Raider Nation still not convinced

Raiders are on the right track heading into pivotal game in LA vs Chargers ‘Winning cures all’ is a popular saying in sports. And in the NFL where there are just 16 games per season P.J. Hall Jersey , a win means a lot more than it does in say Major League Baseball or the NBA. But even in the NFL, when that win is put alongside a lot of losses, it doesn’t cure much.After week three, the Raiders were winless on the season, having collapsed in the second half of each game. At that point, fan confidence in the direction of the team had dipped to just 32%.They came back to Oakland to face the 1-1-1 Browns desperate to cobble together something. And they did. They won the game, end of story, yay!Not exactly.That win was about as tough as they come. They needed overtime to do it, and in that overtime period Derek Carr went over 400 yards passing, and Amari Cooper and Jared Cook both went over 100 yards receiving, joining Marshawn Lynch who went over 100 yards rushing. And the Raiders every yard of that to pull it out.The Raiders blew a lead several times to the Browns. And though the Browns are actually a pretty decent team this year Johnny Townsend Jersey , they had done their share of collapsing this season as well. They also had a rookie quarterback making his first start, and lost two of their top three cornerbacks during the game.With all this, the Raiders gave up 42 points and came within inches on an overturned first down run from dropping their 4th straight to start the Jon Gruden era. That defense is still a major concern while Khalil Mack is in Chicago winning NFC Defensive Player of the month honors.There were some positive signs in the win. Showing some resilience was huge for their confidence. The late game heroics were admirable and, who knows, it may just start something for them to have come back to win instead of fade away to lose.It may also be one of those things they will be facing every week with the odds of pulling out those wins stacked against them.This week’s FanPulse poll suggest the Raider Nation may have been encouraged by the Raiders getting their first win, they’re still hesitant to jump in and say things have turned around. (Sign up here to take our weekly Raiders survey)Confidence level rose slightly this week, but just 6% to reach 38% after the first quarter.They will head to Los Angeles to play the Chargers Sunday, making for a pivotal game in terms of their season prospects. The Chargers are a pretty good team, but not unbeatable. Though they were the offseason favorite to win the AFC West, it’s hard to know exactly how good they are because their two wins were against bottom feeders in the Bills and 49ers while their two losses were to the league’s only undefeated teams; the Rams and Chiefs.What we do know is they have one of the league’s top offenses, having scored at least 23 points in every game this season and averaging nearly 28 points per game.Should the Raiders lose Reggie Nelson Jersey , they would fall to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in the division. And fan confidence will rightfully tumble.Should the Raiders pull out a win, they will pull to within one game of .500, having beaten a very good team and division rival. If that were to happen, I fully expect the fan confidence to shoot up, especially with three of the most favorable part of the schedule upcoming with match-ups such as the Seahawks, Colts, 49ers and Cardinals. Beating up on bad out of division teams isn’t going to cut it. Gotta have this one in Los Angeles.Follow @LeviDamien The Oakland Raiders may have lost Marshawn Lynch earlier this year to a season ending injury, but the City of Oakland hasn’t lost him and they never will. Lynch has proven over and over again that he is there for his city, and now we have another example of it. Beast Mode showed up at an Oakland City Council meeting Wednesday to provide his two cents on Oakland’s need to work something out with MLB’s Oakland Athletics, the one professional team that can still build a new stadium in Oakland. As you’d expect if you’ve followed Marshawn Lynch’s career at all, he made his comments short and sweet.It doesn’t get more quintessential Beast Mode than his 10 second comment of “We’re losing the Warriors. We’re losing the Raiders. Best not lose the A’s. Appreciate it.” That’s it in a nutshell for sure Kolton Miller Jersey , Oakland better not lose the A’s too.As we all already know, heartbreakingly so for many, the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. In fact this Sunday’s game against the rival Denver Broncos might be the last game in Oakland thanks to the city’s lawsuit against the Raiders for leaving. Nobody knows as of yet where they will be playing next season, but there is a good chance it already won’t be in Oakland despite Vegas not having a worthy stadium option until construction on the new home is complete.The Raiders and Athletics are not the only professional team in Oakland that needed new facilities though. The NBA’s Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena also was outdated and no deal could be done with them either so they are moving out of Oakland too. The Warriors are just moving to San Francisco so they will still be in the Bay Area but the two cities are rivals and the move is not looked at fondly from Oakland residents. Their move also comes with a likely ticket price surge that could price out many Oakland fans from attending besides there just being a general disdain of each other.That means the Athletics are the last team standing in Oakland, and they have a new stadium plan that needs to get through all of Oakland’s red tape before being built. Unlike the Raiders though, the Athletics stadium plan was able to be privately financed which improves their chances of getting it done exponentially. That’s good, because as Marshawn Lynch just pointed out so succinctly, they’ve already lost 2 of their 3 teams. Love him or hate him, Beast Mode is Oakland through and through. He didn’t say much but what he did say was undeniably true. The A’s are going to be all Oakland will have left of their once great sports city, they best not lose them too.