Panda Sees All: Oakland Raiders Preview
Our 2009 football previews have three parts: 1) A review of last year’s predictions. 2) Four bold predictions for 2009. 3) Who’s Your Panda? — the player who will emerge as a fan favorite like the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval. Hence the name.
WHAT THEY SAID LAST YEAR ABOUT THE RAIDERS
Mike and Mike: “JaMarcus Russell will make an impact, but will it be positive or negative? Oakland’s rushing tandem of Fargas and McFadden is solid, but will the o-line hold up?”
How’d that work out?: Russell’s impact was minimal, particularly in the first half of the season, and was sacked 31 times. McFadden was hampered by turf-toe, while Fargas averaged less than four yards per carry.
SI.com: “If second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell blossoms in what will amount to his rookie season, the Raiders could surprise some people this year and make a move toward the middle of the pack in the AFC. But for a team that has had the reverse Midas Touch on personnel for the past five years, that’s a bit to ask and hope for. Predicted record: 5-11.”
How’d that work out?: Quite well. The Raiders were 3-11 before stringing together their first back-to-back wins of the season against the Texans and Buccaneers. Oakland’s 31-24 upset of Tampa Bay in the season finale kept the Bucs out of the playoffs and cost Jon Gruden his job.
Chronicle: “The Raiders spent nearly $180 million on free agents this offseason. In the end, they have to hope their young trio of QB JaMarcus Russell, RB Darren McFadden and TE Zach Miller can not only move the chains but reach the end zone. Coach Lane Kiffin will push Al Davis’ buttons every day until he gets his freedom.”
Tim Kawakami: “7-9. That’s a tough schedule with a lot of thorny road games, so 7 wins actually is optimistic…Kiffin’s fate: Fired after the season, or possibly with 1 week to go with James Lofton installed as coach at either point. I think Al Davis will think about firing Kiffin after each and every loss this season and probably after a few losses. But I think he already has Lofton installed on staff, so why burn Kiffin’s $1.7M for this year and why give Lofton a raise before Davis has to?”
How’d that work out?: TK was on the right track. Kiffin was fired after starting the season 1-3 and Tob Cable was hired as interim coach.
FoxSports.com: “So the Raiders will run, run and run some more. Ideally, Russell will throw 25 of fewer passes per game as the Raiders control the clock and let their zone blocking system wear down opposing defenses.”
How’d that work out?: Russell was 0-6 in games in which he threw more than 25 or more passes. The only thing the Raiders’ run game managed to wear down was the psyche of anyone who watched most of their games.
NFL.com: “Other than McFadden, the best addition was DeAngelo Hall, a Pro Bowl quality cornerback, who was acquired in a trade with the Falcons. Hall was available because he’s had a lot of problems in Atlanta but now he’s paired with Nnamdi Asomugha, which gives the Raiders a solid set of corners.”
How’d that work out?: The Raiders traded two draft picks for Hall, who appeared in only eight games before he was released and signed with the Redskins. Prior to his release, Hall was beaten 40 times for 552 yards, the most by any defender in the league.
ESPN.com: “The Raiders’ offense will be much better and much more exciting. However, there are still a lot of holes on this team.”
How’d that work out?:The Raiders averaged 16.4 points per game, which ranked 29th in the league. Week to week, it was somewhat exciting to see just how bad they would be.
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By Scott on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 12:00 pm.
Tags: Oakland Raiders