Broncos vs. Raiders: Behind Enemy Lines with Just Blog Baby

With the Denver Broncos facing off against the Oakland Raiders, I chat with Brad Weiss from Just Blog Baby and get his takes on Denver’s week one opponent.

As the Denver Broncos are preparing for the Monday Night Football showdown the Oakland Raiders have dealt with quite a bit of drama over the last few days. The team no longer has Antonio Brown after a various amount of off field distractions.

He was set to be the offensive playmaker the Raiders have needed with Amari Cooper. Sadly enough, he decided to create some problems that led to his release and signing with the New England Patriots.

But the Raiders still have a football game to play, so they will need to clear all heads of the distractions and prepare for Monday Night. It is almost a blessing that the teams play on Monday instead of Sunday.

With the Broncos and Raiders facing off on Monday, I decided to chat with Brad Weiss, who is the site expert over at Just Blog Baby. I sat down with him to get an idea of what the Raiders have been up to. Unfortunately, the Antonio Brown news broke after the interview. But Weiss has his thoughts in an article that is linked here.

Let’s find out a bit more about the Oakland Raiders in 2019.

PO: With the preseason over, what was your biggest takeaway from the Raiders going into the new season?

BW: Two things really stood out to me this summer, and that is the Raiders have a lot more depth on the roster than in years past, as well as an increase in overall team speed. This is a team that really struggled in 2018, winning only four games, but they seem to have added to a lot of their question areas. The wide receiver group is vastly improved, as is the secondary, but the real question marks come up front.
Oakland got to the quarterback only 13 times as a team last season, and Derek Carr was sacked over 50 times. If they can be better up front, this is a team that could surprise some people in 2019.

PO: The Raiders were featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks this season. Did having the team featured on the show give you more of an insight on the team for this season?

BW: I thought the show was interesting, although I had to pay 14.99 a month to watch it, haha. Overall, I felt the Raiders kept it pretty guarded during Hard Knocks, as some players, including rookie running back Josh Jacobs, were not featured at all. They even appeared to gloss over the Antonio Brown helmet issues.
Overall, and I think Jon Gruden said it best, that is reality TV, not reality. Even when it came to Keelan Doss, the star of Hard Knocks, Gruden said what you saw on TV, was not what they saw on tape. So while Gruden is a television star, as is rookie safety Johnathan Abram, and they were hilarious at times, I don’t think Hard Knocks gave too much away.

PO: What are your realistic expectations for the Raiders for the 2019 season?

BW: With the amount of talent this team brought in on both sides of the ball, it would not surprise me if the Raiders doubled their win total from a year ago. Derek Carr is entering year No. 2 in Jon Gruden’s system, only the second time he has had the same offense for two straight years, and last time, in 2016, he put up MVP numbers.

The beginning of the season is a gauntlet, as they do not return to Oakland after Week 2 until Week 9. Oakland plays some stiff competition outside of the division as well, like Green Bay and Houston, while the division itself is going to be tough as is. If the Raiders can be better up front, and find a way to win games late, eight wins is not a stretch.

PO: The Raiders and Broncos face off on Monday night. What do you believe it will take to get a win?

BW: I am looking at two key matchups in this game, and feel that should be the deciding factor on Monday night. On offense, the Raiders will have not not only deal with a talented Broncos defense, but also the fact that their new head coach, Vic Fangio, is a defensive genius in his own right. The chess match between Gruden and Fangio is going to be a good one.
While that is something to keep an eye on, the battle up front between the Raiders offensive line, and the Broncos edge rush will be the deciding factor in this one. Oakland brought in talent at the skill positions this offseason, but if Carr cannot get time to throw, what is it all worth. Bradley Chubb and Von Miller are one of the better edge rushing tandems in the game, and it will be up to Kolton Miller and Trent Brown to keep them away.

PO: Is there one player on the roster that not a lot of fans know about that could be a key factor in the game?

BW: Though he got a lot of press during HBO Hard Knocks, tight end Darren Waller is a guy who could have a breakout season for Oakland in 2019. Waller has had to deal with some tough issues throughout his playing career, leading to him almost being out of the game for good.
Over the last two seasons, tight end Jared Cook has led the Raiders in receiving yards, so it is no question that Carr likes to work the middle of the field. In Waller, he has a tight end that can not only work the middle, but also stretch it on deep balls, as he is a fantastic athlete.

Thank You Brad for taking the time out to chat with me. Here is hoping for a good game on Monday night!