2006 Oakland Raiders Predictions

Since losing the Super Bowl in 2002, the Oakland Raiders have regressed badly, finishing 4-12, 5-11 and 4-12 again in the past three seasons. The Raiders hope a familiar face from the glory years will help restore this one-proud franchise. After failing to land a big-name NFL coach, the Raiders hired former coach and player Art Shell this offseason. Shell's plan is to play tough defense and stretch the field in his second reign with the Silver and Black. It remains to be seen if he has the players to execute his strategy.

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Key Additions: DBs Duane Starks, Tyrone Poole, Michael Huff (rookie) and Darnell Bing (rookie), QB Aaron Brooks, DE Lance Johnstone, OL Paul McQuistan, LB Thomas Howard.

Key Subtractions: QB Kerry Collins, DTs Ted Washington and Ed Jasper, DBs Charles Woodson and Renaldo Hill, LB Tim Johnson.

Sportsbook Odds: The Raiders' division is one of the toughest in the NFL, with San Diego, Kansas City and Denver all legitimate playoff contenders with Super Bowl aspirations. A .500 season would be a big accomplishment for Oakland. WagerWeb.com has Oakland as +$1100 to win the AFC West, +$3800 to win the AFC championship and +$8000 to win Super Bowl XLI.

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Player To Watch: Oakland replaced inconsistent veteran QB Collins with inconsistent veteran QB Brooks in the offseason. Brooks was somewhat of an enigma with New Orleans, often putting up solid stats, but losing concentration or making bad decisions at some of the worst possible times. Brooks expects teams to pay a lot of attention to Randy Moss, opening up some of his secondary receivers. "When you've got 18 on your side, someone else has to be open," Brooks said about Moss. "I thought the tight ends did a wonderful job catching the football," he said after the team's 23-7 preseason victory over San Francisco. "If teams continue to double team Randy Moss, we have to use our other guys and they have to step up. I thought they did a great job." Brooks better make sure he finds Moss often as well, or the volatile receiver will let him know about it.

Outlook: The Raiders were awful on defense last season, finishing 27th in the NFL. They addressed the weakness in the secondary through free agency and the draft, but are still pretty thin in the linebacking corps. Huff should be a good player, but he was a questionable pick with QBs Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler still available. If Brooks struggles, that pick will be even more criticized. Oakland should have an excellent offense with RB LaMont Jordan carrying the load again. Jordan piled up 1,023 yards rushing and 9 TDs and added another 563 yards receiving and 2 TDs in his first season in Oakland. If the Raiders defense doesn't improve, however, Oakland will be behind a lot and forced to throw. That could be trouble considering Brooks' history and mean another long year for Raider Nation.

By Mike Brody of WagerWeb