NFL Betting – Raiders Still AFC West Basement
2008 NFL betting – Oakland Raiders
- Do JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden have Pro Bowl futures in Oakland?
- Will an aggressive offseason payoff?
- Is the Raiders defense up to par?
The offshore sportsbook community used to pound the over in the Oakland Raiders games when Jon Gruden and Rich Gannon were around, but the Oakland offense has been under construction ever since.
The Raiders offseason was anything but quiet. Head coach Lane Kiffin staved off a pink slip and then the Raiders proceeded to trade for overrated cornerback DeAngelo Hall and sign him to a ludicrous contract, re-sign rotational linemen Tommy Kelly to the richest contract in the sport's history and gave wide receiver Javon Walker a crazy contract only to have him spray champagne on patrons in a bar and get knocked out.
Just a regular offseason at the office in Oakland.
Some online betting sharks have the Raiders picked as a quiet sleeper with some potential to finish second in their division. Other people perceive this to be a dysfunctional family.
On offense, everything is on the shoulders of JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden. The learning curve will be steeper for Russell, even though he has one additional year of experience. Russell is still very raw and the team will try to get him to make smart decisions and limit his mistakes. That might like buying a Ferrari and driving the speed limit. Russell has a canon of an arm and should be a Pro Bowl quarterback once he gets comfortable, but the question is how soon will that happen?
The offensive line improved last year but it still is just a so-so unit. There aren't any standouts but they play well as a unit. The running game should also be fairly decent with McFadden, last year's leading rusher, Justin Fargas, and Michael Bush.
Walker was expected to bolster the receiving corps but considering the last 12 months of his life, he won't be sharp enough mentally to be the type of receiver the Raiders are paying him to be. From injuries, to having a good friend Darrent Williams die in his arms, to getting knocked out cold and robbed on a Las Vegas street, Walker has gone through a lot. They need him to be a factor, though, because Ronald Curry and tight end Zach Miller are the only other weapons.
On defense, the Raiders may have a solid back seven but with a weak defensive line, that talent will get washed away.
Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha should be a good one-two punch at cornerback, even though the online betting community has watched Hall get burned time and time again over the last couple of years. Michael Huff is decent and Gibril Wilson is a good veteran safety. At linebacker, Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison are two of the best young linebackers in the game.
But the problem is the front lines, where there isn't enough talent.
Just because the Raiders gave a boatload of cash to Kelly doesn't mean he's that good. Kelly has averaged about four sacks a season, which is good for a tackle, but tore his ACL last season. At end, Derrick Burgess is one of the best but he'll face plenty of double-teams. Burgess led the NFL in quarterback hurries but with Jay Richardson as the projected starter on the other end, teams will make sure that Burgess stays far away from their passer. The defensive line is weak, which will undermine what appears to be a talented defense.
On the whole, since the Raiders are not fully developed at quarterback and they don't have a dominant defense to back it up, they can't expect to be competing for a playoffs spot. If Russell is the real deal, look for the Raiders to be a good team in the second half of the season.
Stan Simmons 2008 NFL Betting Pick: Raiders Under 6 Wins
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Stan Simmons first tasted football through the college game, but his football handicapping has strictly focused on the professional sport. Not many people devote as much time to the NFL as Simmons. For six days a week he works, labors and handicaps the sport, and on the seventh he rests as the games play out. Thoughts or questions?
