December 9, 2009 by
Danny O'Connor |
Bruce Gradkowski,
Chaz Schilens,
Chris Johnson,
deangelo hall,
Heyward-Bey,
Johnie Lee Higgins,
Louis Murphy,
Namdi Asomugha,
Oakland Raiders,
Washington Redskins
With the Raiders coming off of a big win at Pittsburgh, it is easy to be confident. While the Redskins were in position to give New Orleans their first loss, they blew the lead after missed field goals and lost in overtime. These teams were both in a come from behind win last week. The Raiders rallied 3 times to beat the Steelers while the Saints came back from 2 possesion deficits to top Washington. DeAngelo Hall will play his former team in front of the fans who once enjoyed watching him wear the silver and black.
Raiders vs. Losing Streak: Every time the Raiders have won this year they have followed it with a blowout loss. After they won at Kansas City they were shattered by the Broncos. After they beat the Eagles they were destroyed by [...]
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It is a long shot, but possible the Raiders can win at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Just ask the Eagles and Bengals. Here are some key matchups that will help determine the game.
Bruce vs. The Blitz: The Steelers love to pressure the quarterback. The Raiders O-line has been okay in pass protection but they must be better than that to have success in the passing game. Bruce Gradkowski will need to throw the ball early, before he is sacked.
Big Ben vs. The Concussion: Ben Roethlisberger was held out of Sunday nights overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens with bad headaches after his practices, believed to be post concussion symptoms. If Roethlisberger is rattled or rusty from this, the Raiders defense won't look as bad as they looked against Tony Romo and Miles [...]
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The Raiders are 3-8, and I don't expect to see an 8-8 finish to the season. So what are the Raiders playing for? Well, Tom Cable is trying to get another season to show what he can do with a football team, any coach of Al Davis is on the hot seat. Bruce Gradkowski has no job security. He is playing to force a battle between him and JaMarcus Russell in the off-season and to stop Oakland from taking maybe Tim Tebow or possinly Jimmy Clausen in the 2010 draft. Heyward-Bey is playing to prove that he is not the bust of the 2009 draft. He just got his first touchdown in an Thanksgiving massacre from the Cowboys. Kirk Morrison is in a contract year. The Raiders better put all they have into re-signing him but if they can't keep him then he is playing for a massive contract [...]
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On Thanksgiving I thought I would trouble eating the dinner. I fellsick watching the Raiders defense get torched by Miles Austin on simple routes that could have been better defended. In the first quarter, the Raiders hung tough with Dallas as Dallas took a 3-0 lead. Then the second quarter looked like a whole new ball game. The Cowboys disected and demolished the Raiders with the new weapon in Dallas, Miles Austin. They (Dallas) kept lining him up against Chris Johnson and he kept making catches in stride and using his blazing speed to take the ball for a huge gain. In the first half his average yards per catch was over 20. Why John Marshall didn't move Namdi around and have him follow Austin, I have no idea. Also, Felix Jones had a huge TD run in the wildcat formation, [...]
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