Article Courtesy of Ted Sevransky, An Award Winning Football Handicapper Featured on Touthouse.com. If you are interested in football betting this season and need Winning NFL Picks, be sure to Buy Ted’s Football Picks and make this season a profitable one….guaranteed!

2008 Oakland Raiders NFL Football Predictions
Overview: The Raiders have had the worst organization and the worst record in the AFC since their Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay following the 2002 season.  Oakland is 19-61 SU over the last five years, losing at least 11 of their 16 games in every single season.  Al Davis’ front office is dysfunctional, to say the least.  His well publicized differences with head coach Lane Kiffin in the offseason puts Kiffin squarely on the hot seat heading into the 2008 campaign.  Kiffin also has issues with his defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, but Davis refused to let Kiffin name his own coordinator, one main source of their troubles. 
 
Despite Davis opening his checkbook in the offseason, Oakland still has holes all over their roster.  And with big name draft choices at the offensive skill positions, the general public and mass media seem to be viewing the Raiders as an ‘upside’ team, giving bettors excellent potential value going against them as they stumble towards another bottom tier finish.
 
Offense: JaMarcus Russell was the #1 overall draft choice last year.  Then, in typical Al Davis fashion, he didn’t pony up the dough, allowing Russell to hold out for most of the preseason.  That’s the kiss of death for any rookie QB – the learning curve for rookie quarterbacks is especially steep.  As a result, Russell sat on the bench for most of the season, getting only two starts with a 55.9 QB rating.  Russell’s weight was an issue in the offseason, and he showed no signs of improvement in his preseason opener.  Andrew Walter is a solid backup, but the Raiders will sink or swim with their franchise QB this fall, unless Russell gets hurt.
 
Darren McFadden was the best running back in college football over the last two seasons, and the Raiders were thrilled when he dropped down to them with the #4 overall pick.  In my opinion, this pick was about selling tickets, not about improving the team.  Oakland’s running back corps was the best and deepest unit on the offense prior to picking McFadden.  They finished sixth in the NFL in rushing last year.  McFadden was a luxury they simply couldn’t afford, with Justin Fargas and Michael Bush capable of carrying the load themselves.  That being said, running back is still the deepest and most talented unit on the offense, a real area of strength.
 
The Raiders spent big bucks in free agency bringing in Javon Walker from Denver to be their #1 receiver.  Then Walker got beaten and mugged after a night of partying in Vegas, and contemplated retirement in the just days before the start of training camp.  With his history of injuries, Walker is clearly a big question mark coming into the season. 
 
So is the rest of the Raiders receiving corps.  Ronald Curry is an adequate second option, but he’ll never be a star in this league.  Another free agent acquisition, Drew Carter (Carolina) has done little in his NFL career.  Speedster Johnny Lee Higgins had an electrifying punt return touchdown in the Raiders preseason opener, but he’s still got a ways to go to be an impact pass catcher, and he was the goat last night after fumbling a punt return in his own end zone, giving the Titans an easy touchdown.  Tight end Zack Miller, however, is a nice option for Russell in the passing game.
 
Oakland’s offensive line is another area of major concern.  Oakland did show some improvement last year after allowing 72 sacks in 2006 while finishing #29 in the NFL in rushing.  Their new left tackle, Kwame Harris, couldn’t break the starting lineup for lowly San Francisco last year.  Former #2 overall pick Robert Gallery has been mediocre at best during his tenure in Oakland.  Center John Wade started all 16 games for Tampa Bay last year, but the Bucs were quite willing to let him go in free agency.  With new faces in new places, the Raiders OL is still very much a work in progress.
 
Defense: Oakland finished with a #31 ranking against the run last year and, on paper, their front four doesn’t look much better heading into 2008.  Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly signed the biggest contract for any defensive tackle in NFL history, despite his status coming off a torn ACL that cost him the second half of the ’07 campaign.  Kelly has been good, not great, in his four previous seasons.  The Raiders have no other impact players on the defensive front, lacking a dominant pass rusher, as Derrick Burgess’ production has declined over the past two seasons since his breakout campaign in ’06. 
 
Middle linebacker Kirk Morrison played every single defensive snap last year at a pro bowl level, while outside linebacker Thomas Howard wasn’t far behind.  The Raiders have decent depth here; good depth if Ed Hartwell can ever stay healthy for a full season.
 
The Raiders secondary is an area of strength after the big free agent signing of strong safety Gibril Wilson (New York Giants) and the trade for former Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall.  Hall forms a stellar duo with Nnamdi Asomugha, giving the Raiders a pair of top notch cover corners.  Wilson teams up with former first rounder Michael Huff, an emerging talent in his third year as a pro.  If the Raiders find some kind of a pass rush, this secondary has the potential to be excellent.
 
Schedule: Somehow, some way, the NFL always finds a way to stick it to their longtime nemesis, Al Davis.  This year, it’s the Raiders  road schedule, which sends them East for 1 PM EST start time games on six different occasions, by far the most 1 PM start time games for any West Coast team.  And, of course, West Coast teams travelling East create the biggest hidden factor in strength of schedule issues – those 10 AM Pacific Time starts are extremely difficult for West Coast teams to adjust to. 
 
That being said, Oakland faces a fairly manageable slate in terms of their overall strength of opposition, playing only four games against playoff teams from last year.  Once again, however, the league has stuck it to the Raiders – three of those four come in December, giving them ample opportunity to turn a decent start into a lousy finish.