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.