The Oakland Raiders are coming off of a tough loss to the Colts and as they try to rebound, the team will welcome the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, who scored just two points to open their season and now each will try and get out of the weekend with a 1-1 record and someone will be going home at 0-2 as the game kicks off at 4:25 PM on Sunday in California.
The Raiders haven't been one of the lucky franchises in the NFL in recent years and after a number of draft picks and other players have flamed out, general manager Reggie McKenzie feels he finally has something special in Oakland with the crop he has in 2013.
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McKenzie has spent the past two years getting rid of bad contracts and dead money and after making a number of smart free agent and offseason moves, he feels the Raiders are ready to take a new step on offense for 2013. The team acquired Matt Flynn from the Seattle Seahawks and while he doesn't have much starting experience, McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen see him as the starter despite drafting Tyler Wilson. Flynn was already beaten out once in training camp by a Wilson in Seattle and he isn't expecting a repeat in the Bay Area.
Allen was ready to give Flynn an opportunity to win and keep the starting job but he lost it and one reason he feels that he will is due to the fact that they have a deep roster of receivers. Despite getting rid of former first round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey, head coach Dennis Allen said to NFL.com that the group of Denarius Moore, Rod Streater, Jacoby Ford and rookie Brice Butler could surprise everyone as the most productive group of receivers in the league.
The team has dealt with disappointment at the position in the past with Louis Murphy and Heyward-Bey, but now with four solid young receivers in the fold, the Raiders feel they are ready to break out. Allen and McKenzie think that if Darren McFadden can stay healthy and give the team a solid running game, there can truly stretch the field with speed at the position. The team has had disappointments in the draft in the past, but with Butler and Nick Kasa coming into the offense, the team sees that hope turning into reality.
Oakland hasn't had a winning record since it last went to the Super Bowl 10 years ago and now the team is looking to improve after a 4-12 season. Moore and Ford have great speed and with Streater looking like the other starter opposite Moore, that should give plenty of opportunities for Butler and Ford in the slot. Moore has shown that he has the skills to do it and after making 51 catches for 741 yards and seven touchdowns last season, he looks ready to be number one.
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Streater had himself a solid season with 39 catches for 584 yards and three touchdowns and he will be expected to increase each of those this year. The offense is expected to be better with Flynn as well as rookie lineman Menelik Watson and the defense could end up being the most improved unit of the bunch. McKenzie made a number of smart signings with Charles Woodson, Tracy Porter, Nick Roach and Kevin Burnett and adding DJ Hayden to the mix should help as well.
