Five Postgame Takes
1. Rumor has it that when LaMont Jordan pled his case for more carries, he waved a printout of Raider Take in Norv’s face (as reported by the National Enquirer). Indeed, Jordan got his carries, which he, I and all of you in the Raider Nation have been begging for…And the results were awesome. This wasn’t just a matter of offensive balance. It was about confidence. The Raiders didn’t score until the beginning of the second quarter, and it was only a field goal. Yet they stuck with the run and put up 35 points thereafter. They didn’t start flinging the ball in desperation. They hung tough and literally ran over the Bills.2. I would like to think that the Raiders, with their receiving talent, could fling the ball in desperation and get some results. But that simply has not been the case this year. Against the Bills, the coaching staff quit beating its head against the Kerry Collins wall. Collins didn’t have a ton of throws or yards in this game, but he played with poise and precision, which is more important. Porter dropped a beautiful long pass for a touchdown, so let’s add that to Collins’ accomplishments for the day. He even made a couple of smart runs instead of frantically chucking the ball out of bounds. I think many of us had visions of Collins turning into vintage Culpepper when Moss came to town. But what we saw on Sunday was Collins in his comfort zone, supported by an assertive running attack, playing within realistic expectations.
3. Zack Crockett finally got his carries, too. Sure, six of his seven carries were on the last drive, but they were money nonetheless. Zack was atomic. He crushed the Bills. And when he did his crazy rooster dance after reaching the endzone, the place went off the hook. This guy plays with true fire, and he's a class act, too.
4. Speaking of that last score, it was great to see Coach Turner bare his teeth and ram it down their throats instead of playing Mr. Nice Guy at the end of the game. The Bills, particularly Willis McGahee, had it coming.
5. After the Titans game, the Raiders’ record will be 3-4, and they will have wind in their sails. The Return to Glory is being paved right now.
posted by Raider Take at 10:26 AM
7 Comments:
Good comments. It actually struck me that Turner was trying to be gentlemanly toward the end, but the Bills insisted on calling timeouts when the game had already been decided. I'm glad he made them pay a little extra for their stupidity. Why let the Bills leave with their dignity if they don't want to keep it?
Excellent point. You want Zack, guys? Okay, here's Zack. I'm sure the Bills' defensive line was thrilled with that coaching strategy.
Good points, but the Bills defense is not exactly stout against the run. Only the Texans have a worse run "D."
I knew that someone would come in here and rain on our parade! NFL Adam, you make a very valid point. I would only say that the Raiders were ranked very low in rushing offense prior to gametime, so one might have expected an exercise in mutual mediocrity on this front. But the Raiders literally ran over Bills. Which confirms that while the Bills rushing D might be as bad as we thought, the Raiders rushing O is not as bad as advertised. And that is cause for rejoicing here in the Raider Nation (cue Crockett's crazy rooster dance).
Christan, thanks for your feedback. I hope you'll hang around these parts and keep us posted on your away game adventure.
Great Blog by the way.. just a heads up on Zack Crockets endzone dance.. its not the crazy chicken.. when he puts his hands up to his ears its a salute to this college fraternity, its called the dog ears and its symbolizes the greek letter omega.. just a heads up
Now that's bringing the special knowledge! I love it...Keep on bringing it. And thanks for your feedback.
p.s. Does this mean I have to stop calling it the crazy rooster dance?
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