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2006 Raiders Betting Preview

NFL News- August 10th, 2006 1:00pm
By: Mike R. - Want the latest injury information for this week's NFL games? Then come to "The Edge". Want to know the hottest games coming up on the NBA schedule? Then come to "The Edge". All sports will be covered, and will include game previews, opinion pieces and even a prediction or two.

Vip.com - Raiders Preview - August 10, 2006

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Sports Edge's NFL betting preview of all 32 teams continues with the AFC West's Oakland Raiders.

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VIP Odds

Oakland is 75:1 to win the Super Bowl, 50:1 to win the AFC Championship, and 15:1 to win the AFC West. Their Over / Under win total is 6.5.

Schedule

Oakland’s 2006 opponents had a record of 132-124 in 2005. That is tied for the 7th hardest schedule in the AFC. The Raiders get their bye-week very early after Week 2.

The Raiders start their season with a Monday Night home game against the Chargers. San Diego is favored by three points in the early NFL odds. Other winnable home games include Cleveland, Arizona, Houston, and St. Louis. This is a team that must play well at the start of the season or they could implode like last year.

Sports Edge Analysis

Quarterback, Aaron Brooks comes over from New Orleans, and he is very much a hit-or-miss guy. Brooks has put up pretty good numbers over the years, but he has not delivered as many victories as his statistics might suggest. If Brook struggles early, it would not be surprising to see him pulled in favor of Andrew Walter.

Brooks has one surefire target to throw to in Randy Moss. Moss looks to have a bounce-back year after a mediocre 2005 campaign. Number two receiver, Jerry Porter is currently injured and wants to be traded, but Doug Gabriel is a player who could break-out as his replacement.

Running back LaMont Jordan did not have as good a year as expected in his first year with the Raiders. Jordan did break 1,000 yards, but his 3.8 average yards per carry were way below his career average with the Jets. There is not a lot of proven depth behind Jordan, so he better not get injured.

The offensive line has spent some high picks on players like left tackle Robert Gallery and center Jake Grove. It is time for some of that expenditure to start paying off. Head Coach, Art Shell is a former All-Pro lineman and just the man to oversee it.

Oakland’s defense was 13th in the AFC in yards allowed last year, and 14th in points allowed. That was not what defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had in mind for last season. Ryan had a lot of experience coaching in the Patriots 3-4 defense, but the Raiders will stick with the 4-3 that fits their personnel better.

Four defensive linemen allow ends like Derrick Burgess to concentrate on rushing the passer. Burgess had 16 sacks last year. Warren Sapp was useless in the 3-4, but he has something left in the tank as a 4-3 lineman. However, the Raiders struggled stopping the run last year, and that looks to continue in 2006.

The linebacker unit looks to have rookie Thomas Howard on one side and Sam Williams on the other. Kirk Morrison is in the middle, and he is trying to build on his rookie season when he had 116 total tackles.

The secondary is very young and talented and that means that rookie Michael Huff should fit right in. The cornerback tandem of Fabian Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha are both former number one picks like Huff. They will do their best to help Raiders’ fans forget Charles Woodson.

Predictions

Coach Shell was the right man to take over the 4-12 Raiders for a number of reasons. One, he will provide discipline that this team desperately needs. Two, he was a successful head coach with the Raiders from 1989-1994. Shell went 54-38 in that span and it was disgraceful that it took him so long to receive another head job.

Shell was also a Hall of Fame player with the Raiders. That earns him a lot of respect in the locker room and with Owner Al Davis. The problem Shell has this year is that the team is in transition, and there are three teams ahead of them in the AFC West. A 5-11 record is the prediction.

Click any of the following teams for their NFL 2006 Betting Previews

Posted by miker at August 10, 2006 1:10 PM

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