The NBA season is now a thing of the past, so it’s time to begin getting excited about football. The Oakland Raiders have high expectations heading into 2019 after a disappointing 2018 campaign. The team brought in notable players like Antonio Brown, Trent Brown and Vontaze Burfict, along with several talented rookies. Head coach Jon Gruden was absent from the game for a long time prior to 2018, but he should now have a better idea of how to adjust to the current NFL.
The Raiders are set for their final year in Oakland with a 2020 move to Las Vegas looming. This isn’t the first time the team has left Oakland, but it’s likely the last. They’ll hope to give longtime fans a proper send-off. One of those fans will be Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard.
Damian Lillard Gives His Prediction for the Raiders’ Season
Born and raised in Oakland, Lillard is a life long fan of the Raiders. Not only does he make an effort to go to home games, but he also has tried to help recruit free agents in the offseason. When asked about his expectations for the Raiders heading into the year, he gave a response that should make fans excited.
Obviously, Lillard is much more of an expert on basketball than he is football, but it’s always exciting to see famous fans get involved with their teams. While NBA free agency was filled with drama and attention-grabbing moves, Lillard and the Trail Blazers find themselves in an interesting position.
They didn’t lose any key pieces, but some of their conference rivals added elite talent. Portland has more experience as a unit than a lot of teams they’ll be facing, so they could have a unique advantage going into the next season. Hopefully, the Raiders can be as successful as Lillard’s team has been as of late.
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What to Expect From Raiders in 2019
The biggest hurdle the Raiders have to overcome in 2019 is their brutal schedule. The NFL did them no favors when the schedule was made. The team also has a lot of new players and quite a few young players. This is a good and bad thing, as it’s positive due to the fact that the roster lacked talent in many of the positions the team addressed in the draft and free agency. It’s bad because there’s bound to be a lot of unknowns until the Raiders actually hit the field in September.
Pundits and analyst have mostly counted out the Raiders as a threat in the 2019 season. While their road to playoffs will be difficult, they could still easily improve drastically this year. The roster which has been built should help them clear four wins. At the very least, the offense will almost certainly be greatly improved with the additions of Brown and rookie running back Josh Jacobs. Quarterback Derek Carr is coming off a down season, but he’ll have better weapons than he’s ever had. Don’t be surprised if the Raiders have a relatively strong season in 2019.
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Damian Lillard Gives Exciting Prediction for the Raiders’ Season [LOOK]