Five ways Oakland can earn a rare Week 1 win

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, September 03, 2008  |  Comments( 19 )

Oakland Raiders
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With NFL kickoff just one day away, the buildup can’t be any greater for the start of the 2008 regular season.

The Washington Redskins and New York Giants -- set to match up Thursday on NBC -- will be the first two teams to do battle this year. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos will be the last, appearing as the second feature game of a ‘Monday Night Football’ doubleheader.

The long wait will certainly build anticipation for fans of both teams. Yet, if history holds its course, that’s not especially good news for followers of the silver and black. It’ll all make for a bigger disappointment in the end. That is, again, if the Raiders can’t break an ugly trend that dates back to a half-decade ago.

Oakland hasn’t won a season opener in its last five attempts, a trend that started back in 2003 -- the year after Al Davis’ franchise fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.

With a chance to put an end to this longtime Week 1 futility just five days away, let’s take a look at five ways the Raiders can start the ‘08 season atop the AFC West:

5. Get the ex-Bronco WR(s) involved

Oakland has only three wide receivers on its roster with double-digit career catches, and two of them are former Bronco pass catchers. One, 29-year-old Javon Walker, was signed early this offseason to become the team’s No. 1 option; the other, 28-year-old Ashley Lelie, was inked just this week to be a possible No. 3 target. Combined, the two wideouts caught over 260 balls for the Broncos in six combined seasons, and both receivers surpassed 1,000 yards while in Denver. There’d be perhaps no better offensive spark than watching these wideouts step up against their former team.

4. Avoid third-and-long situations

Second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell has attempted only 66 passes in this short NFL career, and didn’t exactly air it out in his three fleeting ‘08 preseason appearances. Perhaps the easiest way to lose this game for Oakland would be to consistently put the 23-year-old in third-and-7 (or longer) situations -- positions where the ‘D’ can sit on the pass and aggressively attack the young QB.

3. (At least) slow down the run

Perpetually the Raiders’ plague on defense, it’s something that’s been said hundreds of times already this offseason: Oakland needs to stop the run. After all, this is the AFC West. Forget that RB Selvin Young only has one season under his belt. Remember Olandis Gary? Or Mike Anderson? Or Tatum Bell? No matter who has handed the ball in Denver under Mike Shanahan, the team has run well. Oakland can’t afford to let Young & Co. break off chunks of yardage at once on the ground. The Raider ‘D’ needs to slow down the Bronco running game, or else it’ll be one relaxing day for quarterback Jay Cutler and a long one for Oakland’s stop unit.

2. Get to Cutler early and often

The Raider D-line is built around speed and athleticism with veteran Derrick Burgess and second-year man Jay Richardson coming off the ends. Even at DT, though, Oakland’s starters are 27-year-old Tommy Kelly, a former end, and 300-pounder Gerard Warren, who has 13 sacks in four years. These four starters, along with backups Kalimba Edwards and Terdell Sands, who should see plenty of time throughout the game, can’t let Cutler get comfortable in the pocket.

1. Run, run, run

Darren McFadden. Justin Fargas. Michael Bush. It’s no secret and needs no further explanation: If the Raiders don’t run the ball well, they’ll endure their sixth Week 1 loss in six years. That goes for the rest of the 2008 season, as well.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at

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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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