Predictions Summary Projections by Position Projection Team Boxes

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Prediction: OAK 16, NYJ 27 (Line: NYJ by 5.5)

The 4-12 Raiders were only 1-7 on the road last year and lost 27-37 to the Jets in this same venue in 2013. The Jets were only 8-8 but posted a 6-2 mark at home. The Raiders are using all new players on offense anyway so expect another solid home win by the Jets.

The Raiders move forward with no change in the playbook or philosophy but the personnel change has been significant. After a nightmare season in Houston, Matt Schaub came to Oakland looking to redeem himself and so far has only shown that the interception-giant from 2013 is still alive and well and back on the bench. The Raiders are going with the rookie Derek Carr who has looked sharp in meaningless preseason play. Schaub has been so bad that he’s dropped to #3 behind Matthew McGloin. Schaub will never see a third chance to be a starter again.

Darren McFadden remains on a one-year deal he signed after discovering that no one in the entire NFL remembered how good he was back in Arkansas. He’ll remain the #2 runner and enters his seventh season still searching for that elusive 16 game season. Like Schaub, Maurice Jones-Drew comes off his worst season ever and parted way with the Jaguars after nine years. He’s 29 and the debate is if he is about to hit the wall or if he already has. Jones-Drew admitted to considering retirement in the offseason. Not exactly motivating to hear that from a player. Both players will figure in and likely depends on the hot hand if any. MJD will be the primary.

The wideouts could be in good shape. James Jones becomes the #1 receiver after playing the #3 for so long in Green Bay. Rod Streater seems at least average and comes off a year with 60-888-4 despite having no quarterback then. Andre Holmes teased that he was stepping up in the offseason but so far has been just a 6-4 speedster who hasn’t adjusted to the NFL. Even Denarius Moore is still in the picture to an unknown degree and recently drew praise from the coaches for his newfound work ethic and focus.

How the wideouts shake out will start to be known after this week. The rookie Carr could be a big upgrade and help set the offense on fire or he may just be another rookie quarterback who needs to learn the game and is starting only because the Raiders were attracted to old veterans coming off very bad years at the end of the career.

David Ausberry remains the myth of the offense since he never remains healthy and Mychal Rivera is still mostly known for his sister playing the role of Santana on “Glee”. MJD has to get some life into the rushing game and Carr must be better than most rookies or this is just another long season in the Black Hole.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: The Jets front line is fearsome and at home will contain the Raiders rushing efforts. But the secondary is not nearly as good anymore and Carr will need to throw. Bottom line to this all-new crew is that no one stands out as a great fantasy play. It will be interesting to see how MJD and McFadden share but they’re facing a very tough opponent. This game is better to watch and see what happens than to invest fantasy starters in the outcome.

Like the Raiders, the Jets retooled by brining in free agents. Unlike the Raiders, they did not take washed up players coming off a bad year. Chris Johnson and Eric Decker may be taking a decline in production but then again – maybe not. Both are still in their prime and should add valuable elements to the offense.

Geno Smith’s rookie season could have gone better but he was saddled with poor receivers. He passed for 3046 yards and 12 touchdowns but throw 21 interceptions. He mitigated that somewhat with 366 rushing yards and six scores as a runner. The jury is still out as to whether he can be what the Jets need, but he should not be held too responsible for last year as a rookie with very little help from his receivers.

Bringing in Eric Decker will help. He joins David Nelson and Jeremy Kerley as starters and Stephen Hill has finally been shown the door and is gone. Kerley was the lead wideout last year with only 43 catches for 523 yards and three scores. Nelson managed just 36-423-2 so there is plenty of room for improvement here. How much that happens is up to Smith.

Jeff Cumberland will be the primary though the Jets spent their 2.17 pick on Jace Amaro from Texas Tech. But the rookie struggled badly in camp and is not expected to be a factor until next year. Cumberland was the lead tight end in 2013 with just 398 yards and four scores. Kellen Winslow is gone and the position is not expected to provide any fantasy value this year.

The Jets brought in Chris Ivory last year to become the lead back but apparently the #4 back in New Orleans doesn’t transition as well as they thought. Ivory only ran 182 times for 833 yards and three touchdowns. He takes a backseat to Chris Johnson now. This is clearly an upgrade. Despite his 29 years of age, he continues his string of six straight 1000 yard seasons. He could find success behind this line but it depends on how much Ivory is still used along with Bilal Powell. Chances are that Johnson’s 20 carry games could be a thing of the past now.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: Fortunately this is a bad defense coming to town and Smith already threw for 219 yards and a score on them plus added 50 yards and another touchdown on five runs against them last time. One of Ivory’s best games was his 76 yards and a score on the Raiders.Not knowing the share ratio of the running backs makes MJD hard to start this week. But this should be a solid win for the who are better off now than they were last year.

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