2014 In The Eyes of Oakland

The Raiders have a lot of rebuilding to do. Some of the other teams lower down in last seasons standings were poor on the year but could certainly become competitive with the right direction in 2014, that isn't so true of the Raiders. After several years of poor drafting and signing questionable free agents there was a big deficit for the Raiders to pull themselves out of. This off-season is the start of that rebuild, with the largest amount of cap space to work with the Raiders can start to build.



2013 Recap:

The Raiders were all over the place in 2013. They seemed good at points, and they struggled at points. They didn't really have any kind of consistency, and the year was almost completely written off due to cap space issues. I don't think there's much to do but forget the season that was all over the place.

2014 Prospects:

Sio Moore
Coming off a solid rookie season, Moore is one of the few players that should still be with Oakland in 5 years. I have every expectation that he can become a leader on their defense, and as long as Charles Woodson is in Oakland then Moore would do well to learn from him with regards to leadership.


Kory Sheets
Having watched a lot of CFL this past year, I saw a lot of what Kory Sheets can do. His appearance in the NFL is something to be watched closely, and while he isn't a top prospect he does add a level of dynamism that the Raiders have been sorely missing.

Missing Pieces:

I'd like to just say "everywhere", as there is improvement to be made in every area of the field. That being said, the pressing concerns at this very moment are as follows.

Running Back: Darren McFadden was good when healthy, but he wasn't able to be relied on consistently.
Oakland need a back they can hand the ball to with certainty on every down. The Raiders are seen as a a hard hitting team, and McFadden fitted that spec perfectly with the exception of consistent production.


Defensive Back: Charles Woodson might make another season, but he isn't the future of the team (unless he becomes a coach). Mike Jenkins is a solid player, but past that the Raiders don't have a secondary they can rely on. I'd be very surprised if they don't revamp.

Offensive Line: When quarterbacks have problems, they tend to get blamed more often than is fair. Half of the time it's down to the offensive line not giving them enough time to go through their reads. This is true in Raider country, on both fronts. They don't have an O-Line good enough to let a young QB develop from under centre, and they don't have a veteran quarterback that can give the line time to gel together. With an eye to the future, O-Line is a bigger priority than a QB right now.

How They Improve:

This is a rebuilding year for the Raiders, and I think they're realistic about that. They shouldn't be expecting to compete for any accolades this season, but simply to put together the core of what will become their team going into the future. They must be wary of eating into their cap space too much this season, and try to maintain a good chunk with a view to further improvement in the next off-season. This is a project in Oakland that can't be dealt with by splashing out on a few big names. Being cautious is the key to rebuilding a true franchise, and hopefully the powers that be decide to take the Raiders down that path.

Prediction:

I have low expectations of the Raider in 2014, this is a year to start building after struggling under the salary cap for several seasons. The best result for Oakland is to maintain a similar record to 2013, and put on a better show with an all together younger and more promising group of players. The worst outcome would be to go backwards, but even if their record suffers their cap space has been freed up so much that they can rebuild from next year if need be.