2014 Oakland Raiders Season Preview and Predictions

Aug 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver Rod Streater (80) attempts to elude Detroit Lions safety Jerome Couplin (46) at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

5 Big Questions

1: Who will the Oakland Raiders start Week One?

It is the question that everybody is going to be talking about until the first Oakland Raiders play on offense in New York against the Jets: Who is going to start at quarterback for the Raiders?

After Matt Schaub looked very much like the Matt Schaub that became the victim of every joke possible during his streak of Pick 6 throws during his poor 2013 season in Houston and his sore elbow going into the regular season along with the very p promising play of Derek Carr the league along with the fans are fixated on the decision that head coach Dennis Allen will make when it comes to the starter to open the season. In fact, before Carr’s huge performance against the Seattle Seahawks there were suggestions that Matt McGloin would be a better option than the struggling Schaub to show how people feel about the prospects of resting the Raiders hopes on the veteran.

Schaub’s low stock around the league along with within the fanbase of the Raiders makes the decision for Allen very difficult as it is going to be hard to sell the starting of Schaub as anything more than a move that will be made to protect Carr during his rookie season, something that won’t make fans happy or owner Mark Davis as the team’s stadium situation is in limbo and tickets need to be sold that would be much easier with a chance to catch a glimpse at the promising rookie quarterback’s first season rather than wagering the 2014 season on Schaub turning back the clock.

All signs point towards starting Carr, who is the better quarterback already and has shown for the most part that he is ready along with mature enough to assume the role if needed and Schaub has already been battling with elbow soreness before the season has evan began. Don’t rule out Allen being stubborn and sticking with “his plan” initially and giving Schaub one last chance, but with immense pressure to go with the rookie and little reason to believe Schaub can do the job for the full 16 games at a high level it is looking like Oakland can have a rookie starting quarterback Week One. Everyone in the league awaits Allen’s decision….

2. Can Rod Streater catch for 1,000 yards?

It is a well known Oakland Raiders stat fact: No Raiders wideout since Randy Moss has caught for over 1,000 yards in a single season. Something that isn’t a surprise considering that the team has lacked in both top end pass catchers as well as a top end passer to find receivers, but still the lack of a plus-1,000 yard pass catcher since Moss has been one of the many streaks that the Raiders would like to change sooner rather than later.

Rod Streater has been pegged as the best bet to do that as the former undrafted free agent has grown into the Raiders most promising wideout in years, succeeding in the face of having three different starting quarterbacks enough in 2013 to threaten the 1,000 yard plateau in what was a breakout season. Streater finished with 888 yards and 60 receptions, finding the endzone four times while setting the bar high for what will be his third season in the league.

Can Streater do what fans are expecting and reach 1,000 yards? Looking at the numbers it is possible as Streater’s progression continued from his rookie season to last year’s second full year in the league so if the former UDFA continues to trend upwards it can be expected that he will at least threaten 1,000 yards if healthy. Missing time in training camp due to a concussion suffered in practice being a good reminder that health may be the biggest obstacle keeping Streater away from a 1,000 yard season in Year 3 of his promising career

3. Will DJ Hayden come back healthy and stay on the field for the second half of 2014?

It is the question that defensive coordinator Jason Tarver and Dennis Allen will be asking regarding their 2013 first round draft pick all fall as the team awaits DJ Hayden’s return from the PUP list: Can our cornerback stay healthy? It is a fair question that has been asked a lot since Hayden hit the IR during his rookie season before missing all of training camp and the preseason with a stress fracture in his foot. Can DJ Hayden stay healthy to contribute to as much of the 2014 as possible?

While the 2013 draft class was underwhelming as a whole last season when it came to first round talents, the Raiders were expecting Hayden to fill one of the top roles at the cornerback position when they opted to bring in veterans behind Hayden rather than to make a big splash on a high priced corner during free agency and are now in need of a player stepping up to fill the role of a first rounder from last season for the better part of the season’s opening two months.

Hayden’s stock dips more and more each time he is off of the football field due to injury and now with two major ones while with the Raiders before his second season began the questions about his durability are real and will continue until he proves otherwise. Fair or not, Hayden needs to come back and play all of 2014 when he is eligible following his PUP stint or the muffled catcalls about him being a “bust” this early into his career will get significantly louder.

4. Will Dennis Allen keep his job for another year?

2013 ended with Raiders head coach Dennis Allen on the hot seat as reporters surfaced that owner Mark Davis wasn’t happy with a second 4-12 season under Allen even if his depth was gutted due to the significant dead cap money on the roster ensuring that the team would have tens of millions of dollars less in talent every time the Raiders stepped onto the football field. Davis’ annoyance with two 4-12 seasons could be understood as after all, the Raiders are in the midst of trying to get a new stadium built and losing hurts franchise value, especially when your franchise hasn’t made the playoffs since the first George W. Bush administration.

Getting a deeper roster for 2014, but also the league’s most difficult schedule, Allen is now looking at this season as being the one that will determine his future as a young NFL head coach. Taking the Raiders job to get his foot in the door in the head coaching ranks after being a successful assistant, Allen’s resume hasn’t been built by back to back 4-12 seasons so it is safe to assume that getting fired would be a serious setback in his career which makes this year as important for the head coach as anyone with time running out.

It is debateable whether or not Allen should shoulder the blame for having truly terrible teams the past two seasons, but it is a reality that another 4-12 season would likely cost him his job and that the outcome would be fair if it did. There is a good chance this team is better than the past two years looking at the roster, but the on field results are what is going to determine Allen’s fate. At the very least, Allen’s job status is going to be a big storyline as the Raiders season progresses should the team not stay in the playoff hunt for long.

5. Do the veteran’s still have it?

Oakland will be relying on a lot of veteran talent in 2014 and some feel that will be a negative with the likes of ProFootballTalk, Rotoworld, ESPN and more predicting the team to be the worst in the league in various Preseason Power Rankings. Don’t tell that to the Raiders themselves however, as the experience is viewed as nothing but positive for a team that has a mission to create a winning atmosphere in Oakland as soon as possible.

Despite the experience and leadership benefit in bringing in proven players that are nearing the end of their careers, general manager Reggie McKenzie isn’t just paying the Raiders new free agents to teach young players how to be professionals and these players are going to be relied upon to help this team compete against a hard set of opponents. In turn the veterans on the team are also playing for a potential final contract after their deals with the Raiders end, a last chance at a NFL payday being likely enough to motivate some in addition to the chance to prove to the league and their former employers that they are still high end talents at the end of their careers.

The latter is what the Raiders are hoping for, bringing in Super Bowl winners and talents with thousands of snaps in the NFL to contribute as well as to lead in Oakland. Some of those veterans may not produce to the levels of their primes, but players like Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and James Jones have been on championship caliber teams for a reason and that is because they are some of the best of the best. As long as they are on a football field they should be able to provide something for the Raiders and if that something is close to what they produced at the peaks of their careers this team could be a lot better than expected.