NFL football is heating up. Training camps are about to *officially* get going, with the ramp-up period ending Tuesday. And with no preseason to offer any kind of preview, most of the opinions are in on which teams will be in the playoff hunt and which ones will not.
According to NFL Network’s Charley Casserly, the Raiders are not. Specifically, he says they’re “not quite there”, though he says they finish behind the Chiefs and Chargers.
Are the @Raiders a Playoff team. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/ykogZUttcV
— Charley Casserly (@CharleyCasserly) August 10, 2020
Casserly likes the explosiveness on offense with the additions of wide receiver Henry Ruggs III and running back Lynn Bowden. Putting them with Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller. Though he says in order to make the most of it Derek Carr needs to push the ball down the field.
It isn’t the offense, however, where Casserly sees the Raiders faltering. While he lauds the new linebacking corps led by Cory Littleton, along with the safeties, he thinks ultimately it’s the pass defense that will hurt the Raiders.
He sees Maxx Crosby as the team’s only proven pass rusher and some questionable cornerbacks. This translates to quarterbacks finding open receivers and picking apart the defense through the air.
I did my own ranking of the AFC West recently, dissecting each team by position and third place is where the Raiders landed in those rankings.
Like Casserly, it was the Raiders offense that has more talent than the defense, specifically along the offensive line. Only in my rankings, it’s the Broncos who finish ahead of the Raiders with the Chargers bringing up the rear.
So, I suppose if you think I’m wrong about the Broncos and he’s wrong about the Chargers, perhaps there’s a window for the Raiders to be in play for the wild card behind the Chiefs.
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