Oakland Raiders Will Be The Surprise Team Of 2010

Every year in the NFL there is that one team that comes out of no where to surprise all of football to be the team that rises from obscurity to become a playoff contender. A couple of seasons ago it was the Arizona Cardinals, last year that team was the New York Jets and ironically this year the Oakland Raiders will use a very similar formula that propelled the New York Jets into the playoffs last season to become a playoff competitor themselves.

Make no mistake about it the biggest improvement the Raiders made during the draft marathon was trading for former Washington Redskins QB Jason Campbell. JaMarcus Russell was a lazy turnover machine that inspired no one and probably demoralized more Raider teammates then anyone cares to admit.

Jason Campbell on the other hand was 41-66 in the Red Zone last year and threw 18 touchdowns versus no interceptions. Compare that to a QB in Russell who most fans were just hoping wouldn’t find a way to turn the ball over. Jason Campbell isn’t the best QB in the league and he may not even be in the top ten but look at how the New York Jets did it last season.

The New York Jets ran the ball and they played some really good defense with a shut down corner that nobody had ever heard of before. You think Mark Sanchez is a better QB right now then Jason Campbell?

Sure Campbell is not spectacular but he is steady and solid and he doesn’t turn the ball over which is what you need in the NFL and if the Raiders had that last season they would have won at least 3-4 more games. The Raiders somehow managed to make Gradkowski look like the second coming of Joe Montana last season.

In the NFL, you just need a guy that can manage the game and keep your team in it and then you just need to let your play-makers make plays and the Raiders do have some playmakers on their roster. And let’s not forget that Jason Campbell has a chip on his shoul...