The Oakland Raiders are now halfway done with the NFL preseason, and the narrative seems familiar; offense looks outstanding, and the defense looks lousy. However, despite some weariness to judge these preseason performances too closely, there was a lot of good performances for the Raiders that should be cause for optimism.
Despite the Oakland Raiders ranking No. 26 in team defense a season ago, edge rusher Khalil Mack remains a bright spot for a defense seeking improvement.
Mack’s vicious pass rushing and run stuffing capabilities garnered him Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2016. However, last year wasn’t Mack’s first season dominating opposing offensive lines; it’s a trend he has continued since his rookie campaign in 2014.
Marshawn Lynch earned the nickname “Beast Mode” and brought the Beast Quake play into NFL lore. However, Pro Football Focus reminded us recently that it’s Khalil Mack who really has the claws out in Oakland.
The Oakland Raiders 2016 defensive line was incredibly inconsistent as a group; even though it had NFL superstar and Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack (hybrid outside linebacker and defensive end), who finished with 11 sacks, the Raiders finished dead last in the NFL with 25.
New exciting additions are helping shape the Raiders biggest asset on defense. There have been many conversations about how explosive the Oakland Raiders offense is going to be this upcoming season and with good reason. However, one area of the roster that hasn’t been talked about and is shaping up to be a strength this …
RaiderRamble.com’s Robert Wykowski shares some brief thoughts on the Raiders The Oakland Raiders are part of the ever competitive AFC West, meaning they’ll face the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs twice this season; a task that only gets harder each season. If rising superstar quarterback Derek Carr can stay healthy, …
One Man’s Thoughts: The Raiders have a long Super Bowl window Read More »
The accolades continue to pile up for the 26 year old NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Mack had another dominate season with 73 tackles, 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, and an interception he returned for a touchdown. After being the only player in history to be named All Pro at two positions (Linebacker and Defensive end) in 2015, Associated Press created the “Edge Rusher” position. Mack was promptly named All-Pro at this new position.
It’s a well-known fact that the AFC West is a scary place for quarterbacks. The Oakland Raiders’ own Khalil Mack is the reigning and defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Von Miller was the Super Bowl MVP in 2016, in 2015 Justin Houston led the league in sacks and last, but certainly not least, Joey Bosa is the 2016 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
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…
