Week 5: Bye Week

QUARTERBACK: Daunte Culpepper has to be considered the starting QB at this point, but Josh McCown is now walking without that protective boot. Hopefully there’s nothing like a QB controversy. In my mind, Culpepper’s the man. I haven’t heard much about JaMarcus Russell since he came to camp so his progress remains a mystery.

RUNNING BACK: The biggest question marks for the Raiders come at the RB spot. Lead rusher LaMont Jordan’s back has no structural damage, but he ws in obvious pain when he left the last game. He has dealt with this injury in the past. In his stead, Fargas stepped up and ran like a pro. With rookie Michael Bush ready to come off the PUP list, and former 1000 yard rusher Dominic Rhodes returning from suspension, the Raiders waived Adimchinobe Echemandu. When all four of the current RBs are healthy, the Raiders have the deepest talent pool in the NFL at the RB spot.

RECEIVERS: Ronald Curry is the man if you look at the stats, but Jerry Porter, Zach Miller, and John Madsen have all provided solid support for a passing game that is overshadowed by the dominant run game. Curry and Porter have both performed over the long haul of a season previously, but look for Zach Miller and Culpepper to hook up more frequently as the season wears on.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Still waiting for Johnnie Lee Higgins to get things going. He has too much speed and talent to remain mired in this funk all season long. Shane Lechler looks to be on his way to another Pro Bowl. Janikowski could be the biggest key down the stretch. His leg could already have been the difference between 2-2 and 3-1 (possibly even 4-0).

DEFENSE: The defense is starting to gel, yielding fewer than 300 yards per game over the last two contests after getting lit up in the first two games. The D should be good enough to put Oakland in position to win most of their games as long as the offense stays strong. While it may be too quick to crown Oakland a playoff team, they are in first place after today’s results.

PREDICTION: The Raiders have a solid chance to finish up at 8-8 on the season, but with a bit of bad luck, they could just as easily lose 10 more games. I’ll play it a bit conservative and say that the Raiders finish 7-9.