First of all, JaMarcus Russell has to be strong. Out of the gate, the Oakland Raiders play the three AFC West rivals. JaMarcus Russell better take it against all of them.
The first game is a home game for the Oakland Raiders and they must win. Unfortunately, Oakland hasn’t won a game against the San Diego Chargers since September 2003. Ouch. The Oakland Raiders have one of the best running games in the league right now. If Oakland’s running backs are used effectively, this should be a win for the Raiders. This game is on JROC and Coach Cable. You both better bring your A game. Remember that clock management is a *beep*.
Game 2 at the Kansas City Chiefs should be better, but it’s still in KC. Arrowhead Stadium is not the most welcome environment. The Kansas City Chiefs made a lot of roster changes, but they’re still a long way from being competitive in the AFC West. They picked up a great upcoming quarterback, but discarded arguably one of the best TEs in the game and a staple of their offense for years. Tony Gonzalez. He can guarantee that Matt Cassel will miss him even though they didn’t play together. Tony Gonzalez has some of the best hands in the game and would have helped Matt Cassel a lot. On paper, this is all Oakland Raiders. It is better that they play strong from start to finish. Oakland can lose this game if they fall behind and that crowd gets involved. Go crazy early and take the crowd out of the equation and it should be all Raiders.
Game 3 is another home game for the Oakland Raiders against the newly revamped Denver Broncos. Even though the Denver Broncos have dropped in the standings, they still have a pretty good running game and team. Will that matter without Mike Shanahan? That remains to be seen. His passing game fell to last place in the standings. Jay Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears in the offseason. Jay Cutler had over 4,000 passing yards last year. Granted, the Denver Broncos’ running game took a beating, but that’s got to hurt. Brandon Marshall also wants out of Denver. That’s not going to help things in Denver. If Oakland hits the Denver Broncos hard on the ground early and runs the clock correctly, this should be an easy win for the Oakland Raiders.
These three games will dictate the 2009 Oakland Raiders Season.
