SevenCyberseas - Blogs http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php Help humankind through a better understanding of the Greatness of the Raiders en Fri, 18 May 2012 14:32:05 GMT vBulletin 120 http://www.fansinblack.com/x/images/vb4style-vb4/misc/rss.jpg SevenCyberseas - Blogs http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php I Knew We Were Going to Lose When... http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=83 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:23:46 GMT I was hopeful that my Raiders would make it to the play offs. I knew it was a long shot. Kansas... I was hopeful that my Raiders would make it to the play offs. I knew it was a long shot. Kansas City did their part for us by beating the Denver Broncos. All we needed to do was win this one game. We went down 38-26. Not even in flames. We went down choking.

I knew early on this was not going to be a good game , though, because I saw signs.

The first sign was when with all kinds of movement on their offense, and our defense reacting to it, we got called for off sides. My stomach turned when I witnessed one of the cleanest players in the league, Matt Giordano, get flagged for unnecessary roughness, hitting a defenseless receiver. And that with less than 2 minutes played!

Then I thought, hmm, maybe it WILL be okay when Matt picked off Phillip Rivers on the very next play.

We followed that by going down the field 95 yards, and scoring a touchdown. That renewed my hope. But I still had that
feeling nagging at me. For good reason.

San Diego went right down field and scored. How? Mike Mitchell lost his balance and fell, covering Antonio Gates. Our best ball hawking safety was busy blitzing.

In what world is blitzing the team leader in interceptions a GOOD thing? Only in the mind of Chuck Breshnahan. Of course, Chuckie B seemingly thinks it is a good idea to have defensive lineman LaMar Houston cover the same player. He only has a career average of 13.1 yards per reception. Who says a line man can't cover him successfully? I am thinking anyone with any actual football sense. But football sense does not seem to be high on that particular defensive coordinator's list. He had Rolando McClain, again, covering a top rated wide receiver. Is it any surprise the pass play, a third and 7, play, resulted in a touchdown? Now keep in mind, we had 6 defensive backs on the field, and yet our middle linebacker was covering wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

The problem with this particular defensive coordinator is he is back asswards. He develops a scheme, then plugs players into it, never giving a second thought to the fact that the players he is plugging in do not have the

skill set necessary to fit. One thing Coach Davis preached was use one's players to their strengths. That is not what has been done with the defense. For instance, Kamerion Wimbley has had 7 sacks this season, but time after time, he was dropped into coverage. I know I questioned why the leader in interceptions, Matt Giordano, was running outside trying to get to the quarterback while Kamerion Wimbley was in coverage - with his entire 2 CAREER interceptions, and the guy with 5 interceptions and zero sacks is going after the quarterback. Yeah, that makes PERFECT sense. Only in the mind of hopefully our soon to be former defensive coordinator. For the record, in this game, Matt was the only player with a a recorded pass defended.

Then there is Lito Sheppard. His tendency is to allow the catch, but not allow YAC, and sometimes he can make a play on the ball. Normally not a bad thing. However, he is only 5'10" tall and 194 lbs. , not big at all for a corner. he seemed to draw man a lot agianst Malcolm Floyd. Floyd is 6'5". That is a classic mismatch. On one play, a 3rd and 4, Lito played several yards off the line scrimmage. He made the tackle pretty much right after the catch was made, but it was a 4 yard reception. There was no push on the receiver at the line of scrimmage, no contact within the first 5 yards to slow the receiver down. And no way Lito could do ANYTHING but attempt to make the tackle. Which he did well.

San Diego had possession of the ball 9 times. Their first possession ended in an interception. They missed one field goal. With less than a minute left , they turned the ball over on downs. They scored 6 times. Their punter took the field only to be the holder on 2 field goal attempts.

The defensive line, allegedly anchored by Richard Seymour, has struggled mightily since Matt Shaughnessy was hurt. With John Henderson missing this game, there were fewer guys to rotate in to relieve these guys.

I have to also look at what I know our offense could be. The one that Hue Jackson calls the plays for.

The one that ran Michael Bush 15 times on first downs. That includes 12 out of 15 times , before our last possession of the half. I shake my head at an offense that had 3rd and 9 and threw the ball 5 yards, forcing us to punt. The one that threw for 6 yards on a 3rd and 13 play, forcing us to settle for a field goal.

The one that did not employ no huddle until there was less than 1/2 a quarter left in the game.

The no huddle has always worked for our offense, and Carson Palmer does run it well. That is as long as he doesn't force his throw.

He did that a few times this game. There were two corner routes to Darrius Heyward-Bey, Both times he ended up playing defense. One , in the south end zone he came close to making it a catch. The second one, in the north end zone, he made a great defensive play to prevent an interception. He also came literally out of no where, jumped in front of a defender all set for a pick. That was the drive that ended with Kevin Boss getting the touch down pass and getting injured. Three passes where he prevented picks, and one where he almost made it a score. I know there will be different points of view on the pass attempt to the south end zone, but the way I see it, the ball was overthrown, DHB managed to tip into himself, and then the Charger defender, Eric Weddle got his hand in to knock it up. What DHB did next is not what you will see from someone like Michael Crabtree. DHB played defense, and before wddle could "gain possession", Weddle was forced out of bounds. Some will say that an elite receiver would have had that pass, but I'd question that. DHB had to jump for the ball and get it into his body to try to protect it. That is what ANY receiver would have done, and Weddle was in position to punch the ball out. Period.

Yeah, I am a complete DHB homer, and probably his biggest fan outside of his family. I know he dropped balls this game, too. But like he is supposed to, he let the drops go, and moved on and made some seriously good plays.

Again, he was the leading receiver for the game. And again, he was the only wide receiver with a touch down.

The 9 receptions for 130 yards helped Carson Palmeer achieve another 100+ passer rating.

It was not a bad game for Palmer, with 417 yards in the air.

It was not getting the holes for Michael Bush that hurt us. He managed only 3.5 yards per carry. he carried the ball 19 of our 24 rushes, 2 of those being Palmer scrambles on busted pass plays.

So when did I know we were not going to win?

It could have been with less than a minute and half gone in the game, the guys in the booth were already talking about the penalty record, and seeing 2 bogus flags thrown already.

Maybe it was when I saw the lack of pressure on Phillip Rivers.

Maybe it was when I realized that we were not going to use no huddle to move the ball... until we were too far behind to make a serious comeback.

Maybe it was when we had them for a safety, and after ruling the return man down on the half yard line, Jackson did not challenge the play. And they moved the ball easily. From the half yard line. Again no pressure.

Maybe it was when they had a 105 yard kick return for a touch down.

Maybe it was when Denarius Moore missed a high, but catchable, ball.

Maybe it was when Palmer finally threw the interception.

Maybe it was when we had a delay of game when going for a field goal.

Nope. Not any of those. It WAS when I saw Houston in coverage on Gates. I knew that a defensive scheme was in place, despite the fact it didn't work for the players we had. And that we would not deviate. I knew we'd never pressure Rivers. (We had only one quarterback pressure by Richard Seymour.) I knew no matter what we did, unless we managed to get another turnover, we were dead in the water.

I do not know what will happen in the up-coming off season for my beloved team.

But I do know I still love my team. And I will be getting my season tickets again.

As ever,

Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=83 Still Unable to Finish http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=82 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:58:18 GMT My beloved Oakland Raiders blew a silver and black opportunity as they blew a 13 point lead late in... My beloved Oakland Raiders blew a silver and black opportunity as they blew a 13 point lead late in the 4th quarter, and took their 3rd loss in a row , this time to the Detroit Lions , 28-27.

I would love to say it was just one thing, but each time I look back and reflect on the game, I see things that could have changed the outcome.

The first one, of course, was coming away with NO points, on a 4th and 1 from the Detroit 24, when a pass to Denarius Moore fell incomplete. I question whether or not there was some illegal contact, but regardless, we needed a first down. Another play, maybe a Michael Bush run, a pitch out, something, would have given us the first down. Maybe led to a touchdown. However, a field goal, 3 points, would have given us 30 points - and the victory. All I know is that it is not the only time we went deep on a pass play when we needed short yardage and came away with an incomplete pass. Late in the game, Chaz Schilens was unable to haul in a pass from Carson Palmer on a 3rd and 3 play. we needed that first down. That first down would have brought us to the the 2 minute warning. Detroit was working with NO time outs. There was 2:32 left on the clock.

I have been complaining about how conservative the Raiders offensive game calling was in the last 2 games, yet when we NEEDED to go conservative in this game, we didn't.

Then there is Carson Palmer. The guy we sold the house for... and the reason why we probably won't be re-signing Jason Campbell, considering Palmer's contract. Taking that last sack killed us. It wasn't the 3 yard loss. It was the wasted play and that we had to use our final time out. It wasn't necessary.

Defensively, I don't know if the late 13 point lead made some of the players cocky, or what they were thinking.

On a 4th and 2 deep in our territory, all we needed to do was STOP the first down. We rush three, leaving no one in the middle gap, and gave Matt Stafford the room to run for the first down. Tom Flores was calling for the run. I was thinking the run because the middle of the field was wide open. And that is exactly what what happened. I found the empty backfield a little suspect.

I love Stanford Routt. I am one of his biggest fans. I was talking him up all off season. But I have to wonder WHAT he was thinking with the pass interference late in the game that gave Detroit the ball on our 6 yard line. It was so blatant. He impeded the progress of Calvin Johnson. That is textbook. He could have had position. He could have made a play on the ball. Instead he back-peddled and didn't allow the receiver to run his route. Routt is so much better than that! I was so disappointed. Other than that, even with the holding penalty I think he had a good game.

But it was two plays before that one that left me shaking my head. Rolando McClain and Jerome Boyd covering Calvin Johnson over the middle. I do not know what was worse, that McClain probably had better position than Boyd, who is supposed to be adept at covering, or that Boyd actually did NOTHING on the play. He was basically standing there as he watched Calvin Johnson slow down and adjust to the ball to make the completion.

The defense allowed 6 plays over 20 yards, two were touchdown receptions.

I know Calvin Johnson is a good receiver. But how could we have given up 214 yards on 9 receptions to him? This was his best game of the season. In a game where we were fighting for play off hopes, and having the added bonus of getting the updates of Denver losing, we should have done something to have him covered better.

I look at the defense overall and wonder if we actually have designed a game plan for the offense we are facing.

Then there is our lack of a return game on both kick offs and punt returns. Nothing we have tried since Jacoby Ford's injury has worked for us. Watching punts roll to inside our 10 yard line has become the norm and I am tired of it.

Seeing Tyvon Branch's HUGE return coming back because of a flag.

Watching Sebastian Janikoswksi's record setting field goal attempt get blocked.

This late in the season with a 13 point lead with only half the the 4th quarter? It should have been enough. we should have been able to control the ball... and the team's destiny.
The team did not.

There were some men that were actually balling today.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, despite the fumble, was 8-9 for 155 yards. Michael bush caught 7 ofr 7 passes. T.J. Houshmandzadeh was 6 for 6. Kevin Boss was 3 for 3. Marcel Reece was 3 for 3. Chaz Schilens only missed one of the balls that went his way, unfortunately, it was a drive killer. i still think it was not the best play call. But you get the picture. Carson Palmer had 113.2 quarterback rating with 32 completions on 40 pass attempts, with one being a touchdown to Darrius Heyward-Bey. No interceptions. No passes batted.

All the receivers provided blocking.

Rolando McClain led the team in tackles , I think this is third game in a row. he had 7 tackles , two assists, a sack a quarterback hurry and a tackle for a loss. Lito Sheppard was second, with 8 solo tackles. The problem with that is he was playing off his man and allowing the receptions. I loved Tommy Kelly's sack and forced fumble and Aaron Curry's recovery for the touch down. For the first time since the Bears game, Richard Seymour recorded actual defensive statistics. (Two tackles, a quarterback hurry and a pass defended.)

It wasn't that the team did not perform. On third and fourth and inches, the defense stopped a first down. The offense had over 400 yards.

We just made crucial mistakes at key times , and slacked off the last several minutes of the game. And that includes the aggressive play calling on short yardage, dumb penalties, poor coverage...

This was just disheartening. I was planning my title for our victory. But we didn't finish the game. We didn't win.

And now only by convoluted mathematical wins and losses can we make wild card. IF we win our next two games.

I don't know if we can finish.

I still love my team and I'll be at the game New Year's day, whatever happens. I just hope the team shows up to play. All 60 minutes.

As ever,

Win. lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=82 Not a Team... http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=81 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:08:43 GMT As the Oakland Raiders faced off against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field, I was... As the Oakland Raiders faced off against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field, I was trepidatious at best. Given
the fact the final score was 46-16, it is understandable.

I was not thrilled that we decided to start off on offense. We won the toss. Considering all aspects of the game have been less than perfect, I would have liked to see us start off on defense.

Before I get into the game, just a few comments on the ever present, league pervasive crappy officiating that the NFL encourages and does nothing about.

Mike Mitchell was called for pass interference that gave them first and goal. The Packers would have had 4th and 16 from the 31 which would have left them with a 49 or so yard field goal, INTO the wind. They ended up with a rushing touchdown. How can that kind of call NOT help a team? Down by 24 with the ball is much better than being down 31.

When Aaron Rodgers' fumble was ruled an incomplete pass? I was not surprised. I have to admit I was a little bit
shocked when somehow a post change of possession infraction still counted and gave Green Bay a first and goal. how can a penalty be enforced when it essentially did not happen? I am sure it has something to do with it being a 15 yard penalty, but even our radio announcers were confused by this.

When I saw the holding Green Bay was getting away with offensively I was shrugging my shoulders. Nothing new that
big plays kept being allowed when the offensive line was holding. I just dislike when the booth guys call a
defensive back being held a good block as the running back gets the sideline on a big run play.

Then a 50 yard that should have been over turned that wasn't because of a malfunction on replay equipment???
Mighty convenient timing.

The official sounded almost disappointed that he had to rule the interception for Mike Mitchell in the end zone.

I am not convinced that it was roughing the passer on Quentin Groves. He hit the quarterback withing half a step after the ball was released. What is he supposed to do with the kind of momentum he had? That turned an incomplete 3rd and 5 from the 36, so a 4th and 5, what would have been a roughly 53 yard field goal attempt, into a first and 10 from the 21. Again, a miraculous questionable penalty, but it only lead to a field goal. we were down by so much by that time it was ridiculous anyway, but still, I question the call.

I am very curious what hitting a defenseless receiver is. Seems like Louis Murphy was pretty defenseless when he took a hard hit. More so than than the receiver Aaron Curry hit a couple of weeks back.

Why? I don't know, but all the announcers kept talking about was Aaron Rodgers being able to break a Brett Favre
record. Green Bay wants to forget Favre and move on, and even though Rodgers has brought them that Super Bowl
trophy, Favre is still associated with GB. Rodgers breaking Favre's season record with a few games left, makes him better, right?


But that does not explain what in the heck Carson Palmer was doing throwing into double or more coverage multiple
times. Yeah the ball was dropped quite a few times. My boy Darrius Heyward-Bey had his share, and I am
disappointed in him. he should have pushed through Charles Woodson, better an offensive PI call, than an INT.

It does not explain why on a 3rd and long we stopped pressuring Rodgers.

It does not explain the lack of tackling.

This defense is down right disappointing, It is more than the scheme. Stanford Routt missed a tackle and 12 more
yards were allowed. The dbs as a whole were not giving a push at the line and were allowing receivers to go by them
untouched. They played too far off the line. The defense over pursued, again. They bit on fakes, STILL. They didn't
maintain their gaps. They didn't maintain their lanes.

Richard Seymour, for the second week, did not record a single statistic. At least he didn't get ejected this game.

For the 3rd time, I think we had only 10 men on the field defensively, and this was the 2nd time the opposition
scored.

It does not explain the predictable play calling by Hue Jackson. I am thinking maybe he should hand that over to
Al Saunders. It sure as hell can't get worse.

This offense is damn near unstoppable using the no huddle. Why are we not using more??? We are using the same wide
receivers, because so many are hurt. We are utilizing Michael Bush and Marcel Reece a lot, and mixing up plays,
They can stay in the game.

How is it we can block a PAT, but not a 49 yard field goal attempt?

What is up with Carson Palmer? Can he not throw it away? I saw him run a few times today, but he HAS to throw
the ball away instead of trying to force the throw, or take the sack. Forcing throws cost us at least 2 interceptions. Maybe he is fatigued from being a couch potato. I put that on him for not working out regularly while waiting for something to happen. But more than one interception was into coverage he should have considered more before unleashing the ball.

I do not know when this team lost their cohesiveness, but they have. Maybe they never had it.

All I know is I can't keep looking for excuses.

I am not watching any post game press conferences, either. I won't be able to listen to Coach Jackson talk about
how good the Packers are. I can't listen to him talk about how close we are to being good.

A good team does NOT turn the ball over 5 times,

The sad thing is, yards wise, we were not far off from the Packers. We had more first downs than they did. We held on to the ball longer. We just didn't play for an entire quarter and that gave them a 14 zip jump start. 17 zero if you give them the first few minutes of the 2nd quarter.

Five of our 10 penalties were in the first quarter. I am not including the one against Mike Mitchell, which even the guys in the booth said should not have called. I am not real sure about the roughing the passer call on Quentin Groves, for that matter.

We could have actually COMPETED this game if we had played an entire game. If the play calling was not so haphazard . If the team played as a team. If the defense hadn't waited to start playing.


I am so disappointed, it is ridiculous.

With Denver now a full game up on us by virtue of their win, I am thinking even a wild card is a pipe dream.


This season started with so much hope. Last week I talked about a hangman's knot being made. This game, the Raiders slipped it over their own necks.

I am left shaking my head.

It does not mean I am going to quit backing my team. I just wish they had believed in themselves for a little longer.

3 games left in the season, and we need to win them all.

We can. If they play as a team.


As ever,

Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=81 WTF!! Our season is OVER as the DONKOS win in OT!! http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=80 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:39:15 GMT ---Quote (Originally by Dark Raider X)--- Makes me sick!!! ---End Quote--- Well...when ur...
Quote Originally Posted by Dark Raider X View Post
Makes me sick!!!
Well...when ur good enough to hang around in an NFL game...anything can happen....we suck at hanging around lately...and we are not going to win another game I predict.... ]]> Squash http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=80 The Bad, The Worse and The Worst (Conclusion) http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=78 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:22:42 GMT Chaz Schilens who has shown what we had hoped he would show us all along. John Henderson for... Chaz Schilens who has shown what we had hoped he would show us all along.

John Henderson for playing hurt.

Rolando McClain for not allowing anything to distract HIM.

Chris Johnson for shaking off the rust and making at least one play that should have been a reception an incomplete pass.

We are not out of the play off hunt, but I consider this game taking the rope and tying the hang man's knot. It is not around our necks yet, but it is close.

Another game like this, and I know this team does not belong in the play offs.

I understand another couple of players got dinged up, including John Henderson.

Let's hope we get some of our offensive walking wounded back, and that our defensive guys can heal up, because we are dangerously thin in several areas.

Regardless, if the team, and I use that term loosely at this time, plays like it did against the Dolphins, we will not win any more games. All the hard work will have been for naught, and it will be another meaningless, empty season. Which means we will lose some of our key soon to be free agents, which is more bad news.

So there it is, the bad, the worse and the worst.

If there is anything to take from this game, it is that Mr. Davis knew a talented player when he saw one. Now we just need to use them properly, and at this moment, I do not know if the coaching staff knows how to do that.

Shape it up gentlemen, while there is still time, and we can make the play offs.

That's all I have.

As ever,

Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=78 The Bad, The Worse and The Worst http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=77 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:22:00 GMT All I can say about the physical 34-14 beating the Oakland Raiders took at the hand of the home... All I can say about the physical 34-14 beating the Oakland Raiders took at the hand of the home team Miami Dolphins is that we played like we were a team that had lost the first 7 games of the season, and nothing to hope or fight for.

The truth is , we were fighting to stay in first place in our division and the loss today handed it to the Denver Broncos. That is the worst.

But let's talk about the game.

I know Miami has actually a pretty good defense. Their offense is coming along. However, there is no way that we should have been beat at the line of scrimmage like we were play after play on both sides of the ball.

The blitzing and stunts we tried failed all but once.

We could not give Carson Palmer, for the second week in a row, time to throw.

And the game plan? I am trying to think if there was one.

Somehow running Michael Bush up the middle time and time again did not make sense to me. We did run 2 reverses, I think we had one pitch out, but that was it. A conservative game plan again, just like against the Bears. I do
not think we used a no huddle offense until late in the game. And where was Marcel Reece all game? We waited way too long to use him.

Instead we kept throwing to Kevin Boss, who not only had a case of the dropsies today, but seemingly was the one that tipped Carson Palmer's pass away for a pick 6 at a time when the Raiders still had a chance.

That score pulled the little wind created by a random hand fan right out of the Raiders' sails.

But it isn't like the offense did anything memorable anyway. Our first six possessions ended in punts. Our seventh drive ended in that interception I mentioned. We had another two drives ending in punts. Then finally we
scored on our last two drives. With quick passes, not throwing to Kevin Boss, utilizing Marcel Reece, and employing the no huddle offense. Kind of like how we beat the Bears. I question the strategy of waiting until the
fourth quarter to do most of that.

We didn't get beyond the 50 yard line until our fourth possession. And no, that was not hampered by penalties.

The longest drive of the day time - wise? It took us 10 plays to go a net 22 yards, (yes we took a 15 yard hit on that drive), and we took only 4:27 off the clock.Then we had that wonderful twenty second possession with the aforementioned interception. But we had 2 other possessions that lasted less than a minute , also. It was that bad.

What was worse? The defense seemed to simply give up.

Richard Seymour got himself ejected from the game, again. I still did not see anything that constituted a "punch", but that does not really matter. He did at least give an extra shove, and again, as I mentioned after a previous loss, he is a team leader and this is inexcusable on his part. It is almost as if he did what he had to do to get off the field because he did not want to play. Maybe next time he can just fake an injury. The way he was getting beat at the line, he had every reason to be embarrassed. I wonder if he was in the locker room talking about being disappointed again? Just to make sure the record is complete here, Seymour did not record a single stat worth mentioning. Not even a single QB hurry.

That isn't to say there wasn't plenty of uncalled holding by the Dolphins offensive line, because there was. But that doesn't mean the defense can give up, not play, have no energy... and all the bad and worse things that they did. Including just playing flat.

I guess I could go into the "distraction" of the Rolando McClain mess, but with seven solo tackles, an assist and one tackle for a loss, that is one defensive player that seemed on his game. Too bad he was only one of a less than handful that was doing their job steadily and seemingly with some effort.

Of course, being tired didn't help. The Raiders defensive players were on the field for 38:20. But then again, if they had actually tackled, not over-pursued, stayed in their gaps, perhaps they would have made more than a few plays that counted, covered a tight end on a pass play or 4, perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad. The Dolphins punted on less than half their possessions, and only once in the first half. They scored on half of
their possessions, and had moved the ball for at least one first down on the 2 possessions that ended the half and the game.

Some of this falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff. I do not know what team Chuck Breshnahan designed the defense for, but it sure as heck was not this Dolphin team. They had 209 yards on the ground. If they had 21 more yards, they would have had 5 times as many ground yards as we did.

Half time adjustments? Yea, try 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, including one 91 yard drive. Both aided by penalties. Essentially there were none.

The defense decided to come to life sometime in the fourth quarter, basically when the the Dolphins had the game well in hand and the coaching staff of the home team decided to take less chances themselves. In other words, they didn't want to look like poor sports and run up the score.

I would say the same about the Miami defense, but I do think they wanted to serve a shut out, so while they seemed to be playing more of a prevent defense, the Raiders offense still was making plays. There was a busted coverage. There was an excellent play by Marcel Reece.

I do not know who I feel worse for, Carson Palmer who saw so many decent passes hit the ground, or Darrius Heyward-Bey , who had receptions taken away from his stats because of penalties. That's right, 2 holding
calls negated his plays. Of course, the same plays were taken away from Palmer. And Carson had the added joy of getting knocked to the turf because of foul ups in protection. Including one when Michael Bush stepped one way to get out of Carson's way, then could not get back in time to protect him.

Special teams didn't do too badly, other than one big kick off return coming back from the half. I thought I saw a couple of holds, but they were not called, and to be honest, I did not watch a replay. I was just so tired
of watching my team fall apart.

Poor Sebastian Janikowski, still hampered with that lingering injury, even was made the target of a joke by the the guys in the booth. In my opinion, booth monkeys is a term that suited these game callers well, as they took every pot shot they could, hardly remaining unbiased commentators. Damn aren't there any quality broadcasters any longer? I miss the days of Howard Cossell. At least he was even handed.

I could say officiating was not all that great, which it wasn't, but that is not why we lost this game.

I could say the defense played uninspired football, which is true , but that is not why we lost this game.

The Oakland Raiders took the field as individuals, not as a team. There were 11 men on the field that could not work together for the majority of the game, for whatever reason these players had. The guys that were supposed to be leading did not lead. Either on the field or on the sideline.
Coach Jackson looked shell-shocked, lost, and did not appear to know what direction to turn or how to guide the players.

I know we are missing key parts of our offense, but the whole next man up means someone steps the hell up, not look to a team mate to pull extra duty.

So for the first time this season, I am going to call out the guys that really hurt us the game.

Kevin Boss, who was supposed to make us forget about Zach Miller. Probably one of the worst games of his career, and he chose to have it today. The drops were crucial, but that tipped pass, which was probably not even intended for him, was just one of the worst plays I have seen.

Louis Murphy who did not fight enough and allowed himself to get pushed off, and rather than going for the ball, looked for a flag. PLAY THE GAME.

Richard Seymour , for the professional he is supposed to be, either has a hot head, or fakes it to get out of a game. Either scenario is not good, and makes me wonder if he is actually on Hue Jackson's "train".

Anyone on defense that missed a tackle by not squaring up, throwing out only an arm, basically that went through the motions.

The entire offensive line, from their penalties to their inability to create a hole for Bush, to their inability to protect Palmer, they all deserve to be ashamed of themselves. To a man.

The coaching staff that was as woefully unprepared as the players.

And now game balls, for the first time this season.

Darrius Heyward-Bey , who gave up his body more than once diving for a ball, including one tipped pass trying to get something going for the team. And not going after his team mates when his plays got called back. And keeping track of the ball even when he had a defender's arm around him. ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=77 The Bad, The Worse and The Worst http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=76 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:21:45 GMT All I can say about the physical 34-14 beating the Oakland Raiders took at the hand of the home... All I can say about the physical 34-14 beating the Oakland Raiders took at the hand of the home team Miami Dolphins is that we played like we were a team that had lost the first 7 games of the season, and nothing to hope or fight for.

The truth is , we were fighting to stay in first place in our division and the loss today handed it to the Denver Broncos. That is the worst.

But let's talk about the game.

I know Miami has actually a pretty good defense. Their offense is coming along. However, there is no way that we should have been beat at the line of scrimmage like we were play after play on both sides of the ball.

The blitzing and stunts we tried failed all but once.

We could not give Carson Palmer, for the second week in a row, time to throw.

And the game plan? I am trying to think if there was one.

Somehow running Michael Bush up the middle time and time again did not make sense to me. We did run 2 reverses, I think we had one pitch out, but that was it. A conservative game plan again, just like against the Bears. I do
not think we used a no huddle offense until late in the game. And where was Marcel Reece all game? We waited way too long to use him.

Instead we kept throwing to Kevin Boss, who not only had a case of the dropsies today, but seemingly was the one that tipped Carson Palmer's pass away for a pick 6 at a time when the Raiders still had a chance.

That score pulled the little wind created by a random hand fan right out of the Raiders' sails.

But it isn't like the offense did anything memorable anyway. Our first six possessions ended in punts. Our seventh drive ended in that interception I mentioned. We had another two drives ending in punts. Then finally we
scored on our last two drives. With quick passes, not throwing to Kevin Boss, utilizing Marcel Reece, and employing the no huddle offense. Kind of like how we beat the Bears. I question the strategy of waiting until the
fourth quarter to do most of that.

We didn't get beyond the 50 yard line until our fourth possession. And no, that was not hampered by penalties.

The longest drive of the day time - wise? It took us 10 plays to go a net 22 yards, (yes we took a 15 yard hit on that drive), and we took only 4:27 off the clock.Then we had that wonderful twenty second possession with the aforementioned interception. But we had 2 other possessions that lasted less than a minute , also. It was that bad.

What was worse? The defense seemed to simply give up.

Richard Seymour got himself ejected from the game, again. I still did not see anything that constituted a "punch", but that does not really matter. He did at least give an extra shove, and again, as I mentioned after a previous loss, he is a team leader and this is inexcusable on his part. It is almost as if he did what he had to do to get off the field because he did not want to play. Maybe next time he can just fake an injury. The way he was getting beat at the line, he had every reason to be embarrassed. I wonder if he was in the locker room talking about being disappointed again? Just to make sure the record is complete here, Seymour did not record a single stat worth mentioning. Not even a single QB hurry.

That isn't to say there wasn't plenty of uncalled holding by the Dolphins offensive line, because there was. But that doesn't mean the defense can give up, not play, have no energy... and all the bad and worse things that they did. Including just playing flat.

I guess I could go into the "distraction" of the Rolando McClain mess, but with seven solo tackles, an assist and one tackle for a loss, that is one defensive player that seemed on his game. Too bad he was only one of a less than handful that was doing their job steadily and seemingly with some effort.

Of course, being tired didn't help. The Raiders defensive players were on the field for 38:20. But then again, if they had actually tackled, not over-pursued, stayed in their gaps, perhaps they would have made more than a few plays that counted, covered a tight end on a pass play or 4, perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad. The Dolphins punted on less than half their possessions, and only once in the first half. They scored on half of
their possessions, and had moved the ball for at least one first down on the 2 possessions that ended the half and the game.

Some of this falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff. I do not know what team Chuck Breshnahan designed the defense for, but it sure as heck was not this Dolphin team. They had 209 yards on the ground. If they had 21 more yards, they would have had 5 times as many ground yards as we did.

Half time adjustments? Yea, try 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, including one 91 yard drive. Both aided by penalties. Essentially there were none.

The defense decided to come to life sometime in the fourth quarter, basically when the the Dolphins had the game well in hand and the coaching staff of the home team decided to take less chances themselves. In other words, they didn't want to look like poor sports and run up the score.

I would say the same about the Miami defense, but I do think they wanted to serve a shut out, so while they seemed to be playing more of a prevent defense, the Raiders offense still was making plays. There was a busted coverage. There was an excellent play by Marcel Reece.

I do not know who I feel worse for, Carson Palmer who saw so many decent passes hit the ground, or Darrius Heyward-Bey , who had receptions taken away from his stats because of penalties. That's right, 2 holding
calls negated his plays. Of course, the same plays were taken away from Palmer. And Carson had the added joy of getting knocked to the turf because of foul ups in protection. Including one when Michael Bush stepped one way to get out of Carson's way, then could not get back in time to protect him.

Special teams didn't do too badly, other than one big kick off return coming back from the half. I thought I saw a couple of holds, but they were not called, and to be honest, I did not watch a replay. I was just so tired
of watching my team fall apart.

Poor Sebastian Janikowski, still hampered with that lingering injury, even was made the target of a joke by the the guys in the booth. In my opinion, booth monkeys is a term that suited these game callers well, as they took every pot shot they could, hardly remaining unbiased commentators. Damn aren't there any quality broadcasters any longer? I miss the days of Howard Cossell. At least he was even handed.

I could say officiating was not all that great, which it wasn't, but that is not why we lost this game.

I could say the defense played uninspired football, which is true , but that is not why we lost this game.

The Oakland Raiders took the field as individuals, not as a team. There were 11 men on the field that could not work together for the majority of the game, for whatever reason these players had. The guys that were supposed to be leading did not lead. Either on the field or on the sideline.
Coach Jackson looked shell-shocked, lost, and did not appear to know what direction to turn or how to guide the players.

I know we are missing key parts of our offense, but the whole next man up means someone steps the hell up, not look to a team mate to pull extra duty.

So for the first time this season, I am going to call out the guys that really hurt us the game.

Kevin Boss, who was supposed to make us forget about Zach Miller. Probably one of the worst games of his career, and he chose to have it today. The drops were crucial, but that tipped pass, which was probably not even intended for him, was just one of the worst plays I have seen.

Louis Murphy who did not fight enough and allowed himself to get pushed off, and rather than going for the ball, looked for a flag. PLAY THE GAME.

Richard Seymour , for the professional he is supposed to be, either has a hot head, or fakes it to get out of a game. Either scenario is not good, and makes me wonder if he is actually on Hue Jackson's "train".

Anyone on defense that missed a tackle by not squaring up, throwing out only an arm, basically that went through the motions.

The entire offensive line, from their penalties to their inability to create a hole for Bush, to their inability to protect Palmer, they all deserve to be ashamed of themselves. To a man.

The coaching staff that was as woefully unprepared as the players.

And now game balls, for the first time this season.

Darrius Heyward-Bey , who gave up his body more than once diving for a ball, including one tipped pass trying to get something going for the team. And not going after his team mates when his plays got called back. And keeping track of the ball even when he had a defender's arm around him. ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=76 Steady TEAM Play Wins The Race http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=75 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:24:17 GMT When I sit back and reflect on my beloved Oakland Raiders 25-20 victory over the Chicago Bears,... When I sit back and reflect on my beloved Oakland Raiders 25-20 victory over the Chicago Bears, who came into to this game with a very respectable 7-3 record, I try to pin point how the Raiders came away with the victory.

The only thing I can come up with is that overall, the Raiders had a very steady game.

Let me start with the offense, which had its struggles.

The offense was only able to convert 3 out 15 third down conversion attempts. They were only 1 for 5 in the red zone, and only 1 for 3 with goal to go. As Carson Palmer stated, sacks and penalties had the team going
backwards. At one time, we went from 1st and goal at the 9 yard line, to 3rd and goal from the 26 yard line.

None of that is anything to hang a hat on, or point to with chest -thumping type pride.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Raiders left points, and I mean all kinds, on the field.

Yet, Carson Palmer threw for 301 yards. The 73 yards on the ground isn't much to brag about, but they were hard fought yards. We should consider we were without several key weapons. Running back Darren McFadden missed yet another game, while back up Taiwan Jones also was sitting on the bench. This left the bulk of the work to Michael Bush, who was spelled a scant 3 plays by either Rock Cartwright or Marcel Reece.

In our air game, Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford were out.

The offense ran 27 ground plays, 37 in the air. That's not unexpected, and considering the lack of production on the ground, and the conservative play calling, 374 yards, gross, is pretty good. The running game itself was straight ahead running, with only one pitch out. We did not try a single reverse. Long pass attempts not born out of necessity, were not all that many. In fact , we had only 4 offensive plays over 20 yards, and one of those was due to yards after catch. But when push came to shove and we absolutely HAD to have the big play, Louis Murphy came down with a big reception from Carson Palmer.

I don't mind the 17 earned first downs, including our successful and important 4th down conversion attempt.

We scored in every quarter, and ended the touchdown drought in
the game, as well as giving us a 4th quarter touchdown for the first time since game 5, with the Michael Bush touch down run with 3:51 left in the game.

Nothing insane, nothing out of the ordinary, no tricks, no gimmicks, nothing unknown. That, in my mind, is steady production. The only problem was that we settled for so many field goals.

I am sure just about everyone by now has talked about how Sebastian Janikowski set a franchise record, scoring 18 points on 6 successful field goals. Not only that, but he had to worry about kick returns with 2 very dangerous kick returners in Devin Hester and Johnny Knox. Hester averaged only 19.2 yards per return, though Knox faired better, mostly due to one big 56 yard return. He also had one touchback. Pretty good considering he is still dealing with an injured kicking leg.

But he wasn't the only player setting franchise records. Punter Shane Lechler helped the team immensely. Out of 5 punts, Hester had only one return, and that was only 7 yards. And that franchise record? It stood for 50 years,
being set back in 1961 by Wayne Crow. That would be a 77 yard punt. Shane punted for 80 yards. It was a mere 60 net, as it was a touchback. Watching Devin Hester chase down more than one Lechler punt like a center fielder going after a fly ball was so sweet! I guess maybe he was thinking that Lechler was the one with bum hamstring.

Which brings me to overall special teams coverage, which I considered pretty good. We are still struggling some on kick off returns, but that is do largely to the fashion in which Janikowksi is kicking because he is not 100%.
But they stepped up the pace. Only one big return, and our "slow safety" Matt Giordano is the one that brought down the speedy Johnny Knox.

The best play by special teams. though, had to be the recovery of the on side kick by the Bears. Matt Giordano had a bead on it, ended up taking a huge hit to the head, and missing the ball. David Ausberry covered it up.
Matt thinks he stayed too flat footed, and had he jumped, thinks he would have recovered the ball on his own. Being a Cal guy, said he wasn't keen on thanking Ausberry, an SC guy, for taking care of business, but it was said with a big smile, and the added statement, "We're ALL Raiders now."

So now on to the defense.

They were hampered this game. One less man in the defensive line rotation, a dinged up middle linebacker, but mostly there is very little in the lines of game film on Caleb Hanie. I figured a lot of roll outs and a lot of running by Hanie. We saw a little of both, and again, it seemed that some of our defensive players were out of position.

The Bears were able to put up 6 plays of over 20 yards, but only one was a Hanie scramble. He had another nice one, just shy of 20 yards, which counted for a first, but netted only 4 yards because of a personal foul. The
others were all pass plays, including an 81 yard pass play late in the game which gave the Bears and their fans hope. But again, Johnny Knox, speedster, was brought down by that "slow" safety, Matt Giordano.

Lito Sheppard seemed off his man too many times, maybe thinking he was a bit faster than he is. He made the tackles, but had he been closer , maybe there would have been a couple of less first downs for the Bears.

However, even when the Bears were driving the defense stepped it up.
Kamerion Wimbley took an intercepted Hanie pass tipped by Aaron Curry down to the Chicago 12 yard line. The only reason he was brought down was because Bears guard Lance Louis dragged him down by horse collar tackle. Wimbley said he had seen Matt Forte bearing down on him, so slowed up to set up some blocking, and that is what allowed Louis to even get close. The real pity was with the penalty enforced, the ball was at the 6 yard line. We ended up settling for a field goal because even though Michael Bush went out of bounds with 8 seconds left on the clock before half, somehow we had only 5 seconds for a play. We settled for a field goal.

While Wimbley had the longest interception return, he wasn't the only one. Michael Huff had a nice 24 yard return when he intercepted a pass at our 19 yard line. Stanford Routt's interception garnered him only a 2 yard return,
but was a key part of keeping Hanie guessing, early in the game.

Aaron Curry and Rolando McClain both had good games.

The team recorded the 3 interceptions, 6 passes defended and 7 qb hurries and 4 sacks. Those are pretty good numbers.

We were tagged for only 6 penalties, including one delay of game, which we took to run time off the clock.

If there is anything I question in this game, it was the coaching. Again a mobile quarterback was left without a spy. The offense was overly conservative. The usage of time outs was less than judicious, especially after there was one pass play the Bears were allowed to review that was ruled complete, but under review was reversed. That was the right call, though, and even without the time out, it is a possibility, the challenge flag would have been thrown. Besides, I would rather have won with legitimate plays. The Raiders have been on the wrong side of too many incorrect calls for me to want to take advantage of that.

This was a hard fought game, by both teams. The Bears should take no shame in losing, and hopefully they'll learn to get going without their starting quarterback, just as the Raiders had to when Jason Campbell broke his collar bone. We were lucky to get a qb the caliber of Carson Palmer, even as rusty as he was, and as I mentioned before, we had Ford, Moore, McFadden out of uniform.

I want to mention briefly a chat I had with Matt Giordano post game. This is a young man that was drafted in 2005. His minimal claim to fame was being a good special teamer. With injuries, Giordano has had an opportunity to show what he can offer, and he thinks he can be a starting safety in the NFL. With 3 interceptions already, tied with cornerback Stanford Routt, he may have a valid point. And as for the "slow" safety? That's how I heard him referenced one game, when he did get beat in a reception. Matt has to cover Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford in practices. If he can hang with them, and he does, I don't think "slow" is a word I would use for him. Or we could just ask Johnny Knox. I don't think he thinks Matt is slow , either. This pick up , I think, has been more beneficial for the team than ever expected.

That being said, we have won 3 games now, but we can not let up. We have to keep scoring steady, touchdowns more so than field goals. We need to keep up the solid play on defense. We need to protect our QB a little better, and Palmer knows he needs to make faster decisions. Once we get some guys back from injury, it should help put us more on an even keel offensively. Keep playing as a team. If one area falters, another has to step up. All three had their issues today, and in each case, another facet of the team did step up, as we held on for the win.

For now, stay the course, prepare and execute against our next opponent, the Miami Dolphins.

As ever,

WIn, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=75 Winning Without... http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=74 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:11:46 GMT I have been sitting here looking at a blank screen that is to be my column, and have been trying... I have been sitting here looking at a blank screen that is to be my column, and have been trying to figure out what to write about my beloved Oakland Raiders 27-21 victory over the hapless Minnesota Vikings.

I would love to point out that a victory is a victory. I will take it whatever way it comes. The Just win, baby, is what I want to focus on.

But it's difficult for me. Especially after hearing some of the post game comments from Head Coach Hue Jackson. The most telling line? The one about wanting a level playing field.

What I saw today was far from that.

Aaron Curry got called for unnecessary roughness, hitting a defenseless receiver, after that receiver made a football move. That is an incorrect application of the rule. Yet late in the game, Darrius Heyward-Bey took a blow to the back, from most angles it appeared to be a spear. I even got texts on it. Then of course, that led to the blow to the head that would lead to him staying in a hospital overnight. (edit: He WAS able to fly home with the team!) But where was the hitting a defenseless receiver on THAT play? Let me remind people that a defensive penalty would have led to a 1st down. Instead, the still injured Sebastian Janikowski had his first blocked field goal attempt since 2002. What do you think would have been better for the Raiders?

Tommy Kelly was closing in on Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder. He was going for the sack and brought one arm down trying to either block a pass, or get a hand on Ponder to drag him down. The result of the play? Roughing the passer, 15 yards for the Vikings. But now let's explain WHY Kelly only had one arm up. The other one had a Viking offensive line man attached to it. That would be holding. So the same official that saw Kelly hit Ponder could not see the 300 lb. player attached to his other arm? That kind of tunnel vision has NO place in the NFL.

Adrian Petersen was running fairly well. Bt if one watches his 12 yard touch down run, one can see a Raiders defensive player being taken to the ground after Adrian Peterson ran past where he was . That is holding. No matter what. And it was holding before the defensive player hit ground. Yet no yellow flag. However, when the same happened to a Vikings defensive line man? That flag couldn't hit the ground fast enough.

When Louis Murphy was pushed by a Vikings defensive player, and still managed to almost get the pass reception, it was only illegal contact. The ball was in the air and he was being pushed off his route. That is pass interference. No two ways about it. The spot foul was farther down field than the 5 yards the officials gave us.

This is what Hue Jackson may have been talking about when he meant a level playing field. I do not know, but after watching for years, and hearing for years, how the Raiders are the most penalized team in the league, I point to things like the above. It isn't difficult when if it even has an appearance of being a penalty, like what I presume to be the late/piled on hit of Dez Bryant. Where he laid into his team mate, knocking him off the prone Viking player, without piling on, and without touching the Viking player.

This ain't flag football folks, and when one team is allowed to play, their opposition deserves the same.

Then again, much was made of when Adrian Petersen left the game. And of the walking wounded the Vikings had in their secondary. Last time I checked, Darren McFadden is our starting running back. We have at least 2 defensive backs hurt or on injured reserve. One of our starting line men is on injured reserve. One of the guys that is considered a defensive leader, Richard Seymour, saw limited play time in this game. Sansom Satele left the game with a concussion, and we had to work with a back up offensive line. Could that be why our offense struggled some in the 2nd half? MAYBE???

So why is it that the Raiders hardships are over looked? Our players get hurt, placed on IR, they suddenly don't exist? Why is it okay for injuries to be a good excuse for the Vikings, but not the Raiders?

Tawain Jones stopped returning kicks. Why? Denarius Moore was not targeted for a single pass after getting that huge return when he got up very slowly. Why?

It just down right perturbs me.

Yes, we got called for some penalties we deserved. We also got called for some we did not deserve.And I have to question when I see SEVEN first downs because of penalties, when 1/3 of an opposing teams first downs came due to penalty, I am going to question it. Especially when I see only 2 in the other direction. That's right, folks THINK ABOUT IT. Did they really deserve 7 first downs, due to penalty?

Ok. Now to the game.

Chuck Breshnahan needs to come up with a solution to quarterbacks that roll out, and instead of pass, run. Out of their 124 yards on the ground. Ponder was responsible for 71 yards of it. I do not care if it's a spy or using buried magnets to keep players in their assigned gaps and lanes, but something needs to be done. If out of bounds as a gunner, get back on field as soon as possible. although that is a "judgment call" and I have no idea what DeMarcus Van Dyke did. I saw no replay. Maybe he did go off the field voluntarily. But at 180 lbs, it isn't like it takes much to push him out.

But Ponder is not the only mobile QB that has gotten yards on us. And we are not facing stick in the mud quarterbacks in our future. Something needs to be done to take away their roll out play/actions. It kills us. Seriously , a 28 yard run by a quarter back? UNACCEPTABLE!

They also had 3 pass plays for over 20 yards. One, because again, we have Kamerion Wimbley on pass coverage. After the game he was having applying pressure. Makes no sense to mess with that success. And that pass? Yeah - took them to the 1 yard line. It was a 37 yard pass. Now if Kamerion Wimbley had been applying pressure? Maybe that pass and the following score do not happen.

We started playing very conservatively on offense after we got a decent lead. The game was not put away by a long shot. In fact, there was a full half left, and a lot can happen in 30 minutes. Being both teams were allegedly making adjustments at half time, one of ours should not have been to go conservative on offense.

That is what caused the game to get as close as it did. we had too many punts, they were getting field position. They were the ones that were hungry to score and out of desperation, rookies become all pros. It was not smart. I know a couple of our receivers got hurt, but last I checked, Gordon and Ausberry could have been on the field.

Now let's talk about some individual players.

Over all, even taking sacks, I think Carson Palmer did well. He went for an early snap and taking a knee to catch them off sides. This time it worked. He dove forward , losing yards still, but avoiding a hit on another play. He threw to , and connected with 7 different players. He ended the game with 107.9 qb rating, but had only 164 yards. Considering the secondary of the Vikes WAS questionable, I expected more yards from him, but he did throw for a touch down and ran one in, so I am not going to complain. Just another tell tale sign of a too conservative offense. Palmer played well, and played smart.

And double kudos for his TD pass, and the reception by Chaz Man Do Schilens.

Aside from the fumble, his first in forever, Michael Bush had a good game. Another 100+ yards on the ground, plus another 20 in the air.

Brandon Myers had a couple of receptions for 23 yards, plus had a huge special teams play, forcing a fumble.

Kevin Boss was the leading receiver today with 5 receptions for 37 yards.

Darrius Heyward-Bey had 4 receptions for 43 yards, and had that injury that had him going off on a cart. Kudos to him for giving a thumbs up on his way out, and I heard he would be on the team flight back. I hope so. As a couple of my friends refer to me as Mama Bey during the games, I know I said my prayers for his well being, as I know many of the Raider Nation did.

Defensively, Matt Giordano and Stanford Routt saved the team with interceptions. Both were at key points in the game, with Minnesota driving. Routt's was in the end zone where he had to play a tap dancer to ensure he got both feet in bounds. It was impressive.

Mildly surprising is Lito Sheppard leasing the team in tackles with 6, including a sack a tackle for a loss plus a quarter back hurry and a pass defended.

Not far behind in the tackle department was the ever present Tyvon Branch.

Tommy Kelly and Dez Bryant both knocked Ponder for sacks. One of the ones by Dez Bryant? He positively NAILED Ponder.

It was impressive.

We are going to need that kind of impressive play when we face the Bears next week.

Every game is a must win game for us, and the Bears game is no exception.

We will still be missing key players. We will still have key players playing through injury. We will have players on limited time because of injury. I doubt we will see an even playing field. We haven't in years. (Decades?)
So let's hope we can win again without...



As ever,

Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=74 Ruling in the Qualcomm http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=73 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:37:46 GMT I think there are more than a few football talking heads left scratching their heads as they ... I think there are more than a few football talking heads left scratching their heads as they watched a beat down and ailing Oakland Raiders team put up over 400 yards and 24 points, enough for the victory, on the San Diego Chargers 7th ranked defense in the NFL. Both teams had key players out on both sides of the ball. But somehow, the "experts" expected us to lose.

Personally, I have been smiling at the thought.

My beloved Raiders lost to an inferior Denver Broncos team last game, and the game before that, they lost to a just as inferior, and highly over-rated, Kansas City Chiefs team. Both games at home. Both games should have been wins, and both games we gave away. I think with these games, it was obvious that Hue Jackson missed HIS coach.(RIP Mr. Davis)

This could have been a third divisional loss. This could have put us in the cellar.

Instead we ruled Qualcomm Stadium.

What was the difference?

Our pro-bowl kicker was still very obviously hampered.

So what? His kick offs were walking up to the ball and half swinging his kicking leg. He still beat the heck out out of anything most of us could do, and even managed a touch back! I do not know if we tried calling one of the 2 guys we had allegedly had on speed dial, or if SeaBass said, "I can get us through the night." My guess, the latter. Even injured, the ball went through the uprights on his one field goal attempt. He seemed disgusted with his knuckle ball. He has nothing to be disgusted about. Their kicker

We still were facing an offense sans Darren McFadden.

SO WHAT? Michael Bush is a force to be reckoned with. One of the booth monkeys said last night something about Bush getting tackled from behind because he didn't have the break away speed of McFadden. Well right now, even Run DMC doesn't have his break away speed. Part of being a team is getting the next guy to do what he can and working him to his strengths. Time of possession helped us WIN last night. And the biggest part of that was Michael Bush and his 157 yards on the ground. That's more than double what the entire Chargers team put up combined.

Carson Palmer - well name your poison with this one. he has has been throwing interceptions, isn't all that mobile, hasn't been with the team long,is rusty, has no chemistry with the guys on the field, blah, blah, blah.

SO WHAT? This guy is in the pros for a reason, and that reason is he can throw the damned ball, and for the most part, he does a good job. His 125 qb rating from this game shows that. Even last game with his 3 interceptions, (not all on him), he threw for over 300 yards. The interception last night? Well, he is going to need to feel that backside pressure a little better, but I think he did a good job. I understand some people thinking it is "Jason's" team, but he can't be on the field, and in this game, Carson commanded the huddle.

Philip Rivers, on the other hand, completed less than 50% of his pass attempts.

The entire team had the same second half struggles they have been exhibiting the last couple of games.

The difference? The frustration the players felt did not come out in the form of dumb penalties. No facemasks this game. No running into the kicker. The penalties on Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jerome Boyd? Ticky tacky compared to the blatant offensive holding the Charger offensive line got away with!

But the officiating crew, led by the guy that obviously wishes he was in a striped shirt for the WWE, Ed Hoculi, had their work cut out for them.

First there was the reason there was no pass interference on the fake punt. Well, it's a fake punt. The team is in punt formation. Apparently a defender can do anything to a guy out on a route when it is a fake punt. I have a funny feeling when the wrong team, oh like the Patriots, are on the wrong end of that rule , it will be re-examined. Like it should be now.
Then there was the very favorable ruling the Raiders got. In STRICT adherence to the rules. I am , of course, referring to the incomplete pass, that if had not been for Lito Shepherd trying to get the ball and being out of bounds, would have been a score. You could have knocked me over with a feather when that call went our way. One ruling against us, but the more important ruling for us.

In the battle of rookie receivers? Yeah, we ruled there, too.

Their rookie, Vincent Brown, was targeted 9 times, caught the ball 5 times, with a long of 30 yards, a total of 97 yards and one touchdown. Our rookie, Denarius Moore, had a much better showing than last game. Targeted 7 times, he also had 5 receptions, with the longest being 46 yards, for 123 yards and TWO touchdowns.

Brown beat out Stanford Routt and Matt Giordano for that one score, and Moore, well he made a Tim Brown-esque reception, catching a ball with only the back one third, somehow bringing it in.

When it came time to make plays, the guys made the plays. Michael Bush not only had all those yards on the ground, he had another 85 in the air, including a huge 55 yard play when we needed it.

The defense - what can I say? Aside from when the Chargers were permitted to hold at will, they were amazing. Kamerion Wimbley had 4 sacks on his own. Add the one by Tommy Kelly and Desmond Bryant, and that totals 6 times Rivers went down, With the ball.he hit the turf plenty of other times after letting go or right as he was letting go of the ball I saw Lamar Houston employing the overhead swim move, except with him it looked more like a windmill they way he had his arms moving to avoid the holds and apply pressure. The team had a total of 10 passes defended, which could explain why Vincent Jackson had only one reception for 22 yards. Matt Giordano- somehow got a ball n the end zone, and this "slow safety" returned it, from the end zone to the 26 yard line. And he was a couple of yards deep, too. It isn't like he was on the end zone line. he focused on the ball, which is more than Vincent Jackson did. I have no clue what happened with Jackson other than he choked big time, in the end zone. That interception and return gave us the game.

Players went down and were out for both teams.

Both teams had issues.

Denarius Moore fielded a punt at the one yard line, then almost lost a touch back on the re-punt. Jerome Boyd was called for holding prior to the punt, and gave Sandy Eggo new life in a 4th quarter drive. We had lapses in coverage, including only 10 men on the field on one of their scores. How NO official failed to see Matt Giordano signalling for the time out is beyond me.

They lost Marcus McNeill, their left tackle, and we lost Jacoby Ford, who has scored all by himself on returns, and has done well as a speedy wide receiver. (Though he needs to learn to protect the ball better!)

They adjusted, as did we.

Both teams had 60 or more offensive plays. They ran 68, we ran 60. They netted 314 yards, we netted 489 yards.

They held us to one score the second half, and we allowed only two.

Each team had 20 first downs. We converted 4 of 10 third down attempts, they converted only 5 of 16 third down attempts.

But it was the discipline that helped us the most. 7 penalties for 45 yards, including an uncharacteristic holding call on Cooper Carlisle.

That being said, Lito Shepherd needs to settle down. we were lucky he didn't get a flag for throwing a weak punch, holding and a block to the back.

OK, how else did we rule? I had difficulty telling where the Raiders were playing because I heard cheers when we scored and made great plays defensively. Qualcomm was rocking with Raiders fans. It seemed kind of close to a home game, hearing that crowd.

But I have to keep going back to one thing. The guys that took the field this game, did not let their mistakes rule them. They ruled themselves. They took control. They won.

Time to move on and keep the control and keep on winning. we are in first place, and we need to act like a first place team.

We have 10 days to lick our wounds and prepare for another game. Let's be ready to win.



As ever,

Win Lose or Tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=73 <![CDATA[Raiders Are Disappointed - I'm Disgusted]]> http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=72 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:51:15 GMT Coach Jackson promised us the Raiders would be back after losing 28-0 to the Chiefs, but the... Coach Jackson promised us the Raiders would be back after losing 28-0 to the Chiefs, but the final score of 38-24 on a loss to an inferior divisional rival, the Denver Broncos, proved Coach Jackson wrong.

The common theme throughout the locker room and with Coach Jackson's post game presser was the same - they were disappointed,

I got news, as die hard as I am , I am disgusted.

Coach Jackson can talk about coaching all he wants, but a guy like Richard Seymour getting called for a blatant face mask on a dead run can not be coached. Neither can quitting on a play where Tim Tebow appeared to give up on the pass. He still threw the ball for a big completion. But Seymour quit going after Tebow. That's a personal discipline and that's on him. He knew in both cases what he was doing, and for all his years in the league, seeing him make a stupid play and watching him quit and give up when he possibly could have had a sack? There is NO excuse for that. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch. He was big on being disappointed post game. That's nice, Mr. Seymour, but how about you man up and take some personal responsibility?


But what really gets me angry?

The Raiders defense was not one bit surprised by a single play call. They just acted like it. They got beat by a freakin' high school offense.

How in the hell can this have happened? How can they justify allowing 298 yards ON THE GROUND??

It can't be justified.

No reason we couldn't have had a spy on Tim Tebow. That read-option play they ran countless times, mostly with success, should have been easily defended. Tebow had more yards rushing than our entire offense.

The Raiders defense didn't get off their blocks. They didn't stay in their gaps.

Man coverage, which we should handle quite easily, saw a lot of blown coverages.

The defense was only one aspect of the game, though.

Then there was the offense.

Here's a thought. How about something other than a Michael Bush run on a first down sound? We had 14 possessions. I am throwing out the last 2 possessions, because those were when we stood no chance of coming back and taking the game, and passing was all we could do. So lets go with the 12 possessions where we had a chance still. 8 of those drives began with runs. Only one was a run by Taiwan Jones.


Why in the world was our leading receiver only thrown to ONCE? Yet Denarius Moore, who has struggled as of late, had the ball go his way 12 times. For only 4 receptions. One of those misses he fell. Again. Jacoby Ford was targeted 6 times, for 5 receptions and one interception. Where the referee had the flag in his hand, ostensibly for a pass interference call, but he didn't throw it. Marcel Reece was targeted 5 times , for 3 receptions. T.J. Houshmandzadeh was targeted 4 times. He prevented an interception. Kevin Boss? Not targeted once. Get the picture? The ball was being force fed to Moore. As Coach Jackson said, we used a lot of 3 wide, 2 back sets. Ok, fine. But why was Moore in so many of those? it has to do more than just the set. More than just going no huddle.

Special teams struggled.

Denarius Moore is showing his rookie status. He still is running east and west on returns.

I have no clue what Taiwan Jones was thinking, giving Denver back to back penalties. One which was on a missed field goal. Another on a good field goal, but gave the Broncos a first down at our 15 yard line.

Another score was allowed on a punt return.

We gave up chunks of yards, allowing good field position, on kick offs. Which were not what they should have been because of pushing Sebastian Janikowski to come back too early from his injury.

I think the roughing the passer on Jarvis Moss was ticky tacky. However, the others were mostly bone head plays. Like the face mask by Richard Seymour. Or the ones against Tawian Jones. Or the late hit by Aaron Curry.

While both team had double digit penalties, 15 for 130 yards is ridiculous.

Yet I KNOW the Raiders are better than this.

It was a lack of focus that caused this loss.

Michael Bush ran for 96 yards, averaging over 5 yards a carry.

Carson Palmer threw for over 300 yards, averaging 17.5 yards per throw.

But we didn't do enough.

The Raiders just fell apart the second half. Completely. Denver had 116 total yards offensively in the first half. They had more than triple that at the end of the game.

I know some people are going to blame Carson Palmer, even Coach Jackson said he had an "okay" game and brought of the 3 interceptions. Two of which I don't blame him for. And I'd like Coach to explain why was he going to Moore so much? Had to have been YOUR idea? Your play calling, right?

The offense scored only once in the second half and the defense gave up points, as did special teams.


I really believe Coach Jackson needs to let go of the "big play" guys, and re-valuate the direction he is taking this team.

One thing for sure, no excuses for the loss. The Raiders just didn't play in the second half.

They better show up in 4 days, or we will lose a 3rd divisional game in a row.

That's it.

We have got to play better. I could go looking for the couple of guys that played all out the entire game. But it doesn't matter. It wasn't enough. players have to know their roles.

Nope, no looking for a silver lining. Just trying to get that bad taste out my mouth that was this horrible game.

As ever,
Win lose or tie, RAIERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=72 Let Down Meltdown http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=71 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:47:47 GMT At half time, looking at the scoreboard, I was left shaking my head seeing the despised Kansas... At half time, looking at the scoreboard, I was left shaking my head seeing the despised Kansas City Chiefs leading my beloved Oakland Raiders 14-0, in our house. At the end of the game, seeing their score doubled with still a big goose egg for us? I was asking myself "How did this happen?"

I watched Michael Bush not get in the end zone taking a direct snap. We could have had replacement kicker Dave Rayner go for the field goal, but I guess Coach Jackson wanted the 7 points. He didn't get them.


I was witness to QB Kyle Boller AND Carson Palmer throw not just 1, not 2 but 3 interceptions. Each. Not an NFL record I wanted to set.

I knew it was bad when Boller was 1 for 3 for a few yards, and 2 interceptions.

I just found the lack of offfense so disturbing.

Darren McFadden getting hurt did not help. I saw him come out of the locker room with his right ankle taped so much it added 2inches to the diameter of his ankle.

I was less than enthusiatic when I saw Carson Palmer tossing the ball around coming back from half - wearing his hat. Kyle Boller was wearing his helmet. I was reminded by the end of the game that hindsight is 20-20. And that Palmer had only a few days with the team.

After the defense gave up the 3rd touch down of the afternoon, along with giving the Chiefs 30 yards in 2
personal foul penalties, I was left shaking my head. Again. Or was it still?

I wanted the team I had the last 2 weeks. I had no idea who this team was.

I know Kyle Boller had issues, but I still, for some reason, expected a pro football quarterback. Not a single interception was a great defensive play. All of them were just poor decisions or bad throws, or both. I have to wonder how different the game may have been if Terrell Pryor had not been called for a false start when he took the direct snap. That was a first down play. Instead, Boller threw a pick 6. I do have to give credit where credit is due. Boller did try to knock Kendrick Lewis out of bounds, and came danged close to to succeeding. he gave himself up on a couple of runs, doing his best to get some first downs.

Carson Palmer had 3 [icks of his own. Denarius Moore seemed to fall on a come back route of some kind. He tipped another ball thrown slightly behind him. The third just seemed to be a timing route gone awry. But Carson was with us for just a few day.

My stomach sank when Ford fumbled the kick off after the score on Palmer's pick. Thank goodness Mike Mitchell recovered it.

But the damage was done. Three interceptions led to 21 points.

Jared Veldheer had one of his worst games, getting tagged for a few flags that put the already sad offense in a hole.

Some players seemd to be giving their all. Some not so much.

Darrius Heyward-Bey had decent numbers in this "game". Yeah, I have that in quotes because this was hardly that. Denarius Moore watched two passes intended for him get picked off. The one where he fell, which I mentioned earlier, and then the second one where , though behind him, Moore got his hands on the ball and tipped it up. Palmer's third interception was intended for Louis Murphy. It could have been bad timing, or the fact that Palmer had so little time with the team. Or it could be that we had no heart this game. Michael Bush, even with the inability to hit the end zone never quit. Taiwan Jones was doing what he could.

Lewis Murphy had his chances, but his best chance was when he took a shoulder to the back while the ball was in the air that was neither incidental contact or unintentional. The ball was slightly deep, but it did cause him to be off balance, and I think there should have been a flag.

But it was those 6 turnovers hurt us. Difficult to win a game when ya' give the ball to your opponent 6 times.

Yet I can't blame this one just on the offense.

The defense had its share of issues too. At least 4 personal foul penalties. Bad tackling. Missed tackles. The lack of blitzing and preparing for the quick slant. Missed opportunities at making a play on the ball. Mis-timing a jump. The lack of heart.

Yet one guy never seemed to give up, and kept looking to make a play - DeMarcus Van Dyke. The much maligned rookie played his heart out today. He was picked on by Cassel, but held his own. Yeah, he over ran the direct snap to Javier Arenas and gave up the touch down. But he is a rookie.

I feel bad for Stanford Routt who was used a balance post for a reception. I always thought that was offensive pass interference. Guess I was wrong.

Rolando McClain hopped off the field. Again. Yet he came back in to do what he could.

Realistically I can't be too upset with the defense, they only allowed 2 scores. They were put in tenuous positions. They allowed less yards than what we had. Matt Cassell had a poor 38.3 quarterback rating.

Special teams did not have a spark, either.

Denarius Moore, a week after doing his best impression of Johnnie Lee Higgins and having more returns for minus yards, at least went forward when given the opportunity. But Dustin Colquitt had a career game today. Not just yards but placing those punts. Balls that seemed to be touchbacks were downed inside the 3 yard line.

Jacoby Ford did not fair any better on his returns as most of the time Ryan Succop just was kicking away from him.

Derek Hagan watched a ball bounce in the Chiefs favor rather than down the ball inside the 10 yard line.

It was a game that saw both teams with double digit penalties.

I think after all the emotion the last couple of weeks over a couple of last minute wins, took a toll on the team.

Between injuries and emotions they hit a wall. HARD.

I do not know if they will come out of it,but at least we have the bye week for them to attempt it, and a home game to boot.

Much will depend on Coach Jackson who rightfully took responsibility for the loss, too. He was responsible for the decisions. We were out coached. But I hope he is wrong about one thing. He said that "this team" will be back.

I don't want THIS team, the one that lost to the Chiefs back. I want the team that beat the Jets back. I want the team that beat Denver on Monday night football back. I would love to have the team that the Browns back. I would take the team beat the Texans back, happily. Heck, I would take the team that hung with the Bills. But the THIS team? They were not a team in any facet of the game, nor did they play like one. I want a team with heart and spirit, not the one that obviously had some kind of let down, and melted down on national television.

In all honesty, I do think we are better than what we showed this game. Breaks went to the opposing team today, and we shot ourselves in the foot. Perfect storm for them. It will be a different story when we go to KC....

As ever ,

Win , lose or TIE, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=71 Playing Like Raiders http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=70 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:43:45 GMT It quite literally took every second of the 3600 seconds of the game for the Oakland Raiders to ... It quite literally took every second of the 3600 seconds of the game for the Oakland Raiders to defeat the 6 point favorite Houston Texans 25-20 at Reliant Stadium, but they did emerge victorious.

For the 71, 420 in attendance, they sure got their money's worth.

This game, on paper, it looks like the Texans should have won.

They had 79 plays to our 60, 473 yards to our 278 yards, 3 trips to the red zone to our 1, 21 first downs to our 11 and had control of the ball for 8:50 seconds longer than we did. That's 19 more plays, 195 yards more, (just shy of the length of 2 football fields), and they converted 40% of their 3rd downs, 8 of 20, compared to our 20%, completing just 3 of 15 attempts.

But the statistics, in this case, belied the outcome.

Again, for all the yards their offense put up, the Texans were held to just one score per quarter, and no touch downs in the 2nd half.

The talking heads all made a big fuss over Mario Williams leaving the game with a pectoral injury. They didn't say much about us missing Matt Shaughnessy, Chris Johnson or Chimdi Chekwa who has been playing in place of CJ. They made a big fuss over Andre Johnson missing the game, but Marcel Reese was out and so was HIS Back up Richard Gordon. Somehow, to me, that kind of balances out. Plus we ended up with some walking wounded as Sampson Satele left the game for a bit injured and middle line backer Rolando McClain once hopped off the field.

Then we consider how our offense started out so bad, I was beginning to wonder if we ever would get on track. Not a single first down until less than two minutes left in the first half.The offense didn't have a drive of longer 17 yards until that same drive. Until then, we had 34 yards of total offense. That includes a couple of penalties taking yards away.

But at the half, even with having the ball 7:55 longer than us, we were only down by 2 points. And if we had converted that 2 point conversion, tie game. According to at least one Raiders player, they considered it 0-0 when they came back from the half.

We were down, but not out by a long shot. And I was beginning to think that something I read may have held some water. That the Texans, having the record they did against us, being at home, may have just looked past us. They may have underestimated our passing game, thinking all we had on offense was Darren McFadden They may not have realized what we had open to us there, as they did their level best to make McFadden a non-factor. They almost succeeded.

We started a lot of drives with poor field position, and penalties didn't help that. In fact penalties all game long hurt us.

I take this quick break to talk about the officiating.

I have two separate trains of thought on why it was again so very bad and so very lopsided. First line of thought is that the officials knew Al Davis died. They did not want to appear that they were taking any sympathy on us, letting us get away with anything, so they went overboard and threw a flag on anything that resembled a penalty. It has to be a bad call when even Raiders hater Dan Fouts questions why the flag was thrown. Like the holding on Cooper Carlisle that negated a 41 yard McFadden run. Which brings me to reason number two. As McFadden is the league's leading rusher, the officials were going to make sure that he didn't have a big game.

Either one, or a combination of both makes a lot of sense to me.

Of course, there is a 3rd option. That would be they had to throw the flags to keep in lockstep with their always throwing flags so as to not make it obvious that the league sanctioned the flags to spite Mr. Davis.

But between the invisible holds, the ticky tacky PI which was less than the PI NOT called when Jacoby Ford was pushed last week, and the roughing the passer call on Richard Seymour, I have to wonder. Add to that Brian Cushing slamming Ford to the gorund out of bounds, or spearing Carlisle and Satele? Nothing new for him, though. I commented on it last time we faced the Texans. I wonder if he is still taking performance enhancing drugs? (He was suspended for 4 games...) Then of course, the lack of a grounding call on Schaub when he was still in the pocket, got it to line of scrimmage, but had no receiver near the ball.

OK - back to the game.

With seemingly both defenses focusing on stopping the run, that meant it fell to the quarterbacks. Neither QB had a great game, either.


Matt Schaub, even with his 416 yards, had a Qb rating of 72. Jason Campbell had his worst game this season, with a 67.6 qb rating, getting sacked 3 times and 1 interception. I think that interception could have been avoided had Jacoby ford tried to bat the ball once he realized he wasn't going to catch it. I think he didn't think of playing defense. and that INT did lead to 7 points for them.


But this game came down to some busted plays and special teams.

Texans got most of their yards when we bit on play action fakes, or had a busted coverage leaving players open. they were using their tght ends effectively until defensive coordinator shifted the defense to prevent that.

One big time fail for the Texans was Neil Rackers missing a 40 yard field goal attempt. With the that miss, the Raiders ended up with a 5 point lead, meaning a touch down was needed to win the game. Had that field goal been made? Yeah, only a 2 point game. A field goal would have won it. I think Al must have blown a little that play.

Then the big drop of the game, full back Lawrence Vickers dropping a pass where he had clear sailing to the end zone in the final two minutes of the game. My thoughts here were that Al whispered Vickers' name and he took his eyes off the ball to see who was there.

Special teams for us was just as important.

We had one big return from both our returners that put us in in a decent field position.

We had Shane Lechler booting punts, including one that was 61 yards long.

And then there is the Polish Cannon, Sebastian Janikowski hitting 3 field goals of 50 yards or more, tying an NFL record, and a 42 yard "chip shot".

But the biggest special teams play had to be the fake punt. We had lined up for it once before in the game, but the Texans had it covered, so it was called off. This time, even Shane Lechler knew the Texans didn't have the play covered. The gunners for the Texans were almost acting as blockers, though they had no clue that Rock was running behind them, following thert lead. For 35 beautiful yards. Perfect play, perfect execution. And watching the coaches on the Texans sideline blame each other made me smile.

Then there was one more thing the Raiders had. Tenacity.

They kept plugging away, believing in each other, believing in themselves. They never gave up, they never quit. They played so hard every down, including that final down with 7 seconds left in the game.

And what a play. It looked like on the roll out Matt Schaub had a path to the end zone. The Tyvon Branch stepped up. Then it looked like Jacoby Jones came free in the end zone, Except Michael huff was coming in from the other direction , jumped the route and snagged the ball in mid-air. He fell to the ground and assumed the fetal position, hugging that ball as if it was his most cherished possession. At that moment, it probably was.

Each player and coach interviewed said this wasn't a must win for the Gipper type game. This was a win because they are Raiders, and that's what the Raiders do kind of thing.

while some things may be up in the air with the passing of Coach Davis, there is one thing that is clear.

This team is on the right track and could very well be a force to be reckoned with.

I am proud of how they played today. And I love this team.

I also know I am not alone when I cried aftter this victory. It meant so much.

It meant this team realized the one thing they had been missing. Pretty our ugly, close or a butt whooping, they are Raiders, they played like Raiders and the Raiders find a way to win.

Time to focus on next week.

As ever,

Win lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=70 You are a Raider. http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=69 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:24:59 GMT "And Raiders Don't Die"

Those are the words the great Al Davis said to his friend and Oakland Raiders Band leader Del Courtney, in 1971, as Del was struggling with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which induces paralysis. Al sat with his friend in the hospital as many expected the band leader to die. "Godfather" Al did the one thing the one in the books and movies could not do, he staved off death. Del Courtney passed in February 2006, at the age of 95.

No one with that kind of juice was by Mr. Davis' side when he passed in the morning hours of October 8th.

The news leaked out. First just with a picture and vague rumblings of an announcement later. Then the articles all over the internet.

Al Davis was as the Oakland Raiders were, loved or hated, respected or reviled, admired or wished dead. There seldom was any middle ground with him.

Hidden underneath the toughness, was a heart his family and his players knew.

When Tim Brown's wife was having twins, Tim got around with help from Al Davis. When Willie Thomas had a death in his family, but wanted to make the game, he made the service and the game in the same week end, with the help of Al Davis. When Al's wife was in the hospital after a heart attack and in a coma, he didn't leave her side. He was there day after day, willing her to come back to him. And she did. When Dan Turk was stricken with cancer, and the people from the Redskins had little to no contact with him, it was Mr. Davis calling his wife asking what she needed. At Dan Turk's service, there was a picture of Dan - in his Raiders uniform.

But one didn't have to be a Raider to see Al's good side. When Terry Bradshaw retired from the game, Al Davis called him and said if he ever needed anything to just pick up the phone. When Derrick Thomas was in the hospital, the only team owner to visit him was Al Davis. And there are so many more things that people just do NOT know.

Carl Weathers credited Al Davis with changing his life forever back in 1970, when Carl was a rookie linebacker with the Raiders.

Bill 'The Big Tuna' Parcells said that Al Davis was the smartest man he ever met.

Bill Walsh said "He was one of the great coaches I have ever observed ... a truly great coach" , and "Had he chosen to remain in coaching, he would be considered one of the great coaches of all time."

I think that can be said of Al Davis regardless. Just because he was not employed at that title did not mean he wasn't still coaching. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Hue Jackson referred to him as Coach Davis.

I would consider him more than a just a footabll coach.

In the 60s, Al Davis did not permit his Raiders team to participate in an exhibition game in the south. Why? his players would be segregated. They would be staying in different hotels. I remember hearing that the water fountains at the stadium were for whites only. He could not participate in something like that, nor would he be around for people being treated like that. So the Raiders did not play. I know it had to mean a loss of money, but that was not what mattered to him.

He meant what he said, and said what he meant. Loyalty was law to Al Davis.

From his days at Syracuse to the day he died, Al would not give a damn about race, gender or age. I can quote the many people that have said things about him on this topic, but I think most Raiders fans have those. But from Bernie Custis to Amy Trask, Lance Alworth to Willie Brown, they all know that his personal code of honor was just that.

Players that experienced careers after their playing days with the Raiders include Fred Biletnikoff, Willie Brown, Steve Wisniewski, Rod Woodson, Terry Robiskie, Calvin Branch, Zack Crockett and Greg Biekert. It is rumored that Mr. Davis may have had a hand in Jack Tatum getting his job with the NFL. Players that received chances because of their association to the team include Todd Marinovich and Bruce Davis II. While being a starter, and considered a good draft pick, Stefen Wisniewiski is the nephew of a long time Raider great, Steve Wisniewski.

Look at his organization. The job of equipment manager went from father to son in the Romanski family.

As far as I know, he is the only individual that introduced 9 people as they were inducted into Canton. This includes long time Charger Lance Alworth. Al was his position coach his rookie year. Lance was in the league from 1962 to 1972, and a man that his coach for his first season was the one that stood up for him as he wore that yellow gold coat.

Rod Woodson played in the NFL from 1987 -2003 for 4 teams. 1987 to 1996 he was with the Steelers. He played for one season for the 49ers. He was with the Ravens from '98 to '01, and a Raider from '02- '03. Now he coaches for the Raiders. That says something about the organization and Al Davis, a man that was considered a players' owner.

Richard Seymour has recently said not only was he born to be a Raider, that he wants to retire a Raider.

It is well known that he went from coach to commissioner to owner, something no other man can lay claim to. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame for his contributions to the NFL, in direct relation to everything he accomplished as a coach, commissioner and owner. And that is only one of many recognitions he has received over his many years.

He was a visionary.

It was a conflict in which he wanted luxury boxes built in the now O.com Coliseum back in the late 70s that caused him to be sued for eminent domain over ownership of the Raiders. It is known that Al Davis won, and moved his team to get what he thought the team deserved. Those that believe in revisionist history pay no mind that Al was sued first back in those days. Ironically, it took about 15 years for him to get what he wanted from the coliseum in Oakland. But he got it. And there hasn't been a new stadium built without those luxury boxes. I often refer to that time as the Raiders "hiatus". I called Los Angeles "Southern Oakland", always knowing Al would bring the Raiders home.


Everyone that has talked to him about football has remarked about his vast knowledge, and for those lucky enough to have experienced it, how he could break down game film. He dedicated all that knowledge and experience to make the Raiders the best team he could.

He once commented that working for the Raiders was great. If one was the head coach and things went well, the coach got the credit. If things went bad, Al took the blame. Truer words were never said.

I do not think there is a Raiders fan around that has not questioned some of his decisions. I did. But I also know I was never privy to what he knew. I can only aspire to know 1/100th of what he knew and understood about the game.

In these last seasons, it was known his health was failing. But how many knew what was wrong? He was intensely private about that. Sadly, he was much sicker than many knew, and as sick as many thought, and yet, he still carried himself with a dignity not seen by many.

Today is a dark, dark day for the Raiders and the NFL. We lost a man that did things his own way and often thumbed his nose at the NFL, including abstaining from voting on the most current CBA that ended the NFL lock out this very season. A man, a legend, the Raiders best acquisition, and biggest loss. He put his life's blood into the Raiders.

I have cried this day, and am not ashamed to say it. I am saddened that I will never see him hoist the Lombardi trophy again.

My only comfort is that he is with his old friend, Del, and am sure Bill (Walsh). His players that he looked out for, Jack (Tatum), George (Blanda), SKip (Thomas), Bubba (Smith), Dan (Turk), Dave (Dalby), Neil (Colzie), Gene (Upshaw), Eric (Turner), Stacy (Toran).., and too many others. He is not in pain, no longer struggling. He has the best seat in the house and can talk about the thing he loved most, his beloved Raiders.

Rest in peace, Al. On second thought, do it your way, just as you always have. ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=69 Schooled http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=68 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:36:31 GMT When I look back and think back to my beloved Oakland Raiders 31-19 loss to the reviled New... When I look back and think back to my beloved Oakland Raiders 31-19 loss to the reviled New England Patriot on the Raiders home turf, I have several things to consider.

The biggest one, I have to agree with what Coach Jackson said in press conference. We were out played, and that falls on him as the head coach. Why? He is the one that makes the final decisions.

It was his (bad) decision for us to go into a zone defense , which basically allows Tom Brady to throw at will to Wes Welker. We did much better covering when we were playing man on man. But there were issues covering Welker man on man. Welker's routes would consistently interesct another player's route. That WR and trailing DB would act as a pick to whatever DB we had on him on a few pass plays.y. At least that is how it appeared to me. We got to Brady, then stopped the attack. Why? It was rattling him. He forced throws, he was off. He doesn't like pressure. When we went zone but we slowed won we stopped going hard after Brady.

However, he wasn't the one missing the tackles (consideration two) , that is on the players. He isn't the one that committed any of our 9 for 85 yard penalties, ( that means 6 for 50 for the team, 3 for 35 on Richard Seymour), but he takes the blame. (That would be consideration 3.)

Tyvon Branch had several tackles, but also didn't wrap up and was actually hanging like a rag doll once, because he didn't make a proper tackle. One play Jarvis Moss just stood there, but had he run up, he may have flushed Brady from the pocket. Instead - completed first down pass. The defense over pursued. They were eaten alive in zone. There were times Brady should have eaten turf and didn't.

It may have been better to go for a long field goal instead of punting to pin them back. We downed the ball on the 4 yard line , thank you Derek Hagan. But 3 points on the board could have given us a boost.

It may have been better to go for it on 4th and 2 , instead of punting. (Jackson decision)

It may have been better to throw more mid range passes, instead of underneath (though some of those were big plays), or just too deep. This is the same complaint I had last week. And the week before.

While Coach Jackson claims he won't play into questioning the officiating, (he can't without being fined), he made it clear in his post game presser he questioned a couple of calls, including the 15 yard personal foul on Richard Seymour. According to the officials, it was the "FLAGRANT" manner in which he tackled Brady for a loss on a seemingly live play. No one heard a whistle, and if ANYONE has this on DVR, please advise why the side judge just followed the play rather than running in, waving his arms over his head and signalling a dead ball foul and end of play. He also questioned the "feet being incidentally entangled" on the pass interference call where Jacoby Ford went to the ground in the end zone, the flag was thrown, call made and penalty marked off. It wasn't until the Raiders were appearing to line up that the penalty was reversed. Maybe there is some review for penalties I am unaware? I would have pointed out the fact that on Jason Campbell's first interception, Darrius Heyward-Bey was trying to make his way across the back of the end zone. But he couldn't. He was being pushed around by a Patriots defender. And pushed out of bounds at the back of the end zone. I know an official saw this because he threw his hat down. That's the signal for a player out of bounds. How the same official didn't happen to catch that Campbell was in the pocket, and it was a pass play, ergo making this shoving at least illegal contact as it was beyond the 5 yards allowed, well, I opted to not ask Coach Jackson. Why? because like he said, it does no good. But pointing out the bad officiating is not an issue for me. I think it has been horrid, and ignoring it is not something I can do. (Officiating in total - consideration 4, because it had a direct effect on the offense , which stalled at key times - which is consideration 5)

For the most part, the game looked better for the Raiders on paper.

They converted 8 of 13 3rd downs, while NE converted only 4 of 9. We had 504 net yards, compared to their 409 net yards. We ran 5 more offensive plays. We averaged almost one yard more per play than NE did. Our punter averaged more gross and net yards than theirs.

Darrius Heyward-Bey had 4 catches for 115 yards, and had one drop. The drop was a crucial one, but so were his receptions , which kept us moving. He led the team.

Kevin Boss had a good day, too, with 4 receptions for 78 yards.

The team ran for 160 yards, and Campbell threw for 344 yards.

Time of possession went to us, too, over 6 minutes in our favor.

The most telling stat is the one that killed us. Out of 5 trips to the red zone, we put it in the end zone only twice. That is what cost us the game. One of those red zone trips was an that aforementioned interception where there was uncalled illegal contact on DHB. But Campbell threw it where were 3 white jerseys. And the ball went right to the opposition. Maybe the ball slipped out of his hands, maybe not. Maybe he expected DHB to come across the back of the end zone. Even if that had happened, it would have been an illegal touch if DHB had caught the ball because he was OOB.

Aside from that, I think we we did okay. This loss hurt. Because we had the chances. A couple were taken away by the officials, but if the offense had executed better and the defense had held up better, instead of allowing Welker and Brady to play catch and BerJarvus Green-Ellis all those running lanes, the game still could have been ours.

Both sides of the ball failed each other, with a little juice from the officiating. (I will not let go of the fact that regardless of Campbell's poor throw in the end zone, it still should have been our ball given the illegal contact that caused DHB to go out of bounds, and no way was that incidental contact, or a mere tangling of feet that sent Ford sprawling.)

I know many people were concerned about how may yards teams were putting up against us in losses, but that isn't what matters. The scoreboard does. The most yards doesn't give you the win. The points scored does.

We were schooled this game, by a team that has won before. They were given breaks, we weren't. So what? we showed we could move the ball, but we didn't get it in the end zone.

We allowed them to move the ball, and get it in the end zone. Once time a ball was tipped and it took to long for our guys to notice and make a play. They trailed their receivers. Standford Routt was too far behind to make a play one a receiving touch down he allowed. Their players came off the line clean.

That's it.

This team had best learn how to work around the poor officiating, because from what I have seen around the league, it isn't getting any better, and the NFL doesn't seem to care. Coach Jackson knows it.

So let's hope the team is better prepared as we face a tough Texans team on the road.

As always,

Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!

BlitzChick ]]> BlitzChick http://www.fansinblack.com/x/blog.php?b=68