Can the Oakland Raiders win the AFC West division title next season?

With the Oakland Raiders coming off arguably their most successful season in recent memory, a lot of people have started to wonder whether or not this team will continue to improve or turn back into a perennial bottom feeder in the AFC Conference. Now that they have a talented core of young players, the consensus is that the Oakland Raiders can only go up from here, but with their recent history over the last ten years they could easily continue to struggle and finish last in the AFC West division next season.

The determining factor of the Oakland Raiders success moving forward in my opinion is whether or not they decide to re-sign lock down corner Nnamdi Asomugha and/or up-and-coming tight end Zach Miller. These two players will be key to this team's success over the next few years as Asomugha is arguably one of the best corners in the league and Miller is quickly turning into the best option in the Raiders' passing game.

With these two Pro-Bowl caliber players back on the field and committed to the Silver and Black, the Oakland Raiders will have a great shot at winning the AFC West division title next season and finally getting back into the playoffs.

The only the Raiders will face is the fact that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has not be finalized as the players and the owners still don't see eye-to-eye. With no new CBA, the Raiders will be unable to sign free agents or re-sign their current free agents which means anything can happen from here on out.

Are the Oakland Raiders the best running team in the NFL?

Coming into the 2011-12 NFL regular season (whenever that might be), the Oakland Raiders will be looking to capitalize on what was the best season in recent memory. Even though Al Davis' team was unable to finally make it back into the playoffs, despite going undefeated in the AFC West division (6-0), this team looked like they had finally turned the corner and were ready to have a breakout year.

One of the main reasons for the Oakland Raiders success last season was their dominant running game. Ironically enough, the eventual AFC West division champion Kansas City Chiefs had the best running game statistically, but without the injuries to up-and-coming running back Darren McFadden, the Raiders would have easily had that distinction.

Even though the upcoming NFL regular season has no real official start date due to the NFL lockout, the Oakland Raiders will be ready to take on the best of the best in the AFC Conference next season with a dominant running game once again and quite possibly an upgrade at the quarterback position.

Jason Campbell was a great addition to this team last season, but he has been extremely streaky under center in Oakland so far. With that being said, the Raiders could pursue a veteran QB like Donovan McNabb (Washington Redskins), Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) or draft a rookie like Jake Locker (Washington Huskies) to help secure the future at QB for the resurgent Raiders.

Whatever the franchise choses to do from here on out, the consensus around the league is that this team could be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Could the Oakland Raiders draft a QB in the 2011 NFL Draft?

The 2011 NFL Draft is rapidly approaching and a lot of people in the Bay Area have been wondering which way controversial owner Al Davis will be going for the Oakland Raiders come draft day. Even though the Raiders are coming off perhaps their best season since their Super Bowl appearance back in 2002 (lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers), this team still needs to keep their foot on the gas pedal and continue to improve their once storied NFL franchise.

With arguably one of the best running games in the league led by Pro Bowl caliber back Darren McFadden and his wingman Michael Bush, the Raiders will not be looking to upgrade their backfield, but they might look to get a bit deeper under center with a new rookie quarterback.

Obviously, with JaMarcus Russell being arguably the biggest draft bust in NFL history, the Oakland Raiders and Al Davis will think twice about drafting another quarterback, but they might not be able to risk the temptation if Washington Huskies' gunslinger Jake Locker falls in their laps on draft day.

The ideal quarterbacks in this draft for the Oakland Raiders would be Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert, but not too much further down the talent trough is Jake Locker. Not only would have Locker been the number one overall pick in last year's draft had he come out of college, but he decided to stay one more year in Washington.

This may have been a blessing in disguise for the Oakland Raiders as they might have a chance to draft the promising young quarterback, but whether or not they pull the trigger to bring him to the Bay Area remains to be seen.

Can Jason Campbell lead the Raiders into the playoffs?

The Oakland Raiders have been arguably one of the worst NFL franchises over the past half decade or so as they have failed repeatedly to rebuild their storied franchise with promising young talent.

Even though they have had high draft picks over the past five years or so, they have consistently made the wrong choices in the form of quarterback JaMarcus Russell and running back Darren McFadden. Not only have their draft picks been nothing but busts over the years, but they have also turned perennial Pro Bowlers like wide receiver Randy Moss into nothing more than a mediocre wideout.

With the Oakland Raiders inability to develop young players or keep Pro Bowl caliber veterans, they have consistently been dominated in the AFC West division by the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers.

Despite the Raiders being nothing more than a joke these days in the NFL, the boys in silver and black may have finally turned the corner as they have gotten their first franchise caliber quarterback since the days of Rich Gannon in former Washington Redskins gunslinger Jason Campbell.

Even though Campbell is no Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, the young quarterback will help this offense get back on track as he has the potential to become a perennial Pro Bowler with the Oakland Raiders promising young offensive weapons at his disposal like Michael Bush (RB), Darren McFadden (RB), Zach Miller (TE), Chaz Schilens (WR), Louis Murphy (WR) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (WR).

These young players have yet to make an impact, but they have shown from time to time that they can be a force to be a reckoned with an will look to prove that point with Jason Campbell being their new quarterback behind center.

As for being able to lead the Oakland Raiders to the playoffs, I believe there is a chance that they could surprise some people next season and possibly clinch a wildcard berth, but a safe bet would be that they are still a couple seasons away from the postseason.

Raiders Look to End Ravens Playoff Hopes

It has been another disappointing season for the Oakland Raiders as they come into their last game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens with a 5-10 record.

Obviously, the Raiders have absolutely nothing to gain from winning this game against the Ravens, but they do have an opportunity end Baltimore's hopes of getting back into the postseason and end their season on a high note.

Coming into this matchup, online sports betting sites have the Baltimore Ravens favored with a -10.5 point spread. Even though I believe in the end the Ravens will most likely win this game against the Oakland Raiders, but I think that Tom Cable's squad will put up one hell of a fight and make this a very close game.

The Ravens have arguably been one of the best teams in the league this season, but they have struggled at times during the season with consistently good play. Fortunately, all hope isn't lost yet for Baltimore as all they have to do to get into the playoffs is beat the Raiders in Oakland.

Even though this season has been a disappointment for the Oakland Raiders, I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, especially with the Raiders finally realizing that the JaMarcus Russell is not the quarterback that can lead this team.

Along with the benching of Russell, head coach Tom Cable seems to be the right man for the job and it will interesting to see what changes the Raiders make in the offseason to get back into contention in the AFC West.

Raiders get Four Starters back for Week 10 against Chiefs

Rarely do you ever hear good news about the Oakland Raiders, but this week Oakland will get four starters back from injury to play this week against the arch division rival Kansas City Chiefs.

Once again, rarely do you ever hear that the Raiders are favored to win a game, but this week against the Chiefs the Raiders chances are looking pretty good with the return of players like left guard Robert Gallery, right tackle Cornell Green, wide receiver Chaz Schilens and most importantly running back Darren McFadden.

With these players healthy and back in the mix for the Raiders their fortunes might begin to change. I don't think the Raiders will be playoffs contenders this season as there is virtually no way they will be able to catch up to the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos, but at least they can get some positive things happening for them to finish out yet another disappointing season in Oakland.

Obviously right now all the Raiders want is something positive to happen for their franchise after having a disappointing year like this filled with controversy surrounding head coach Tom Cable and protests asking for the benching of JaMarcus Russell, it might not come this season, but like the Atlanta Falcons last season, a winning season could be right around the corner!

Week 10 Preview: Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders

It has been a long and disappointing season for the Raiders thus far as they haven't really made any kind of improvement from last year's team and sit at the bottom of the AFC West yet again with a 2-6 coming into week 10 against Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The biggest question that all Raiders fans are asking this season is:

When will JaMarcus Russell be benched?

A few years back Raiders fans thought they had something to look forward to and hope for the future after Oakland selected LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell number one overall. Russell seemed like the total package with a cannon for an arm and a Ben Roethlisberger like frame that would make him hard to bring down, but it hasn't been his body or his strong arm that has let the Raiders down, it has been his terrible accuracy and inability to lead this team.

Along with Russell the Raiders were able to get their hands on a promising young running back Darren McFadden last season, but have yet to really see what the kid can do because of injury problems.

Needless to say, the Oakland Raiders mess and they are not a team you consider if you are an avid sports bettor and are trying to make some extra dough with NFL betting.

There is a definitely an upside to the Raiders despite all their faults as their defense is quite good when it has time to rest on the sidelines, but that hasn't happen as of late due to the inconsistent play by Russell and the offense.

This week the Raiders might be able to get a much needed victory against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs in week 10. The Chiefs looked to have a promising season coming into this year with the addition of quarterback Matt Cassel from New England and new offensive minded head coach Todd Haley, but the combination of the two in Kansas City has not resulted in more than one win this season.

Even though both of these teams aren't all that entertaining to watch this season, this matchup between these AFC West rivals might just be a game to watch as the Chiefs and the Raiders will not want to lose this game just to be able to say they are not the worst team in the AFC West.