Sunday, November 26, 2017

Broncos Gameday Thread

It's probably now or never.

Incredibly, the Raiders are still in this. The Chiefs blew it once again today.

The division is still there for the taking, but first the Raiders must beat the Broncos.

Otherwise, momentum would be fully ceded to the Chargers, and the Raiders would be three games under .500 with five to play, which would effectively derail any road to a division title or a wild card spot, even if they were to win out from there.

Pagano has his work cut out for him. Musgrave is looking for revenge. This is a game the Raiders should win. Will they?

It's time turn it around and win out the rest of the schedule, starting today.

Monday, November 20, 2017

Sunday Postmortem: Clown Car Edition

Sorry, I wish it weren't so, but it's time to bust out the Clown Car after yesterday's beatdown in Mexico. 

Yesterday, Tom Brady was a hot knife, and our secondary was butter. One report put it succinctly. "Brady completed 30 of 37 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns against a defense that has allowed the league’s highest opponents’ passer rating." 

Now, say it out loud: "In 2016, the Raiders had a potent offense, and weak defense. So they kept their DC and fired their OC."

How does that sound, and how is that working out?

The Raiders haven't had a defense ranked in the top 15 of the NFL since 2010. 

Here's one metric unearthed by NY Raider: "Per Pro Football Focus, David Amerson, Smith and McDonald have allowed the three highest opponent passer ratings this season out of 121 cornerbacks who have played at least 101 snaps."

Meanwhile, we made a major upgrade at tight end, added Beast Mode and maintained the trio of Carr, Cooper and Crabtree...yet suddenly can't seem to move the ball with any consistency.

This is on Del Rio and McKenzie.

Incredibly, the division is still there for the taking. With the Chiefs bumbling and the Broncos burning, an amazing opportunity has unfolded before us this season.

But instead of racing to the top of the AFC West, we appear destined to sputter to the finish line unless drastic improvement is made. Pronto.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Patriots games day thread

 Improbably, the division is still there for the taking. It all starts today!

Sunday, November 05, 2017

Dolphins Gamenight Thread

Heading into tonight's game, I don't know what to make of the Raiders.

This season began with so much promise, and now the tires have inexplicably gone flat. That game against the Bills last week was an embarrassment.

How many years is it going to take Reggie McKenzie to build a legitimate defensive unit?

Here's a stat from the NFL Network: The Raiders have not intercepted a single pass through eight games. No NFL team has ever done that before. EVER. We don't have playmakers in the secondary.

Meanwhile, our running game remains mediocre. Instead of reaching into the future, we reached into the past with Marshawn Lynch, and it's not putting us over the top. Far from it.

We have a defensive-oriented head coach presiding over a persistently weak defense. We have a new OC who appears to be worse than the one we ran out of town.

What is the identity of the Oakland Raiders? Carr, a wing and a prayer?


They need to figure it out. Starting tonight.

P.S. Thanks for all of your well wishes, my friends. Everything is good on the family front post wildfires. I did get a firsthand look at the devastation and it's going to be a long haul for many people. Very sad.