Oakland Raiders: 7 Things To Keep An Eye On Against Arizona Cardinals

The Oakland Raiders kick off their exhibition season this Saturday with a game against the Arizona Cardinals – here are a few things to keep an eye on.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble! The Oakland Raiders – after a long offseason filled with anticipation and expectation – are about to lace ’em up and get it on.

Granted, it’s only the exhibition season. But for the Nation, it’s been a long, long wait. The team and its fans have been eager to see this team in action since their crushing loss to Houston in last year’s Wild Card game – a return to the postseason that had been well over a very long, very painful decade in the making.

Last season was a fantastic step forward for a franchise on the rise. Under the steady hand of GM Reggie McKenzie and the leadership of HC Jack Del Rio, the Raiders have gone from league doormat and perennial laughingstock, to a team many are talking about as the biggest threats to the New England Patriots and legitimate contenders for the Lombardi Trophy.

The Raiders are a good team and will have one of the most potent offenses in the NFL this year. But this is also a team with a lot of question marks surrounding it still. And if the Raiders are going to make the jump from good team to great team, they’re going to need answer those questions.

The Raiders are relevant once again – now, can they be legitimate contenders? We’ll find out soon enough.

Here are a few things to worth keeping an eye on as the Raiders take on the Cardinals – the first step on the road to Minneapolis.