Weak 2008 Oakland Raiders Schedule May Help Silver & Black Out of Their Hole

The Oakland Raiders have been a laughingstock of the NFL for several years now. They're far from the team that went to the Super bowl in 2002. Since then, the team has not won more than 5 games in a single season, and that was in 2004. So, as the 2008 season schedule is released, let's take a look at what lies ahead for the Silver and Black and whether or not it's going to be another dismal season or if they have a shot at all at respectability.

This year the AFC west plays the AFC east as the division that they don't normally play against. Given that, the Raiders may have some easier affairs ahead of them, including contests with the Dolphins and Jets. Within their own division, they'll be competitive once again with Denver and Kansas City, but San Diego is still the powerhouse in that division, so there's two losses for Oakland right there. So based off those two divisions so far, I see Oakland once again splitting the season with Denver, but being able to handle Kansas City. So within the AFC West, Oakland will be 3-3.

Against AFC East opponents, the Raiders will be able to beat Miami and the Jets, and quite possibly be able to hang with Buffalo. New England is also on the schedule, and Randy Moss is going to revel in being prolific against his old team. Against the AFC East, the Raiders will be 3-1.

The rest is where it gets tricky. They have games against Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, Carolina, and Tampa Bay. All teams are middle of the road teams, and none made the playoffs, except for Tampa Bay. The best shot they have with any of these teams will be Atlanta, Carolina and possibly Houston. So 3/5 is not bad for this Raiders team. Baltimore, despite only winning 5 games is still a very tough defensive team who is a lot better than their 5-11 record shows. Tampa Bay is a strong team as well, who should be able to get by Oakland. So when talking about those games, 3-2 for Oakland.