Oakland Raiders: First Quarter schedule breakdown and predictions

The Oakland Raiders have a lot to prove this season, but can they deliver? Let’s break down the schedule and offer up a few predictions for the coming year.

Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden has certainly created a lot of buzz around his team this offseason. Some of it good, and some of it – maybe, not so good. If there’s one thing that’s certain so far though, it’s that people are talking about the Raiders.

Of course, there was a big buzz around the Raiders last offseason as well. Some were predicting big things for the then Jack Del Rio-led squad. Fresh off a 12-4 campaign that earned them a spot in the postseason for the first time since Nickelback wasn’t just a punchline, many predicted that Oakland would be the team to dethrone New England.

Yeah, didn’t exactly work out that way though, as we all know.

A 6-10 record doesn’t even really begin to describe how lackluster, unorganized, undisciplined, and flat out terrible the team was last season. The Raiders failed in practically every aspect of the game week in and week out.

And given that poor performance, Mark Davis decided a course correction was needed. Out was Del Rio, in was Gruden. And in the handful of months he’s been at the top of the Oakland food chain, he’s shaken up just about everything within the team and the organization.

But, the question now is, has it all been change for change’s sake? Or will the massive overhaul Gruden has done yield positive results? Will this team look more like the 2016 playoff team? Or the 2017 team that flopped and floundered all over the field?

Time will obviously tell, but there are some encouraging signs – as well as a few things that should give us a little pause. If nothing else, this will be a very interesting year in the Raider Nation.

With all of that in mind, let’s give a probably way too early four-quarter breakdown of the schedule, and look at a few thoughts and predictions ahead of the coming season.

Quarter One: Weeks One-Four