Back in Black: A Raiders Story
Team Rating (2010) Overall: 79
Difficulty: All Madden w/ custom sliders
Quarter Length: 9:00
Game Used: Madden 11 (PS3)
Draft Classes: Imported from NCAA 11
2010 Outlook
At times sports teams mirror their cities, and in this case that happens to be a good thing. In the past few years, seemingly, while nobody was really paying much attention, the city of Oakland has begun to turn itself around. Likewise, the Raiders seem to be a team on the rise.
Finally admitting to themselves what the football world figured out two years ago, Oakland bid farewell to quarterback JaMarcus Russell this offseason and replaced him with former Washington Redskins starter Jason Campbell.
The Raiders have been less than competitive for the last several years. In fact, they've lost at least 11 games each season from 2003 to 2009. The last time Oakland had anything to play for was 2002, when Rich Gannon led the silver and black to an AFC West title and eventual berth in Super Bowl XXXVII. That team was made up of a gang of veterans, many of whom were on their last legs in the NFL: Gannon, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Bill Romanowski, and Rod Woodson to name a few.
But emerging running back Darren McFadden leads a group of young pups who are ready to make their mark on the league, and maybe sneak in a division crown in the process. McFadden is 23. The uber-fast Jacoby Ford is also 23. Ditto on wideout Louis Murphy. Stud tight end Zack Miller is an old man at 25. Despite the fact that Campbell seems like he came into the league at the same time as Doug Williams and James Lofton, he's still only 28.
Defensively, Oakland has found a solid player in rookie linebacker Rolando McClain. Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy is only 24, and safety Michael Huff, despite some flaws is only 27. Fellow safety Tyvon Branch is just 24. Corner Nnamdi Asomugha, 29, was Darrelle Revis before Darrelle Revis -- maybe better. The Raiders, as a whole, have only four regular starters on either offense or defense that have hit the magic age of 30, and only one is over 31.
For the first time in years, the franchise has stability. Tom Cable will be the coach come 2011. The Raiders need to gel, they need to mature, and they need some breaks, but every year there’s a team that finds a way to end up winning more games than it should.
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