Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Johnny Burczak, a man who follows all things Kansas City Chiefs and co-hosts a podcast called WildWestAFC Podcast. Now I do not usually fraternize with the enemy because I am acutely aware that Raiders versus Chiefs is the best AFC West rivalry in my book, but in this instance, I was looking for another man’s opinion on perhaps Oakland’s fiercest rival.
In the first part of the preview and prediction series, we looked at the AFC East, and it was a unanimous decision that the Patriots would have no problem winning the crown there. Now, we get to start in the Raider Ramble’s back yard; Let’s take a look at the most notable offseason moves made in the AFC West.
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
Ryan Leaf, former NFL quarterback, recently talked about his past struggles both with football and drug dependency in front of  former college players at the NFL Scouting Combine per Adam Schefter of ESPN. He is finally clean and sober after many years of fighting against drug addiction and although his football career was important and will forever follow him, there are more important things to consider when we talk about him.Â
