Thursday, October 26, 2006

House of Cards


The female reporter asked Art Shell the question the mediots had been posing all week: "Are you going to go winless this season?"

Art's response was classic:"You know I like you. But that question is an insult." And then Coach Shell walked away. Vote here for Coach of the Week.


We see plainly the mediot frenzy to create a story led them to feed on the Raiders losing streak, though not even a third of the season had been played out yet. The premature ejaculation comparisons of, "The Raiders are just as bad as Steve Spurrier's winless Tampa Bay team of '76!!!" rained like hail... but failed to mention the Shell's Raiders won the Super Bowl following that same '76 season.

They played themselves.

The Raiders won and where are the statements from the countless mediots who predicted total futility 0-16? Where are the statements saying, "We were wrong"?

You won't find 'em.

But you will find several of us on this site predicted a Raider win vs. the Cards. This was the first time we predicted the outcome of a game here. This site does not give one of those blind blanket "We will win" statements every week...

Here are some thoughts about the House of Cards game (so named because all the mediot predictions crumbled like one):

Madden was presented his Hall of Fame ring by Jim Otto and Gene Upshaw. Congrats Coach Madden! Good to see the linemen who paved the way for a great deal of your success sharing the day with you. Al Davis' absence from the ceremony was a bit conspicuous as the induction proceedings from Canton were replayed. Here's hoping Mr. Davis' physical health improves.

Tom Walsh finally woke up and realized the short passing game works to establish a QB rhythm and save us all from witnessing the tedious treadmill of three-and-outs we have seen so often. Instead, we had an astounding 37 minutes of possession (astounding for the last three + seasons, anyway). Note to Walsh: Wait a few more weeks before we can execute basic plays on a regular basis before givin' Ronald Curry the end around hail mary toss. He's gonna get killed by the trickeration attempts if ya don't.

Though he dropped at least four catchable passes, Randy Moss was responsible for moving the chains at least four times on third downs. With DBs giving Moss such a cushion, the underneath routes are almost always available for 'em. With Moss failing to give much effort on the jump ball deep throws he used to catch unconsciously, perhaps getting his hands on the ball more often this way will get his heart back in the game...

Derrick Burgess simply dominated all night from Leinart's blind side. Whereas right-handed QBs often see Burgess coming and can avoid his hit, Leinart didn't hear the footsteps till they were close, real close. Burgess was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Seeing his pass deflection land in the arms of Terdell Sands, who then proceeded to shamble for five yards like a wounded elephant, was priceless.

Robert Gallery has one super power: he is always down the field and gets to the second and third level of blocks as well as any lineman I have seen. Watch the catches made ten yards downfield by the Raider WRs and notice how often Gallery is nearby when the tackle is made... When are the Raider coaches going to learn to play to Gallery's strength? His pass protection skills - ahem, three sacks and two forced fumbles given up to former Donco Bertrand Berry - certainly don't justify his being on the field at LT these days. If this keeps up, Gallery is going to get the immobile Andrew Walter killed.

Speaking of sacks, the Raiders are about the worst in the NFL at pass rushing. While Burgess makes an impact, the Raiders collectively equal just one Julius Peppers. My stick on this is put Terdell Sands in the middle at NT. His being double teamed will allow Sapp to free up on a single blocker. Move Kelly out to the RDE spot. Tyler Brayton has brought nothing vaguely resembling QB heat and changes are called for, pronto. Seeing Sands in the lineup more consistently and having Kelly play end would shore up the Raiders non-existent run defense as well.

Does Secret Sam Williams actually play for this team or is his name just a typo whenever I read it? Morrison and Howard are evolving into LBs with heart while Sam just seems to stay M.I.A. Note to Coach Ryan: Please don't use the nickel as a base "D". You get no pass rush by having only two LBs in the game and lining them up a step or two behind where they need to line up to have decent access to the passer. This deep placement also weakens the LBs' ability to be effective in run suport.

I hereby retract last week's labelling of Justin Fargas as "a potato chip." Huggy Bear, Jr. carried 23 times this week with a separated shoulder. Watching Fargas hit his holes immediately with no wasted motion is quite the contrast to LaMont Jordan's jitterbug shuffle. Jordan, who is much stouter than Fargas, seems to think he's Barry Sanders and rarely seems to hit his holes decisively. Poor vision on the part of Jordan, methinks, or perhaps he still hasn't learned the blocking schemes.

Note to Micheal Huff: Watch the game film and keep an eye on Adrian Wilson. He plays the game like a SS should. Wilson's name belongs on the short list of the best Safeties in football: Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins... and Wilson. Play like Adrian and you'll be in the Pro Bowl and make us all forget the #24 who didn't bother to watch game film.

All in all, it was a good day to be a Raider. Now is our chance to laugh at mediots like this one who obviously wrote her 0-16 piece BEFORE the Cards game was played and had to change some words around to still be able use the piece of cr@pola she had penned as something other than toilet paper.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. The rebuilding of this franchise to a place where the insults are not given so freely begins with a single win.

6 Comments:

Blogger Calico Jack said...

Huggy Bear Jr. and Terdell Sands have become 2 of my favorite Raiders.

The RB by committee might be a good approach to take for the rest of the season. The Burgess-Sapp-Sands-Kelly front 4 would be very formidable. You MIA call on Williams is on the $. The guy just doesn't seem to have a nose for the ball.

The secondary deserves a ton of credit for basically shutting down WR Boldin who didn't have his 1st catch until the 3rd quarter. Quite remarkable considering Boldin was the NFL leader in receptions coming into the game. He was able to slice and dice the Bears to the tune of 12-139-1.

October 26, 2006 10:02 PM  
Blogger Stick'em said...

CJ: LMAO! I just checked out your Coffee is For Closers. Seems like we both came up with the same D-lineup independently.

At first I was thinking Sands should replace Sapp at DT... but now I am thinking Brayton is the weakest lineman. Time to either live up to the 1st round draft slot or collect splinters in your behind, Mr. Brayton.

I also see that Raider Take has been toying with the same crackpot journalist I mentioned in this piece in his own News You Can't Use. A Raider fan named Wolftrail34 independently brought her nonsensical babblings to my attention . Seems RT has brought her back to her senses, somewhat...

Great minds think alike here at the BFN, but sure looks like I'm a little slow on the draw these days!

October 27, 2006 9:58 AM  
Blogger frkyraider said...

i like the kelly to DE idea, he played well there last season in limited time at that spot. brayton is on rollerskates against the run, doesn't get much puch on pass rush, haven't even seen him hurrying the qb, which makes him expendable with the likes of johnstone around for pure pass rush situations. kelly and johnstone rotation, sands, sapp and hawthorne rotation. already sounds better, makes us awfully thin tho.

i got one question stick'em, i may sound stupid and i'll probably smack myself in the forhead while shouting "i shoulda known that!!!" when i read what it is but uh....what does BFN stand for?

October 27, 2006 1:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FRKY: My significant other says she has a hard time understanding what the hell I write because of all the abbreviations... I figure she just suffers from acronym-ism (a fundamental inability to understand acronyms).

She complains she shouldn’t have to figure out what “LB” stands for. I tell ‘er when she can point out where the LBs lineup on the field, then I’ll ‘splain it to ‘er! LMAO!

BFN stands for Black Flag Network. No reason you should know this; it’s my bad for being too lazy to type the whole thing out. Guess I suffer from anachronism (being too old to learn the errors of my ways) – LOL!

October 27, 2006 1:57 PM  
Blogger frkyraider said...

ouch, as i said, smacked myself in the forhead and said "i shoulda known that." i been around long enuff to figure that one out. thanx for 'splainin it to me tho.

October 27, 2006 6:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Panty: We are on the same page. Shell has to clean up a large amount of damage done to these young guys by the previous coaching staffs.

Gallery looks stiff and upright to me, especially in pass protection. He gets burned too often because he doesn't move his feet, bend his knees, and use the right leverage.

But when you hear him talk, Gallery understands all these things in his mind... it's his body that does not respond consistently in game situations.

Gallery seems like a smart, hard-working guy. My guess is it is going to take 'em awhile to unlearn all the techniques drilled into his body by his previous O-line coaches and positions (a 6'8" guard is a bad idea) and finally get it right...

Same goes for myriad Raiders like Brayton who have been switched from their natural positions and then back. My biggest complaint about the previous coaches is not utilizing the player's strengths and forcing round pegs into square holes.

Case in point:

Brayton has a good upfield motor. This is his one super power. Yes, the tackle usually rides him out of the play or he is not home for the run, but the guy does have the instinct to get in the backfield. So what did the preious Raider staff do? Put 'em at LB and ask him to move laterally and in reverse. Er...

I agree with you wholeheartedly that this is the season to bite the bullet and see what these young players can do... but we also need some momentum going into next season to turn this thing around. Winning begets more winning.

If Sands is outplaying Brayton, get 'em on the field for more plays. If Boothe outperforms McQ, get 'em on the field. If Curry outperforms Whitted, get 'em on the field. If Fargas outperforms Jordan, get 'em on the field.

There are no sacred cows due to big paychecks or high draft pick status when you are rebuilding. It is all about rewarding the performers, IMO.

Make no mistake, we are trying to find out which players can play in this system. The good news is most of 'em are pretty young and built for the future.

I think in next year's roster we will see lot of dead wood gone after the evaluations from this year's performances. Players like Tui and Porter will be gone for certain. Maybe some of Al's sacred cows like Whitted and Gibson will be gone as well.

Let us pray.

October 28, 2006 8:49 AM  

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