Raiders Vs. Titans

R4Life

R4Life

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Done, done and I'm on to the next one...



Culpepper vs. McCown: Now what?
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Tuesday at 4:43 pm

Josh McCown remarked last week that when it came time for Lane Kiffin to choose his starting quarterback, at least this time the coach would have a body of regular-season work on which to base his decision.

Culpepper was the fan favorite from the outset. He had a Pro Bowl past in Minnesota and some huge statistical seasons. He had better stats in preseason, and it wasn't a popular decision when Kiffin chose McCown based on his knowledge of the system.

That much was obvious when McCown began getting booed in the season opener. The pro-Culpepper sentiment increased when McCown was awful in a 23-20 overtime to Denver after limited practice time during the week because of a foot injury.

When McCown broke his toe just before halftime against Cleveland, Culpepper came in to thunderous cheers, finished off a win over the Browns and then had his trimphant return to Miami.

Since then, the offense under Culpepper has produced two touchdowns, a field goal, 13 punts and three interceptions in division losses to San Diego and Kansas City.

McCown's log before being injured? Twenty-nine possessions, eight punts, five touchdowns, eight field goal attempts, five interceptions and two fumbles.

As shaky as Culpepper has been the last two games, the guess here is McCown being restored as the starter would be hugely unpopular. I can only imagine how loud the boos would have been Sunday if McCown had been the quarterback with the Raiders trailing the Chiefs 6-0.

With Culpepper, it was more of a restless displeasure.

It's clear at this point the Culpepper is not the same guy who Warren Sapp called the "white rhino" when Culpepper was at Minnesota. (The white rhino designation had to do with Culpepper's size and power for his position and the fact that white rhinos are extremely rare).

The three rushing touchdowns against Miami created an illusion. Culpepper no longer brutalizes would-be tacklers for rushing gains or bounces off them for pass completions. With the Vikings, before his knee injury in 2005, Culpepper rushed for 400 or more yards six times, with a high of 609.

It was a huge part of Culpepper's game. He was able to create off broken plays for big runs or big pass plays.

Now the man who averaged 30.6 yards per game rushing before his injury is averaging 5.9 yards per game on the ground since his surgeries. Kiffin and Greg Knapp are attempting to reform him in efficient, mistake-free quarterback.

Culpepper has been an extremely popular teammate and a classy guy from the day he arrived, acting without any sense of entitlement or expectations. But on the field, he is not likely to be the old Daunte any time soon, and certainly not by the time his one-year contract expires with the Raiders.

McCown, on the other hand, never fully seized the job the Raiders wanted him to have since Day 1. Like Culpepper, McCown acts and carries himself like a respected starter, but through 2 1/2 games was too prone to turnovers and erratic passes.

It's Kiffin's job to choose which one of these players has what it takes to return the Raiders to respectability. It's not any easier of a call now than it was when the season started.

There are already calls from fans and media for JaMarcus Russell, but put yourself in Kiffin's place. Do you concede six games into the season that the offense you've been putting in since minicamps is an abject failure and that you're willing to go with a quarterback who missed all of training camp?

Assuming Kiffin is not going to throw Russell into the fray this soon, and that Andrew Walter's time came and went last year, Culpepper and McCown are your choices for the immediate future.

Here is one painful thought: the first quarterback the Raiders courted to be their starter this season was Jeff Garcia, who wasn't interested in coming to a team which was drafting its quarterback of the future.

Garcia has yet to throw a single interception with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No assurances he would have done that in Oakland, of course, but what would the Raiders record be if their starting quarterback had no interceptions?
 
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Titans-Raiders Week: Monday Report
Oct 23, 2007

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher talks about the game against Houston and the upcoming game against the Oakland Raiders.

Opening Remarks

Fisher: “I’ve been in the National Football League for a number of years now and I don’t think I’ve ever had as much difficulty as I have had last night or this morning up to this point trying to put my arms around this thing to try and describe what happened. The one thing I do know is we won. But it was certainly, as they say, a tale of two games – not two halves. To me it was as if we played two games. Going back and looking at the first half, it was one of the more dominating efforts out of a defense that I’ve ever been associated with. We had a run game on offense that was effective and efficient against seven and eight-man fronts. We go into halftime, and the thing we emphasized the entire time inside and even on the sideline was to break it open. Let’s get a stop, let’s get points, and let’s put this thing away. Two series later, we picked up 10 points and we were up 32-7. So we kind of battled back and forth through the third quarter, and then it all started kind of unraveling, if you will. A lot of things had to happen for the Texans, and each and every thing happened for them. They made a lot of tremendous plays. Things had to fall perfectly for them to get back and to get that lead. Of course, we had to allow a lot of things to happen. All we really needed was one play, one play in particular somewhere along the lines and we would not have ended up trailing. We just didn’t get that play. It could have been a call here or a play there, but it just didn’t happen. Needless to say, I was very, very proud of the focus. Nobody panicked. Then we got the big plays out of Kerry (Collins) and Roydell (Williams) to win the ballgame.

There are some obvious concerns, and we’ll get them corrected. Certainly the plays that we allowed over the top, we can play better there. As I said yesterday, what a tremendous effort by Rob (Bironas). That would also include (long snapper) Kenny (Amato) and (holder) Craig (Hentrich). I need to point out, also, that there were two other situations in the game – Bo Scaife’s fumble and the drive right after they muffed the punt – where if we wouldn’t have taken a delay and ended up punting it, [Bironas] could have kicked 10 field goals in this game. Ten field goals gets you 30 points, and 30 points wins you most ballgames. Who cares about red-zone efficiency. (laughs)

Anyway, we’ve got a lot to correct. This is the first time we’ve felt like we had a 24-hour rule in effect. That usually comes after losses. The staff has done a nice job putting things in perspective, taking responsibility for a lot of things, so we all contributed to the things that happened in the fourth quarter, and we’re going to move on. ”

What is the status of the team injuries currently?

Fisher: “I have one really significant injury from the ballgame, and that is Ahmard Hall. He had a successful surgery this morning (on his fractured forearm). I indicated yesterday that it may be season-ending, and it is not, which is god news. The doctor was very pleased with the results. We may have him available to play for us once again after about four weeks. ”

When did Ahmard Hall’s injury take place?

Fisher: “It took place on the first onside kick. ”

What was the frustration of missing the onside kick?

Fisher: “Well, [the Texans] were offsides on the second one and that was not called. We had some things, and I’ll go into detail about it. Donnie Nickey has a specific responsibility on the onside return team and he went down (with an injury). So then we moved Ahmard Hall up for Donnie. Then Ahmard went down, and we moved Quinton Ganther up. So a lot of things behind the scenes happened there. In [Ganther’s] defense, because of all the different scenarios that take place on onside kicks now, because you have to keep four (players) to one side, there are a lot of different things you have to work out. [Ganther] just was not in position. We actually could have handled the play a little better, and we didn’t. It was a perfect kick. The kick was designed to come down at the 10-yard restraining line and designed to be timed up to be at the same time the cover team got there. They just hoped for explosion, collision and a loose ball. They were fortunate to recover it. ”

What did you think about Albert Haynesworth’s roughing the passer penalty?

Fisher: “I saw it on the Jumbotron and I didn’t think it was a penalty. Again when you’re dealing with quarterbacks and you’re dealing with contact, [the officials] are going to err on the side of caution. The league needs to protect the quarterbacks, but it was not a foul. But so be it. ”

Does Haynesworth’s past conduct makes him more susceptible to that call?

Fisher: “That has nothing to do with who the player is. When the decision is made to throw the flag, it all happens so fast, with any official on the field for that matter. But specifically, the referee has no idea who is hitting the quarterback. ”

Have you been pleased with Haynesworth’s calm reaction to these types of calls?

Fisher: “He’s playing as hard and as good as he has played. He understands there is going to be a (questionable) call here or there, and just keep playing. You can’t dwell on it. Just move on. I talked to him when he came off. I said, ‘That was a clean hit,’ and he goes, ‘I didn’t hit him helmet-to-helmet. ”

Did Safety Calvin Lowry make a coverage mistake on Houston’s go-ahead touchdown?

Fisher: “We had contact and we lost Chris (Hope). Chris would have been in position, but Chris stumbled. We lost Chris and Calvin was overlapping. He was playing the ball. I think where he made a mistake is he took his eye off just to check the receiver rather than just go play the ball as an overlap player. So when he took his eye off the ball momentarily, he lost perspective on where the receiver was. ”

How do you think the team has done with the red-zone efficiency?

Fisher: “In years past, and it’s no different this year, we have a goal that talks about touchdown-to-field goal ratios. That’s always a two-and-a-half to almost three-to-one (ratio) is where we want to finish at the end of the season. Right now we’re 12-16 or 17, so we’re behind that. We’ve got to get that thing switched around. ”

What has been happening with the red-zone offense?

Fisher: “First off, two of the [field goals] will come off the board because of the kicks before the half and the end of the game (as time expired). We had another opportunity, we call a reverse, and it was a great call. They happened to run a corner blitz. The odds of that happening are slim. But it happened and we took a six-yard loss and couldn’t convert a third-and-16, so we ended up kicking a field goal. There are some things that we are doing to ourselves and there are some things the defense is doing. Another example – we had the defense in one of the long drives and the defense was tired. We had a receiver breaking open over the middle and Kerry (Collins) tracked him well, cut the call loose and the defensive lineman didn’t rush. He stood there and knocked it down. We would have had a big play inside the 10-yard-line. So it’s there. The opportunities are there. We’re just not taking advantage of it. But we’re not panicking. We’re going to continue to work on it. ”

Do you feel positive about red-zone improvement?

Fisher: “Yeah, there were several drives where I felt like, and the staff felt like, we should have run it more than we threw it. We had 11 runs and 11 pass attempts once we got inside the 20. So we got balance there. But there were a couple instances where I thought we could have run it and been more efficient. ”

Was it harder for Collins to make accurate throws at the end of the game after being hit hard throughout the game?

Fisher: “He took a couple (hard hits) but the throws he made in that drive were exceptional. Justin (Gage) should have made that catch, and he didn’t. He bobbled it. That was an exceptional throw. Then you all saw the last one. That was quite a throw and catch. ”

Did Running Back Chris Henry do enough in this game to earn a permanent spot on the 45-man active roster on gamedays?

Fisher: “He’s still working. Hopefully we’ll get Chris Brown back. We think he’ll have a chance to come back this week. Chris Henry did what we thought he was going to do. He came in there, gave us a chance of pace, he was explosive and caught the ball well. He’s doing exactly what we thought he’d to, and that’s good to see. It reassures us that we have that much more depth at the position. ”

(Cont.)
 
(cont.)

Will the running back decision be made from week-to-week?

Fisher: “If Chris (Brown) can get healthy, then Chris will come back up and we’ll continue to go with [Brown] and LenDale (White). ”

Has Kicker Rob Bironas grown as a player?

Fisher: “Yeah, he has. One of the things I think that was overshadowed yesterday because of the field goals were the kickoffs. The touchbacks were huge. He was kicking the ball off very consistently with good hangtime. He has done a fine job. He struggled a little bit in the Monday night game with some technique things. We got it straightened up, and he has been very efficient”.

Was Michael Griffin’s special-teams performance overshadowed?

Fisher: “Yes. There are a lot of good things that are overshadowed because of the fourth quarter, and that is one in particular. To be credited for six special-teams tackles in a game is exceptional, five on kickoffs and one on a punt. That is quite an effort. ”

Was QB Vince Young disappointed about sitting out the game?

Fisher: “He wanted to play, but he knew the injury was going to be such that it would be touch-and-go throughout the week. It worked out. It was a very clear-cut decision we had to make. Now we have also moved forward and said, ‘Okay, you’ve healed up to the point where you can go, so we expect you to take all the reps on Wednesday on the practice field and we’ll put this behind you. ”

Is Young’s quadriceps still being treated?

Fisher: “He’s still treating it with various forms of treatment. ”

What did you think about Nick Harper’s performance?

Fisher: “The secondary, with the exception of the fourth quarter, I think has done a really good job of recognizing things and anticipating things. Nick’s first [interception] was a really good play. The second [interception] in particular, Nick was the first to credit (defensive coordinator) Jim (Schwartz) because it was a perfect call. He recognized some things, and Jim put him in position to where he had a bluff and we knew the slant was coming out. Nick stepped in front and made the play. ”

Did Young benefit from watching the game rather than playing?

Fisher: “That is hard to say. Vince has been improving weekly. He has improved significantly over last year through the offseason. The best way to continue the improvement process is to play. In this particular case, he did (benefit). There were a couple of times in the game where he made suggestions to me. He was into it. He got every call. He knew he was a play away from going in. He was the first to congratulate Kerry. ”

Is Young “out of the woods” with regards to his injury?

Fisher: “Well, we’ll be wise about it. We’ll get him back on the practice field and work him into it. I think two weeks will be sufficient from a healing standpoint where he won’t re-injure it. ”

What is Brandon Jones’ injury status?

Fisher: “I think Brandon has a chance (to play) this week. He’s going to run tomorrow. He did some running over the weekend and didn’t have any problems or any swelling. So he has a chance. ”

What did you think about the holding penalties on special teams?

Fisher: “In fair-catch situations, when the ball is caught, even if the catch is not complete but once the fair catch signal goes up and the ball is caught, [referees] are not supposed to call holding, especially that far away from the play. I saw the ball caught. Chris (Davis) did a nice job fielding the ball – I saw it caught. I saw the player go down, and then the flag came out. It was a little inconsistent, but of course that is just a part of the game. ”

Will Davis or safety Donnie Nickey miss any practice time?

Fisher: “We’ll have to wait and see. ”

What will it be like having three home games in a row coming up?

Fisher: “There are four teams this year that had four out of their first six games on the road. Two of those teams, Minnesota is 2-4 and the other team is Miami (0-7). The third team would be the Carolina Panthers at 4-2. I think to come off this stretch to where we’ve won on the road. We’re 3-1 on the road. It speaks volumes of this young team. We knew it was going to be a tough stretch, and we look forward to the home stand here. We certainly have quite a challenge on our hands this week. [The Oakland Raiders] are one of the top-rated teams running the football. I think they’re third or fourth in the league. It’s kind of one of those things where something has got to budge here this weekend. ”

How tough is it to do the things Collins did in the game?

Fisher: “ [The Texans’] defense has done a nice job, against quarterbacks in particular. He studied well and was prepared. He knew exactly what he was going to get. There were a couple of things he got on third down that they hadn’t shown, but he made the adjustment and made a couple of nice throws. He was prepared, and that’s why he’s here. He’s got a wealth of experience. He’s a competitor, and he has still got the arm. He sees well and makes good decisions. ”

What do you think about Roydell Williams’ progress?

Fisher: “It was good to see him make those plays, especially a play like that at the end of the game. The other catch was a great throw and catch too. He’s practicing well. He understands. He’s communicating well with the quarterbacks, and that is something he has always done well. He understands what is expected of him and how important it is to get where he needs to be.”
 
Young's stay on sidelines should be short one
Terry McCormick
Special to the Herald-Citizen

NASHVILLE -- Vince Young's stay on the Tennessee sidelines should be a short one, as Titans coach Jeff Fisher indicated Monday that the quarterback should be back on the practice field Wednesday in preparation for Sunday's home game with the Oakland Raiders.

Young sat out Sunday's thrilling 38-36 victory over the Houston Texans because of a strained right quadriceps muscle he suffered the week before in Tampa.

"He wanted to play, but he knew the injury was going to be such that it would be touch-and-go throughout the week," Fisher said. "It worked out. It was a very clear-cut decision we had to make.

"Now we have also moved forward and said, 'OK, you've healed up to the point where you can go, so we expect you to take all the reps on Wednesday on the practice field and we'll put this behind you.'"

Fisher said Young would still have to undergo treatments, but should not be at risk for further injury with the quadriceps muscle.

"Well, we'll be wise about it. We'll get him back on the practice field and work him into it. I think two weeks will be sufficient from a healing standpoint where he won't re-injure it," Fisher said.

Young watched Sunday as veteran Kerry Collins filled in and led a final drive where he completed a 46-yard pass to Roydell Williams to line Rob Bironas up for a game-winning field goal. That kick was Bironas' NFL record eighth of the game and helped Tennessee rally after the Titans inexcusably blew a 32-7 lead in the fourth period.

"Needless to say, I was very, very proud of the focus. Nobody panicked. Then we got the big plays out of Kerry and Roydell (Williams) to win the ball game," Fisher said.

Could have been more?

Bironas' effort not only put himself alone atop the NFL record book, but he could have had even more chances to kick on Sunday, had the Titans not squandered two possessions.

A fumble by Bo Scaife cost him one chance, and a delay of game penalty after the Texans muffed a punt ruined another opportunity.

"(Bironas) could have kicked 10 field goals in this game. Ten field goals gets you 30 points, and 30 points wins you most ball games. Who cares about red-zone efficiency?," Fisher said with a laugh.

Improvement needed

Actually Fisher said the Titans have major improvements to make in their red zone efficiency, which was only 2-for-9 on Sunday.

"In years past, and it's no different this year, we have a goal that talks about touchdown-to-field goal ratios," Fisher said. "That's always a two-and-a-half to almost three-to-one (ratio) is where we want to finish at the end of the season. Right now we're 12-16 or 17, so we're behind that. We've got to get that thing switched around."

Injuries

The news was good for fullback Ahmard Hall, who underwent successful surgery on his left forearm on Monday. After Fisher said Sunday that Hall was at risk to miss the rest of the season, he said Monday that the fullback might return in four weeks in a best-case scenario.

Receiver Brandon Jones, sidelined with a knee injury, has a chance to return this week, according to Fisher. Chris Brown, who sat out with an ankle injury, also has a chance to return this week.

Donnie Nickey and Chris Davis, both of whom suffered ankle injuries Sunday, are uncertain regarding their returns.

Good, but ...

Chris Henry made his NFL debut a successful one with 57 yards on 11 carries. Still, when Brown comes back, it is likely back to the bench for the rookie second-round choice.

"He's still working. Hopefully we'll get Chris Brown back," Fisher said. "We think he'll have a chance to come back this week. Chris Henry did what we thought he was going to do. He came in there, gave us a chance of pace, he was explosive and caught the ball well. ... If Chris (Brown) can get healthy, then Chris will come back up and we'll continue to go with (Brown) and LenDale (White)."
 
Football Betting: Oakland Raiders at Tennessee Titans
By Charles Jay

The Tennessee Titans, off a very close call in Houston, return home to Nashville this Sunday to take on the Oakland Raiders, in a game scheduled for 1 PM ET on the grass at LP Field. The Titans are listed at -7 in the BetUS NFL football betting odds, with the total posted at 41.5 points.

BetUS NFL football betting odds: Tennessee -7, Total: 41.5

NOTABLE STAT: Tennessee 19 ppg when Vince Young starts

KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Tennessee five unders in six games this season

Let's take a look at what that over/under figure presents to us:

First, a glance at some of the TOTALS-RELATED NFL betting stats and trends relevant to the two teams:

* OAKLAND has played four of its six games over the total in 2007

* OAKLAND has played 13 of its last 18 games under the total

* OAKLAND has played seven of its last nine road games under the total

* OAKLAND and TENNESSEE have played over the total in four of their last five meetings

* TENNESSEE has played five of its six games under the total in 2007

Last Sunday Oakland scored 10 points in the second half but it wasn't enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who wound up winning a 12-10 decision as a 1.5-point underdog. The game obviously went below the 38-point posted total. Tennessee took a 32-7 lead into the fourth period against the Houston Texans and actually fell behind 36-35 before kicking a field goal at the end to win 38-36 as a two-point dog. It was kicker Rob Bironas' eighth field goal of the game, setting a new NFL record.

Preliminary word is that Vince Young, who sat out Sunday's game with a quadriceps injury, is listed as probable to play against Oakland. That impacts our evaluation of the total. From the standpoint of yards and points, Collins, who completed 25 of 42 passes for 280 yards on Sunday, has the potential to produce more numbers for the Titans' offense. However, there is a trade-off with Collins, who has a tendency to make more mistakes, bigger mistakes, and does not really possess the ability to make good plays out of broken plays the way Young does.

But Tennessee does play a more conservative game with Young in the lineup. He is not a polished passer yet, ranking 27th in the league with 703 passing yards. And his 6.2 yards per attempt is way down the list. In games where Young started, Tennessee's games have averaged 33 points a contest.

Despite folding during the fourth quarter against Houston, the Titans defense has proven to be capable, as it is currently ranked #6 in the NFL in yards allowed per game.

The Raiders' defense has been disappointing, ranking close to the bottom of the league, although it has crept up a bit recently. Still, this is a comedown from last season, when this unit was so proficient that if there was even a presentable offensive attack, Oakland may have been a wildcard contender.

Speaking of offense, early on, Oakland showed some improvement there, especially in the running game. After making his first QB start, in which he only completed five passes but scored three TD's on the ground himself against the NFL's worst defense, Daunte Culpepper has led his team to just three TD's and 24 total points in his two starts since. And the ground attack has dried up, with only 108 total yards the last two weeks.

Even though Collins led the Titans on ten different drives against Houston where they scored points, remember that on eight of those drives they stalled and had to settle for the field goal. Tennessee has scored only nine TD's in 26 trips inside the red zone, ranking them 27th in the league in terms of percentage. Oakland has scored nine TD's in the red zone, but they've only gotten there 16 times, less than all but four teams.

I am looking for a game that will probably be dominated by defense and the rushing game, and between offenses that are not exactly functioning at their highest level. That points to an "under."

JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 41.5 ** (Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
 
R4Life said:
Garcia has yet to throw a single interception with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No assurances he would have done that in Oakland, of course, but what would the Raiders record be if their starting quarterback had no interceptions?
Click to expand...

Hmm... that's alittle f*cked up.

You know what else is messed up is Garcia not wanting to come here becasue we drafted a QB that might take a couplea seasons to unseat him. I mean, WTF? The guy's going to be 38 years old in Febuary... just how long does he think he's going to play?

Friggin twat!
 
Byron2112 said:
Hmm... that's alittle f*cked up.

You know what else is messed up is Garcia not wanting to come here becasue we drafted a QB that might take a couplea seasons to unseat him. I mean, WTF? The guy's going to be 38 years old in Febuary... just how long does he think he's going to play?

Friggin twat!
Click to expand...

The guy is athletic enough to play into his 40s... no problem... You look at his decision to go to Tampa, and I don't see how anybody can really criticize him. He's the 3rd highest rated passer in the league, within a game of 1st place, and probably most important for him... you can't talk about the Bucs without mentioning Garcia. Plus his wife is hot as fuck. Sorry, but the dude's somehow turned into a pimp... assuming he actually gets some from her.

On the flip side, if he comes here.... no matter how well he does, everybody will always be mentioning Russell alongside his name. Why play on a team where you're constantly looking over your shoulder at the perpetual fan favorite with 5 gold stars next to his name?

Take away everybody's preference for their favorite team.... and he made the right decision... by a mile.


Anyways on to more important thangs............ The Titans are #1 in the NFL in total rush defense but pretty damn mediocre against the pass... I'm really hoping for a lot of shotgun and spread formations... and possibly even Curry lining up under center with the way our QB situation has shaped out.

Defense should be real interesting. I didn't care for how RR overcompensated for Vick a few years ago... I'm not overly optimistic about his potential strategy against Vince Young.
 
I think alot of people underestimate this Titans team, they do two things well that are the Raiders weaknesses.

1)The Titans stop the run-SoCal is right, the Titans are #1 in the NFL in rush defense allowing 59.7 ypg and ranked 24th against the pass, only having 10 sacks this year. We must find away to throw the ball on these guys, get all Curry, Porter and Miller involved, not just one of them which has been the case every week this season.

2)The Titans can run the ball-they are ranked 4th in rushing, 144 a game, which ironically enough is about what the Raiders give up a contest. I really don't have a way to stop this, the Raiders haven't shown they can stop people from running and the Titans use a couple of different backs, when we face them it will be Lendale White and Chris "Not the criminal" Henry.

I am not sure how we will win this game, I think the key will be West Coast, 12+ play 6+ minute plus drives through the air. We have the parts to do it, and they don't rush the passer well.
 
I'd like to think that Oakland will win this game, but I don't.
I'll shoot straight.

I think the Raiders are poised to get their shit packed in a gosh awful way.
Ugliest game of the year for Oakland fans, is what I see taking place.

Our psyche is not good going in, and we won't be running for dick against Tennessee.
I don't see how we get into the end zone against them.

Ugly.

On the flip side, our defense will get the chinese water torture treatment.
The Titans repeatedly slamming away at us with the run, and just like the KC game, eventually ripping off a big gainer .... or few.

Toss in at least one special teams meltdown, and I see us getting our nose bloodied to the tune of something like 24-6.


Prove me wrong, Raiders.

I still luv u.
 
Well............. in the fortunate, but unlikely event that....... (I'm tryin to be positive :D)

- If Warren comes back and plays on Sunday, coupled with how good we looked on run defense when Braytard wasn't forced into the lineup... we might just be able to hold our own against the run.

- The Titans still don't have the big time pass rushing threat that has killed us the last 2 weeks... give DC enough time back there to get a rhythm with his receivers... maybe the Raiders can surprise us on offense this week.
 
SoCalRaider said:
- The Titans still don't have the big time pass rushing threat that has killed us the last 2 weeks... give DC enough time back there to get a rhythm with his receivers... maybe the Raiders can surprise us on offense this week.
Click to expand...

Oh god I hope so.....
 
I think this game is going to be another close one.
 
If we slide any further south, we're done. This is a MUST win, not a JUST WIN.
 
The Titans will likely beat us pretty handily this week.

We won't run the ball, they will. Vince Young will keep us off balance with his feet by running for at least 3 first downs and he will pass just well enough to sustain drives.

On the flipside, we won't be able to run the football which will put the onus on our TBD QB.

Tennessee - 27

Raiders - 13
 
SoCalRaider said:
The guy is athletic enough to play into his 40s... no problem... You look at his decision to go to Tampa, and I don't see how anybody can really criticize him. He's the 3rd highest rated passer in the league, within a game of 1st place, and probably most important for him... you can't talk about the Bucs without mentioning Garcia. Plus his wife is hot as fuck. Sorry, but the dude's somehow turned into a pimp... assuming he actually gets some from her.

On the flip side, if he comes here.... no matter how well he does, everybody will always be mentioning Russell alongside his name. Why play on a team where you're constantly looking over your shoulder at the perpetual fan favorite with 5 gold stars next to his name?
Click to expand...
But if you're a competitor, those things don't bother you. You actually see them as the gauntlet thrown in your face. I second Byron's assessment, "friggin twat!" I didn't want him here, and in a non-competitive way, I'm happy he's happy. But in the end, he's not a Raider, and I hope he goes down hard if we ever face him.

P.S. I'm told beards are mandatory for those in the spotlight, even for the out crowd.
 
RaiderIVlife said:
The Titans will likely beat us pretty handily this week.

We won't run the ball, they will. Vince Young will keep us off balance with his feet by running for at least 3 first downs and he will pass just well enough to sustain drives.

On the flipside, we won't be able to run the football which will put the onus on our TBD QB.

Tennessee - 27

Raiders - 13
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Oh, I think we'll lose for sure if we go with the teacher's pet.
 
SoCalRaider said:
- The Titans still don't have the big time pass rushing threat that has killed us the last 2 weeks... give DC enough time back there to get a rhythm with his receivers... maybe the Raiders can surprise us on offense this week.
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If Kiffin sees it like JaxRaider, and he just might, we'll be seeing McCown under center Sunday, especially considering what Culpepper did on a WCO staple route on that final drive against KC. Just like Brooks, he double clutched when he should have just thrown.
 
Sorry Rup...

Pre-practice update
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Wednesday at 11:49 am

– QB Josh McCown went through drills and showed no signs of being slowed by a broken toe which has sidelined him since halftime of the Cleveland game in Week 3.

– DT Gerard Warren (thigh) is working with training staff and still not practicing with the team. Warren has missed the last two games.

– RB Michael Bush remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list, working out on a separate field with the trianing staff along with Jonathan Holland, who is on injured reserve.

– C Jeremy Newberry was not on the field.
 
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