Why we aren't doomed yet
I've seen many experts and football fans predicting the Raiders doom now that we were shut out during our first regular season game. I've even seen Raider's fans calling for Walsh and Shell to be fired and declaring Robert Gallery a bust. It is way too early to be making those types of predictions and here are some reasons why:
1) With our new coaching additions and offensive line shuffling we didn't know what to expect
In our first game no one really knew how well our offensive line would perform. This is hopefully the reason why we kept going with a seven step drop on passing plays. There is also the question of why we didn't "adjust" our offense at half time. I am unsure if this has to do with some rust on Walsh or maybe we haven't gotten that far into our playbook yet. Whatever the reason, give us another couple of games before judging Walsh or the offensive line too harshly.
2) Both of our other Divisional oppenents lost
Despite how badly we performed, there is only one team with a win in our division so we didn't get ourselves into an early hole.
Jake Plummer played horribly and St. Louis was able to win the game without scoring a single touchdown. Denver showed absolutely nothing to back up many "experts" picking them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City, on the other hand, faced off against a solid Bengals team but Larry Johnson didn't look nearly as good as he did last season. The retirement of Roaf may affect this team more than people think.
I know that we were completely dominated by the Chargers, but I think we will look like a much different team in our second matchup. I would expect 8 people in the box for most of the game next time and think that our offensive line should improve as the season rolls on. I still am not sold on Rivers being good after just one game and I think he will still face some struggles this season.
3) We have three rookie starters
Huff, Howard and McQ will all continue to improve as the season goes on. Very few rookies come into their first NFL game and make an immediate impact. I really watch for Huff to turn some heads this year. He played pretty well against the Chargers and I expect him to keep getting better.
4) Aaron Brooks actually looked pretty good when he had time
Thats right, Brooks threw some nice accurate balls when he had time to throw. His stats are very deceiving. We had a number of dropped passes. I will admit that he did hold on to the ball for too long a few times but that will get better as he gets more comfortable with the offense and his receievers.
There are probably a lot more reasons than these listed not to panic but this is a good start. I think we will look better against the Ravens next week.
1) With our new coaching additions and offensive line shuffling we didn't know what to expect
In our first game no one really knew how well our offensive line would perform. This is hopefully the reason why we kept going with a seven step drop on passing plays. There is also the question of why we didn't "adjust" our offense at half time. I am unsure if this has to do with some rust on Walsh or maybe we haven't gotten that far into our playbook yet. Whatever the reason, give us another couple of games before judging Walsh or the offensive line too harshly.
2) Both of our other Divisional oppenents lost
Despite how badly we performed, there is only one team with a win in our division so we didn't get ourselves into an early hole.
Jake Plummer played horribly and St. Louis was able to win the game without scoring a single touchdown. Denver showed absolutely nothing to back up many "experts" picking them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City, on the other hand, faced off against a solid Bengals team but Larry Johnson didn't look nearly as good as he did last season. The retirement of Roaf may affect this team more than people think.
I know that we were completely dominated by the Chargers, but I think we will look like a much different team in our second matchup. I would expect 8 people in the box for most of the game next time and think that our offensive line should improve as the season rolls on. I still am not sold on Rivers being good after just one game and I think he will still face some struggles this season.
3) We have three rookie starters
Huff, Howard and McQ will all continue to improve as the season goes on. Very few rookies come into their first NFL game and make an immediate impact. I really watch for Huff to turn some heads this year. He played pretty well against the Chargers and I expect him to keep getting better.
4) Aaron Brooks actually looked pretty good when he had time
Thats right, Brooks threw some nice accurate balls when he had time to throw. His stats are very deceiving. We had a number of dropped passes. I will admit that he did hold on to the ball for too long a few times but that will get better as he gets more comfortable with the offense and his receievers.
There are probably a lot more reasons than these listed not to panic but this is a good start. I think we will look better against the Ravens next week.
posted by The Analyzer at 12:16 AM
5 Comments:
Hopefully Art can get this team on the rebound quickly. If not it could be another long season for the hole.
I think Art can take care of it. I just hope he gets it done quickly. Fix the O-line and we will be fine.
What the hell is wrong with Gallery?
He was supposed to be the safest pick in the draft that year. I'm not calling him a bust yet but he hasn't lived up to his expectations.
I'm a huge Raiders fan, as Ayman can attest, and I didn't like what I saw out of the Raiders last week.
It's not going to get any easier with Ray Lewis and Co. this week.
For one - they need to get rid of that douchebag Porter. Anytime you have someone cheering on the sideline when your QB gets sacked should be cut immediately. We aren't going to get any trade value out of him anyways.
Why did it take 2 quarters for our defensive coordinator to figure out that maybe playing a nickle package wasn't getting the job done after LT was jamming the ball down our throats like Jenna Jameson taking a huge load....
Part of the problem with Gallery is that they have played him at 2 or 3 different positions and now he is playing his natural position. He will be alright. Respect The Mountain™
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