I present to you the 2005 edition of Why the Raiders Will Lose. In the Raiders' very first game they managed to give what I feel is a full season preview. They lost. Just as I thought it would, the Raiders high-powered offense kept them in the game until the beginning of the second half before their defense let the game slip away. The Raiders offense had 351 Total Yards. That's more than they averaged last year. Pretty good really until you factor in penalties (a point I'll get to later). However, their defense gave up 379 yards to the Patriots who have never been considered a big offensive team, especially now that the Patriots lost Charlie Weis. Some would say it was a big night for Randy Moss. Despite being ineffective most of the game, Randy did catch a 73 yard TD pass, enough to statistically make him over 100 yards with 130 yards total. However, Randy's existence on the field can be entirely wiped out with penalties alone. The Raiders always have been and always will be a poorly desciplined team, leading the NFL in penalties last year with 134. This year looks to be no different as they managed somehow to get 16 penalties for 149 yards, many of them on key plays including a Randy Moss offensive pass interference call that otherwise could have kept them in the game. That's right, Moss's talent can't make up for the team's lack of discipline, not by 19 yards. If they were to have that bad of a game every game they would end the season with over 250 penalties. Kerry Collins also had a good game. Indeed, he only threw one interception, less than I expected. Kerry Collins is a disaster at QB. He's tied for the NFL record of most fumbles in a season with 23 (tied with Daunte Culpepper). Last season he was tied with Jake Plummer for most interceptions with 20. Lamont Jordan had his debut as a Raider by simulating the play of previous Raiders backs of late. He had just 70 yards while averaging less than 4 yards a carry despite having a couple big runs. He scored no touchdowns. When will you Raiders' fans learn that it's not the back that's the problem but the slow o-line that can't run block to save their life. The Raiders would have been better served using their money to get a solid defensive player instead of Jordan and moving big bruiser Zack Crockett to tailback and using Omar Easy as a fullback. At least Crockett would have the opponent worn down by the 4th quarter. Some may also note that the Raiders only gave up 73 rushing yards. That's because their pass defense was so weak there was no need to establish a run game. They gave up 306 yards through the air. Not a good game for any of their players in the secondary as they only tipped one pass all game. So, that pretty much sums it up. I expect very little out of this Raiders team. In fact, the only thing I expect out of them is that they'll be DEAD LAST in the AFC West.