I still think we are contenders for winning division

[-Tenebrous-]

Why is it so surprising to think we won't contend?

All I can say to that is "WOW".

It is not surprising at all.

Why am I delirious?

Knapp will adapt his system to fit Palmer and not the other way around.

Asked and answered. In the end we'll see what happens when the season finally gets here.

[or24]

Alright, maybe "questionmark" isn't the right choice of word. McFadden has a history of not staying healthy and it always seemed like one or two of our WR's were injured last year. Palmer hasn't had a good year in a while, yet because of his past success it is assumed he might play well. Those are my "concerns".

You are forgetting that every team in the NFL has these type of question marks.

Those aren't question marks about our offense.

Those are questions that, if applied to every team, should concern every team in the NFL as it has its own problems just like we do.

I asked you for question marks on the O side of the ball.

I could say what you said about every team in the NFL.

How does any team get a guarantee that the QB will play well?

How does any team guarantee that they will be healthy at key positions?

That's not the question I asked you and it doesn't answer it.

[Foed]

The defense will be improved just by scheme alone, but unfortunately we are severely lacking talent defensively. Our d-line is gonna have to get tons of pressure, because our secondary isn't gonna be much better than it was last year imo.

8-8 is a realistic expectation, but 10-6 or 11-5 is bordering on insane. Aren't we playing 4 or 5 games on the east coast? The schedule is rough next year, and I don't think we have much of a shot at the division. Of course I'll be rooting for a division title, but I don't want to get my hopes up when we haven't even seen this coaching staff perform.

It'll be interesting to see the meltdown on this board if we start 0-4 or 0-5 (which is very possible - Chargers, @ Miami, Pittsburgh, @ Denver, @ Atlanta).

[bleed4raiders]

So Imm say this....... not only are we contenders in this division

We are the BEST team in this division coming into this year until proven otherwise

We were the best team in our division last year until the injury bug hit us like a truck

Manning doesn't scare me, add a little pressure on Rivers and he'll pop like a pimple, Cassle??? nuff said.

We have the best O-line in the division and with the new scheme I believe we'll have the best fron 7 in the division.

I'm not in any agreement with anyone who doesn't believe we have good enough talent on the defensive side of the ball.

As Rod Woodson has said (after he was fired), "the talent on defense was not the problem in Oakland, it was the lack of coaching", so I'll take the HOFer's word over any bleacher or TV spectator

[JUSTautumnWINd]

The Tollefson signing is a head-scratcher to me. He has a LB number, but I am pretty sure I have seen him in DL drills. And, if they wanted a FA OLB, why pick up a guy who has been playing 4-3 DE? It's odd. I guess they had to find someone at DE before the draft, and Tollefson was the right price. Maybe they think he can play DE and OLB in their multiple look system. Hmmm... I may have answered my own question.

Anyway, the defense was terrible -- high in the running for worst in team history. I can't imagine it could actually be worse, especially with Dennis Allen overseeing things.

Also, I'm starting to really like the Wheeler and Bartell signings. Bartell especially has the chance to be a steal. As far as losing Wimbley, no big whoop. We may lack a pass rush specialist, but we may not need one. Allen is determined to generate pressure with blitzes coming from all over. And, the middle of the DL has been good at generating pressure, with Kelly notching 24 sacks the past 2 seasons beside Seymour.

On offense, I'm confident it will get sorted out. I'm not thrilled with Knapp, but maybe we are looking at the Knapp/Palmer combination the wrong way. Maybe Palmer needs to be reigned in just a little to cut down on turnovers. The great thing about Palmer, that I did not see as much with Campbell, is that Palmer can make a great throw when we absolutely need a big play. But, I think we will run the ball and the pass offense will be designed to avoid turnovers. With our explosive corp and RB group, we will move the ball.

[sil&blk]

Yea agree. Rivers has average recievers and no tolbert . Peyton scares me but I think Bronco defense will take a step back without Dawkins being the real captain and also losing DT Bunkley. Who I read was the number 1 run stopping DT iin the league. & Coach Allen is gone.

Chiefs... still got cassle and that's their biggest weakness .

So Imm say this....... not only are we contenders in this dT
We are the BEST team in this division coming into this year until proven otherwise

We were the best team in our division last year until the injury bug hit us like a truck

Manning doesn't scare me, add a little pressure on Rivers and he'll pop like a pimple, Cassle??? nuff said.

We have the best O-line in the division and with the new scheme I believe we'll have the best fron 7 in the division.

I'm not in any agreement with anyone who doesn't believe we have good enough talent on the defensive side of the ball.

As Rod Woodson has said (after he was fired), "the talent on defense was not the problem in Oakland, it was the lack of coaching", so I'll take the HOFer's word over any bleacher or TV spectator

[bleed4raiders]

Yea agree. Rivers has average recievers and no tolbert . Peyton scares me but I think Bronco defense will take a step back without Dawkins being the real captain and also losing DT Bunkley. Who I read was the number 1 run stopping DT iin the league. & Coach Allen is gone.

Chiefs... still got cassle and that's their biggest weakness .

not to mention, it's not like they're going to be the run 1st team that they were last year, with Manning, they'll pass 1st....... and if memory serves me correctly, Denvers pass protection is suspect, Tebow made them look better than they were, which was still not that good. Wasn't like they weren't keeping their defense on the field majority of the game. Now I can see Manning making their offense better, but not to the point where they'll be eye popping.

We have alot more weopons on our offensive side of the ball than any team in our division

The Dis-chargers are a soft a$$ team, KC has no QB and Denver lacks threats and weopons aside from Thomas and Royal(who's been suspect lately)

Denver and KC has enough talent to be good on D but is overwhelmingly outmatched by our offense....... nuff said

[raidernationbmw]

I been "I still think we can win the division" my whole entire Raider life no other team can compete when our team decides to show up.

[kinz]

I been "I still think we can win the division" my whole entire Raider life no other team can compete when our team decides to show up.

This isn't the whole key, but its one of the biggest concerning the defense. Too many guys getting too many $$$ taking too much time off. Maybe they buy in with a new coaching staff that has real authority. The ones that don't will be gone next offseason.

We will get there, but it might take some time.

[ballin12]

So many unknowns. I think it will come down to coaching...hope Dennis Allen pans out...

Still haven't heard much about Allen and the media hasn't really said much at all about him.

[Naphtali]

Yea agree. Rivers has average recievers and no tolbert . Peyton scares me but I think Bronco defense will take a step back without Dawkins being the real captain and also losing DT Bunkley. Who I read was the number 1 run stopping DT iin the league. & Coach Allen is gone.

Chiefs... still got cassle and that's their biggest weakness .

Am i missing something, did Vincent Jackson leave?

[cheapshotartist]

So Imm say this....... not only are we contenders in this division

We are the BEST team in this division coming into this year until proven otherwise

We were the best team in our division last year until the injury bug hit us like a truck

Manning doesn't scare me, add a little pressure on Rivers and he'll pop like a pimple, Cassle??? nuff said.

We have the best O-line in the division and with the new scheme I believe we'll have the best fron 7 in the division.

I'm not in any agreement with anyone who doesn't believe we have good enough talent on the defensive side of the ball.

As Rod Woodson has said (after he was fired), "the talent on defense was not the problem in Oakland, it was the lack of coaching", so I'll take the HOFer's word over any bleacher or TV spectator

I hope your right our defense still scares me.

Am i missing something, did Vincent Jackson leave?

Yes, he signed with TB as a FA.

[DustInTheWind]

I'm cautiously optimistic and think there is as good a chance we win the division as there is that we lose it. Far too early to reason say with any certainty what the division will end up looking like by years end.

Injuries are going to happen to us and every other team in the division; who will get hurt and how much do they mean to their team? How good is the next man who will have to replace them? Is Manning up to playing a whole season on a level he used to? Will Charles be healthy enough to be an effective weapon in the running/passing game for the Chiefs? If Rivers goes down can the Chargers still have an effective offense? Can Palmer play at a near pro-bowl level again? Can DMC stay healthy and be the force we all know he can be?

Too many questions that won't be answered for months and months.

[Hypnotoad]

You are forgetting that every team in the NFL has these type of question marks.

Those aren't question marks about our offense.

Those are questions that, if applied to every team, should concern every team in the NFL as it has its own problems just like we do.

I asked you for question marks on the O side of the ball.

I could say what you said about every team in the NFL.

How does any team get a guarantee that the QB will play well?

How does any team guarantee that they will be healthy at key positions?

That's not the question I asked you and it doesn't answer it.

Every team has its question marks, but some teams have more than others. There's very little to question about Green Bay or New England's offense - even if they lost some players, they're always going to be in great shape as long as Rodgers and Brady are running the show.

The Raiders have a typical number of question marks on offense. What Carson Palmer we're getting, McFadden's health, seeing whether or not these receivers can take the next step, some changes on the o-line - very legitimate concerns, but not an absurdly high number of them compared to the rest of the league.

Defensively, however, we have more question marks than just about any other D in the NFL. We were one of the worst in the NFL last year and it would take one heck of an argument to say we won't be in the 20s again this year.

[Raidermofojeff]

Our division is arguably the most evenly matched in the league. I'd say it is possible we win our division, but equally likely we come in dead last.

To me the division is evenly matched when you take Manning away from the Donkeys....With Manning the Donkeys win 10 or 11 games, and I'll say probably 11....The rest of us are battling for second place.....

Still anything happen on the field and this is wild speculation...