoffs."
Man, everybody is jumping on the bandwagon this year. People are coming out of the woodwork, cue Al Davis, "I hope he doesn't let me down...I don't think he will."
Can Campbell really make all the difference for the Raiders?
One thing is for sure, Bruce Gradkowski cannot do it. Aside from Chaz Schilens and Darren McFadden, Bruce Gradkowski would be voted most likely to get injured before each game.
Campbell can make a difference simply by converting first downs and taking care of the ball. On Saturday against the Bears, he converted first downs almost at will with the threat of Michael Bush in the backfield. Once Bush left the field, it got a lot tougher for the offense to move and they started to bog down and get stuck in the mud.
The other task, turning the ball over, he was not so good at. He threw an interception on Zach Miller's outside shoulder deep in Bears' territory that, had it gone to the inside shoulder, could've been a big touchdown for Oakland. On the next play of the game, Matt Forte went 89-yards for a touchdown. Campbell also played a part in a botched center-quarterback exchange that cost the Raiders the ball deep in their own territory.
Both of these are correctable mistakes, especially to a studious quarterback like Campbell. But if you asked Cam Inman, he would tell you that Raiders will be more about defense this year than offense.
"Look at how they are playing defense," Inman wrote speaking of both the San Francisco 49ers and the Raiders. "Look who is doing it, who will do it. Inspired defensive play will have to compensate for their offenses' expected growing pains, even if quarterbacks Jason Campbell and Alex Smith finally play up to their billing as 2005 first-round draft picks."
Inman goes on to give the top 11 Bay area defenders expected to make an impact. Here's the Raiders list:
- 2. Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders cornerback. His sterling reputation precedes him, and the Raiders seem willing to shift him around so he can sniff the ball more. One pass came his way in the exhibition opener at Dallas, and one was enough to think he might be worth $1 million per game.
- 4. Richard Seymour, Raiders lineman. Partaking in his first Raiders training camp, Seymour has looked re-energized. He was not dominant last season in his Silver and Black debut. But he appears to have a better supporting cast, and vice versa (that cast may have a better Seymour).
- 6. Kamerion Wimbley, Raiders linebacker. Four sacks in the first half at Chicago on Saturday night were amazing. Al Davis might think that acquiring Wimbley (from the Cleveland Browns for a third-round draft pick) will rival the 1967 steal of Willie Brown from Denver.
- 9. Chris Johnson, Raiders cornerback. Battling Stanford Routt for the starting job opposite Asomugha does not diminish Johnson's worth. He gained lots of experience the past two years while teams shied away from Asomugha.
- 11. Rolando McClain, Raiders linebacker. Could his first season be the charm needed from an eighth overall draft pick? He has not made a splash his first two exhibitions, but no time like Saturday night to do so against Smith & Co.
Inman also gives honorable mention to defensive end's Matt Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston, cornerback Stanford Routt, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, weak-side linebacker Trevor Scott, and free safety Michael Huff.
He could be on to something here, like I said in my previous article, the Raiders defense is currently the eight best in the league according to NFL.com's stat book for defenses. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here, there's no way to know what kind of injuries will happen as we get closer to the time of the games that count. Plus, Rolando McClain is still a rookie and he is no Patrick Willis...yet. However, there is some substance to the optimism. McClain does have some special players around him, like the guys mentioned above and one who Inman shunned or maybe just plain forgot about, Tyvon Branch.
It's my opinion that both units will have to come together and put it out there on the line for each other for this team to get turned towards being a playoff contender. If the offense makes a mistake, the defense must make plays and get the ball back, not give up long touchdown runs. And if the defense gives up a big run for a touchdown, the Raiders offense has got to take it upon themselves to match the opposing offenses drive. The Raiders need to be a total team to get the job done in 2010 and the good news is this is the closest unit that has even resembled a team in a long time.
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