Not Again!

Well, it’s the day after the Raiders lost to the Chargers, and as a result Denver was able to back their way into the playoffs.

Now Hue Jackson, after weeks of putting the blame on him for the Raider losses, suddenly goes off on the team? Even the average Raider fan could see that the defense was giving up too many yards in the 4th quarter, both by their play and by stupid penalties. Personally, I feel that when Hue allowed Rolando McClain to play the weekend after he came up on charges back in his home state of Alabama, he may have lost the respect of a lot of the veterans on the defensive side of the team. And then Stanford Routt saying he’s an agressive player and he’s not going to change his style? Even when you’re the person witht the MOST penalties on this team??

It seems that at this point that the Raider leadership [aka Mark Davis and Amy Trask] need to sit down and figure out what direction they want the team to go in next season. Just the two of them – Hue not included – because they may decide that he’s part of the house that needs to be cleaned out. Chuck Breshnahan? Thanks for coming this season, here’s the door.

Two hard questions:

1. QB: Do the Raiders think that Carson Palmer will do better with a full off-season learning the playbook and having a full season with them? If so, you need to resign him and also figure out who the backup is going to be. Jason Campbell would be nice, but he’s probably going to a team where he can start. Kyle Boller? Tyrelle Pryor? Someone [anyone!] else?
2. We all know Darren McFadden was the best running back in the first half of the season. Then he got hurt. Again. And the Raiders, being the Raiders, kept the severity of the injury secret until the end of the year. Turns out he had the same injury as the Texans’ QB Matt Schaub, which knocked him out for the season. Question: Do you want to resign someone with massive talent, but can’t stay healthy for a full season?

This is going to be a hard off-season, knowing they were so close. Your thoughts?

 

Just A Few Observations…

• Is it me, or does it seem like the bad teams this year are REALLY bad? I mean, it used to be that there were maybe 1-3 teams in any given season that stunk up the joint. But this year, we have the Titans, Rams, Buccaneers, Chiefs, Browns, Redskins & Raiders that are not playing at NCAA Division 1 level, much less the NFL level. Granted, most of these teams either have 1st year coaches [Rams/Bucs/Chiefs/Redskins/Raiders], and the two with experienced head coaches have QB issues. The question is: which team will fire it’s coach first?

• Now I have heard it all. Why are people making a big deal about Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog on the sideline during the Jets-Raider game? If the man was hungry, he was hungry. I think it was a matter of the TV cameras not having anything to look at during the game [I mean, was there anything to look at for Raider fans from the first play?], and this one item is getting more buzz than the excellent job that the Jets players did. If I were a Jets PR executive, I would have a Hot Dog day at the next home game – 1 free hot dog for every one that attends the game! What Publicity!!! [Nathan’s anyone?]

• Now behold, the second coming … of Alex Smith? Yes! The same QB that people had written off as a complete bust has now been named the starting QB for this week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, and will be the starter for some time to come. All I know is this – the 49ers have to see what Alex can do after being on the team for the past 4+ years. Is he the QB of the future, or do they need to look elsewhere? Shaun Hill is a decent team manager, but this team needs a QB that will get the ball down the field and get the fans excited about the possibilities of having a downfield game again. Mike Singletary’s philosophy of “Hitting people in the mouth” was fine in the days of the Ditka Bears, but now the successful teams have a balance of running AND passing in their offense.

• One more note – To The OWNERS: You hired the men you have on the sidelines as coaches for a reason. Hopefully the reason is that you believed that they had the ability to lead your team to victory. If that was the case, LET THEM COACH, and you worry about signing the paychecks.

FFJC