Raiders need to show improvement
The Oakland Raiders have been nothing less than a complete and total dumpster fire for the last 13 years. Since reaching the Super Bowl and losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, the Raiders have failed to make the playoffs or attain a winning record in each and every campaign.
The Raiders have also gone through an incredible amount of turnover. While the New England Patriots have only had one quarterback and a single head coach in that time (along with three Super Bowl rings), Oakland has watched the likes of Rich Gannon, Andrew Walter, Kyle Boller, Carson Palmer, Bruce Gradkowski, JaMarcus Russell, Aaron Brooks, Daunte Culpepper, Terrelle Pryor, Matt McGloin and others climb under center. On the sideline, we have sen Bill Callahan, Dennis Allen, Norv Turner, Lane Kiffin, Tony Sparano, Art Shell and now, Jack Del Rio.
Going into 2015, there was talk of the Raiders finally looking like a real football team. Oakland hired the aforementioned Del Rio after he spent the previous few campaigns as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, reaching the Super Bowl in 2013. Del Rio has previously shown the ability to be a productive head coach, leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to a couple of playoff appearances with David Garrard and Byron Leftwich at the helm.
Del Rio also appears to have some young talent in Oakland. General manager Reggie McKenzie spent the first two years of his job cleaning up the salary cap hell that the Raiders have been in for over a decade, while trying to bring in some players through the draft. McKenzie seems to have a trio of hits on his hands with quarterback Derek Carr, receiver Amari Cooper and outside linebacker Khalil Mack.
However, in Oakland’s season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at O.co Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, the Raiders were absolutely hammered. Oakland fell behind 33-0 before scoring 13 points in garbage time, limiting the final damage. Carr only played into the second quarter before leaving with a hand injury, but he was nothing special prior to the injury. Carr was 7-of-12 for 61 yards, leaving the deep ball on the backburner for some shorter throws.
As for the other two young guns, Cooper was the leader receiver on the Raiders with five catches and 47 yards on nine targets, while Michael Crabtree caught five passes for 37 yards in his Oakland debut. Mack was a virtual non-factor, notching just four tackles.
This Sunday, the Raiders will once again play in front of the home crowd against the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams are 0-1, and Baltimore comes in without much firepower outside of Steve Smith. Oakland needs to show it is not about to go 3-13 again, and play with some purpose.
The Raiders have been terrible for years. It is time to buck the trend.
