The NFL season just got underway last night, and the Las Vegas Raiders face the Los Angeles Chargers in their first game on Sunday.
It’s the Raiders' third season in Las Vegas. And though a winning record in the preseason is not typically a predictor of a team’s regular season success, the Raiders did win all four preseason games. It’s the first time they’ve done that.
But the barstool question: Will they be any good?
Adam Hill covers the Raiders for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
He said the preseason wins speak to the depth of the team.
“For the most part, it's a lot of backup,” he said. “And this is a new regime, new coach, new GM, new everything. It builds a little bit of a winning culture. I think that's what they were looking to do in the preseason.”
Hill said he thinks the Raiders are better than last year, but so are the Chargers.
“I think this is gonna be a really good game, a really important game,” he said, noting their schedule is “really, really tough.”
The biggest acquisition of the Raiders is Davante Adams.
“It's really hard to not have a connection with Davante Adams. The dude is so good. You watch it. You watch a practice and everybody's great,” he said. “We're excited about that.”
The Raiders have faced a lot of turmoil since arriving in Las Vegas, but he doesn’t think Las Vegas is the problem with their young players.
“I think Las Vegas has a bad rap in that regard. … Yes, it's 24 hours and you can get in trouble anytime. But I do feel like there's places to get in trouble anywhere,” he said. “I remember before the team came to Vegas, there were no national reporters like, ‘What are they gonna be allowed to go out and go to casinos? Like, there's a casino right next to the stadium in Cincinnati.“
And the team is under new leadership in Sandra Douglass Morgan.
“She will be the senator from Nevada or the president at some point, okay? All right, she is going to get bigger and better. She is an unbelievable person,” Hill said. “And anybody that has been around her has just raved about the energy she brings, the personality that she brings. I think it was a slam dunk hire by the Raiders.”
Adam Hill, sports reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal
