Graney: Week 1 matters more than you think for Raiders

Jon Gruden isn’t making immoderate predictions, brainsick oregon otherwise.

“Hopefully,” said the Raiders’ coach, “we don’t fto them down.”

He speaks of thousands of charged Raiders fans who volition descend upon Allegiant Stadium connected Monday night. Gruden’s squad is acceptable to big Baltimore successful a play opener.

Want a instrumentality hotter than Laughlin successful July? It’s arsenic adjacent to a must-win for the Raiders arsenic immoderate Week 1 could supply.

Not successful the consciousness they indispensable find triumph to guarantee a palmy season. There are 16 much of these things pursuing Monday. The play mightiness not beryllium a marathon but it perfectly covers a 10K distance.

Heck. The Raiders person won 2 of their 3 openers since Gruden returned to the franchise successful 2018.

They’re besides 19-29 wide since then.

How they look

“We’ll spot wherever we are aft (Monday night),” Gruden said. “I mean, we’re blessed wherever we are. Baltimore is simply a large team. We got a pugnacious team. I expect it to beryllium exciting. I’m not going to person immoderate different expectation.”

Here’s one: The value for the Raiders is much astir cognition and what benignant of world it produces. How they look arsenic a squad mightiness beryllium conscionable arsenic important arsenic what the scoreboard reads astatine night’s end.

Nobody has skirted the foremost extremity of 2021 — from Gruden to wide manager Mike Mayock to the bully man who opens the team’s signifier installation gates daily.

The mean NFL squad marque the playoffs 3.8 times implicit a 10-year period. The Raiders person done truthful erstwhile since 2002. That needs to change. Like yesterday.

There isn’t a amended accidental to show however antithetic things are than initially matching up against 1 of the league’s astir carnal sides. Baltimore is tougher than a crocodile’s skin.

The Ravens — injured arsenic they are successful cardinal spots — aren’t laying 4 points due to the fact that bookmakers are fond of the colour purple.

“I cognize everybody connected this squad has enactment successful the work,” said Raiders antiaircraft extremity Maxx Crosby. “It’s yet that time. Looking guardant to going retired determination and putting connected a show. It’s going to beryllium electric.”

Gruden is convinced his hiring of Gus Bradley arsenic antiaircraft coordinator — not to notation respective caller faces connected that broadside of the shot — volition yet present immoderate level of respectability. Let’s spot if the Raiders tin halt much than aerial opening Monday.

There are questions that request to beryllium answered connected what was a Top 10 discourtesy past play for a location assemblage bursting astatine its metallic and achromatic seams to perchance witnesser a Raiders squad bully capable to play into January.

“I’ve been done my just stock of stories successful my clip here. I’ve learned to conscionable benignant of enactment (balanced) and conscionable enactment there,” said Raiders backmost Derek Carr, opening his eighth play arsenic the team’s starter. “I’m not trying to get excessively excited. I’m not going to get down erstwhile it’s hard due to the fact that each shot crippled is hard. I deliberation that our mindset is right. We’re ready.”

Let tailgates begin

Monday isn’t everything successful a agelong contention of an NFL season. Not close. But successful the abstraction of 60 minutes, it could connection a hint astatine what benignant of squad the Raiders present have.

It’s true. Predictions this early, brainsick oregon otherwise, are for the birds. Which won’t halt america from offering one.

Want a instrumentality hotter than a scorching iron? This 1 matters acold much than conscionable 1 of 17.

“I’m funny to spot however we stack up,” Raiders moving backmost Josh Jacob said. He and countless others.

Let the famed tailgates statesman in-and-around the $2 cardinal domed structure.

Welcome home, Gorilla Rilla.

Ed Graney is simply a Sigma Delta Chi Award victor for sports file penning and tin beryllium reached astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-4618. He tin beryllium heard connected “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday done Friday. Follow @edgraney connected Twitter.