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Oakland Raiders: Is This Team Ready for the Big Time?

By Russell S. Baxter

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Let’s be honest. When you have seen a feature about the Oakland Raiders in recent years, it’s not exactly beaming with optimism or positive statistics.

The facts are what they are and we won’t take the time here to review the obvious.

So let’s spin this not only forward but to the present. As of this writing early Sunday afternoon, the Silver and Black are getting ready to host the 4-0 Denver Broncos in a renewal of a rivalry that has gone back many decades.

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As far as focusing on the past, we will go back no further than a year ago. The Raiders opened the season 0-10 enroute to a 3-13 showing. But the math also tells you that the team has played 20 games since 2013, going winless in its first 10 and owning a 5-5 mark since.

But when you watch head coach Jack Del Rio and his team in the early stages of 2015, there’s no doubt that this is a club on the rise. They pass both the statistical and always-important eye test, although to be fair Oakland’s defense remains a work in progress and a discussion for another time.

Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) Cleveland Browns cornerback Johnson Bademosi (24) Oakland Raiders running back Roy Helu (26) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Here the emphasis will be put on offense, not only because of the strides the team has made but due mainly to today’s task. Second-year quarterback Derek Carr has thrown for 922 yards and seven scores while being picked off just twice this season. The combination of rookie Amari Cooper and veteran addition Michael Crabtree have combined for 47 catches, good for an impressive 603 yards and three touchdowns.

Young Latavius Murray has run for 297 yards and two scores, plus added 14 catches for 80 yards. You get the sense that the ground attack is just getting warmed up and with an offensive line that has allowed only five sacks in four games, this is an offensive unit that bears watching.

One season ago, the Raiders committed 29 turnovers while their offensive unit managed only 26 trips to the end zone. In four games this season, Del Rio’s club and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s group has already totaled 11 offensive touchdowns while the team has coughed up the ball only six times.

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But now comes a real acid test (although facing and losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 didn’t turn out so well) in the form of the rival Denver Broncos and we mean that in many regards.

First, the Raiders have dropped seven straight games in this series and all by at least 13 points. Denver has outscored the Silver and Black by an astounding 260-109 in those seven contests. Again, a lot of that is obviously the past and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (6-0 vs. Oakland since joining Denver) and the team’s offense doesn’t resemble the franchise’s units of recent vintage.

Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio in the first half of their game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Then again, the Denver defense looks a lot different this year as well. Four weeks into the season, they’ve allowed the fewest total yards and fewest passing yards per game in the NFL. They lead the league with 18 sacks while the Broncos have totaled 11 takeaways. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ unit has given up just six offensive touchdowns this season. More importantly, new head coach Gary Kubiak has led the club to a 4-0 start, two games ahead of the Raiders.

Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio, once the Broncos’ defensive coordinator, has his newest team playing well these days. A victory over the team has won the last four AFC West title would be a feather in the cap of a squad learning how to win. A surprise of the gang from the Mile High City would be an amazing step in the right direction.

Next: 2015 NFL Predictions for Week 5

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