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The Oakland Raiders finished the 2007 regular season with a 4-12 record. Second year head coach Lane Kiffin returns to the team despite a reported attempt by Al Davis to force his resignation during the offseason. The Raiders struggled in stopping the run last year finishing with a rush against average of 145.9 yards per game. While on offense they struggled in the passing game finishing ranked 31st in the league averaging only 164.4 yards through the air per game. Those are the two areas need of improvement heading into the 2008 season. Oddsmakers have set the Oakland Raiders over under projected win total for the 2008 regular season at 6 games.

Schedule:

The Raiders play in the AFC West and that means two games with San Diego, Denver and Kansas City. The AFC West plays the AFC East and NFC South this season and they have difficult road games at New Orleans, Buffalo and Tampa Bay. As the last place team in the AFC West last season they must play the two other last place teams from the AFC and that brings a road game against Baltimore and their home to Houston.

Offense:

2nd year quarterback JaMarcus Russell will start at quarterback for the Silver and Black. Russell has a rocket arm and plenty of potential but is inexperienced. The young quarterback has a solid set of running backs in the run game with 1000 yard rusher Justin Fargas and rookie Darren McFadden added to the mix. Second year back Michael Bush has looked good in the preseason and has the look of a back who can help the Raiders big time in short yardage situations. The concern is in the wide receiver position where Javon Walker was signed to a huge free agent contract and was thinking retirement after getting beat up in Las Vegas during the offseason. He has had a rough camp and the Raiders are looking at him to play like a #1. Ronald Curry, Drew Carter and Arman Shields will battle for the #2. The wide receiver group is a definite weakness for the Raiders.

Defense:

There were reports that head coach Lane Kiffin was set to fire defensive coordinator Bob Ryan but Al Davis overruled his young coach. Kiffin then fired back saying that Al Davis was his de facto defensive coordinator. It’s getting comical in Oakland. Defensive lineman Tommy Kelly was given a hefty pay raise but is coming off an ACL injury that forced him to miss half the season. The Raiders are looking for a compliment to defensive end Derrick Burges on the right side of the line. The linebacking corps is young but talented. DeAngelo Hall was acquired in the offseason from Atlanta to play corner but is a weak tackler. The Raiders don’t have much depth behind their starting secondary.

And now to my Selection:

Lane Kiffin has been taking jabs at the organization because of their lack of talent. But Kiffin needs to realize that you need to coach up your backups and that depth just doesn’t appear magically on your roster. It’s up to your coaching to develop starters behind starters. Some writers in the Bay Area are suggesting that Kiffin is begging to be fired and that he wants to get back into coaching in the college ranks where he has more control over personnel. This could have a negative impact on the team if the Raiders start poorly. 2008 will be a learning year for quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Russell doesn’t have the weapons in the passing game and the Raiders will struggle big time for wins on the road. The running game is solid but opposing defenses may play 8 men in the box if the Raiders passing game is poor making it difficult for rushing yards. Defenses must respect the pass or else they will stack the box. 2008 looks like a turbulent season and as a Raider fans it hurts me to say play the Raiders under 6 wins for the 2008 season.