The Oakland Raiders made several key offseason moves coming off of their best season in nearly a decade.
Oakland got rid of coach Tom Cable, who led the team to an 8-8 finish in 2010, in favor of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. The team also let All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha go and couldn”t re-sign its leading receiver, tight end Zach Miller.
The Raiders did retain a couple of key defenders, like safety Michael Huff, and brought in new guys on offense, including tight end Kevin Boss and backup quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Terrelle Pryor.
In the wake of those moves, the Raiders have had a difficult 2011 preseason, going winless in three games.
The offense has looked decent, with first-string QB Jason Campbell throwing one touchdown and one interception in less than 60 minutes of work. Overall, Oakland”s offense has scored only three touchdowns, mostly because of ineffective play by the backups.
The defense has struggled though. The group ranked 29th in the league against the run in 2010 and those difficulties have continued. Even worse, the Raiders” young secondary got burned a lot in the three games.
One bright spot has been placekicker Sebastian Janikowski, who has made all seven preseason field goal attempts.
Still, it appears the Raiders will have to deal with similar questions this year that they faced in 2010: is Campbell a franchise QB? Will the receivers produce? Can Darren McFadden stay healthy? Can the defense stop the run (or the pass without Asomugha)?
The offense should be OK (provided the line holds up) because Campbell, who has good career results, will help the young receivers develop and the two-pronged rushing attack could be even stronger this year.
The defense, on the other hand, could be in some trouble if the secondary doesn”t improve and the front seven can”t stop opposing rushers.
In the end, the Raiders seem on their way to another .500 season.
The AFC West is weak, so Oakland should nab four to five divisional wins. But the Raiders have a tough remaining schedule, with matchups against the NFC North and AFC East as well as the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans — four wins in those 10 games would be a good result.
Oakland should finish outside the playoffs at 8-8, which would still be an important step in the rebuilding process.
Things don”t look as positive for the San Francisco 49ers.
Coming off of a disappointing 6-10 season in 2010, the 49ers also made some important offseason changes, bringing in Jim Harbaugh as head coach, drafting QB Colin Kaepernick, re-signing starting QB Alex Smith and acquiring receiver Braylon Edwards.
Despite those offensive-minded moves, San Francisco has struggled mightily in the 2011 preseason. The 49ers” 1-2 record is pretty misleading, considering that their offense has only produced one touchdown in those three games.
Smith has looked awful, and though Kaepernick has had bright moments, he”s lacked consistency. The receiving core continues to struggle while the rushing attack has looked decent.
Defensively, San Francisco”s done well against the rush (coming off a year ranked sixth-best in the NFL) but has faltered against the pass.
As a result, the 49ers appear to be facing the same problems they did a season ago: who will be their starting QB? Can the offense score enough to get the team wins? Can key guys (like Frank Gore) stay healthy? Will the young secondary help or haunt them?
During the regular season, defense shouldn”t be the 49ers” main issue. The front seven will dominate opposing rushers while the secondary will improve (if only slightly) throughout the season.
The problem will be the offense. Harbaugh, a first-time NFL head coach, needs to pick one QB and ride him until at least the bye week.
Smith will probably be that guy because he”s the most experienced, and maybe he”ll be motivated knowing this will be his last chance to lead the 49ers (or probably any other NFL team). Kaepernick has looked good though and could overtake Smith after tonight”s final preseason game to become the Week 1 starter.
No matter who the starting QB is, his job status depends on getting the offense into the end zone.
The 49ers seem destined for another sub-.500 season, but not only because their offense will probably be horrible.
San Francisco has a really tough schedule. The NFC West is the worst division in the NFL, so the 49ers could earn three or four wins there. Outside of that, they may only get two out-of-division wins against some talented remaining opponents (the NFC East, AFC North, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions).
All things considered, the 49ers should finish 5-11 for another disappointing, non-playoff year.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
