The Greatness of the Raiders and the Not-So of the Warriors

Raiders 13 Eagles 9. In your face, McNabb.

Just like Al Davis has probably said on numerous occasions; you just gotta get after that opposing QB, give him no time to sit back and pick you apart. You gotta use the deep pass to score, and a hard-nosed running game to control the clock. JaMarc, he even threw a decent game - at least relatively - and the Raiders pulled off the upset in a game that only a fan of the Eagles or Raiders could watch all the way through.

Next week we should see more of the same, but with the usual result: the defense will outplay the offense - that is, the Raiders Defense will outplay the Raiders Offense, only I don't see Mark Sanchez and the former Bretts taking the Raiders lightly, or being "outcoached" or "surprised", like the Philly squad. Enjoy this victory Raiders Fan - it might be your last.

The GSW's.

Warrior Fans, whatever shall we do? Stack Jack (Stephen Jackson) wants out of the Golden State, so that -much like Al Harrington- he can still lose, but do it a more fun fashion.
The Warriors named Monta Ellis as Captain in place of Stack Jack, who basically yanked off his own Captains "C" and tossed it in the commode after wiping himself with it. He then made comments to effect that the Captain designation is meaningless.

I don't know about that. Besides getting to go out to mid-court before the first whistle, the "C" does seem to bestow the wearer with the license to speak to the refs, to straighten out other players on the team, to be the heart and the soul of the team, I would think - but Stack Jack says he can't lead a bunch of guys making the same money as him - they have to handle themselves.

I do remember one captain the Warriors had in thier past, and his name was Tim Hardaway. His name probably is still Tim Hardaway, but I digress. He was not just one of the captains, he was the floor general, the best offensive option (in his mind), and the outspoken leader of a team that wasn't great, but damn sure entertained. He was the face of the franchise and we fans liked him and his Utep Two-Step from Day One.

The Warriors haven't been great, ever. They haven't been entertaining since the "We Believe" Season of 2007 that seems to have taken place way back in 1977, it was so long ago.

Now we got ourselves another little shooting guard of a point guard, and he's to be the floor general to hear Don Nelson tell it, and he will lead this team - and not because he's a natural leader, but because the Warriors have no other option. Monta will wear the "C" for as long as he is a Warrior - or until he feels the same way about wearing it as Stack Jack.

Wear it well, Monta. Give us fans a little hope.



Sllaacs

J-E-T-S

Big trade - Jets move into the fifth spot. Mikey, upon learning this said, "Please tell me they picked Crabtree and not Sanchez!"

Mark Sanchez is now being shown on NFL Network with his arms raised in the air in triumph.

Sorry Mikey.

Go Dolphins

The Patriots are the 2nd team to win 11 games and miss the playoffs, ever.

Couldn't happen to a better team.

Phil Simms rips off Dan.

After Ronnie Brown throws an incomplete pass from the "wildcat" formation, Jim Nantz says, "That's the wind."

Phil Simms: "No, that's a running back trying throw a pass."

John's Picks: Happy Anniversary.

As you may or may not know, December 7 is day that will live in infamy. Not because of that, but because that's the day, six years ago, that the Professor made an honest man of me.

So we're having a relaxing day as well. I realize I'm a little late with my picks, since two of the games have started already. As I type, the Giants just had a field goal blocked and trail Philly 3-0 in the 2nd quarter. Whatever, they will pull this out, 17-9.

The Packers should win. At home, in the snow. 21-17.

And if the Raiders beat the Jets in Overtime, the 49ers should almost certainly be able to win this game. But I've given up pretending to know anything about the BARFF this year. Jets win 28-17.

Thanksgiving Hangover Picks

So, Lance gets a new job. Jerry breaks down the Tennessee rumors. That seems to me like a much higher profile position than I expected him to get. I was thinking more like a lower-tier Pac-10 job. Anyway, good luck with that, buddy. If you thought working with Al was weird, at least he doesn't have a Body Farm in Alameda. At least that we know of. By the way, Mary Roach wrote an excellent book called Stiff that gives the Body Farm its own chapter.

You know what? I'm feeling optimistic this week. I don't know if this has less to do with the Raiders thumping Denver last week or the fact the Chefs are really, really bad. But I think we win one this week, and match last year's win total a week earlier in the season. Raiders 34, Chiefs 17.

As my father in-law informed this evening at dinner, the Buffalo Bills have the biggest offensive line in the National Football League. "You know John, I got into an argument with that goddamned nephew of Adeline's, old Ron, when he tried to tell me Dallas had the biggest line in the league. I said, 'Bullshit, Ron. Buffalo's line averages 332." You know what, I looked that shit up, and he's right. 332.2, to be exact. Anyway, the 9ers pass rush is not that great. So Buffalo wins, 28-13.

The Packers got their asses whupped in New Orleans last Monday night. This week, at home against Carolina, I think they win. 24-19.

So, for the last game, I'm picking Denver to continue their suckage against the Jets this weekend. 48-14.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Who the Fuck is Randy Hanson? Also, John's Picks.

Good job by Dan and Sllaacs keeping up the blog while I've been out of action. I think all of the stupidity of the last week made me sick.

Anyway, so just what the Raiders the morning of a game with a division rival: More controversy. Some guy named Randy Hanson was suspended by Lance after the Monday Night Debacle of September 8 after he was overheard saying, "It's a good thing that Shanahan didn't have our players, or else he would have beaten us 1,000-0."

So now he's the latest assistant coach to come out and call Lance a liar, and what with all the injuries, I'll be shocked if we keep the game within 30 points today. The only inflection we're likely to see or hear is in Al's voice when he speaks to the media this week, if he was telling Corkran the truth. on thisAt least that will be interesting. Chargers win, 42-10.

Jerry has more on this, saying that Kiffin's big mistake was in not talking to Al before trying to fire Rob, etc, which is the same shit Shanny did 20 years ago when he tried to purge his staff of Art Shell and Tom Walsh. We all know how that ended up.

Again, I'm not saying Kiffin is the 2nd coming of Bill Walsh. He's clearly not. He's also probably a hypocrite, as Peterson argues so persuasively. But anyone who thinks he's the only, or even the main problem, is in denial. Deep, crushing, unhealthy denial.

The 49ers are playing pretty good football. It could be a shoot out in the dome. I like the 9ers, actually, 31-28.

I like Tampa over the Packers, in a squeaker, 17-14. Maybe even OT. Raiders fans will watch, wistfully, remembering what it was like to have a well-coached football team.

Jets-Cardinals. Maybe there's something to this trade speculation of Jerry's. I would trade every receiver who is not a rookie, and next years (likely Top-5) for Anquan Boldin. Do it NBA-style, so the cap numbers match. But that's just me. I'm weird, I want JaMarcus to be successful.

Oh. Cardinals win after they return 3 Favre INTs for six. I'd a double-bagged.

John's Picks

We should have done this a couple of days ago, and I was hoping dobolina would join Sllaacs, Dan and me by adding the Packers to our list of games, making it 4: 9ers, Raiders, Packers, and a random.

Let's do it anyway:

The 49ers suck. They're just awful. And the Cardinals are going to destroy them, 18-3. They get 3 because I like Nedney, and he's their whole offense.

Aaron Rodgers debuts as Favre's replacement against the Vikings in Monday Night's JV game. All I know is that Adrian Peterson had some dominant performances for me last year as my fantasy RB. With the Packers defense hurting, he will rush for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns, and beat the Packers 28-17.

Dan and I will be in the house Monday night for the Varsity matchup verse the Donkeys. I was there last year, and while the game is starting too late for us to take Lily this year, I'm expecting a similar result. Especially if the Denver training staff forgets to pack Cutler's insulin.

For the Random Game, let's go with the Jets vs. Miami. No matter what Lombardi says, Quentin Moses is not going to sack Brett Favre this weekend. Miami still sucks, even if they're no longer Tuna safe. Jets win 21-6.

Just a question, does the cover of Madden '09 qualify for Straight Cash Homey!?

Just

Bill Williamson Hearts Lane Kiffin

Bill Williamson has a couple of nice pieces on espn.com: a Raiders camp overview that says nothing but good things about Kiffin and his young players, and blog item that shows both McFadden (#9) and JaMarcus (#24) in the top 25 of NFL Jersey sales.

Mikey is sure to add to his Straight Cash Homey Jets collection, with a Favre jersey to go with that Santana Moss jersey he rocks.

Gene Wojciechowski is a Hater

Gene Wojciechowski has a column up about how much the Packers suck for trading Favre to the Jets. I'll let dobolina or Dan or Mikey (who is both a Wisconsinite and a Jets fan) discuss whether or not he's right about any of that. I don't really have an opinion on that.

But what I do have an opinion on is his apparent disdain for the Oakland Raiders. Discussing the Jets allegedly easy non-division schedule, he writes:

They play Oakland, Kansas City, St. Louis and San Francisco. A nine-win season, maybe a game better, isn't inconceivable.

Why does he have to put the Raiders at the front of that list?

We're easily better than the Chiefs, the Rams, or the 49ers. Even Nancy Gay knows that.

Kiff vs. Herm

Okay, so this is an old clip. But as numerous columnists have pointed out, and Dan and I discussed as it was happening, that 4th and 1 play was retarded. Burning two timeouts and then going for it? Sure, we were absolutely certain that Smith was going to pick up that yard. We hadn't stopped him all day. But when Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard stuffed him, the jubilation in the room almost woke the baby up from her nap.

As Carl Steward writes, Kiffin turned it loose in the fourth quarter. When Miller made that 28 yard catch-and-run, Dan turned and said, "That's exactly what Miller should be doing." And Daunte unleashed that strike to JP, followed by Huggy Jr's TD, and it was on.

And the streak is over. I just hope Cam Inman hasn't jinxed us.

Oh, speaking of jinxes, as Dan wrote yesterday, we both picked the Quiefs to win. We firmly believe this reverse-jinx helped the Raiders get over the hump, mostly because we're insane. But anyway, I'm not sure what to do this week, since I'll actually be in the House. I'm thinking I'll do like Joe Theisman used to do on espn.com, where he'd abstain from picking the Sunday Night game he was calling. Not sure why he did that, like it would influence who his predictable, boring comentary would favor. But I'm feeling good about the Raiders--I mean really, actually positive about them--for the first time in like 4 years. All of Norv's wins (except for the Denver Snow Game) and Art's wins felt like relief more than progress. But this win shows me that Kiffin knows what he's doing.