NFL+ESPN Power Rankings...RAIDERS LOW LOW LOW On the List

[YoungLegend]

Power ranking before anyone's roster is complete or the teams have not even played a Preseason game is meaningless. Flipping a coin would be as accurate. God I hate the off season.

This..

[Hawaiian Raider]

If they had us at 32, I'd say we had them right were we want them.

[VEfreak]

Can you blame them for ranking us low? We have a history over the last 10 years of being talented but under performing. Plus we have undergone a lot of changes this offseason, and change is not the usual formula for immediate success in the NFL. We could be like the 49ers of last year or we will have a difficult transition year. Either way power rankings don't mean much, just attempted educated guessing.

[Snoop750]

I think it's because of our Defense! Our offense is going to be good. I still want Cedric Benson but offensively, on paper, we should compete well. We're deeper than we have been in a long time. Benson's a great piece.

Defense wise we need alot to happen.
So we'll see how it all plays out!!

[d-mac37]

Pre Pre-season power rankings...

[raiderLUVjen]

What's funny to me is that people are actually surprised that people would discuss power ranking on a football message board!!!


Oh maybe I get it...because it holds traffic on all the other relevant threads coming in! Stupid me!

[Palehorse]

No one is surprised, it has already been discussed in multiple threads.

[Raider Ran]

Pre Pre-season power rankings...

[raiderLUVjen]

No one is surprised, it has already been discussed in multiple threads.

So they never change?

[UglyDuck]

I have zero idea where to rank us at this point. Rookie HC, new coaches, new systems, 1st season of the post-AL era, etc., etc.. Biggest question mark in the league this year.

[thepantyraider]

I for one would rate us both 1st and 32nd. A single game has not been played by any team yet. A lot of things can happen between now and the Superbowl. Every team is 0-0. How many times has preseason rankings been accurate? Look at last years presseason rankings. They mean absolutely squat. We have a new coach, new gm, new defensive scheme, new offensive scheme, a qb who is actually there for TC and preseason, rookies from last year who have a year experience, players who are now healthy, etc. I definitely believe we are a way better team than last year. I am sorry but our issue every year has been overpaying average players, penalties, and an antiquated defensive scheme that was as predictable as my dog walking around because he is about to poop. We have a disciplinarian GM and coach, and no more Al (god love him) meddling in coach-player affairs as well as being firm on his defensive beliefs and strictly sticking to man to man with little to no blitzing. Scheme and coaching is more important than talent, eventhough I strongly believe we have a lot of talent. Our defensive scheme will allow our players to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses as any good NFL coach would do. You keep the offense off guard and constantly guessing in order to put your defense and team in a position to make plays off of offensive mistakes. With a good to very good offense and an aggressive smart defense their is no reason our team shouldnt go 10-6, 11-5 barring major injuries. We are going to be a smart, disciplined, and modern football team that will catch a lot of teams by surprise. Couple that with an excellent special teams and we can be in for a wild ride. Forget about preseason rankings and lets look forward to end of the season rankings. I see us anywhere between a ranking of #6 and #8. 2013 I expect to be top 5.

[Palehorse]

So they never change?

In a week with no changes to the team? No they probably won't.

[raiderLUVjen]

So they never change?

In a week with no changes to the team? No they probably won't.

Gotcha Coach!

[-Tenebrous-]

Espn has the raiders at 26, yes 26th in the league this year and NFL dot com has them at 22nd. Ouch, what you guys think? Are they accurate? They did have eagles ranked 1st last year and we all see how that ended up.

Is it accurate? Hmm, it is hard to state whether the rankings are accurate so far from the season - with so many question, it is extremely difficult to be accurate.

However, the better question to ask is, is it fair? In my opinion, based on what has been going on in Oakland, they are definitely fair rankings at this point - though the NFL Network's ranking may be a little too generous.

[thepantyraider]

If they ranked us number 1, does that make our team guaranteed to make the sb or win the sb.... No. Whether they rank us 1st or 32nd we still have to play the games. Lets get back to this in january 2013. Lets just hope our team stays healthy and we improve as a team. We are on our way back to the top. I firmly believe that. We are in good hands for the first time in quite a few years. Lets let the new vision play out this year and next and our all new look raiders will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The blueprint is set for long term success. Mark my words.