The Oakland Raiders cannot catch a break. The team is doing everything they can to make themselves contenders in the league once again. They have acquired Matt Schaub at quarterback. They signed several defensive veterans to lead a young ground of players. They improved the offensive line while adding weapons in the ground game. While all of that will certainly work in their favor come the 2014 season, their strength of schedule will not.
The official 2014 NFL Schedule will not debut until Wednesday night, but some games have leaked early. According to Fansided.com, the Raiders and Broncos rank at the top of the strength of schedule rankings. The strength of schedule is determined by the combined 2013 record of all 16 opponents. The Raiders rank at No. 1 with their opponents combined record of 148-108 (.578). The Broncos come in second with an opponent's record of 146-110 (.570). That is certainly not news the Raider Nation wants to hear.
While their schedule might not be working in their favor, newly signed defensive veteran LaMarr Woodley is predicting the Raiders make the playoffs this upcoming season after a solid offseason of free agent moves.
"I can definitely see [us] as a playoff team," Woodley said, via 95.7 The Game. "Last year going back and watching some film on the Raiders, there were a lot of opportunities here where they just didn't close it out. Some games good in the first half; they just didn't close it out at the end of the game. So now we just have to learn how to close out games and it'll be more wins than losses."
Maurice Jones-Drew is taking the same attitude as Woodley. The veteran running back is preparing to enter 2014 as a much more explosive player than he appeared to be over the past two seasons. The running back told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was told he would have a large role in the Raiders' offense and he truly believes that with Darren McFadden also on the roster, Oakland will have the best running back tandem in the league.
"But first, we're going to compete," Jones-Drew said. "Let's see if someone can win the job. I expect us both to be better coming out of training camp because of that competition. It's going to be fun. There's no reason we can't be one of the best 1-2 punches in the league."
The Raiders have plenty of optimism. General manager Reggie McKenzie is confident in the free agent moves and even more confident in the upcoming draft. The playoffs might not be as crazy as first assumed.
