One Postgame Take
1. After the Raiders produced 10 total yards of offense in the first half against the Seahawks, averaging less than 0.5 yards per play, Art Shell was asked his opinion. He said: “I don’t know this team…We’re not playing good football, in any aspect of our team. It’s embarrassing. As the old saying goes, if you’re afraid, then don’t step out of the locker room.” Ouch. That’s a pretty good take, so I’ll adopt it as my own. I know it’s only the preseason, I know it’s a meaningless game, I know it’s only the second team out there for the vast majority of the half, I know that Shell is perhaps overreacting in order to send a message, etc. But we laid an egg, pure and simple. It was embarrassing. Now, I’m not going to go out and swallow a bottle of rat poison. I’m just disappointed to end an otherwise promising preseason on such a sour note. Onward and upward, Raider Nation.
posted by Raider Take at 8:26 AM
10 Comments:
Pardon the pun, but it probably wasn't such a bad thing the boys got "Shell"lacked. After a 4-0 preseason start, I'd much rather they were brought back down to Earth before the real season starts.
I agree. Losing this game could be the best thing to happen. It gives the coaching staff great fuel to push these guys in practice, and get them hungry for Sept 11.
If we need a dreadful performance in order to motivate sound play at this point, then so be it. It's a bit of a stretch for me, I'll buy it for now. After this, however, we can't afford to resort to dreadful performances as a motivational tactic.
If the preseason is any indication, the Raiders will most likely be very tough at home this yr, and probably will look a little sloppy, and confused on the road. I think this is normal for a team that's in the proccess of improving. We must remember that, unfortunately, the Raiders are not a Super Bowl contender yet, and that this is still a team with a good amount of holes, and questionable depth.
Walter definitely needs more work and I am glad we have Brooks. But preseason is over and Sept. 11 is all I can think of. I am looking forward to raping lil Phillip on Monday night for the entire nation to see.
Possibly to be filed under "News We Can't Use" . . .
I received a call from a friend (a Jet fan, so take it with a grain of salt) who mentioned the Raiders are "giving Jeff George every chance to be their starter." Now, I haven't found anything on this, but listens to ESPN Radio all day, which is where I assume he got this info.
Then again, it could be just Mike n Mike supposition, which is about as on target as my dreams are.
All that being said, maybe I'm a bit like Ole Uncle Al, but I've loved George for years now. Perhaps with a disciplinarian HC in Shell, and a little maturity, he can capture lightning in a bottle this season? I mean, if he DOES wind up starting, I'll have to trust the "bespecled One" that he and Art saw something.
Art Shell said it best last night, on the postgame radio show:
"You have to come ready to play, regardless of being pre or regular season"
"You don't win, by just putting on the uniform"
Now that's bringing it!
My two cents--Running a set with two WR and a FB limits Brooks. He has trouble reading the whole field [WRs are on opposite sides] and its simpler for the D to cover. He needs three WR sets so he has at least two on one side, plus a check down back or a TE on that side. He has been effective when he only has to look at half the field. On the plus side, I think the intent was not to put alot on film for SD--we succeeded
RT: It all comes down to the O-line (yes, I sound like a broken record, get used to it).
Seattle probably has the lightest D-line in the NFL. The Raider linemen should have pushed them around like rag dolls, 3rd string or not.
Instead, we got exactly 22 rush attempts for 39 yards - a 1.8 ypc avg.
This is not good. This is not power running.
The Seachicken blitz overwhelmed the O-line. It wasn't just that KFC couldn't move any faster than a three-toed slothlast season, also consider the consistent failure to pick up the rushers...
I am psyched about 4-1 and this was a loss vs. a team who played fir the Lombardi last year.
But the O-line is what it is.
let's face it, Lemont Jordan aint all that. I like him. I think he's serviceable, but if our offense is going to be truly run-oriented, I doubt we're going to fare well against teams like NFC champion Seattle. I'm still eager for the season to start, and no matter what, we ought to be a vastly improved team from what we've been the past few seasons.
Also, I agree that losing one game heading into the season is probably ideal. This way we can at least avoid the snide commentary from hapless, raider-hating sports pundits.
Lastly: Aaron Brooks wasn't in the game long enough for this game to be indicative of anything, really. In the regular season, the guys will be able to make adjustments after such a bad start. In the preseason you have to suck it up and wait watch the second team come in.
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