Comments and questions after the Raiders fall flat on their face opening night:
Is this some sort of Groundhog Day remake, with Art Shell back coaching
the team? Inept offense, horrible tackling, brain-dead penalties, and
giving up before the end of the game were all hallmarks of the Shell
administrations.
Talking ain't the same as playing. With all the woofing the new
receivers did about playing against their former team, all they really
did was show why Denver sent them on their way.
Fire Kiffen. Sure, after one week, get rid of the head man. That will
solve everything.
Not!
If Davis does whack Kiffen, Shanahan would hire him the next week on
spite alone. Then whom do we hire? My bro-in-law said Davis would call
Schottenheimer. Best laugh we had all night.
How to give up over 40 points in today's NFL? Never blitz. Give the QB
all the time in the world to pick apart the defense. Don't press. Seems
every snap DeAngleo Hall was five to seven yards off the line of
scrimmage, leaving out and slant patterns as easy pickings. Mike Golic
could have had 10 catches and 100 yards with that kind of coverage.
Millions for offense, but not one penny for protection. After throwing
all that cash at the QB, RB, and WR positions, somehow Davis thought
that retreads were the way to go with his offensive line. Mike Ditka had
a moment of clarity when he noted JaMarcus should sue his line for
nonsupport.
Conspiracy theories rise yet again. Like in The Mummy, Raider fans once
again raise the specter of the refs out to get the Raiders. Sure, there
were some bad calls, what game doesn't have them. The only place to lay
the body of this stinkfest is at the feet of the players and coaches. As
well as the owner who put them in place.
While we are on this topic, is the team conspiring to give Davis a
stroke with its inept performance? At a particularly low point, there
was a TV shot of Davis alone in his box. Someone asked why nobody was
with him. My response was, "Would YOU want to be in there?"
DeAngelo Hall was doing his best to show that Michael Vick isn't the
biggest idiot Virginia Tech has deposited into the NFL in the last decade.
Like the Biblical character Sampson, the haircut of Raider defensive
coordinator Rob Ryan (a.k.a. soB, son of Buddy—with proper credit to
ASFPOR, the definitive Raider newsgroup) has seemed to rob the Raiders'
defense of its strength.
Derrick Burgess, the top Raider D-lineman, recorded one assisted tackle.
No sacks and no turnovers generated. Hall did record seven tackles, but
when you are forever letting guys catch balls in front of you, that kind
of number tends to get inflated.
Justin Fargas gained 97 yards on 18 carries; that's not bad. But the
Raiders racked up 96 yards on 10 penalties, and that's not good.
Shane Lechler remains the most effective Raider, punting five times for
a 51.0 yard average, 39.2 net. Whenever your punter is your best player,
pain and misery are sure to follow.
Many coaches feel games are won and lost on third down. Denver goes five
for 10, that's 50 percent folks, otherwise known as half the time. The
Raiders were two for 12, a pathetic 16 percent showing. Both play
calling and execution make up for these numbers. The Raiders are found
to be lacking in these areas. Severely lacking.
On the bright side, this was only one game. Plenty of time to turn it
around. But on the other hand, we have to seriously question if the
personnel is capable of achieving that feat.
