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Classicalwit
They remind me of the 2001 Patriots.
I guess it depends on how you qualify that comparison. Scrappy team that barely qualified for the post season? I guess so. But those Patriots teams were aided by more than what they were doing on the field and I don't see the Raiders ever benefiting in that way.
I think this year's team deserves a lot of credit for battling as much as they have and remaining as focused as they have through the turmoil of losing their coach and identity as a team. That really can't be over stated in terms of a yearly impact. Gruden wasn't a lame duck or foot out the door coach who's change was welcomed because his message had grown stale and fallen on deaf ears.
For this group to rally and band together is a great story. That doesn't seem like it's going to be enough in a field with some more clearly dominant teams. Part of the Raiders problem is there isn't a guy that the media wants to prop up. Carr is not Brady. Their coach isn't Bellicheck. They don't have a dominating anything.
Who knows what will happen but I'm not feeling the same vibe from this Raiders team as the '01 Pats.
