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Hi everybody! It's me, Dickie Mays, to tell you about the awesome fantasy power of Yahoo! Sports (insert coked-out pitch man voice there).
With our tiny little sampling of game time play given to us by the 2011 Oakland Raiders we have a slightly better feel for the fantasy prospects of the players. Jump over to fantasy island....
Rushing Offense
First thing with fantasy football and this Raiders team is the run game. Certainly, after last night's game, all systems look go for this run game. The patchwork offensive line held up well enough that Michael Bush looked solid running the ball. I continue to expect Darren McFadden to put up huge numbers, and if he is out Michael Bush will pick up his production.
Jason Campbell and the Wide Receivers
Last night also increased the fantasy potential of this team in the passing offense. The passing game looked remarkably efficient, and they actually threw the ball quite a bit more than they ran. I'm not sure I would count on that to continue in the future. This is still going to be a run first team, but right now they are a team that is really thin at RB and with a lot more to evaluate in the passing game.
I still don't think I'd be rushing to pick up any passing reliant Raiders in fantasy football, but Campbell may have inched up the list a bit. As for the receivers, I think this team will be spreading the ball around too much to make any one guy that valuable in fantasy numbers.
Kevin Boss
Except maybe Kevin Boss. I wouldn't expect Boss to be as valuable a TE as Zach Miller was in fantasy football in 2010, but I wouldn't expect him to be that far off either. He is going to be a vital part of this offense.
Defense
The Raiders defense is going to be a solid fantasy producer. While they may not get a bunch of turnovers or pick-6s, they are going to get their sacks. There is no questioning the defensive line, and if the first game is any indication, they will be sending their share of pressure.