Los Angeles Rams at Oakland Raiders: scouting report

The Autumn Wind is a Raider...

Or did somebody just cut the cheese?

A year ago our old L.A. buddies, the Oakland Raiders, seemed to have been resurrected behind the bold strokes of Head Coach Jack Del Rio. For years, the Raiders and the Los Angeles Rams had been among the biggest punchlines in football, but it appeared that the Raiders had finally ascended leaving the Rams and Cleveland Browns to slug it out for gutter supremacy.

That was a year ago.

In 2017, the Raiders quickly fell from grace, and ended up winning only six games, half of their 2016 win total. The defense had trouble generating turnovers leading to the dismissal of Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton Jr. On offense, the Raiders…