By now the Oakland Raiders being one of the favorites to compete for a trip to next year’s Super Bowl is one of the NFL’s worst kept secrets. While just how legitimate of a chance the current team has is debatable but when you have two of the greatest men ever to don the Silver and Black say there’s a chance; well you gotta pay attention.
Against a looming desert backdrop, filled with muffled echoes of clanging slot machines and bright fluorescent neon, the Oakland Raiders transactional offseason has been marked by undulating success. Though questions still spiral around the improvements of the secondary and linebacker corps, the team has provided a few resounding answers in other areas of need. A one week window in the dog days of June saw the organization dispel two giant offseason narratives of uncertainty.
As Raider Nation scans the 2017 horizon, one thing is clear, the “Autumn Wind” surely has begun to blow throughout the entire NFL landscape once again! Raiders fans across the globe are waiting with eager anticipation to watch their young talented team take the NFL head on and pillage and burn their way to an AFC West title for starters, then the AFC Championship, then claim the title as “World’s Best”. But one thing shouldn’t be forgotten; many dark days had to be endured to get to this point in Raiders history.
It’s no secret that injuries play a significant role in football and nobody knew that better than Oakland Raider fans in 2016. Indeed, Carr’s injury played the leading role in the demise of Oakland’s Super Bowl contention hopes last season, but two other injuries hurt the Raiders in 2016.Â
As the Oakland Raiders continue their offseason programs, Pro Football Focus recently shared some positional rankings on some of its key players. Safe to say the team has a lot of dominant talent that’ll keep the Silver and Black in prime contention for quite some time.
The Oakland Raiders have had some rocky recent history when it comes to Week 1 games (2-6 since 2009). Knowing how last season started and ended, there’s a bit of pressure on the Raiders to start 2017 1-0. That being said…
As Raider Nation takes a look at the 2017 schedule for the Oakland Raiders, it should be pointed that the defense will be tested all year-long by some of the most talented tight ends in the sport.
As the team prepares for the upcoming season all eyes will be on Mack to not only repeat last year’s performance but perhaps improve on it, as crazy as that may sound. As the only true pass rushing threat last season it’ll be interesting to see if all additions will give Mack not only some help but maybe allow him to go one on one against blockers, maybe even raising the sack production to an insane level.
Playing with a monstrous offensive line and a future superstar in quarterback Derek Carr puts Lynch in prime position to have a season for the ages. Looking at some examples history says that a Raider having an outstanding season past the age of 30 hasn’t exactly happened; Lynch might be the one to set a new trend.
Mack’s worth more than that, but at this point and since negotiations toward a new deal have not started, it’s uncertain how much money he’s going to demand; contract talks can take two different turns: One where he becomes one of the highest-paid overall players in the NFL or a more modest one in which he gets millions but leaves money on the table in order to help the Raiders manage their salary cap. At this point, both scenarios are equally possible as he has performed at an elite level.
