October 2, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) runs the ball against the New England Patriots in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Patriots defeated the Raiders 31-19. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Every Sunday in the fall, groups of bros gather in mancaves across the nation to cheer on their favorite teams. The groups generally consist of three different types of fans. The Home team Fan whom cheers for any yahoo hailing from the same state (this fan group is typically larger then the remaining two groups). The third branch of football fandom is the Chosen Fan. This type of fan shares a special bond with his/her team of choice other than location (commonly confused with the third type of fan). The final fan type is the most hated fan in all the football world. The Bandwagon Fan is a fan of whatever team is headlining Sports Center. This sad pathetic animal mocks those who have found comfort in a football family knowing their team is always the one that wins.

Unfortunately dealing with the latter of fans has become increasingly worse. With the rising popularity of fantasy football many fans have gone rogue jumping on the bandwagons of players. Fantasy football is a great game, and doesn’t require one to leave their team. Although it may feel like cheating it is perfectly acceptable to partake in this competition amongst bros. However, one mathematical rule must always be followed when playing fantasy football; The Oakland Raiders > your fantasy team.

Sadly this game tends to give a leg up to those band-wagoners who don’t feel so guilty when drafting players from all around the NFL. So in order for all of the Raider fanatics out there to beat those loud mouthed homeless fans, knowing what Oakland has to offer in the fantasy world is crucial. Hopefully this evaluation of players will allow the Raider faithful to claim their rightful spot at the top of everything football.

Darren McFadden – Lets start with the hottest player on Oakland’s roster. Now in today’s drafts a lot of people want to go out and grab big name quarterbacks in the first round. That’s great and all, but I’m old fashioned and prefer to start my team out with a solid running back. I can back this method up by pointing out that it is quite difficult to find a quality running back. Whereas it is rather easy to come across a solid quarterback in later rounds (Eli Manning, Mathew Stafford, Big Ben). Darren McFadden I believe will drop in most leagues due to the QB craziness and a lack of faith due to his injury problems. This Raider is far past due for a breakout season and should be drafted before the 9th overall pick in most peoples drafts.

Carson Palmer – I expect a great season out of Palmer. With a rejuvenated McFadden, a great offensive line, and a horrible defense this quarterback will be slinging the ball plenty. With that said, Palmer is too inconsistent to be a starter in somebody’s roster. He is a late round pick and a backup at best. The fact that the Raiders defense seems close to hopeless will hurt Palmer and force him to be responsible for leading comebacks. These comeback attempts will very likely end in games with 3 or more interceptions. I also predict Palmer putting up some big numbers in games where he is able to manage his passes better. Unfortunately Palmer is just to unpredictable to start and should be left alone to hang loose in free agency.

The Raider Recievers – This group of recievers will cause defenses fits week in and week out. The speed of Jacoby Ford, with the Deep threat of Denarius Moore, and the route running of Darius Heyward-Bey is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to this talent filled position in the Bay. Looking at it from a fantasy perspective is more then just talent. Fantasy is about players putting up stats. Oakland Recievers are the worst recievers to have on your fantasy team. The Raiders utilize many of their weapons throughout the season and due to the large number of playmakers at this position it makes it near impossible to tell which reciever is going to come up big. Stay away from these guys if you want to win.

Seabastion Janikowki – This is a no brainer. Take him late and watch him rival your tight ends and defenses in points.

The Raider’s Defense – If it comes down to it, dont play a defense. I wish I could say this defense was anywhere close to good, but they couldnt stop a car with a stop sign.

Best of luck Raider Nation!

Nov 10, 2011; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (85) reacts during the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Chargers 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

After all it was the players who approved a new collective bargaining agreement that has put the GOD in Goodell. In his newfound role of judge, jury and executioner Goodell jumped all over Bountygate punishing the New Orleans Saints without any concern for silly details like facts and accuracy.

Of course even before Goodell was appointed Lord of Professional Football he already made it clear that the code of conduct was not to be violated and those who do will face his wrath. From Pacman Jones making it rain on his own parade in Vegas to Ben Roethlisberger blowing up $1-beer night in Georgia, Goodell acted swiftly without waiting for any court ruling to force his hand.

So naturally you’ve got to wonder what the future holds for Darrius Heyward-Bey and Rolando McClain.

For McClain a suspension seems all but imminent. He’s already been convicted once and if his re-trial goes the same way then the third strike will surely come for the office of the commissioner. McClain was fortunate to avoid suspension after his initial arrest but rest assured Goodell won’t allow for anyone facing jail time to play and collect pay.

Now as for DHB and the DUI he caught the story could be much different.

Currently Heyward-Bey is due back in court on July 23^rd. Of course his case could be erased as DHB’s lawyer, Ivan Golde, is taking the Ryan Braun defense. Golde is already playing the technicality card in hopes of getting the case thrown out due to some “procedural issues” in the nature of how Heyward-Bey’s arrest was handled.

That might work fine and well in a court where arguments are heard by individuals sworn to the letter of the law. But in the court of Goodell, where rules are made up on the fly and change more often than Mr. Rodgers, the Braun defense means nothing.

Golde cites the fact that DHB’s blood-alcohol level came out at two different levels in varying tests. Never mind that both results were over the legal limit. In the kangaroo court of the NFL that’s more than enough to justify suspension.

So the question is can DHB avoid suspension even if he ducks a conviction?

The simple answer is we’ll have to wait and see. Goodell has shown patience in allowing the McClain case to play itself out even though there is plenty of reason to believe his time is coming. As for DHB there’s just no telling what Goodell will do.

Either way the reality is the Raiders could be without two key players at some point in time. Even if they avoid the long arm of the law they won’t be out of Goodell’s reach. And as part of the union that allowed Goodell to do as he feels they’ve got no one to blame but themselves.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

The next time Rolando McClain puts on silver and black could be the last time. Or it could be the first time he puts it on with a sense of real pride. If McClain is looking to remain a Raider then he’ll have to show it in a multitude of ways.

Let’s start with what he’s done on the field.

After two seasons McClain’s play has steadily improved but still leaves a lot to be desired. The athletic middle linebacker has all the skills it takes to play the position. In some instances you see him flying to the ball with ferocity and slamming QBs to ground with brute force. His tackling total increased to 99 stops in 2011 with his 5 sacks being a drastic increase from the half sack McClain registered as a rookie.

McClain has also shown that he doesn’t yet have all the intangibles to play the position at a high level. McClain is highly inconsistent, routinely takes bag angles and at times seems not to be giving it maximum effort. But those are things the young defender can control. What seems to be out of his grasp is the ability to lead…which brings us to the off-the-field McClain…

Playing the Mike position isn’t just sniffing out plays and blowing them up. You’ve got to be the quarterback of the defense. Through two seasons the soft spoken McClain has yet to embrace that quality but on and off the field. His arrest last season followed by his recent sentencing has jeopardized his future.

True leaders always put the team first. McClain’s selfish act during an excused absence from the team didn’t hurt last season’s Raiders but will certainly affect the team this year. No matter what comes of the re-trial McClain’s fate now rests in the hands of Roger Goodell. As you’ll recall Goodell didn’t wait for any court ruling to come down when he suspended Ben Roethlisberger so McClain shouldn’t expect any leeway.

What makes for a compelling case for McClain’s future as a Raider are the facts that he’s played through injury in both of his NFL seasons and there’s a new coaching staff with a new defensive philosophy in place. If Oakland is looking to give McClain one more chance to show what he can do they will likely have to play the waiting game. Waiting to see if he’ll have his freedom or if he’ll have a league mandated suspension isn’t ideal but it’s the way the cards have been dealt.

What we do know is that Reggie McKenzie is no Hue Jackson. McKenzie is not going to give his guys a pass even if it means not fielding the strongest team possible. This is a new era and McClain must prove he’s a new man both on and off the field.