| Authored by Douglas Benton - 18th August, 2006 - 10:01 pm
 Do you ever wish that you could have your own football team? Well, here at RealGM, we are bringing you a little closer as we are adopting our very own team this year in the Oakland Raiders. By doing so, we will follow roster movement, provide key statistics, report rumors surrounding the team, and bring in experts who know this team best throughout the season as we go through the regular season grind with the Oakland Raiders.
With two preseason games already completed, both wins by the Raiders over the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, and still have three more preseason games before lacing them up for real against the San Diego Chargers.
This off-season, it has been a blast to the past for Al Davis and company with the hiring of former coach and hall of fame lineman Art Shell as the head coach again. Shell will bring discipline back to the Raiders, who have had problems with penalties and malcontents in past years.
Offensively, this team has a lot of talent, but how they mesh will be the real question with this unit. With questions about the skills of quarterback Aaron Brooks, the attitude of wide receiver Jerry Porter, the ever-exciting Randy Moss, and some youth on the offensive line, this could be a unit that is top 10 in the league or one that can’t get out of its own shadow.
Defensively, the talent isn’t there like offense, but they could be a sleeper to this team’s success. I really like Rob Ryan as a defensive coordinator and they bring some quality pieces. Warren Sapp and Derrick Burgess will anchor a strong defensive line, while good young players Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard have some very excited about the line backing core. However, it is the secondary that has the most upside with many draft picks invested in this group. Fabian Washington should be the ringleader, with rookies Michael Huff and Stanford Routt bound to make an impact this season.
They are also strong in the kicking game with kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler, which should help them win a close game or two. The success of the Raiders is in question right now after two sub-par performances thus far, but they have the talent to be .500 this season. The question is this year, as it has been every year, how do the Raiders use their talent? The answer to that is usually poorly.
Keep tuning in for more updates throughout this season, as we watch Real GM’s football team in the 2006 season. |
