The Broncos just grinded the Raiders out on Sunday night.  Andrew Walter played another poor game completing 13 of 26 passes for 189 yards and an interception.  Lamont Jordan carried the ball 23 times for 60 yards (2.6 ypc) and caught 2 passes for 16 yards.  Justin Fargas had 3 carries for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) and left the game with his arm in a sling.  Randy Moss caught 5 passes for 86 yards and TE Courtney Anderson caught 3 passes for 56 yards.

The defense couldn’t stop the Broncos running game as they carried the ball 31 times for 144 yards (4.6 ypc).  The Raiders played well against the pass as the Broncos only completed 11 of 18 passes for 91 yards.

Art Shell suspended WR Jerry Porter for four football games for conduct detrimental to the team.  It seems like the Raiders should just trade Porter know and get him away from the rest of the team.  Hard to believe I’m suggesting that the Raiders trade a “bad apple”, because for years the Raiders used to win with this type of guy.

The Raiders on National TV?  Wow, I’m sure the executives at NBC are jumping with joy.  The Raiders and plain and simply the worst team in the NFL.  I never thought I would say this, but they need Aaron Brooks back badly!  Coach Mike Shanahan hates the Raiders after they fired him after one season, and he loves to stick it to the Raiders when he can!

The Raiders only chance in this game is if they run the ball every down, regardless of down and distance.  The Raider offensive line is pretty good at run blocking, but they are horrible at pass blocking.  Lamont Jordan (254 rushing yards) and Justin Fargas (153 yards rushing, 9.0 yards per carry) can handle the heavy workload.  If the Raiders offensive line can get to the linebackers, the Raiders could pop some big runs.  If the Raiders do decide to throw the ball, they better do it when the Broncos aren’t expecting it.  Andrew Walter often times looks like a deer in headlights in the pocket!  It’s a shame that the Raiders don’t have a QB to take advantage of Randy Moss at WR.  Moss is having his worst season ever, but it’s not his fault.  Moss only has 12 catches for 136 yards this season.

Look for the Broncos to just line up and run the ball right at the Raiders soft run defense.  The Raiders are allowing 150.3 yards per game on the ground.  Tatum Bell (387 yards rushing, 5.0 ypc) has been outstanding so far this season and the Raiders will not be able to stop him.  Look for Shanahan to let Plummer throw deep a few times to Javon Walker (16 rec,313 yards) when he decides to rub it in on the Raiders!  This game might get so ugly that you’ll get to see rookie Jay Cutler take a few snaps in the 4th quarter.

I would say this game will be a blowout, but I’m not so sure the Broncos offense can score alot of points.  Make no mistake though, the Broncos are winning this game.

The kickers and returners have done a good job for the Raiders, but the kick coverage is downright horrible and cost the Raiders a win over the Browns.  The Raiders allow 14.0 yards per punt return and an unbelievable 33.6 yards per kick-off return.

Sebastian Janikowski is kicking well when the offense gives him a chance.  Janikowski is 4 for 4 on FGs and 5 for 5 on XPTs.  Punter Shane Lechler is doing a fine job, like he always does.  Lechler is averaging 49.6 yards per punt, 37.7 yards net, and is pinning the opponent inside their 20 an outstanding 40% of the time.

Chris Carr is having a little trouble with punt returns only averaging 5.9 yards per return.  Carr has been pretty good on kick-off returns averaging 24.8 yards per return.

Alright, here’s the deal. As an early 80s kid I have grown up seeing the Raiders move a lot, trade a lot, and in true Al Davis style “snub” many promising careers (I.E. Marcus Allen) and I have STILL remained a fan and always will. Raiders fans know that we like our team and will remain true fans, whether or not they make bad decisions up top. This season is ridiculous!!! To start off at 0-4 and be a quarter of the way through the season, while not even knowing who the starting QB is (that’s constantly changing), is insulting to us fans. We stand by our team no matter what, but winning results will not make us the laughing stock of the league anymore. Everytime I tell people that I am an AVID AND DIEHARD Raiders fan, it is usually accompanied by laughing and a stern “Why?!?!” Art shell should not have considered coming out of retirement for this, if this is how it is going to be. I mean, they even won more games last season than they most likely will this year, judging by the looks of things. Don’t get me wrong, I will remain a Raiders fan forever…I am just as fed-up as a lot of Raiders fans at the way things are going so far. It sucks that most of the coaches since Gruden don’t have a winning team and leave after a few long and hard seasons! I guess Raiders fans like me will have to realize that this is one of their down periods of the franchise and won’t get better until the whole Raiders organization can get THEIR act together. Let’s look for some positives (which is NOT finishing the season with a winless record) and look forward to next year, assuming that is better. At least the defense looks promising, but even they will show fatigue after being on the field majority of the game. Get in gear guys! That’s all we can hope at this point.

The Raiders are the dumbest team in the NFL, and that was proven on Sunday against the 49ers.  Late in the game when the game was still close, Andrew Walter threw a lateral to Lamont Jordan who just stood there while a 49er swooped in, grabbed the ball, and returned it for a TD.  Unbelievable!  Andrew Walter played good in the first half, but was back to being a deer in headlights in the second half.  Walter completed 14 of 23 passes for 164 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT.  In the 4th quarter, Art Shell benched Walter and inserted Marques Tuiasosopo.  Tuiasosopo didn’t fare much better as he completed 4 of 9 passes for 52 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT.  The Raiders ran the ball very well and should have stuck with it longer.  Lamont Jordan carried the ball 12 times for 71 yards (5.9 ypc).  Justin Fargas ran very well, carrying the ball 8 times for 63 yards (7.9 ypc).  WR Ronald Curry had a good game catching 4 passes for 94 yards.  Randy Moss even made some plays catching 5 passes for 52 yards and a TD.  TE Courtney Anderson caught 1 pass and it was an 8 yard TD pass.

The Raiders had problems stopping the 49ers running game as they carried the ball 41 times for 165 yards (4.0 ypc).  The Niners also completed 15 of 19 passes for 165 net yards passing.  Safety Scott Schweigert (10 tackles) and LB Kirk Morrison (11 tackles) came to play as they always do…..but they need more help!

The battle of the Bay is a game pitting two pathetic teams against each other.

The Oakland Raiders are averaging 9.0 points per game and 177.0 total yards on offense.  It the Raiders were smart, they would run the ball every down.  The Raiders are averaging 4.6 yards per carry and the Niners are giving up 119.3 yards rushing per game.  The Niners might not be able to stop Lamont Jordan (183 rushing yards) and Justin Fargas (90 yards rushing) even if they know they’re coming.  Raiders QBs have been sacked 23 times, and their QBs only have a QB rating of 34.6 this season.  Andrew Walter (258 yards passing, 38.2% completions) looks overmatched, and throws the ball up for grabs instead of standing tough and taking a hit.  The Raiders are absolutely wasting Randy Moss (7 rec, 84 yards).

Look for the Niners to run Frank Gore (331 yards rushing) at the soft Raider run defense that is allowing 145.3 yards rushing per game.  As soon as the running game is established look for Alex Smith (906 yards passing) to take a few shots deep to WR Antonio Bryant (14 rec, 310 yards, 22.1 avg per catch).

I have to pick the 49ers because at least they have a QB that doesn’t play scared.

Starting cornerback Fabian Washington (hamstring) will be out for Sunday’s game against the 49ers.  Tyrone Poole will start in his place, a huge downgrade.

I never thought I would say this, but maybe the Raiders should call Jeff George back.  I’ve never heard of a QB hurting his pectoral muscle on a snap and missing a few weeks.  Aaron Brooks toughness really comes into question after suffering that kind of “injury”.  It could be that he was tired of getting sacked, as he was sacked 7 times in the Raiders first game.  Brooks only has thrown 14 passes this season and completed 6 of them (42.9%) for 68 yards.  At least Brooks can run around a little bit when the pocket breaks down as he has 5 carries for 27 yards.

Andrew Walter is just not ready to play in the NFL.  He looks like a deer in headlights on the football field.  When teams put pressure on him, he just throws the ball up and prays.  Walter has completed 21 of 55 passes (38.2%) for 258 yards with 1 TD and 4 INT.  Walter has already been sacked 12 times and most of them are not his fault.  The offensive line has been awful.  His QB rating is 29.2.

Unless the Raiders get better play from the QB’s and the offensive line, they may be in the Brady Quinn derby.

At halftime, you had to think the Raiders had this game in the bag.  All they had to do was keep running the football and put the game away.  But things didn’t work out that way.  Andrew Walter had another tough game and still looks like a deer in headlights.  Walter completed 9 of 23 passes for 68 yards with a TD and a INT.  RB Lamont Jordan had a great football game!  Jordan carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards (6.4 ypc) and a TD, he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards.  Justin Fargas had 3 carries for 54 yards (18.0 ypc).  WR Ronald Curry caught 3 passes for 27 yards and Randy Moss caught 1 pass….a five-yard TD.

The defense played another good game and has been solid all season.  The Browns carried the ball 35 times for 104 yards (3.0 ypc).  The Raiders allowed the Browns to complete 22 of 32 passes for 179 net yards passing.  Safety Scott Schweigert had 11 tackles.  LB Kirk Morrison racked up 10 tackles.  Derrick Burgess had three tackles and 2 sacks.  CB Nnamdi Asomugha had three tackles and 2 interceptions.

The Raiders played a good half and one awful half.  Maybe a complete game effort is on the horizon.