And Their Off!!!

Week 1, game 1, over. Big weekend for the NFL. The experts feel like crap. Vegas feels like crap. I feel great. What I said went against the experts. They called for blowouts against the teams that had bad records last year and those teams made close games of it. Nearly winning their games. Only losing by virtue of one mistake.

Injuries. Eagles QB, Donovan McNab, was speared in the endzone after scoring and now has cracked ribs. Nothing happened to the player who caused it. I have always complained about late hits in the endzone. It is not necessary to hit someone in the endzone after they have clearly scored. That is, unless you want to inflict pain. It was clear that inflicting pain on McNab was the only intent. While I do not believe cracking a rib was the goal, I still think a late hit or spearing penalty should have been called. Sure, there are times when you should hit a player in the endzone, but that is in an attempt to prevent him from scoring. Once he has scored, you should lay off. I would like to take this time to say "Thank you, Mr. Commish!" Your decision to further punish Mike Vick has placed the Eagles in a terrible spot. Their starting QB goes down with an injury and you have placed their backup on a useless 2 game suspension. Now, they have to sign another QB for 1 game, while the QB they payed good money for, cannot be used. This is the perfect scenario for the Eagles Mike Vick signing and they cannot proceed. I know you cannot predict an injury, but the Eagles know McNab is injury prone and Mike Vick would be great to step in and take charge until McNab can return. I am not an Eagles fan, but I thought this had to be said.

Moving on....

Monday Night, September 14, 2009 at 7:30pm. Make that date. Make that time. That is when the Raiders shocked everyone (except me) by showing the Chargers who rules the 2009 AFC West. LaDamien Tomlinson was talking trash to the Raider fans before the start of the game. By the end of the game, he was not playing. He was held to 55 yards on 13 carries. That's just over 4 yards per carry. He has averaged 113 yards per game against the Raiders. All the experts said he would run for nearly 200 yards against the Raiders. They never spoke to me. I was the one who, weeks ago, said the Raiders would dominate the AFC West. Everyone laughed. No one is laughing this morning. The Chargers are not laughing.

The Raiders played the Chargers and the refs and they still almost pulled that game out. I liked every aspect of the Raiders game. I hope you see that this team has nowhere to go but up. They will improve. They will get better. Remember, this is the first game that the entire starting cast could play together. They will learn each other. JaMarcus Russell will be great. The Raiders line, both offense and defense, is one of the strongest in the NFL. The defense showed that they are not the junk defense I heard analyst and fans calling them over the past month. Richard Seymour. What can I say. He did not show up for work until Saturday. Two days before the game. He said he did not study the playbook. He had a walk thru with the team on Sunday. He plays the entire game and reeks havoc all over the Chargers offense. He posted 3 tackles, 3 assist and 2 sacks. He was the only Raider to record a sack. When he learns the playbook, look out. The defense did something no other team in the NFL could do over the past 3 years...MADE LT fumble. He did not fumble because of a hard hit. They barely hit him. He fumbled, because the Raiders gang tackled him and one man ripped the ball from his arms. I feel sorry for any team that has to play the Raiders this season. The Chargers are so banged up, they are going to 3rd stringers as replacements. They have to call players they released, last week and ask them to return. THAT IS RAIDER DEFENSE AS DICTATED BY AL DAVIS FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS, PEOPLE.

Ooh, that felt good.

The Raider offense was great. JaMarcus will come around. He will be working on his timing and he aim. It takes time and you do not get that kind of time during preseason. While he went less than 50% (12 of 30) he did throw for 208 yards. The backup, Bruce Gradkowski, was 2 of 2 for 17 yards. Are you secure, now? Do you see that the Raiders have stability at QB. Darren McFadden, Micheal Bush and Zack Miller all were exceptional in last nights game. They will get better. Remember, the Raiders top running back, Justin Fargus, is injured. When he returns, they will be stronger. They have rookie wide receivers. They have game shock under their belt. They will get better.

Now, what you want to hear. My assessment. The Raiders did not surprise me. I fully expected them to win and they would have. Even with a touchdown taken by the refs. They did everything right, except...they did not finish the game. I do not blame the players, I blame the coach. They applied massive pressure on the Chargers from the opening drive. They offense pounded the ball like the Raiders of old. The defense contested EVERY play. The coach forgot that in the 4th quarter. I never liked the prevent defense, even when I played. The Raiders had them beat until they started dropping the linebackers 12 yards deep and leaving the middle of the field open. That is how it broke down. I can only say, first year head coach, pressure situation, he will get better. Tom Cable may not be the best Raider coach, but he is the right Raider coach with the right Raider approach to turn this team around and bring home the trophy.

Next up, the Chiefs, in Kansas City. They Raiders will dominate that game, as well. I can't wait.

As always, this is my opinion. You don't have to accept it, but respect it.

Raider-Man