Las Vegas Raiders Season Outlook with Ken Thompson

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00:00We've got you a few more minutes.

00:22We are looking ahead to the Raiders season with Ken Thompson Sports X Radio.

00:26Of course, this Las Vegas team, an over-under of 7.5 wins on FanDuel.

00:30That over to the plus money, by the way.

00:32You still don't even need them to go 500.

00:34Plus 135 is the over.

00:36Under is minus 160.

00:3812-1 to win the West.

00:4050-1 to win the Conference.

00:42100-1 to win the Super Bowl.

00:44Maybe more notably, plus 310 to make the playoffs.

00:47Minus 420 to miss the playoffs.

00:50So all those odds will tell you emphatically what expectations are

00:53in a crowded and competitive AFC West going into the new year.

00:58But how do you see that win total here, Ken?

01:01I like the win total over.

01:03I played the Raiders when it came out.

01:04It's over 6.5 here in Vegas.

01:06It's up to 7 a lot of places.

01:08And you do have 7.5 at several places with plus money.

01:11But pretty much 7 here in Vegas.

01:14Minus 110, minus 120.

01:16You'll find around town.

01:17And there's still a lot of naysayers.

01:19Because there's so many questions that need to be answered.

01:21And I get it.

01:22Defense has to be better.

01:23You lose your leading tackler in Robert Spillane.

01:26Oh, and you go against him in the first game at New England.

01:28So you better be ready.

01:29But I think the first two games are huge for the Raiders.

01:32Again, they open in New England.

01:34If they can get that W.

01:35And I'm not saying Drake May and the guys can't win that game.

01:37Because they for sure can.

01:38But if Pete Carroll and the Raiders win that game, they come back home.

01:42And even on the opening Monday night on the 15th of September,

01:46that's a significant date in the life of Pete Carroll.

01:49It's his birthday.

01:50What about the home game?

01:51Your first home game is coach of the Raiders.

01:54And it's on your 74th birthday.

01:56You know the Raiders are going to be fired up.

01:57Elite Stadium is going to be fired up.

01:59And I think the Raiders can win those first two.

02:01And that will propel me to get that over 6.5.

02:04And I think there's still value over 7, even over 7.5.

02:08I think the Raiders do no worse than 8 and 9.

02:10Well, I'll tell you what, Ken.

02:13August 7th is going to be a big day in Pete Carroll's life as well.

02:17That will be the preseason opener.

02:19The Las Vegas Raiders visiting Pete Carroll's former home.

02:23The Seattle Seahawks on tap for preseason game number one.

02:28I haven't found a line on that game.

02:30I imagine Seattle will be favored.

02:32The home team, of course, probably laying a field goal or something like that.

02:36This should be very interesting.

02:39He's not going to get booed.

02:40They love Pete Carroll up there.

02:41What do you see happening in that good, nice scheduling spot with the Raiders against the Seahawks?

02:47And that's what I am with Pete Carroll.

02:49I mean, he wants to set the tone.

02:51He wants to set the tone in preseason.

02:53And we've seen John Harbaugh do that, right?

02:55I mean, big time.

02:56Baltimore, every year, they don't lose preseason games.

02:59And I think that culture is important.

03:01And a veteran coach like Pete Carroll that only has a short window, that three-year window,

03:05wants to get this team some confidence.

03:07There's a lot of new players.

03:08You've got to get that chemistry.

03:10And the offensive line's got to gel together.

03:12But Geno, he may even get in there just a little bit in front of his former fans as well.

03:16And I look for the Raiders to play with a lot of emotion.

03:19And a lot of the times when you're playing preseason games, especially the opener,

03:23if you play with emotion and you want to win that game, more than likely,

03:26you've got a good chance to win that game as long as you've got a decent team.

03:29And I think the Raiders have a decent team.

03:31Again, they made changes in the secondary, linebacking-wise.

03:35Landon Roberts comes over from Pittsburgh.

03:37We'll see how he does.

03:38Kevin White as well.

03:39So there's a lot of new faces.

03:41But there's a lot to like as far as the ceiling being a little higher than I think most

03:45prognosticators have it.

03:47And you guys hit it on the head saying that, yeah, you're in the AFC West.

03:50And we saw Bo Nix and Sean Payton, and they excelled.

03:53They had dropped eight in a row, but they swept the Raiders last year.

03:56And I think the Raiders split with everybody in the division.

03:58I think they go one-and-one all those games, including Kansas City.

04:03They still play KC tough, and they beat them two years ago at KC.

04:06So I'm looking for the Raiders to win eight to nine games, but to take care of business

04:11at home.

04:11But again, those first two games at New England, home Monday night on Pete Carroll's birthday

04:16against the Chargers, it's imperative they win both those games.

04:20You guys know how I feel about narrative streets.

04:23That's pretty good.

04:24Ken Thompson, again, does an awesome job covering the Raiders on Twitter.

04:27Ken Thompson and the number 87 Sports X radio there in Las Vegas.

04:32Ken, really appreciate you hopping on with us.

04:34I'm sure we'll chat with you again real soon.

04:36Yeah, you guys do a great job, and I love listening to you guys when I'm in the radio

04:39as well.

04:40So outstanding job.

04:42You guys are outstanding, and it's a great setup.

04:45I appreciate that very much.

04:47You know, Brady, before we run out of time here in the next minute, and thanks to Tommy,

04:51Matt, everyone who has obviously been part of this show, our great group of guests.

04:56To cap it on the Raiders, though, here, I just think the most interesting thing about

05:00this team, and obviously I know how Ken feels about it, putting their floor at eight wins,

05:04which is still at plus money, by the way.

05:06They've had so many locker room sort of culture issues in recent seasons.

05:12I really want to see how this mix gels here under Carroll.

05:16Well, I think they've got all the right pieces in place.

05:19Carroll, Kelly, Spitek, Brady.

05:22We're changing the room here in Las Vegas, and that needs to be done.

05:26And so all that is positive right now.

05:28Now we need to see the results on the field.

05:31To go full circle, Brady's not wishing away summer, and I don't blame him.

05:35I'm not either, but I'll tell you what.

05:37It's nice talking football again, isn't it?

05:39We've got much more coming up for you next weekend as we continue to go team by team

05:43across the NFL.

05:45It's been In Game Live game day here on SportsCenter.

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