On the heels of an instant classic finish last Sunday between the Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints, there’s talk the Raiders will make the leap this season.
Perhaps the win, and more importantly, the way that they won (with cajones, chutzpah, stones, or let’s just call it like it is WITH BALLS!) could vault them up the AFC West division this season.
NFL Network Analyst Steve Mariucci, along with Marshall Faulk and LaDanian Tomlinson, did a media conference call this week. We took this opportunity to ask Mariucci his thoughts on the Raiders, and their chances of winning the division.
For Tomlinson’s comments go to this link.
“I went up to their training camp and I could just tell that this team is becoming very, very confident. Not hopeful, but confident, and the expectations are high with a very young team,” Mariucci said.
“When I checked the roster then, there were only five guys over 30 years old, and one was a long snapper and one was a kicker. So the sky is going to be the limit with Jack Del Rio over there, a hometown product. Marshall (Faulk) mentioned their triplets with Derek Carr and Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper, and we have to keep in mind (wide receiver) Michael Crabtree is a heck of a two.”
“He’s a heck of a two.”
“All of a sudden, here’s this Jalen Richard kid from Southern Miss, and he’s going to contribute a little bit too,” Mooch continued.
“I think they’ve got to get better on defense, and they can. Reggie McKenzie made a lot of emphasis in improving that defense.”
“You sign a Bruce Irvin opposite Khalil Mack and you’ve got a couple of book ends there.
“You draft a safety, pick up a Reggie Nelson safety who has been a Pro Bowler. So they’ve got some pieces and defense on the defensive side. They gave up over 500 yards against Drew Brees, they’ve got to shore up some things, but Oakland’s going to be right there when it’s all said and done.
“Don’t know if they can win it all in that division, but certainly a wildcard spot, But in the future this will be the team to beat.”
Derek Carr might be playing at a higher level than anyone else in the AFC West, and by the time the season is over, he will have likely taken the next step up the NFL QB pecking order. In assessing the Raiders’ chances in the division, Mariucci offered this:
“I think the NFC West is probably the best division, and the AFC West is a heck of a division too. The Broncos still are very strong. Kansas City’s going to be very strong.”
“San Diego’s better than expected, but it really hurts them to lose Keenan Allen again. That is such a bummer for Keenan Allen.”
Getting back to Marshall’s comments on the Raiders triplets. Here’s what Faulk had to say on the call:
“I believe the Raiders are a playoff caliber team. Let’s say what Jack Del Rio did in that game can galvanize this team, and the confidence that you need to have as a team move be forward believing that you can win games like this, and let me say this, the culture in Oakland has changed.”
“They expect to win games not just hoping to win games and we saw that against the Saints. Now the Saints, they don’t have a lot of guys, they don’t have a lot of playmakers, but Drew Brees showed you he can just about win games with almost anybody.”
What Jack Del Rio did, I believe it puts them in the hunt right there with the Broncos. And I’m going to say this, what Kansas City did puts them in the mix because I didn’t think they could score points like that. Kansas City used to be you get ten points ahead, they can’t come back. So now that dynamic has changed.
The AFC West is competitive. Every time the Super Bowl winner comes out of your division, that division elevates and I believe the Oakland Raiders are right there.
“They need Cooper, Carr and Murray to be healthy and be productive week-in and week-out, and they need the other guys to just kind of sprinkle in and play their role.”
For what it’s worth, Charles Woodson, now an ESPN Analyst, went out on a limb and picked his former teammates to win the Super Bowl this year, pegging Khalil Mack to win the NFL MVP award.
Also, if all this Raiders optimism is getting you drunk, then we have the chaser for your proverbial hard liquor. We have mellowing sour cream to throw on your crown them 2016 AFC West champion hot salsa.
CBS Sports Analyst Andrea Kremer:
“The Raiders, they pulled that out with the gumption of Jack Del Rio. But I am not sure that I am ready to say that they are ready to take over for the Broncos. I did not think Trevor Siemian would come out and play as well as he did. But it was one game.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.