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The Oakland Raiders have been mired in general malaise and awfulness for the better part of the last decade. After going 4-12 over the past couple of years, the Raiders had plenty of salary cap to improve the team this offseason but didn’t make many game-changing moves which would indicate that Oakland is getting ready to turn a corner.
On offense, the Raiders brought in Matt Schaub in the hopes that the veteran will look more like the Schaub from 2012 than the Schaub that imploded in 2013. So far, he’s looked less than mediocre in the preseason. The Raiders also took David Carr in the draft and he may see playing time if and when Schaub underwhelms. While the Raiders let Rashad Jennings walk, they did pick up aging veteran (this is a theme of the Raiders’ free agency) Maurice Jones-Drew and they also picked up James Jones to be the solid veteran wideout that the team has lacked.
As for the defense, the Raiders added some big names but those names are, get ready for it, aging vets. Justin Tuck, Charles Woodson and LaMarr Woodley are well-known but they’re hitting that age where they are past their primes. The Raiders made a solid draft move by taking Khalil Mack in the first round of the draft but the defense around him isn’t as promising. If the defense can stay healthy, they’ll be a pleasant surprise but that’ll require a lot to go right for them.
In all, the bar is not set very high for the Raiders. The roster as currently constructed should be able to improve over their 2013 mark but this is very likely a team that will not be in the playoff hunt. The rest of the AFC West is better and the team will have to play the extraordinarily tough NFC West this year.
The Raiders currently have 190-1 odds of winning the Super Bowl.
For more information on the Raiders betting lines and odds, watch the video above and visit here.
