Do the Oakland Raiders deserve the hype they’re given?

The Chiefs

David Carr is 1 and 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. For whatever reason he struggles against them. That fact should demand an asterisk beside all the attention the team is getting. What should the expectations be for a team that is dominated by another in their division—a team they play twice a season?

The Raiders finished 3 and 3 in divisional play last season. The Chiefs went undefeated in division play. The Raiders other loss came on the road to the Denver Broncos in 2016.

Depth

Other than the addition to Marshawn Lynch, is there any other reason for the national media to write off the other three teams in the division? Do not get me wrong, Lynch makes any team better. But what happens if Lynch goes down? The backups got beat twice by the Chiefs.

The defense seems to be putting together a decent starting group. It’s the depth of the defense that makes me question the attention. If one or two pieces fall, the Raiders are back to having one or two guys running ragged all over the field trying to make plays.

Media

The theory I have to make on all the uproar is media driven. The better the Raiders are, the better the ratings, especially on the West Coast, although the brand is global. Did they get that much better in the offseason? One could easily argue that the Chargers got better than any of their AFC West foes. Yes, the Raiders will be good, but great? I have to hold my breathe on that one. There has yet to be a snap played, so they may prove me wrong. I however will not give credit where credit is not due.