By Joe Hawkes

OAKLAND — The best time of the sports season has finally arrived: NFL football is back and I can’t be more excited. The action, the intensity of guys trying to make the final 53-man roster at the end of a grueling training camp. Some guys make a great impression in the first game and solidify their position on the depth chart, while others, can drop in a heartbeat.

And football will be played at 7000 Coliseum Way when the Oakland Raiders host the St. Louis Rams Friday night in the preseason opener for both clubs. Kickoff is set for 7:00 P.M. PDT.

The 2015 Oakland Raiders enters the season with a renewed breath of fresh air (from those who’ve visited training camp in Napa said there is an excitable feeling from players and coaches), which has been foggy for the past 13 seasons that have ended with Oakland watching the playoffs from the couch.

And why shouldn’t the future look bright for the Silver & Black?

They enter the season with Derek Carr at quarterback, who started all 16 games as a rookie in 2014 and displayed the characteristics of a 10-year veteran, despite leading Oakland to a 3-13 record.

Carr’s 2014 rookie campaign: 348-599 passes, 3,270 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 58 percent of his passes.

Carr was recently quoted in the Associated Press as one of the Raiders’ biggest goals (as it is for all teams), is to “win the (AFC West) division.” That is a lofty expectation for the second-year pro and a franchise that has not won a division title since 2002.

But you got to love the confidence and the visionary outlook from Carr.

Carr should improve on those numbers with the drafting of Alabama superstar in wide receiver Amari Cooper with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and the signing of veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

Crabtree’s career appears to be coming to a full circle in signing with Oakland.

In 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at seventh overall and passed on Crabtree, who was drafted three spots later at 10 to San Francisco.

As it is the first preseason game, don’t expect the first-team offense to be on the field for that long. I’d expect Carr and the first-team offense to be on the field for one drive. The running game will be an interesting subplot with Latavius Murray, Trent Richardson, and George Atkinson III (son of Raiders’ great George Atkinson II) all battling to be the bell-cow for Oakland in 2015.

The player I’m looking forward to seeing Friday night is rookie tight end Clive Walford. Walford has the chance to unseat incumbent starter Mychal Rivera should he have an amazing training camp and impressive showings in game action.

Walford, who has been battling a hamstring injury for parts of camp, was on the field Tuesday after a Monday off day. The 6’4″, 250 lbs Walford was an absolute weapon at the University of Miami. catching 121 passes for 1,753 yards and 14 touchdowns, becoming just the seventh tight end in Hurricanes history to surpass 1,000 career receiving yards.

Defensively, Oakland is converting explosive second-year player Khalil Mack from linebacker to defensive end. Oakland wants Mack to get after the quarterback more after having to play in coverage for most of his rookie year, but Mack has been a quick study and has adapted to his new position.

Justin Ellis is solid at defensive tackle and rookie defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. is expected to be a key contributor on the defensive line.

The linebacking corps looks good too, with a healthy Sio Moore, and free agent imports Curtis Lofton (Atlanta), and Malcolm Smith (Seattle). Smith, a former Super Bowl MVP, is quite familiar with want Norton Jr. wants to do on defense from their time in Seattle.

The secondary does have some questions. Charles Woodson, seems to always know when to drink from the fountain of youth.

Woodson, who is entering his 18th year in the league, is like a fine Napa Cabernet. Woodson remains a lock to start a free safety and former Philadelphia Eagle Nate Allen at strong safety, but who will be the starters at cornerback?

D.J. Hayden, who has been having a tough start to training camp, is penciled (not penned) in to be a starter at one spot, with T.J. Carrie, Chimdi Chekwa and Keith McGill competing for the other starting spot at cornerback.

St. Louis finally turned the page on the Sam Bradford Era, by trading the former No. 1 overall pick in 2010 to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Nick Foles. Foles is adequate passer and is the kind of quarterback that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher loves.

In 28 starts for Philadelphia, Foles completed 550-of-893 passes for 6.753 yards, 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. St. Louis inked Foles to a two-year, $24.5 million deal last week, per NFL Media Insider Michael Rapoport. Rapoport confirmed that the Rams are committed to Foles through 2017 by guaranteeing $14 million to Foles, who was set to earn just $1.5 in the final year of his rookie deal.

Foles can void the final year of the deal based on Pro Bowl and team performance.

The Rams swung for the fences in drafting Georgia running back, Todd Gurley with the 10th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. Gurley is an all-world talent with exceptional speed and field vision, but will not play in the preseason according to Fisher. Gurley is recovering from the torn ACL that ended his his junior year and college career.

Defensively, this might be one of the best units in all of football.

Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers make up a formidable defensive line that can get after the quarterback. Donald, the defensive tackle, finished with 9.5 sacks, was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014.

Linebackers Alec Ogletree and James Laurinaitis combined for 220 tackles last season, while free safety T.J. McDonald (son of former Cardinals and 49ers strong safety Tim McDonald), finished with 105 tackles.

St. Louis comes into 2015 with high expectations. Most football experts and prognosticators have predicted that the Rams have a look of a playoff team, even playing in arguably football’s toughest division, the NFC West.

The Rams finished 6-10 (2-4 in the NFC West) last year.