Nunya Bidnits
09-09-2008, 09:20 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/08/SPRM12Q7N2.DTL
Let's hope the Chiefs give them a reason to continue the beat down next
week!
MartyB in KC
----------------------------
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/08/SPRM12Q7N2.DTL
Raiders still not ready for prime time
Gwen Knapp, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
PDT -- Monday Night Football" used to be the Raiders' grand stage, a chance
to promote their brand globally. Now, it has become supporting evidence for
long-held conspiracy theories in Raider Nation. Why else would the NFL put
this team on prime-time television these days, if not to humiliate Al Davis
for his years of defiance and litigation?
By halftime Monday, regret must have burrowed deep under the skin of anyone
responsible for the choice of the Denver-Oakland game as the nightcap for
ESPN's season-opening doubleheader. The Broncos had taken a 17-0 lead so
effortlessly that they stood a decent chance of being able to bypass their
postgame showers.
The eventual 41-14 loss offered only this solace: It wasn't a shutout like
the last two Monday night appearances for this floundering club, a 27-0
opener against San Diego and then a 16-0 bore against Seattle, both in 2006.
For a short time, the Raiders showed a hint of entertainment potential. A
58-yard kickoff return by Johnnie Lee Higgins set up head coach Lane
Kiffin's spot-on Woody Hayes impersonation. The Raiders ran the ball eight
straight plays before JaMarcus Russell attempted his first pass of the
season.
Kiffin was sending a message, that the Raiders had been redefined as a
running team and that Russell, the No. 1 pick from a year earlier, had not
been anointed as the franchise savior. Actually, Kiffin was confirming a
message he had been sending for quite a while.
That, by itself, brought a certain dramatic quality to the Raiders'
sideline. A national audience, possibly curious about the state of the
widely reported rift between Kiffin and Davis, could check on the stubborn
young coach trying to work his way around the NFL's most meddlesome team
owner.
Kiffin indulged his creative side by calling a play that put rookie running
back Darren McFadden at quarterback in the shotgun formation while Russell
lined up as a wide receiver. McFadden took the snap and then gave the ball
to fellow back Justin Fargas, who ran for 6 yards. The play worked best as a
diversionary tactic, not so much fooling the Broncos, but distracting the
audience from the darkly comic quality of the Raiders' performance.
When safety Michael Huff got beaten on a touchdown pass, viewers got to play
a game of "what if?" The Raiders chose Huff with the seventh pick of the
2006 draft. Denver traded for the 11th choice and grabbed quarterback Jay
Cutler, who filleted the Raiders' defense Monday. More and more, Cutler
looks like the ace quarterback of that draft, outperforming No. 10 pick Matt
Leinart, who remains on Arizona's bench, and No. 3 Vince Young, who is hurt
and regressing almost every snap he takes.
No doubt, Cutler is not playing the same what-if game, except in his
nightmares. He got a smaller rookie contract than if he had been taken at
No. 7, but he will profit in a million ways from not being in Oakland today.
Russell's proficiency might not come close to its potential if the Raiders
can't surround him with players who can block, catch, tackle and avoid
committing stupid personal fouls.
The Coliseum fans, devoutly hopeful as ever, have become so inured to
incompetence that they cheered raucously when the Broncos lined up on a
4th-and-1, hoping to draw the Raiders offside, and failed.
Way to go, guys. You didn't fall for the oldest ploy in the NFL.
It was kind of like watching races at the school fair, where everyone gets a
ribbon.
The most reassuring moment of the entire night occurred after the game, when
Russell was asked if he had overthrown a couple of deep passes. In truth,
the problem each time was slow, awkward play by his receiver. Russell
recognized the bait and chuckled at the question, refusing to undermine a
teammate.
"Things happen," he said blithely. "Underthrown, overthrown, that's the way
it goes."
So now we know the Raiders aren't ready for prime time. We should have known
before, after the 1-3 preseason, in which they beat only the hapless 49ers,
and after five straight seasons of despair. But somehow, if only because of
the added McFadden punch, we thought things would get better.
Maybe the NFL did, too, and hoped the Raiders could deliver a proper show.
Either that, or the league and ESPN simply couldn't arrange other options in
the Pacific time zone for the late slot. But the insult couldn't have been
intentional. If nothing else, the league wouldn't treat "Monday Night
Football" so badly.
E-mail Gwen Knapp at gknapp@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Let's hope the Chiefs give them a reason to continue the beat down next
week!
MartyB in KC
----------------------------
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/08/SPRM12Q7N2.DTL
Raiders still not ready for prime time
Gwen Knapp, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
PDT -- Monday Night Football" used to be the Raiders' grand stage, a chance
to promote their brand globally. Now, it has become supporting evidence for
long-held conspiracy theories in Raider Nation. Why else would the NFL put
this team on prime-time television these days, if not to humiliate Al Davis
for his years of defiance and litigation?
By halftime Monday, regret must have burrowed deep under the skin of anyone
responsible for the choice of the Denver-Oakland game as the nightcap for
ESPN's season-opening doubleheader. The Broncos had taken a 17-0 lead so
effortlessly that they stood a decent chance of being able to bypass their
postgame showers.
The eventual 41-14 loss offered only this solace: It wasn't a shutout like
the last two Monday night appearances for this floundering club, a 27-0
opener against San Diego and then a 16-0 bore against Seattle, both in 2006.
For a short time, the Raiders showed a hint of entertainment potential. A
58-yard kickoff return by Johnnie Lee Higgins set up head coach Lane
Kiffin's spot-on Woody Hayes impersonation. The Raiders ran the ball eight
straight plays before JaMarcus Russell attempted his first pass of the
season.
Kiffin was sending a message, that the Raiders had been redefined as a
running team and that Russell, the No. 1 pick from a year earlier, had not
been anointed as the franchise savior. Actually, Kiffin was confirming a
message he had been sending for quite a while.
That, by itself, brought a certain dramatic quality to the Raiders'
sideline. A national audience, possibly curious about the state of the
widely reported rift between Kiffin and Davis, could check on the stubborn
young coach trying to work his way around the NFL's most meddlesome team
owner.
Kiffin indulged his creative side by calling a play that put rookie running
back Darren McFadden at quarterback in the shotgun formation while Russell
lined up as a wide receiver. McFadden took the snap and then gave the ball
to fellow back Justin Fargas, who ran for 6 yards. The play worked best as a
diversionary tactic, not so much fooling the Broncos, but distracting the
audience from the darkly comic quality of the Raiders' performance.
When safety Michael Huff got beaten on a touchdown pass, viewers got to play
a game of "what if?" The Raiders chose Huff with the seventh pick of the
2006 draft. Denver traded for the 11th choice and grabbed quarterback Jay
Cutler, who filleted the Raiders' defense Monday. More and more, Cutler
looks like the ace quarterback of that draft, outperforming No. 10 pick Matt
Leinart, who remains on Arizona's bench, and No. 3 Vince Young, who is hurt
and regressing almost every snap he takes.
No doubt, Cutler is not playing the same what-if game, except in his
nightmares. He got a smaller rookie contract than if he had been taken at
No. 7, but he will profit in a million ways from not being in Oakland today.
Russell's proficiency might not come close to its potential if the Raiders
can't surround him with players who can block, catch, tackle and avoid
committing stupid personal fouls.
The Coliseum fans, devoutly hopeful as ever, have become so inured to
incompetence that they cheered raucously when the Broncos lined up on a
4th-and-1, hoping to draw the Raiders offside, and failed.
Way to go, guys. You didn't fall for the oldest ploy in the NFL.
It was kind of like watching races at the school fair, where everyone gets a
ribbon.
The most reassuring moment of the entire night occurred after the game, when
Russell was asked if he had overthrown a couple of deep passes. In truth,
the problem each time was slow, awkward play by his receiver. Russell
recognized the bait and chuckled at the question, refusing to undermine a
teammate.
"Things happen," he said blithely. "Underthrown, overthrown, that's the way
it goes."
So now we know the Raiders aren't ready for prime time. We should have known
before, after the 1-3 preseason, in which they beat only the hapless 49ers,
and after five straight seasons of despair. But somehow, if only because of
the added McFadden punch, we thought things would get better.
Maybe the NFL did, too, and hoped the Raiders could deliver a proper show.
Either that, or the league and ESPN simply couldn't arrange other options in
the Pacific time zone for the late slot. But the insult couldn't have been
intentional. If nothing else, the league wouldn't treat "Monday Night
Football" so badly.
E-mail Gwen Knapp at gknapp@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle