In 2015, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree formed a potent passing attack.
Now, as Oakland gets ready to start the 2016 regular season Sunday in New Orleans, the Saints believe they’ll see the Raiders passing game in full attack mode.
Veteran cornerback Delvin Breaux will start for New Orleans, but the next three cornerbacks on the Saints depth chart – P.J. Williams, De’Vante Harris and Ken Crawley – will be playing in their first NFL game. They’ll be challenged to keep up with wideouts Cooper and Crabtree, plus Andre Holmes, Seth Roberts and rookie Johnny Holton.
“You’re going to be challenged,” veteran safety Jairus Byrd told the New Orleans Times-Picayune this week, when asked about the young corners. “There’s a target on your back right away at the corner position. You can’t hide. It’s on you. So, you got to have some swag to you, you got to have some confidence because you’re going to have some highs and lows. But, you’ve got to stay steady.”
The Raiders go into the new season with a stronger offensive line, after adding guard Kelechi Osemele and getting right tackle Menelik Watson back after an injury forced him to miss all of 2015. That line should help protect Carr and allow starting running back Latavius Murray – plus a deeper backup corps of Taiwan Jones, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard – to be more effective.
But the real challenge for the Raiders — who hope to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season — likely will be on defense, where they’ll have to face veteran quarterback Drew Brees. Brees led the NFL in passing yards per game in 2015 and the Saints offense was No. 2 overall in the league.
The Raiders did a lot to upgrade their defense in the offseason, adding linebacker Bruce Irvin, cornerback Sean Smith, safety Reggie Nelson and defensive linemen Jihad Ward, Darius Latham and linebacker Shilique Calhoun. The unit will have to contain an offense with Brees, running back Mark Ingram, wideout Brandin Coks and tight end Coby Fleener, who makes his New Orleans debut after having a 54-catch season with Indianapolis in 2015.
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“Any game would have been a good test,” said Smith, to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur this week. “But going into New Orleans, into that stadium, with that offense, that quarterback that put up 4,800 yards last season. … He’s going to try to light that thing up, and this secondary has a big task ahead of us.”
Kickoff for Sunday’s season opener at the Superdome is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Bay Area. Oddsmakers have made the Saints 2-point favorites.
