On the rise
-Jason Campbell and the Raiders
If you had told me a year ago that the Oakland Raiders could be favorites to with their division I would have laughed in your face. It's funny how quickly things can change. If any team dramatically improved in the off-season it would have to be Oakland, as they adressed nearly all of their problems. They cut the tumor that was draft-bust Jamarcus Russell from their roster, and acquired the young, talented Jason Campbell from the Redskins. That by itself would have been a significant improvement, however the rouges of the NFL didn't stop there as they did something that nobody would have guessed: They had a good draft. When the Raiders announced their first pick in the draft, everyone across the country was fully expecting yet another poor pick, one on Matt Millen level of awfulness. However, instead of another Jamarcus, the Raiders made a smart, safe choice and drafted LB Rolando McClain. The rest of their draft was on a similar tone of making smart choices, nothing mind-blowing, but players who they can help to rebuild their franchise with.