By now we all know that the Oakland Raiders have become the epitome of what a laughing stock is in professional sports. The Raiders have not had a winning season since 2002 and they have had a revolving door at head coach and quarterback which is never a good thing. The once proud Raiders franchise has simply become a place where hopes and careers alike come to die. The Raiders were demolished this past Sunday at home by the Denver Broncos 41-17. The loss makes the Raiders 0-9 this season and it is their 15th consecutive loss dating back to last season. The Raiders are well on their way to their 10th season with at least 10 losses since 2003 and yet another top five pick in the NFL Draft. The Raiders also could be the first team since the Detroit Lions in 2008 to go winless for a full 16-game season.
Of the Raiders nine losses this season, only four have been decided by less than 10 points. In Week 4, the Raiders traveled to Wembley Stadium in London, England where they lost to the Miami Dolphins 38-14. After the drubbing in the United Kingdom, Dennis Allen was fired as the head coach of the Raiders and he was replaced by offensive line coach Tony Sparano. Sparano has appeared to make the Raiders somewhat resemble a team, but in the NFL it simply comes down to wins and losses. The Raiders are 21st in the total defense, while they are last in total offense and turnovers. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie brought in veterans during the past couple of off-seasons that had championship experience in order to change the culture in Oakland, but they have only sunk into the abyss themselves.
In 2011, as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars , running back Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing with 1,606 yards. But this season with the Raiders, Jones-Drew has only been able to gain 64 yards on the ground as he is a shell of himself. Last off-season McKenzie signed defensive end Justin Tuck to a two-year, $11 million contract. Tuck came to the Raiders as a two-time Super Bowl Champion with the New York Giants. In nine seasons with the Giants, Tuck had 60.5 sacks, but this season he has been limited to just a pair of sacks on this campaign. In seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, defensive end Lamarr Woodley amassed 57 sacks and a Super Bowl Title. Woodley was signed by the Raiders this past spring and after appearing in six games this season he was placed on season-ending injured-reserve with a bicep injury. This is the second time around the block for safety Charles Woodson with the Raiders. After winning the Heisman Trophy at the University of Michigan in 1997, Woodson was the Raiders first round pick in 1998. Woodson would go on to be named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year that season while helping the Raiders reach the Super Bowl to culminate the 2002 NFL season. Woodson left Oakland in 2006 to join the Green Bay Packers where he was named as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 while helping the Pack win the Super Bowl in 2010. Woodson returned to the Raiders in 2013 and he is still playing the game at a high level, but he has been unable to turn the tide of futility in the Raiders locker room.
In spite of the Raiders woes, they have something to build off of in quarterback Derek Carr. Carr was the 36th overall pick of last spring’s NFL Draft by the Raiders. Carr’s older brother David is a former NFL quarterback and he could be headed on the road to the same fate that his brother had. Both David and Derek came out out of Fresno State as can’t miss NFL prospects with strong throwing arms and there wasn’t a throw that neither couldn’t make. David was the first overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft by the expansion Houston Texans. The Texans made the mistake of starting Carr as a rookie with an expansion team and he never recovered from that. Derek came in and beat out veteran quarterback Matt Schaub for the job in training camp over the summer. On the season Carr has 13 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. But like his older brother David, Derek could be ruined if the Raiders don’t put some talent around him or simply trade him.
The Raiders have been so bad that they can no longer sell out the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and that is a shame due to the fact that the team has some of the most intense and loyal fans in all of professional sports. The Raiders actually gave up a home game this year to play over in London which would have been unheard for them 15 years ago. Raiders owner Mark Davis is looking to move the team if he is unable to secure upgrades to the Coliseum in Oakland or a new stadium altogether which would once again mean that the famed “black hole” in Oakland would be a thing of the past. The Raiders originally left Oakland for Los Angeles in 1982 before returning in 1995. But this time around if the Raiders leave I do believe that it would be for good as Davis has been linked to moving his team to either San Antonio or back to Los Angeles and both cities are willing to build new stadiums.
As far their remaining schedule, the Raiders have a puncher’s chance of going 0-16 this season. The other three teams in the AFC West currently have winning records and four of the Raiders remaining seven games are against their divisional foes including this Sunday’s road contest with the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders also have a road game with versus the St. Louis Rams along with home games with the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills as their isn’t a layup for the silver and black on the schedule. If the Raiders fail to win a game you can expect Davis to clean house which would mean that he’d be bidding farewell to McKenzie and Sparano. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976, it was a building block for them as they would make the NFC Championship Game in 1979. After going 0-16 in 2008, the Lions would rebound and make the playoffs in 2011. At this point the only way to go for the Raiders is up because they really cannot get that much worse.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
I watch every Raiders game start to Finish every Sunday.So I am the closet thing to a Raiders Expert you know. I read articles written on the Raiders and they miss some key points each time.You forgot to Mention Khalil Mack which crazy to me because he had 1 bad game and it came this Sunday. Contrary to popular Belief the Raiders DO have Talent and its Young talent on Defense.LB Sio Moore CB,Tj Carrie ,CB DJ Hayden(when healthy) LB Khalil Mack, DT Justin Ellis all rookies or second year players. Derek Carr ,G Gabe Jackson TE Mychal Rivera on offense. WHY are the Raiders 0-9 ? Injuries without proper Depth Starting MLB Nick Roach and Starting SS Tyvon Branch gone for the season on Offense Rod Streater last years top WR on IR . It’s Simple to me . As a raiders fan since 1989 this isn’t even the worse Raiders team I have seen. Will they win a Game I think so actually against who IDK but I don’t think it can be ruled out. Does it matter if the Raiders win a game? No it really doesn’t Rock Bottom will be best at this time. The GM Reggie Mckenzie needs to go. Every year the raiders Sign Free agents to 1 year deals.Even when these players play well he does bring them back I.E. Phillip Wheeler(Dolphins) and Rashard Jennings(giants) . So not only have the Raider brought in Rookies, but new player each year. New corners for the last 3 years . 3 years in a row he tries to get a Veteran Stop gap QB and they could have just paid Carson Palmer. Letting Jared Veldheer go and Lamar Houston good not great young players but you have to get continuity in order to win. That’s the real problem here. I should be consulted before any articles are written like this ..lol But a good read non the less bro.
If the Oakland Raiders fail to win a game this season then maybe it will force them to turn things around. The Raiders have had so many double-digit losing seasons since their last Super Bowl appearance that it isn’t even funny.