Five Postgame Takes
1. Aren’t you just loving all of these interceptions, particularly after last year, when we set an NFL record for fewest interceptions? It’s just one more sign of a defense playing at a lights-out level. Over the past five games, our defense is giving up an average of just 14 points per game. How can you be “the worst team in the NFL,” to quote ESPN just last Friday, when half of your team is playing among the elite? Let’s take pride, Raider Nation, in a defense that is setting the pace, that is giving us a chance to win, week in and week out, and giving us a lot of thrills to help offset the coma-inducing play of our offense.
2. While I am inclined to start feeling sorry of myself and the rest of you, I am reminded of the home game against the Dolphins almost exactly a year ago (November 27, 2005). I remember the mood after that loss, the Kerry Collins-induced stupor, the defense giving up 33 points, the fans filing out of the Coliseum like zombies, the life literally sucked out of us. While this game, like that one, was a November disappointment, the energy was entirely different. There’s no such thing as an enjoyable loss, but from a fan's perspective, I had a blast at this game. The tailgate was magnificent. The defense was righteous. The game was competitive. The house was packed, victory against a hated divisional rival was within our grasp. This is progress.
3. What is the point of putting Jerry Porter in a uniform and even putting him on the field, but nevertheless not actually using him? Either lock the door on the doghouse or use the guy to his fullest effect. One foot in the doghouse, the other on the field? What’s that accomplishing? Speaking of guys not playing, did you miss Robert Gallery? I didn't.
4. I could scream and shout about the offense, but I’ve already done that. I don’t want to instigate any more circular existential dialogue about whether the players or the coaches are most to blame. You know my take: blaming the front-line employees, the players, can only take you so far. At some point, you have to look at who’s managing and training these players, at who’s running the department. Listen to the players and you'll discover that I'm not alone.
5. It’s always inspiring to view the gameday experience through the eyes of others. After the game, Cousin of Raider Take and I ambled over to the Raider Nation Podcast postgame tailgate. Raider Greg and Charmaine (Mrs. Raider Nation Podcast) were, as always, gracious hosts. Tommy the New York Raider was there, having won a pair of free tickets courtesy of Raider Rick and Raider Nation Podcast. Tommy was joined by his friend Tommy (no, that’s not a typo). Keith, Dave and Richard were visiting from England, as they did last year for the Bills game. In fact, they flew into Seattle to catch the Monday night game, where they connected with Randy of Raider Nation Podcast, before traveling down to Oakland. When I befriend folks who have traveled across the country, and across the Atlantic, to watch the Raiders and experience the Raider Nation at its finest hour, I learn never to take the gameday experience for granted. Check out this photo I took. This is the whole gang, after the game. I don't see an ounce of quit.
2. While I am inclined to start feeling sorry of myself and the rest of you, I am reminded of the home game against the Dolphins almost exactly a year ago (November 27, 2005). I remember the mood after that loss, the Kerry Collins-induced stupor, the defense giving up 33 points, the fans filing out of the Coliseum like zombies, the life literally sucked out of us. While this game, like that one, was a November disappointment, the energy was entirely different. There’s no such thing as an enjoyable loss, but from a fan's perspective, I had a blast at this game. The tailgate was magnificent. The defense was righteous. The game was competitive. The house was packed, victory against a hated divisional rival was within our grasp. This is progress.
3. What is the point of putting Jerry Porter in a uniform and even putting him on the field, but nevertheless not actually using him? Either lock the door on the doghouse or use the guy to his fullest effect. One foot in the doghouse, the other on the field? What’s that accomplishing? Speaking of guys not playing, did you miss Robert Gallery? I didn't.
4. I could scream and shout about the offense, but I’ve already done that. I don’t want to instigate any more circular existential dialogue about whether the players or the coaches are most to blame. You know my take: blaming the front-line employees, the players, can only take you so far. At some point, you have to look at who’s managing and training these players, at who’s running the department. Listen to the players and you'll discover that I'm not alone.
5. It’s always inspiring to view the gameday experience through the eyes of others. After the game, Cousin of Raider Take and I ambled over to the Raider Nation Podcast postgame tailgate. Raider Greg and Charmaine (Mrs. Raider Nation Podcast) were, as always, gracious hosts. Tommy the New York Raider was there, having won a pair of free tickets courtesy of Raider Rick and Raider Nation Podcast. Tommy was joined by his friend Tommy (no, that’s not a typo). Keith, Dave and Richard were visiting from England, as they did last year for the Bills game. In fact, they flew into Seattle to catch the Monday night game, where they connected with Randy of Raider Nation Podcast, before traveling down to Oakland. When I befriend folks who have traveled across the country, and across the Atlantic, to watch the Raiders and experience the Raider Nation at its finest hour, I learn never to take the gameday experience for granted. Check out this photo I took. This is the whole gang, after the game. I don't see an ounce of quit.
posted by Raider Take at 10:17 PM
16 Comments:
Finally, the mystery is solved. The reason we can't make adjustments in the second half is because we've already exhausted the playbook in the first half. That makes sense. I think it was Forest Gump's mom who said "simple is as simple does."
Think of the huge disadvantage Walter has been burdened with.
News Flash: Moss is too moody to catch passes and Brooks is ready to return for the KC game.
Anon 12:35-you got one thing right, we never let up. Now go back to sleep, your five minutes of relevance are over.
RT- I didn't miss Gallery either, thought Slaughter played well, considering. Maybe when Sims comes back he'll move over to RT and and then both saloon doors will be closed.
Think Art's gotta hold the line with AW even though he's pissed at him for calling out Walsh but I'm afraid we may see Brooks at KC...
Great post R.T.! I know people are gonna knock me, but, I feel that we have an Offense full of great talent, but no great football players. What happened to Lamont Jordan? Did Norval drain him completly of his powers? He talked all his trash about what he was gonna do with the run game this year. Yes, I know we have "The Black Hole" (Better these days know as our O-Line) but Ive seen him time after time get tripped up and fall down, or run out of bounds than take on the tackler even when he's healthy. He's only good for one maybe two hard runs a game. I dont need to say anything about Moss, he's playing as good as his last name. Andrew Walter is a young learning QB with no O-line trying to be a hero every week instead of playing smart. He holds on to the ball way too long trying to get the big play. Yes, Tom Walsh Sucks, but, I question not his capability, but his players! How many drops, overthrown passes, bad snap fumbles, piss poor executions and players giving up on plays have we seen? If you put Bill Walsh in the booth, does that stop Walter from overthrowing WIDE open recievers? Or does it stop the bleeding of the O-Line? We talked in the offseason of our "Bread & Butter" plays, but yet we're too simple. Denver ran boots on us the whole second half and people call that making adjustments? When you have to worry about Jake the Fake runnin, you're caught off guard by the running game. I just cant crucify the coaches yet until I see players exucute the way they are supposed to. Until the mental errors go away and we play sixty minutes of heads up football offensively by the players, I just cant call for Walshs head. Thanx for taking time to read my rant RAIDERNATION! Its been one!
RT - Great photo and post. I was hoping to bump into you at the Safeway Tailgate Party. #21 and #27 are playing with such confidence and it really shows ... both CB's are taking more chances which is paying off in INTs. That was my first trip to Oak this year ... the D's speed in person was amazing.
New post at BlandaRocked... RT, hope you don't mind my occasional promotions on your site until BlandRocked takes off... at which point I likely won't have time to write it anymore.
http://raiderhistory.blogspot.com/
I guess by now everyone's seen Randy Moss's reason for all his dropped passes.
"Maybe because I'm unhappy and I'm not too much excited about what's going on...So, my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I'm in a bad mood. All I can say is if you put me in a good situation and make me happy, man, you get good results."
Perhaps the most shocking thing in this article is that Moss has 33 catches this season for 455 yards. Watching Moss this year, I could swear he's only had about 12 catches for 128 yards. At least 33/455 is indicative of a somewhat productive season.
Why do I feel like a perpetrator of identity theft? Sorry Tommy “NY Raider” for the coincidental handle, but there must be more than one raider fan in New York. Now we know there’s at least two.
Congrats on your trip to Oakland! I planned a trip in 2001 that got squashed by some A-holes flying planes into landmark buildings, then immediately recouped and made the trip for opening day 2002. There’s nothing better than wearing your colors into a home game!!! Being a Raider fan in someone else’s house (Buffalo, NJ, Cincinnati) just isn’t the same.
Looks like Andrew Walter is starting to piss off Art Shell a little bit.
If I were Walter, I'd tread lightly here.
Art Shell has a way of making players disappear.
Among Shell's greatest hits:
Marcus Allen, Johnnie Morant, Jerry Porter.
Andrew Walter ????????
Raider00, who is this Andrew Walter guy you speak of? I've never heard of him.
By the way,
Randy Moss is a complete ASS.
He can't play well because he's in a bad mood ? He can't concentrate ?
You've got to be kidding me. Please tell me it's all just a joke.
So, as I understand it, this is what our fearless leader Moss, is saying.
"As soon as we get some real leaders in here, I'll start trying harder".
Wonderful, thank you Randy Moss.
It's amazing that Moss still doesn't get it.
If Moss were a true leader, he'd be playing good/hard, right now, trying to help out his rookie QB, and every other teammate.
Instead, Moss just quits. He throws up his hands, and looks around for a savior. Someone who can come in and lead him around by his nose.
How would Moss like it if Al Davis said to him, "Randy, your dropping so many balls each week has put me in a bad mood. I think I'm going to cut your salary".
I wonder what Moss would say about that ?
But in Moss's strange mind, he deserves to be paid Millions of Dollars, whether he plays at a high level, or not. Whether he tries hard, or loafs.
It's only fair, right Randy ? We don't want to put Randy in a bad mood with a little thing like the facts, now do we ?
I have said it before, and now, Moss himself has said it.
Moss cannot lead, he needs to be led.
That is why he looks so lost/bad on the field every week.
Raider 00 -
How dare you pick on Captain Randy. For the Denver game he "earned" $625,000 for 1 catch plus he trotted out to midfield before the game and called "heads". What more do you want him to do? Ughh.
Calico,
LOL, Captain Randy, I love it.
Maybe our fearless leader should wear a big "C" on his chest, and a cape, and big rubber boots.
Captain Randy.....SUPERHERO !!!
Raider 00 -
Captain Randy aka "Juice Boy" should go out to midfield for the coin toss wearing a hair net, sanitation gloves, the Big C on his chest, and the rubber boots. To top it off, Captain Randy can bring a toilet plunger. For $625k per game, Captain Randy can clean all of the toilets at McAfee Colisieum to "earn" his pay.
anyone in here watch "the ultimate fighter"? there was this kid in this seasons show that was completely miserable and bummed out at all times. the guys in the house called him captain miserable. i believe that moniker fits our captain to a T!! as for me, i wash my hands of this guy. he has yet to prove his worth once in the silver and black. the more he speaks the sicker i get.
Hey guys,
I've got my blog up with a new post.
http://raider-nate75.blogspot.com/
Bama7
What a veritable mess. The first time in my 33 years of watching that I can no longer find ANY reason to watch. What storyline is left... where we fall in the draft? Is Moss happy? These are not interesting things. Besides, Moss has a right to be pissed. Who the hell wants to play in such a dysfunctional situation. He even eluded to it early in the year and we were all scratching our heads as to what he meant. Remember he said, "something's not right around here." And he spoke of Art not relating well to the players. Remeber Art and FReddie tag teaming Porter in the office meeting. We all thought that was cool then, but what Porter had said was that the offense was designed at some bed and breakfast something or another. All makes good sense now. The veteran players knew things weren't working on offense. HELL WE ALL KNEW IT WHEN WALSH WAS HIRED. AND THEN THEY ALMOST BROUGHT IN JEFF GEORGE. IT WAS LIKE A HORRIBLE TIME MACHINE.
One post here at Raider Take mentioned not getting into the circular argument of what's wrong offensively. How many people... players, former players, media, scouts etc etc have told us that the system is archaic and awful? If Al's system was on trial the prosecution would have rested two month ago and the jury would have come back in about ten minutes. GUILTY OF SINKING A FRANCHISE. And that leaves me not able to judge the players because no one, not even Peyton Manning, could make Al's game work. I hate what we have become.
I was reading many of the Bronco's comments after the game and they said things like, "They played hard." "they mixed it up a bit." They don't even hate us anymore! Our storied rivalries have disentegrated. That happens when you win only a couple of divisional games in four years! Is it a couple or only the Denver game a blue moon ago??? That is pathetic!
We are the bitch in the AFC west. There for a "W" only. That's why I'm not totally sold on the defense ... yet. I think we're better than we've been in years, but teams are simply not having to open their playbooks against us. Bottom line, when Denver had to score to win, they did.
And I can't give Art any more sympathy. I've been waiting and waiting for this guy to make a coaching move and it just ain't happening. He is not just slow to react, he is incapable of reacting. He is so lost it's not funny. I can't just accept him as our coach because he was the left tackle on the teams I loved as a boy. At some point he's gotta take charge and DO SOMETHING! Fake a punt. Try a half back pass. THrow your hat down. Yell at someone. Announce someone is benched. How about firing WalshThe porter thing is just stupid. No sense to it whatsoever. A few games in, had we been winning, it would have looked smart. But now that everyone knows our offense is totally impotent it just makes Art look so amatuerish. The coach should have known our offense was in trouble. Remember Philly and Minnesota in pre-season? We looked wholly inept. Here we are in week 10 and we have shown no sign of improvement. Disgusting. The line's not to blame. Who knows if they're any good?? You can't run this offense in this day and age. I watch other teams and I rarely know any of their lineman and I watch a good bit of college football. Who's the big stud on San Diego's O line? Who's Indy's big studs? We should go with Brooks now simply becasue he can run. I'm sick of statue QB's with rocket arms that can't audible.
Does anyone know if the Dolphins finally passed us as the winninest NFL team of all time? They were close a few weeks ago and then we got our two wins. I think they've rattled off two wins.
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