Lets get it on...

This blog has been very quiet over the off-season. Quiet because after 5 years of futility, I don’t have much to say. But here we are… kick-off only hours away, and Lane Kiffin is still the coach, and Jerry Porter was inactive for the Jags, - not the Raiders, as was reported this weekend…. Ok that’s the last of taking shots at the media…

We win tonight and we are alone on top of the AFC West – what a great start that would be! I didn’t realize until yesterday that if we win tonight, Lane Kiffin will have a 2-1 mark against the Broncos (and nearly 3-0 as we all know!)…

I’m not going to make big predictions for this year, I will be happy with 8-8 and chasing a play-off spot. Will it happen? If not for two issues, it would be an easy “yes”...

My first issue is the scarey lack of depth on our D-Line… DE looks good with Burgess, Richardson and Edwards as our primary players… Burgess we all know is a Probowler, Richardson in his second year is an emerging star and Edwards has filled in the Clemons pass rush role, and more…. however at DT we’ve got Kelly, Sands and Warren and that’s it. Now Kelly, he can be awesome, the upside is huge, but unproven… Sands has always been up and down, Warren shows brilliance at times, but is not consistent enough… These DTs all can be dominant, but can all be pushed around as well… that’s my fear…

Second Issue is our Offensive Tackles…. With Grove, Gallery and Carlisle in the middle, I’m not ecstatic, but not worried either - they should hold their own… However, can Kwame Harris and Cornell Green do the job at OT? … We must trust Coach Cable on this...If we run, run and the run again, it will only help our mediocre line look good… and by all accounts with McFadden, Fargas and Bush, that will be our key….

Speaking of the running game, although we have every reason to be very comfortable with our players, I worry that teams will put 8, even 9 in the box and dare us to beat them with some passing… So, in my mind, its up to Lane Kiffin and Greg Knapp and their ability to put assemble and call creative game plans to hide our weaknesses… This is where we all can get excited… McFadden out of the backfield, Bush out of the backfield, Miller finding holes in coverage…

Despite the poor showing by our receiving corps in the preseason and the loss of Carter to injury, I’m not worried about our WRs… As much as we may hate it, I believe Javon Walker truly is a “when the lights go on” player… he will perform… Javon is not a long term answer but for now, he brings big play ability. Aside from hoping that Ronald Curry gets over his case of the dropsies, with the new comers Watkins and Schillens and the addition of Ashley Lelie, we have enough talent at the wide-out position where one or two will emerge as viable 2-3 WR options…

One other comment of D: Gibril Wilson will have a huge impact on the D... he's a hitter, he brings it, he fills a huge void we have had since Rod Woodson retired, the need for dominant Safety... and watch Mike Huff turn into a playmaking all-pro...

So there it is, my expectations are a minimum 8-8 with a possible 10-6 with a definite run at a play-off spot. Tonight, a convincing 20-10 win over the over-rated Broncos.

PS. Bernard Pollard is now my favourite non-Raider player in the NFL!!!!