It’s going to be a while longer before the Raiders know when they play their games next season. However, they now have a better feel for whether their 13 opponents got worse or better after the first week of free agency. With that in mind, here’s an opponent-by-opponent breakdown of how the teams the Raiders
Taking stock of Raiders’ 2020 opponents after recent offseason maneuverings
Going to make a comment that is nothing to do with this article but must just wish Marcus Allen a very Happy Birthday.
Marcus is the reason I love the Raiders as he blew my mind in the first NFL game I ever watched live on TV while at Universty in Leicester, England in 1984…. SuperBowl XVIII.
He was unbelievable that night and in so many other games before Al Davis drove him away (never understood why).
Thank you Marcus.
Stating the obvious, getting better in all phases is the goal for our Raiders.
The only hope of making a playoff run is in doing just that. Playing good teams or bad makes little difference if our Raiders don’t get better.
Winning the SB is what its all about.
But you must WIN, to have a shot at anything other than looking forward to next years draft class. And we have done to much looking forward the past 15 + years.
Marcus Allen’s 60th Birthday! John Facenda, in the Super Bowl XVIII highlight show:
“On came Marcus Allen….. running with the night…”
What a memory….
Looking at next year’s AFC West, the division will be much improved. Extremely challenging to say the least. Chiefs defending Super Bowl Champions. Broncos improved with acquistions. Chargers really good, except for the position of quarterback.
A truely competitive AFC West is good for the NFL. With free agency for all intents and purpose behind us, our Division may have improved the most. The Draft a month from now will bring in even more quality players. Asking Mayock to bring home the quality haul he did last year might seem to be an overreach – but it might be necessary considering the improvements within our division. Phase 1 is complete and in one month phase 2 will be upon us. Considering all the wackiness the next 30 days may bring outside of football, its comforting to know Mike Mayock is leading our team in evaluating tape and grading the players the Raiders will select. Oh, and a very Happy Birthday to the greatest Raider RB in history – #32
This team needs to win games it is supposed to win and find ways to win games it is not. It is not a team that is good enough to take any opponent for granted. Look what happened last year, the team managed the toughest part of its schedule and then laid several eggs when the opponents got easier. This team cannot worry about what the other teams are doing, they just need to take care of business.