![_Golden State Warriors Officially Moving To San Francisco [Updated]](http://sfist.com/assets_c/2012/05/SFArena_Rendering-thumb-250x250-715954.jpg)
The SFist NFL Preview: The American Football Spectacular Previews the Raiders
Thank goodness. It is here. Let the games count once more, o sweet departed St. Tagliabue, let the National Football League's Regular Season mercifully come. Once more for our entertainment, the 32 franchises will clamber over one another to reach the Vince Lombardi Trophy like kittens chasing a moth.
Let's see how our Oakland Raiders are doing, shall we?
Strength: Randy Moss, WR.
It's come to this. Randy Moss, the voice of a team. What? Who'd have thunk it? After all the time the media spent labeling him as a classic spoiled-and-sullen brat WR, look at who has been leading the pre-scrimmage psych-up chants in practice -- it's Randy Moss. Who's been mad-doggin' the camera shouting the words to The Autumn Wind during the preseason opening game montages? Randy Moss. He seems to be relishing the Raider mystique more than ever before.
Randy is still far and away the best deep ball threat in the league. When he gallops after a long pass he looks like a fifth grader playing flies-up with the third graders. Long and graceful and taller than the other fellas, he makes it look oh so easy.
The hard part is the rest of the gameplan to get to the point of sending Moss the ball downfield. If Oakland get pass-profligate too quickly and neglect to run the qualitative RB Lamont Jordan, then it will prove near impossible to get Moss the ball despite his talent. No fifth grader can make a catch with three third graders covering them. So, while Moss is the team's greatest immediate threat, his success depends on a whole-team concept. Randy Moss, team player?
By SFist Christopher Rogers, contributing
Weak point: Weight of history.
This season for the Raiders is a placeholder. Re-hiring Art Shell was the best that could be done. All the familiar issues of the Raiders remain unmoved: the ingrained “vertical” offensive scheme, a marked lack of playing discipline, drafting based on speed (CB Fabian Washington), picking up veterans past their freshness date (DT Warren Sapp, QB Jeff George), and the fact that any coach must bow to Al's whim.
And there is the crux of the problem. The years weigh heavy on the crown. Time is short. All who watch the Raiders' camp -- whether friend or foe -- do so in anticipation. What will happen? What will happen when owner Al Davis dies? Al is the Raiders. When a cult of personality loses its head, the only sure thing is swift change. The United States' government watches Cuba askance with a similar eye. Who will fill this vacuum of power?
Key: Coaching.
Into this thankless task steps Art Shell. One may as well try to still the sea as to steer the Raiders' locker room. Yet if one man has, post-Madden and not including "Mr. State-within-a-state" John Gruden, it would be Shell when he coached the Los Angeles Raiders.
Much journalistic hay has been made over the fact that the offensive coordinator that Shell brought in to work with him is Tom Walsh, who served in the same capacity for the Raiders between 1982 and 1994. Walsh was out of American football entirely for years, serving as mayor of Swan Valley, Idaho, and running the Hansen Guest Ranch bed-and-breakfast -- "the only horse-friendly property in Swan Valley!"
Great. Just great. So if we need a coach who can assist in serving fritata, quiche, or fruit compote to The Raider Nation, then we are well nigh set. But can Walsh defeat a modern 3-4 zone blitz defensive scheme after having been away from the game so long? That's a prickly pear of a question that may be answered by the Chargers' aggressive defense this coming Sunday.
And regarding the defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, he has a mullet.
Outlook: One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same action over and over again and expecting different results. The Raiders may have changed the parts, but they’re going to use the same ol’ aforementioned Raider plan. There has certainly been improvement on both sides of the ball, with first round pick Michael Huff at safety, and the up-and-down Aaron Brooks at QB rather than last year's down-and-down Kerry Collins. Brooks will be a tantalizing thorn in the Raider Nation's side until Andrew Walter can grow into the starting QB position.
It is a strange time even for a team accustomed to strangeness. The clouds, they gather. For 2006 we predict four wins, twelve losses, and discord. Always the discord with these boys.
Next up on your American Football Spectacular: This Sunday, the Niners help open the Cardinals' new fancy-pants stadium in Arizona, while your Raiders host the San Diego SuperChargers.