Starting QB Josh McCown is iffy for Sunday’s game against the Broncos after the beating he took at the hands of the Lions last week.  McCown cracked a bone in his right index finger and he also sprained an ankle.  He was sacked three times and hit numerous other times because of poor line play.  He overcame that for the most part as he completed 20 of 30 passes for 313 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions (93.0 QB Rating).  If McCown can’t go, the Raiders will start Daunte Culpepper against the Broncos.  That could be scary for Culpepper if his knee isn’t 100% playing behind the Raiders offensive line.

The Oakland Raiders have lost starting center Jeremy Newberry for a couple of weeks with a hamstring pull.  Jake Grove will replace Newberry in the starting lineup.  Grove started all 16 games last season for the Raiders so considering how poor the line played in 2006 this probably is not a good thing for the Raiders.

The Raiders need to bite the bullet and cut Janikowski loose.  He really hurt the Raiders yesterday as he missed all three of his field goal attempts.  Bite the bullet Big Al and pay the man to leave.  He only makes $1.35 million bucks and he doesn’t seem to be that interested in doing his job.

Another year, another opening day loss. It was hard for me to watch the ending of that game yesterday. It’s still bothering me, but not as much as a buddy of mine. Right after the game, he said, “I’ll be right back”. He comes back with 5 tall cans of Coors Light and starts going to work.

A day after the heartbreak, I am starting to see the good that actually came out of yesterday. Yes, we did lose and yes we did blow a lead but we actually looked like a real team yesterday. Our offensive line actually looked like a cohesive unit for the first time in may years, the QB looked like a legit NFL starter. We looked like we belonged in the NFL yesterday, not the CFL. Let’s break down the good and bad of yesterday’s defeat.

First of all, the big good has to be the ability of Curry to make plays. I have always like Curry, don’t get me wrong, but I never felt like he was anything more than a great #3 or an average #2. Yesterday, he proved he could step up and be a great #2. I was completely blown away when he was able to come down with that 42 yard, duck that McCown threw to him. Curry played like a mad man yesterday.

How about Zach Miller? Did he look good or what? He only had 3 receptions for 23 yards, but he looks like he can be a real receiving threat in the future. His blocking looked great. Every swing pass we through, there was Miller laying into the end with fantastic-looking crackdown blocks.

I think, the receivers as a whole, played quite well. I have already stated Curry’s, but Jordan looked great catching passes out of the backfield and so did Griffith.  I would have like to see Porter and Mike Williams get a few more looks, though. Jordan didn’t have a super day rushing the ball but he had a good all around day when factoring in receptions. Where was Travis Taylor?

Kirk Morrison, wow. This guy is really developing into a top tier linebacker. He had a great game yesterday, as did Thomas Howard. Morrison’s 9 tackles and 1 INT along with Howard’s 6 tackles and a sack were bright spots on the defense.  And Chris Clemons? This guys came out of nowhere and is looking very good alternating with Tommy Kelly.

Now for the negatives.

McCown had a huge statistical day yesterday, yes…but I’m not sold just yet. I wouldn’t say he played bad, but he didn’t play great either. McCown’s success was dependant on the lack of smarts on the part of the Lions defense. Detroit’s defensive coordinator left the outs and swing passes open all day for McCown. We didn’t stretch the field because, simply, we didn’t have to. Many times, McCown looked like a scared kid. He held onto the ball way too long, more times than I can count and had a late delivery. I was calling for Daunte in the first half, yes. McCown looked like the same old crap we put behind Center since Gannon. He did come around, finally and made the game exciting. He just needs more time to develop a relationship with his offense and get comfortable with his surroundings. The other thing I saw that I liked out of McCown was his fire on the sideline. I haven’t seen a QB that motivated and intense since Gannon. We finally have offense with some sort of passion.

Where was our pass defense? Sure we had a few interceptions, but where the hell was the pass defense? What was with the huge cushions all day long? Last time I checked, we had a good pass defense, so why did we feel it was necessary to play so timid? Stuart looked lost out there. Where was he on that TD pass to McDonald? No excuse. Then he was simply lost on the TD pass to Roy Williams. Washington looked out of place all game as well. Come on guys, play aggressive, you have the talent to do it. I’m not sure if it was so much the play of the secondary as it was the play calling. Like I said, the space we were giving them was ridiculous. Ryan needs to play more aggressive; he has the talent at his disposal.

One word, Janikowski. I’m not even going to get into it. He isn’t worth the breath.

Overall, it was heartbreaking to watch another loss that was so easily winnable for us. I am finally excited to see a team that resembles NFL caliber talent on the field. More Jordan on the ground, more Porter, more Zach Miller. Next week looks bright, Denver looked horrible yesterday.

The Oakland Raiders were winning this football game 21-20 with 4:23 left in the football game earlier today before the roof caved in on them.  They looked like the Bad News Bears of football in the last 4 minutes of this football game.  Still, overall the offense looked much better than at any time last season.  QB Josh McCown completed 30 of 40 passes for 313 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  RB LaMont Jordan also had a good game with 70 yards on 15 carries (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 9 passes for 89 yards (9.9 avg).  Justin Fargas also pitched in with 18 yards rushing on 5 carries (3.6 ypc).  WR Ronald Curry led all Raiders receivers with 10 grabs for 133 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD catch.  The Raiders finished up with 92 yards on 23 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 40 passes for 283 yards.

The defense got sliced and diced by the Lions offense.  Still, LBs Kirk Morrison (9 tackles, interception) and Thomas Howard (6 tackles, sack) both played pretty well.  The Lions finished up with 108 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.1 ypc) and they completed 27 of 36 passes for 284 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270909013

I hate to be the bringer of bad news but I would take the under.  The Raiders offense will still have problems putting points on the scoreboard because they haven’t really improved the offensive line.  It doesn’t matter who the QB is if he is running for his life every down.  Also, WRs Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry and TE Zach Miller don’t strike fear in the hearts of opposing defenders.  The Raiders will rely on their defense again to keep games close and hope they can make a coulpe big plays on offense.  Take the under.

I would like to take this time to say hello. That aside, time for the blog.

 

You know what has been pissing me off lately?

Pretty much every sports news outlet putting Russell in the doghouse for this holdout and the Raiders for not signing him. Yes, I agree that it really hurts to see our #1 pick sit so long. It was getting to the point where I started to even question whether or not he would even become a Raider and opt out of a contract all together, a la Bo Jackson.

You can’t blame the guy. If it were any one of us in his position, we would want the best as well. You can’t really fault either sides, Russell or the Raiders. They both are trying to protect their best interests. The whole debate is not over a “contract agreement” rather than an agreement on the guaranteed money. The NFL has seen a trend in recent years where players are demanding a high percentage of their contracts be guaranteed money.

Look at it from the Raiders’ point of view.  Say they give in to the demands and fork over fifty percent of the contract in guarantees. I doubt he will play at all this season so, say he gets hurt during practice. Now if the injury is serious or career ending, the organization is screwed out of x amount of dollars.

Now look at it from Russell’s standpoint. He, just like any one of us, is seeking a deal that pays him the most money. It’s not greed; it’s just human nature. I wouldn’t necessarily pin this demand on him rather than his agents whispering in his ear. I’m sure he would play for 3/4 of what they offered him. The outlandish desires and demands come from the agents’.

On this, you have people calling the Raiders stupid for not signing him in time.  How are the Raiders stupid? That is stupid for calling them stupid. It’s calling them dumb for trying to protect their money.

Then there are people disagreeing with the Raiders for other reasons. I’m hearing things like “Russell is too far along to be apart of this year’s equation” or “it is too late for Russell to make an impact this year”. Have these people even been paying attention? It wasn’t the plan for Russell even to start this season, even if Davis himself thought that Russell should be the starter this Sunday. No way in hell would I want Russell to even touch the ball this year, even if he had signed the day of the draft. We are horrible, we have one of the worst offensive lines I have ever seen and you want to throw Russell into that? Why not throw the money away because it’s pretty much the same thing. Pay him then let him get sacked 70 times, good idea.

Look at it in Alex Smith’s case. That could have been Joe Montana but his offense that surrounded him gave him a bad name. He ran around like a chicken with its head cut off for a reason, HE HAD NO HELP AROUND HIM. Outside of Frank Gore, and Larry Allen, Smith had a Division II team around him. People, including myself, were quick to judge him based off of that. He is progressing into a QB rather than a child in a uniform like he was. Nolan is putting the pieces in place for him to succeed.

Now if it were Russell, the same would happen. Just because we put him under center doesn’t mean we are going to improve, we aren’t. He needs the tools for success. In order for him to take us anywhere, he needs to have a line to protect him, which he doesn’t…yet. It’s the same with David Carr. I thought, and still think he can be a good QB. That guy had horrendous offensive lines every year he was in Houston and he got a bad name because he couldn’t do anything. Maybe it was his fault, maybe not but you can’t entirely blame the guy when he is constantly running for his life. So to even call this a wasted season because he isn’t going to start is just stupid. I hear it everyday in the papers, radio and TV.  It’s getting really old hearing morons like Sean Salisbury bash the Raiders every single day. This guy has no more room talk football than a dog. What qualifies him? He played a few years in the NFL and by “played” I mean, “rode the bench”. The only TV personalities who give credit to the changes being made are Eric Allen and Rod Woodson, two ex-Raiders coincidentally.

Our priority needs to be, sign him before the start of the season Sunday (which looks like it will happen). He rides the bench and learns….period. Nothing, no snaps…no matter how much our other QB’s suck.

The Raiders have cut WR Alvis Whitted and S Donovin Darius.  Whitted was caught in a numbers game at WR this season with the Raiders as he caught 3 passes for 49 yards in the pre-season.  Donovin Darius only made 2 tackles in the pre-season and he was beaten out for the starting job by last year’s starter Stuart Schweigert. 

The Oakland Raiders have released long time fullback Zach Crockett.  Crockett just got caught up in a numbers game with the Raiders this season.  He played in 12 games last season for the Raiders and he carried the football 39 times for 163 yards (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 10 passes for 53 yards (5.3 avg).  It’s hard to see a warrior like Zach Crockett going out of the NFL like this.