The Oakland Raiders took advantage of a few missing pieces on the Dolphins defense as the offensive line blocked well the whole game in the running game. Daunte Culpepper got his revenge on the Dolphins for cutting him loose in the off-season as he completed 5 of 12 passes for 75 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions. Culpepper also was outstanding running the football as he toted the rock 7 times for 28 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs. LaMont Jordan started the game like gangbusters as he carried the ball 15 times for 74 yards (4.9 ypc) before leaving the game with what appeared to be a serious back injury. Justin Fargas replaced Jordan in the lineup and he was outstanding! Fargas carried the ball 22 times for 179 yards (8.1 ypc)! Fullback Justin Griffith even got in on the fun with 5 carries for 18 yards (3.6 ypc). WR Jerry Porter turned back the clock and caught 3 passes for 52 yards (17.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs. The Raiders held on to the football for an amazing 35:07 of the football game. They rushed for 299 yards on 49 carries (6.1 ypc) and they completed 5 of 12 passes for 70 yards.

The defense had serious issues stopping the running game of the Dolphins who rushed for 141 yards on 20 carries (7.1 ypc). But the Raiders defense was outstanding against the pass as the Fins only completed 14 of 25 passes for 137 yards. Linebacker Thomas Howard had another very solid game with 4 tackles and an interception.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270930015

The Oakland Raiders will being trying to build off of a last second win against the Cleveland Browns while the Dolphins will be trying to build on their best effort of the season last week. 

Daunte Culpepper will get the start this week at QB against the team that kicked him to the curb in the off season.  Even with an inspired Culpepper the Raiders will likely focus on the running game.  The Raiders average 159.3 yards rushing per game on the ground and the Dolphins allow 166.0 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry so far this season.  Look for LaMont Jordan (350 yards rushing, 121 yards receiving) to be the focal point of the Raiders offense.  The Dolphins linebackers must contain Jordan or the Raiders are going to run all over the Fins’ defense.  Look for Culpepper to take a few shots down the football field to Ronald Curry (15 rec, 207 yards, 2 TDs) and Jerry Porter (4 rec, 92 yards, TD).

The Dolphins would like to mix it up on offense this week like they did against the Jets last week when they put 28 points on the board.  For that to happen the Dolphins must get another good effort from the offensive line.  Ronnie Brown (177 yards rushing, 175 yards receiving) is the main man on offense for the Dolphins so Raiders’ linebackers Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison will be busy.  The Raiders allow 256.0 yards per game passing but the Dolphins must be careful because the Raiders’ corners make big plays on the football.  The Dolphins need Chris Chambers (21 rec, 302 yards) and Marty Booker (12 rec, 159 yards, TD) must have good games for the Fins or the Raiders will gang up on Ronnie Brown.

PREDICTION:  This is an evenly matched football game.  But I think the Raiders will cover the 3.5 pointspread and they could win this game outright as Lane Kiffin has inspired the troops who have played much better for him than they did for Art Shell.

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The Oakland Raiders will be without QB Josh McCown for 1-2 weeks as he recovers from a fractured big toe.  McCown has played decent for the Raiders this season as he has completed 44 of 68 passes (64.7%) for 494 yards with 4 TD passes and 5 interceptions (75.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 9 times for 46 yards (5.1 ypc).  The Raiders will start Daunte Culpepper who played pretty decent last week in his first action of the season.  Culpepper completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 118 yards with 0 TD pass and 0 interceptions (84.8 QB Rating).  Look for Culpepper to be inspired this week as he’s playing against the Miami Dolphins who gave up on him during the off-season.

Starting guard Robert Gallery will also miss this weekend’s game with the Dolphins as he has torn ligaments in his right shoulder.

Taylor got caught in a numbers game in Oakland as the Raiders decided to go with youth as the backup WRs on the roster.  This might look like a mistake in a few weeks unless Mike Williams proves he can catch a pass.  He missed a couple of passes that hit him in a bad spot……his hands.

The Oakland Raiders snapped an 11-game losing streak yesterday by coach Lane Kiffin taking a play out of Mike Shanahan’s playbook as he called a timeout right before the Browns attempted a game winning field goal which went right through the goalposts.  When the Browns retried the field goal the Raiders blocked it sealing the Raiders’ first win for rookie coach Lane Kiffin.  Josh McCown started the game and he played pretty decent before having to leave the game with an injured ankle.  He completed 6 of 12 passes for 108 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 15 yards (3.8 ypc).  Daunte Culpepper replaced McCown and he looked decent completing 8 of 14 passes for 118 yards.  The Raiders running game was outstanding which helped them hold onto the football for 36:17 of the football game.  LaMont Jordan had a great game with 29 carries for 121 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 32 yards.  Justin Fargas was also solid with 8 carries for 50 yards (6.3 ypc).  Ronald Curry (3 rec, 62 yards, TD) and TE John Madsen (3 rec, 61 yards) led the way for the Raiders passing game.  The Raiders finished up with 41 carries for 186 yards (4.5 ypc) and they completed 14 of 26 passes for 210 yards.

Linebackers Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison both played outstanding games yesterday for the Raiders.  Howard had 8 tackles and he intercepted a pass that he returned 26 yards.  Morrison was also solid as he made 4 tackles and he intercepted a pass that he returned 45 yards.  The Browns rushed for 88 yards on 19 yards (4.6 ypc) and they completed 18 of 37 passes for 224 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923013

This game could wind up being a shootout as both defenses have played pretty badly so far this season.  The Browns are allowing 448.0 yards per game and the Raiders are allowing 416.5 yards per game.  The Browns will likely run with Jamal Lewis to the left side behind guard Eric Steinbach and tackle Joe Thomas who helped pave the way for Lewis to run for 216 yards last week.  The Raiders are allowing 144.5 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry so far this season.  If the Browns establish the run it will set up play action which would make it easy to throw the ball downfield.  WRs Braylon Edwards (11 rec, 195 yards, 2 TDs) and Joe Jurevicius (6 rec, 72 yards, 2 TDs) will challenge the corners of the Raiders who are pretty good football players.  TE Kellen Winslow (10 rec, 183 yards, TD) will likely be the guy that Derek Anderson targets the most in the passing game as the Raiders are young at safety.

The Raiders will also likely keep the ball on the ground with LaMont Jordan.  Jordan has rushed for 229 yards this season and he’s averaging 5.7 ypc.  Jordan also is a big part of the passing game as he has already caught 9 passes for 89 yards (9.9 avg).  So the Browns front 7 better bring their “A” game to deal with Jordan.  The Browns are allowing 171.5 yards rushing per game and 5.0 ypc this season.  The Raiders would like to attack the Browns deep in the passing game as they only have one healthy safety (Sean Jones).  McCown should have time to throw the ball this week as the Browns only have 2 sacks this season.  That will allow McCown to throw the ball to the WRs (Ronald Curry and Jerry Porter).  He also will likey target Zach Miller against the Browns safeties.

The Raiders must be careful kicking the ball to Joshua Cribbs of the Browns because he can return any kick or punt for a TD.

PREDICTION:  The Browns will win another high-scoring close football game.  But, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Raiders won the game either.

Josh McCown has had huge issues with ball security this season and he has fumbled the ball 5 times this season but he is yet to lose one.  McCown has completed 38 of 56 passes (67.9%) for 386 yards with 3 TDs and 5 interceptions (68.0 QB Rating) so far this season.  His main problem last week was that he was playing with a broken finger on his throwing hand.  He also has been holding onto the football a little too long this season as he has been sacked 7 times.  He should decide whether to throw the ball away or take off running as he has carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) sooner.  Coach Kiffin won’t put up with the turnovers much longer with Daunte Culpepper waiting on the sidelines.

This game just hurt.  The Raiders appeared to kick a game-winning, 52-yard field goal in OT but, the “evil” Mike Shanahan called a timeout just seconds before the ball was snapped.  So, Janikowski tried again and this time the ball hit the goalpost and fell to the ground.  The Broncos then churned up a lot of yards on the ground before kicking the winning field goal.  One has to wonder if the Raiders would have won this game if the injured Josh McCown just sat out a week and let Daunte Culpepper start this game?  McCown completed 8 of 16 passes for 73 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions.  He also ran the ball 2 times for 28 yards (14.0 ypc).  RB LaMont Jordan was unstoppable for the Raiders as he carried the ball 25 times for 159 yards (6.4 ypc).  Jerry Porter pitched in with a 46-yard TD grab on his only reception of the football game. 

The Raiders normally solid defense had some big time issues in this football game despite scoring 9 points for the Raiders.  LB Thomas Howard was outstanding as he made 10 tackles and intercepted a pass that he returned 44 yards for a TD.  Gerard Warren also got a little bit of revenge on the Broncos for trading him when he sacked QB Jay Cutler in the endzone for a safety.  The Raiders just couldn’t stop the Broncos running game.  The Broncos rolled up 181 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.8 ypc) and they completed 23 of 33 pases for 260 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916007

As an avid Raiders fan for many years, I have seen Oakland make themselves and break themselves time and time again. Lane Kiffin has definitely improved this time very well since last season. The debate for QB will still go on though, since Josh McCown has hot and cold streaks periodically. He played really well in the second half, almost giving the Raiders the win in over time…but…could Daunte Culpepper have done even better and put even more points on the board?

The Raiders offense is showing great improvement, as it may seem this has become a rebuilding year (looking at the good teams left on the schedule from game 3 until the end). The Raiders take on Cleveland next week and after their enormous display of points on offense this past Sunday, they’re really something to worry about.

Now speaking about the overtime portion of the game:

I actually thought they were gonna pull off a win this time! I think that Mike Shanahan is a good coach and a hard opponent to defeat. I am guessing most people will say calling a timeout seconds before Janikowski nailed the long field goal attempt is excellent game strategy. But, from my angle as a fan, strategy means tough play calling on offense and strong coordinating on defense, while having good coaching along the way. Many times teams call time outs to break the flow in the opposing teams offense (especially at the end of the game), which is smart, but…have many coaches stooped so low that when they are obviously beat, they do ticky-tack things to pull off the win???

And for the flipside:

Sebastian Janikowski really needs to accept that his prime is through. It’s a shame because he has such a great power behind his foot making a 60+ yard field goal in pregame warm ups. The problem is that during warm ups, it obviously doesn’t count. Making them during the game is his weakness. His accuracy in recent years has really plummeted for the worse. The ironic thing is that he just MADE that kick. All players are under game winning pressure and when it comes down to the kicker, teams need someone that can make that clutch 3 points to defeat the opponent.

My hats off to the Raiders from overcoming that deficit to send the game into overtime. They couldn’t even move the ball last year. It will be interesting to see how the Raiders do next time they play Denver, at home, on Sunday Dec. 2nd, 2007 without that thin mountain air. That is one area where the Broncos had full advantage during the game. They have the benefit of clean air to train in and when teams come over, they will be able to have more stamina.

As for Mike Shanahan…I have heard of holding grudges against former employers, but, this has almost turned into his little obsession. Wanting the Raiders to lose is one thing, but being an Jack A** towards the new and young coach that wasn’t old enough to be a part of an organization that you hate until now is another. During the game, the CBS commentators stated that at a coaches meeting, Lane Kiffin shook Shanahan’s hand and asked if he had any advice for coaching in the NFL. Shanahan supposedly responded by saying, “Yeah. Stay away from me.” And when Coach Kiffin laughed, he said, “I am serious. Stay away from me.”

I just hope that this sort of better-than-last-year offensive season doesn’t turn out to be a similar record like last year in the long run.

These two teams were on reverse sides of the ledger in the 4th quater of their games last week.  The Raiders were winning 21-20 in the middle of the 4th quarter before they imploded and lost 36-21 to the Lions.  The Broncos won a miraculous game in Buffalo 15-14 as Jason Elam hit a field goal as time ran out.  These two rivals definately hate each other.  Other than the Super Bowl these are games that Coach Shanahan feels he has to win because of his hate of Al Davis who fired him after 1 season as head coach of the Raiders.  The Broncos swept the two games with the Raiders last season outscoring them 30-16 in those games.  The Broncos have now won 4 meetings in a row with the Raiders outscoring them 83-36 in those contests.

The Raiders will likely attempt to run the football against the Broncos.  LaMont Jordan ran well last week against the Lions as he carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards (4.7 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 9 passes for 89 yards out of the backfield.  The Broncos allowed 112 yards rushing last week to the Bills on 26 carries (4.3 ypc) so the Raiders will likely have success on the ground.  It is unknown at this point if Josh McCown or Daunte Culpepper will start at QB for the Raiders this week.  Whichever QB it is will have to protect the football against CBs Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey.  The line must hold against the Broncos front to give the Raiders QBs a chance to see down the field or they could throw some bad passes.  WR Ronald Curry was outstanding last week with 10 catches for 133 yards and a TD but he will likely draw Champ Bailey in coverage so the Raiders might look to Jerry Porter more this week in the passing game. The smart thing for the Raiders to do would be to look for rookie TE Zach Miller against the Broncos safeties in the passing game.

The Broncos will likely do what they always do on offense and that’s run the football.  The Raiders allowed 108 yards rushing and 5.1 yards per carry against the Lions last week who aren’t exactly known for their running prowess.  Look for Travis Henry (139 yards rushing, 6.0 ypc) to get the bulk of the work behind an offensive line that paved the way for 171 yards rushing (5.3 ypc) against the Bills last week.  But the Broncos won’t just run the football as 2nd year QB Jay Cutler is a player on the rise.  He led the game winning last drive of the game last week like a veteran with ice water in his veins.  Look for him to challenge the outstanding CBs of the Raiders with Javon Walker, Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley down the field.  He will also dump some short stuff to TEs Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler.

PREDICTION:  The Raiders looked a lot better last week than they did last season but they aren’t ready to win a game like this one yet.  Look for the Broncos to prevail by more than a TD.