Raiders v. Saints preview: Oakland does not match up well with this week's opponent, but what else is new?

The Oakland Raiders have no run game and turn the ball over far too often on offense. On defense, the Raiders have one of the weakest secondaries in all of the NFL and a run defense so porous that boulders could roll through their defensive line untouched. This week, the Raiders will host the upward bound New Orleans Saints at the Oakland Coliseum and not surprisingly, the Saints match up well against the Raiders and the Raider Nation may be in for another painful day of football on Sunday.

The Saints do not have much of a run game, but they do have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL today in Drew Brees. After what an above average quarterback in Joe Flacco did to the Raiders last weekend, the Saints will not have to worry much about their lack of a run game as Brees will likely have a field day picking apart the Raiders secondary. Plus, the Raiders have had a penchant for making average players look like stars, so who knows, maybe the Saints running game will break out against the Raiders. After giving up 250 yards on the ground in one half, anything is possible with this Raiders run defense.

On defense, the Saints are not very good at all. They are last in yards allowed, second to last in passing yards allowed and second to last in rushing yards allowed. So you might be asking why the Raiders don't match up well with the Saints since their defense is so bad. Well, because the Raiders' offense is worse. The run game is completely non-existent, and with injuries plaguing the running back corps, there is really no hope of that changing. Sure, Carson Palmer has had one of his better statistical seasons, but he still turns the ball over at crucial times, and the offense as a whole turns the ball over far too often for there to be much consistency. Plus, even if the Raiders are able to move the ball on the Saints, they will be highly unlikely to move it at the same rate that the Saints will move it.