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Believe it or not, the NFL did the Raiders a favor with the 2014 schedule. Sure, it's tough schedule, but the opponents are predetermined. The order matters, but the NFL did everything they could to make it easier on the Raiders. In Week 1, the Raiders travel to the eastern time zone to face the Jets. There was no way to avoid the travel, but playing that game in Week 1 eliminates some of the issues with the early start on the east coast. The Raiders can even get to the east coast a day early if they want. The Raiders have to travel to the east coast, but doing so in Week 1 or after a bye is the ideal time to do it. The Raiders then come home and play what was the worst team in the league last year. Basically, the Raiders got the easiest home opponent on their schedule for their home opener. If the travel hurt the Raiders, at least they will have had a chance to get a win at home. In Week 3, the Raiders head back to the east coast to play the Patriots. It's brutal travel, but i...

Thanks to the great people at Draft Breakdown , I've been able to watch cutups of a lot of draft prospects over the last two years. One thing that has always bothered me is having to trust rankings and player opinions of other people. I don't regularly watch college football, but even if I did, I couldn't possible watch enough to evaluate draft prospects. A guy might jump off the screen, but otherwise you are missing a lot. There is also a big difference between focusing on a single player and watching a game—different things matter. Here is a list of guys I liked a lot last year: Star Lotulelei - My favorite player in the draft. The whole package. Barkevious Mingo - My favorite pass-rusher. Flexibility with room to improve. Sheldon Richardson - Liked him almost as much as Lotulelei. Impact player on every down in college. D.J. Hayden - Didn't get to watch him until late like most people, but he and Xavier Rhodes were 1A/1B at the cornerback position to me. Don'...