8. No legitimate receiving threats – The Raiders have not had a 1,000 yard receiver since Randy Moss in 2005. The receivers they added in 2014 don’t look any more likely to break that trend than the dozens of pass catchers that have come around since then. As of now the starting lineup will most likely be Rod Streater, James Jones and Mychal Rivera – none of whom have ever averaged more than 15.0 yards/reception in any season, and none of whom has ever had 900 yards in a season – and Jones caught passes from Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for seven years, so he seems even less impressive now than when he was there.
7. Terrible secondary – Charles Woodson is not the same playmaking DB that he was in his first tenure with Oakland or with the Packers. D.J. Hayden struggled in his rookie season and the other starters Tarell Brown and Tyvon Branch barely saw the field in 2013. As a unit the Raiders of 2013 allowed over 250 passing yards per game – 28th in the league and 15th in the AFC. The changes the Raiders made to their secondary do not look like they will change those numbers dramatically.
6. Too many old players – Among the “big name” free agent picks that the Raiders made were Justin Tuck, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Schaub, Antonio Smith and Carlos Rodgers: all projected to be starters or important contributors and all of them either over 30 or well past their best years. Having that many old players puts the team at serious risk if their bodies break down in the middle of the season – which as we know from all of their lengthy injury histories is a distinct possibility.
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