I can’t help but watch in astonishment at the Oakland Raiders. Their 0-5 start under head coach Art Shell isn’t a very big surprise. It’s their very real chance of going 0-16 that is. I know it’s fairly early in the season but this really can happen. I’m not a huge fan of looking down schedules and predicting wins and losses. But I just can’t help it.
An ugly part about the 0-5 start is that two of the losses came against teams with about as much as talent as Oakland. The Raiders practically handed a game to the Cleveland Browns and then got blown out against San Francisco. And now that Tennesee and Tampa Bay both won, the Raiders are the only team in the league without a win. But which one can they win?
October 22nd vs. Arizona: A game that looks close on paper but probably isn’t. Arizona is pretty sure on where they’re going, I can’t say the same for Oakland. Matt Leinart (if he’s still alive after tonight) showed solid signs last week against the Chiefs. It’s probably one of Oakland’s more winnable games this season but Arizona has more talent on both sides of the ball.
October 29th vs. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh hasn’t played extremely well this year but yesterday’s win against the Chiefs looked more like the Steelers of old. They’ll roll.
November 6th at Seattle: Why is this game a Monday Nighter? Shaun Alexander could be back for this one but it won’t matter. Seattle wins easily.
November 12th vs. Denver: Mike Shanahan takes joy out of making little Raider fans cry. Assuming Jake Plummer doesn’t throw 16 interceptions, the Broncos’ defense will shut down the Silver and Black.
November 19th at Kansas City: Kansas City is unpredictable this season but I don’t think they drop this one at Arrowhead.
November 26th at San Diego: The Chargers look dominant. The Raiders know this. They were already shut out 27-0 on opening weekend and that was when Philip Rivers only threw 11 passes.
December 3rd vs. Houston: Okay Oakland, this is your chance. You’ll likely be 0-11 entering this one and Houston will probably have less than three wins. You better win this one.
December 10th at Cincinnati: The Bengals have already given Tampa Bay their first win of the season. But I doubt it happens twice. This is a team with playoff aspirations and this game will have big implications in December.
December 17th vs. St Louis: Oakland actually has the league’s best passing defense, which may come in handy vs. the Rams. But St. Loiuis is no ordinary passing attack. And they may also be fighting for their playoff lives, decreasing the chance they come out flat.
December 24th vs. Kansas City: Merry Christmas Raiders. The Chiefs might come in and make your team 0-15.
December 31st at New York Jets: What hurts in this schedule is the fact that most of these teams will likely be playoff contenders late in the season. That means they won’t sleep on the Raiders.
The Raiders are lousy, not to mention this is a very tough schedule. The best chances they have are against Houston and Arizona. This isn’t a good time to be a Raiders fan. But they’ll find out lots about their future this season. Can Andrew Walter be the guy or will the Raiders look to Brady Quinn or another quarterback in the draft to rebuild their franchise? Will Randy Moss care? Does Art Shell have a soul?
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