Few quarterbacks are as adept as the Raiders’ Derek Carr at negating a strong pass rush by getting rid of the ball before the bad guys have a chance to wreak havoc. That’s going to come in handy this season. The Raiders face eight of the top 17 passing defenses from last season, in terms
Raiders’ pass protection, run game, Derek Carr under intense heat first 10 games
This is it. Year three. Time for the Raiders to make some noise. Hope the defense is there to make it happen.
The time is now for Carr and offense to step up. Defense has to be at least competent.
However, corona virus may have other ideas. Season is on the brink.
This is a wild-card season, in the sense that we have little idea how the pandemic could affect the course of the year. Will critical players get infected and quarantined right in the middle of the most important parts of their teams’ schedule? What other possibilities could arise in addition to the usual seasonal wild cards of injury, letdowns, poor individual performances, officiating, poor coaching, etc.?
Meanwhile, the Raiders have improved quite a bit on paper this off-season. It would be great to see that blossom into reality. I am hopeful the offense will be dynamic and even dominant, and the defense will be competent enough. That would be a successful season for me. Anything beyond that would be icing on the cake.