The Oakland Raiders are younger, faster and better than 2018

The Kansas City Chiefs play the Oakland Raiders on Saturday and I spoke with Brad Weiss of Raiders site Just Blog Baby to get some inside info on what to expect.

In Week 2, the Kansas City Chiefs will be taking their final trip to Oakland-Alameda County Stadium on Sunday to face the seemingly resurgent Oakland Raiders.

I caught up with Brad Weiss over at FanSided Raider site Just Blog Baby to get his thoughts on five questions.

Brad gave some insight into the offseason and Antonio Brown, what to expect from the offense and defense, and why this Raiders team is different.

What the sentiment is around the fanbase about all the offseason storylines including Jon Gruden and Antonio Brown?

I honestly think that by the time all the Antonio Brown drama came to a head last Saturday, everyone was just tired of all of it. Between the cameras from HBO being at training camp for Hard Knocks and Brown having some sort of issue every week, it was just time to get the regular season games going.

The truth is, this is a team that brought in a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, even without Brown, and you could see a younger, faster team against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

What are the expectations for the offense this season?

The expectations for the Raiders offense this season are sky high, especially with Derek Carr entering his second season in Jon Gruden’s offense. Remember, this is a guy who has only played in the same offense in consecutive seasons one time before. The last time, 2016, he nearly put up MVP numbers.

Who are some players to watch on offense on Sunday?

With all the deep receiving threats Oakland brought in, they are going to take more shots downfield, which they did to guys like Tyrell Williams and Darren Waller in Week 1. In addition, having a feature back like Josh Jacobs enables this team to take chances, as he has shown a propensity to get the tough yardage on third downs.

What are the expectations for the defense this season and who are some players to watch?

This was a defense that needed a lot of help, especially after racking up only 13 sacks as a team in 2018. The Raiders went out and brought in Brentson Buckner as their defensive line coach, and boy has he been a godsend. Buckner’s defensive line racked up three sacks in Week 1, a far cry from the lack of pass rush last season.

In addition, bringing in Vontaze Burfict as the Mike linebacker gives the Raiders their best middle linebacker in some time, and enables them to do a lot of different stunts on defense. In the secondary, the Raiders lost a big piece in rookie Jonathan Abram, but Lamarcus Joyner was a solid addition, and having him as the slot corner makes this whole defense better.

Why will this Raiders team be different than last year’s team?

The Raiders depended on older players last season and by the end of the year there were no real threats on the offensive side of the ball. Look for Darren Waller to be almost unguardable this season, as he proved to be in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos.

Despite the team losing Antonio Brown, the wide receiver group is much better than last year as guys like Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, Ryan Grant, and Hunter Renfrow can all make plays in the passing game.

The other thing you are going to see this season is team speed as the Raiders went from one of the older teams in the league to one of the younger. This is a roster of guys trying to make their name in the NFL, and on Monday night, you saw a group of guys who played fearless football.

Finally, the offensive line was absolutely dominant against Bradley Chubb and Von Miller in Week 1, as Carr was not touched once. That is going to play a big role on Sunday, as Frank Clark is one of the best in the business, and will certainly try to take on second-year left tackle Kolton Miller.