NFL Betting Online: There are still gaps on the Raiders roster, but they're getting fewer and further between.
2014 Season Record: 3-13 SU, 8-8 ATS, 10-6 O/U
2015 Regular Season Wins Total: 5.5, +105 O, -125 U
Odds to Win Super Bowl: +30000
Odds to Win AFC: +7700
Odds to Win Division: +1659
It’s been 13 seasons since the Raiders made the playoffs and that long since they finished above .500. Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable, Hue Jackson, Dennis Allen and Tony Sparano have tried but failed to resurrect a once-dominant franchise that has won three Super Bowls overall but none in the past 31 seasons.
Enter former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, a Bay Area native who will try to lead the team back to respectability and, ultimately, prominence in the NFL.
“I’m really not spending a whole lot of time worrying about what was,” Del Rio said “I’m really focused on what needs to be going forward. We’re going to have a very competitive mentality throughout our organization in everything we’re doing.”
Del Rio spent the past three seasons as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, who won the AFC West last season, finishing nine games ahead of the Raiders. That’s a huge gap to close, and the Raiders had hoped to gain ground during free agency.
Owner Mark Davis said he was ready to back up the Brinks truck and spend big money to land big-name free agents, but the Ndamukong Suhs and DeMarco Murrays of the free-agent world went elsewhere. So, general manager Reggie McKenzie spread the money out among a group of solid, less expensive players, including center Rodney Hudson, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton and defensive tackle Dan Williams.
New offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave faces a huge challenge, but at least McKenzie got him a true No. 1 receiver, taking Alabama’s Amari Cooper with the fourth pick in the draft. Former 49er Michael Crabtree will likely start alongside Cooper, giving second-year quarterback Derek Carr two sure-handed targets who know how to get open.
Musgrave, who spent last season as quarterbacks coach for Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, plans to use some of Kelly’s warp-speed spread attack. That should help Carr, who thrived in an up-tempo offense at Fresno State.
After back-to-back solid drafts, the Raiders have raised their talent level and added some solid building blocks, particularly Khalil Mack, Cooper and Carr. They won three of their final six games last season, and a lot depends on how quickly the team adapts to yet another coaching change.
KEY ADDITIONS: C Rodney Hudson, WR Michael Crabtree, RB Roy Helu, NT Dan Williams, S Nate Allen, RB Trent Richardson, LB Curtis Lofton.
KEY LOSSES: LB LaMarr Woodley, S Tyvon Branch, RB Darren McFadden, DT Pat Sims, DE Antonio Smith, WR Denarius Moore, C Stefen Wisniewski, WR James Jones.
No matter what Oakland’s record is, they will be competitive. This team is young and hungry, as they showed last year. I believe the insertion of Del Rio gives them a huge boost, especially on the defensive side of the ball. However, rapid improvement is out of the question.
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