At least, such is what the Silver and Black's fanbase would have you believe. Raiders fans do tend to overreact to wins. The difference this year is that they may actually be right.
Regardless of whether or not the Raiders are good enough to beat anyone, they're certainly good enough to beat the Cleveland Browns when they come calling this weekend. The Browns may be 2-2 on the season, but that record is misleading seeing as how their two wins came against a pair of teams that are a combined 0-9 on the season.
The oddsmakers definitely like the Raiders' chances of winning, as Bodog has the Raiders favored by a touchdown at seven points.
As much as I like the Raiders (and I do), I think that spread is a little too big. Allow me to explain why.
The one area in which the Raiders have a clear advantage against the Browns is their ability to exploit Cleveland's lackluster rush defense. The Browns are 25th in the league against the run, and that bodes well for Darren McFadden. It's not like he can be stopped anyway, of course.
What worries me is that the Browns complement their lousy rush defense with a pass defense that is pretty darn good. They've gotten some help from some bad quarterbacks, but the Browns are currently fourth in the league in passing defense.
The other thing that worries me is how the Raiders will manage against Colt McCoy. He's far from being one of the league's elite quarterbacks, but he's developing quite nicely this year. The Browns have increased his throwing attempts each of his last three games, culminating in a 61-throw effort against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4. He completed 40 of them for 350 yards.
Because the Raiders have had no shortage of issues with their secondary, I foresee McCoy having another solid day. With a little help from Peyto...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
