Five Postgame Takes
1. If I try to teach my cat French, and my cat just can’t handle it, is it really fair to blame my cat? For that same reason, I’m just not going to get angry anymore about our passing offense. We’ve just got the wrong species of player, top to bottom. A 15-yard completion has achieved the status of a miracle, akin to my cat saying c’est la vie.
2. The stats don’t tell the full story in all of its sordid detail. About 40 of McCown’s meager 108 passing yards came in the final minute, when the Bears were just standing back and thinking about what’s for dinner. We went up against a five-foot-nine, seventh-round rookie cornerback and somehow couldn’t find the competence to test him, let alone beat him.
3. Can’t ask more of our defense or special teams. Long bombs happen. Except to our opponents.
4. The saddest thing of all is that if we’d beaten the Texans and Bears at home these past two weeks, we’d be in second place in our division, just one game back of the Chargers. Both games were very winnable. Except for that little problem of the biblically impotent passing game.
5. I had a really great time at the game today. That counts for something. In fact, it counts for a lot.
Bonus take: Dominic Rhodes was a vital complement to Joseph Addai for the Super Bowl champion Colts last year. He carried the ball 14 times for the Colts during last year’s AFC Championship game, followed by 21 carries in the Super Bowl. Yet as a complement to Justin Fargas (!) these past two games, he’s carried the ball a grand total of one time. Weird, eh? I'll let you solve this mystery.
posted by Raider Take at 10:07 PM
136 Comments:
A few quick comments. Fargas had another nice game. Only 83 rushing, but with this line that's a lot of effort.
I'm not necessarily touting Culpepper, but if McCowan gives us our best chance to win, how come our only victories this season came with him out of the game.
H
The TV announcer said Kiffin stated the team was not where he wanted them to be with fundamentals. He's only been coaching them on the field since April. Shouldn't we be past fundamentals? Al the false starts at home, I put at least half that on coaching.
Special teams played very good, so did the defense. We even blitzed for crying out loud. That is except for when we got a three point lead with under five minutes to play.
What we have here is a failure to communicate!
What will it take for Kiffin to realize that Josh McCown is not an NFL QB? McCown was rejected by the Cardinals and Lions as a backup, yet he’s our starter.
Is it possible that Curry false-started twice on his own stupidity? It’s much more likely that McCown has no clue what he’s doing.
And what happened to McCown knowing the whole playbook? You could count the number of different formations Kiffin sent out there on one hand. We played right into their strength, the middle of their D. We barely tested the perimeter coming out of the backfield.
Was the QB keeper early in the game the only designed rollout? Apparently, Kiffin forgot which QB he was playing.
At this point, I suspect Kiffin and Knapp are making their holiday plans to stay with Tom Walsh (and get some playcalling advice for next season).
In McCown’s defense, his high-school quality play is not all his fault. After all, our starting WR’s are two former QBs. It’s not like we have Tim Brown and Jerry Rice fighting to get open when their QB is in trouble.
Meanwhile, I suspect our O-line is intentionally trying to get rid of McCown. There were so many breakdowns along the line it was impossible to count. C.Green is a waste of space. At least once I saw him move out of the way and allow the defender through to the QB.
D.Rhodes must be very disappointed to find out he actually had a 9-game suspension... and still counting.
Not that it matters, but the horse collar hold on Warren Sapp is what allowed the 59-yard TD pass. What a shame!
give me walter or jamarcus at qb at this point.
jerry mcdonald (ibasports) reported asomugha was heard, during a stu schweigert interview, saying, "you tell them stu, somebody has to score points for us to win." then jerry wrote that a friend said, "it seems that everytime a team needs to score against our defense, they do."
pick your poison. i think our team is quitting on each other again.
i agree with rt, offensively we are sad. we need some solid tackles and a center to call "captain" on our o-line. we need to see what we have with j-russ at qb. we need to get receivers that can separate from the db's. we need to utilize rhodes at rb more.
again, kiffin calls a vanilla game; but how can he call anything else, if we can't execute the vanilla plays?
i feel like this is a bad dream, and i'm ready to wake up, but can't. for the first time as a raider fan, i'm lost and losing faith in my team.
Allow me to add: NO TEAM in the NFL does less to disguise its formations, on both sides of the ball. Kudos to the defense for being athletic enough to partly outcome this huge shortcoming.
Another tough loss
The finger pointing begins
Their days are numbered
Our future is today!
we have a 6'8" beast ready to play and we don't play him because we are affraid that he might get hurt, I am sorry but if he gets hurt, he gets hurt!
we are not good in a lot of parts of the game but if we don't get this guy in this year he will be that much behind for next year, we need to asses him from now 'til the end of the year and get a supporting cast in the preaseason to compliment him for next year.
Defense looked darn good when they were blitzing! the cubs burned us in the one touchdown play but our defense had us in the game for over 50 minutes, I can not believe that Huff couldn't intercept that pass that was thrown to him.
I am going 1000 miles south to Baja next week so for the first time in over 20 years I am going to miss a Raider game, I can not believe it, it breaks my heart to not watch a game, I don't care about baseball or basketball, my only passtime is football and has been for over 35 years, so like I have said before, I hate it when we loose but I much rather see them loose than not watch them at all.
raiderdecoachella
This is very hard to understand....in the begaining it appeared the "O" was on tract and the "D" was asleep....now we have a compleat role reversal and the "O" is compleatly dead...#26 in the NFL...#4 Rushing..."D"=16...#4 against the pass....
Why is McClown in the game...I have no idea...he had 3 "TO"s last week and 2 more this week...He gives us zero chance to win a freakin game...at least Culpepper makes the game interesting...there is glimmer of hope that he can get it done...
Give me "JRus" now....let's do something for the future and get the kid ready for next year when McClown is out of the freakin NFL...Culpepper is a Back-Up somewhere....Walter is an insurance policy here or Trade-Bait....
PantyRaider....SadFran Sucks Worse!!!!!
one point of issue:
the defense played very well yesterday...until they had to.
again, as i stated before, this offense has virtually zero talent.
fargas plays hard, and miller is a rook, but after that, the whole unit must be replaced.
bama7,
we now know why jano was picked # 1. he is our offense.
it only makes sense. we picked him # 1, and we have built our offense around him. wow.
Raider00:
Funny about Jano....without him we would be scoreless....and going back a few weeks if we had kicked a field goal from the 17 yard line early in the game instead of going for a 4th and forever we would have won another game...so now I remember all the talk early this season about what a terible selection he was....but how maney long field goals does he have this season already...+50's.....
PantyRaider...PolishCannon!!!
My couple of takes.
I'm trusting Kiffin more and more. His words stand up. McCown over Culpepper - we saw why, even though I'm starting to get the Culpepper urge again. Somehow Culpepper just looks more dignified when he's throwing an interception or fumbling.
Last week when he said, "We're going to kick to Hester," everyone in the media was, like, "Poor, stupid, rookie Head Coach; well, he'll learn." Then the Special Teams units made it stand up. Kiffin said the Special Teams were ready to take on Hester, and they were. I'll be waiting for the moment when Kiffin says, "this pass offense is ready to take on Lincoln High School."
On the TD bomb that put the Bears in front - Sapp got held, big time.
I forgive Fargas that fumble. I think he just released the ball thinking he was down. But he didn't realize he was lying on top of people and never actually touched the ground.
We're at that point where every weird little thing hurts us. I hate to say it, but that actually may be a positive sign. Eventually we'll run out of weird little things.
Start looking for limit playing time for Russell. However, don't neglect to consider the danger. How much better can any QB do here with no pass protection and receivers who can't get deep?
We have some serious tackle shopping to do this Christmas.
When McCown threw the ball, it looked like a pigeon shot in mid air, fluttering to the ground, alone in the wilderness.
The lone positive is that he's mobile. I'm tempted to give Andrew Walter a shot, but I'm afraid that his lack of mobility would expose the fact that our offense has become a literal carbon copy of last year's offense.
It's a question of McCown's dead birds v. risking an epidemic of sacks v. playing the rookie when everyone told me that his holdout didn't matter because he wasn't going to play this year anyway, and playing him in an offense that has the potential to destroy anyone's confidence.
Not my favorite question.
Panty-
Nice to have you back. Prior to the game, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the man behind the curtain Raider Take himself,(and his cousin) during my annual pilgramage to Oaktown.
That was the highlight of my day.........
More questions than answers. Start with Rhodes and why no time? I am hoarse form screaming blitz. The two times they did blitz you saw what happened. My wife even pointed it out, "They should do that more."
Run blitz with the bears on the 2 yd line? Unthinkable. The long play is inevitable. It is just the law of averages, except for us.
But this is on the O for sure. How many times did the Raiders have the ball at midfield?... and nothing. It seemed like they were on the shield the whole day. Kiffin got lucky on the hold on the long return. I thought he would mix it up a bit more on kicks, i.e., pooches, corners, etc. Playing with fire or confidence in your special teams?
How about hester running out of bounds. What hurts is the bears are truly putrid. What really hurts is I live in Chicago. WTF.
Simple questions:
Is this team any better than it was week 1?
What new/future players aside from QB and Z.Miller has Kiffin injected into the system??
Rhodes is healthy and sitting on the bench while Fargas is breaking his a$$. WHY?
Is this the WR corp for next year?
Answers:
1. Our D & Sp. Teams are better. The O is 4 times as bad so it about evens out. But I suck at math.
2. Jay Richardson
3. Rhodes must've rubbed someone the wrong way. He only goes in when Fargas limps off.
4. I hope not.
Psycho
This whole thing started with culpepper taunting the fans in miami running around like an amateur I thought. jeff george did the same think, did he not? I forgot who the raiders beat, atlanta? He ran around the same way and the Raiders lost the rest of the year.
Someone help me here?
RT-
Maybe the next shirt should have Marie Laveau on it!
Blandarocked,
I've got your back again. I was screaming holding at the TV. On the replay Sapp was looking for a ref after the pass was off. The blocker had him around the waist and looked like he had a handful of jersey.
Be that as it may, two fieldgoals is pretty pathetic.
Jano kicked deep and Hester decided to run it from five or six deep in the endzone. He made it to the 12.
On one punt the coverage ran him backwards and out of bounds after a four yard loss. Overall the best special teams play in years has occurred in the last two games.
On defense we blitzed, had sacks, came close to two interceptions and only gave up 78 yards rushing.
But, for the offense, I must reiterate, if McCowan gives us our best chance to win, how come our only victories came with him out of the games. Fargas was almost 50% or the offense and he only had 104 total yards.
H
As far blitzing, Ryan seems to have discovered it. By the third quarter the Raiders had blitzed 12 times, with great success. I'm hoping that he didn't just do it because his starting CBs were out. Probably a false hope.
Rhodes must have pissed Kiffin off.
Answer to dax's second question: Oren O'Neil. And we have yet to see what Bush has.
Culpepper has tiny hands, and McCown doesn't know how to protect the football when he's on the move. We know we have one benefit with Russell that we don't have with these other two. Russell has massive hands and holds the football like most of us hold a tennis ball.
BLAND ROCKER-
"Rhodes must have pissed Kiffin off"
Oh, if Rhodes isn't playing because Kiff is upset or mad at him, then folks we have a serious problem at the HEAD COACH position!
"Answer to dax's second question: Oren O'Neil. And we have yet to see what Bush has"
Yeah, you're right I forgot that 'impact' player, O'Neil!
Allow me to repeat my question: Going into Week 11, is this team better than it was Week 1??
ANSWER: NO! IT'S NOT!
Last year, we had millions of dollars sitting on the bench in the form of Jerry Porter. Now we have millions of dollars sitting on the bench in the forms of Jordan and Rhodes.
We're not talking Paul McQuistan money. Jordan's making something like $5 million this year. Rhodes' minimum this year is $2.5 million inclusive of his signing bonus.
$7.5 million in running backs...on the bench. Mind boggling.
LaDainian Tomlinson's salary last year was $4.25 million. Just to put it in perspective.
Same problem as last year... there are simply too many holes to believe we can realistically bring in enough players to correct this mess.
Bama7
My rant:
I walked away from my computer after Jano's 52-yarder and I said to myself, "the bears will score on the next drive." I wasn't gone two minutes and the bears had scored. So I'll say it again, don't brag on this defense. It plays good when the offense sucks & they have nothing to lose, but you can bet your ass, when the chips are on the table, our very un-physcial defense will buckle.
And let's stop the Fargas hoorays. To me one of the five biggest plays of the game was the 3rd & 2 on the drive that ended with Jano's FG. We had two plays to get a mere 3 yards and we couldn't do it. Fargas had a 3rd and 2 and lost a yard. We needed a TD, not a freakin FG. Elite backs get the 1st down in that situation: playing at home, 3rd & 2... game on the line. Fargas: lost a yard. Great motor, great attitude, not a great back.
I see where Pat McQuistan is the back up LT at Dallas. Pat's brother Paul was a 4 year starter in college. Why can't we give this guy a shot at LT, his natural position, just to see what he has? Hint: another trait of Al's that has cost us dearly the last twenty years: Al's love for trying to "discover" a new position for someone. Al's done it his entire career. Look at our team: McQuistan playing guard, Huff a natural FS & CB playing mostly SS. Sapp tried at DE, Brayton all over the place etc etc. sam Williams forced into an LB spot. Wr's tried at TE. Centers at Guard.
Our problems start and end with Al.
One free agent we should take a big interest in, if he becomes available, is karlos Dansby, LB for the cardinals. A perfect slobber-knocking compliment to Morrison & Howard's athleticism. But I'm sure Al knows some unknown DE in college that he is sure he can convert to LB for us.
And Albert haynesworth... what tough SOB. If the titans are foolish enough to let him go he is a damn must for us.
we should draft like the cowboys... tough SOB's: D. Ware, R Williams, Spears, Spencer... football players first.
I tend to agree with Kiffin in that it doesn't matter how much you signed the player for, if they've gotten their shot at showing what they can do, and they are not productive (or don't work hard enough to be better), then they can sit on the bench. Moss should have been benched last year.
I don't know what issue is keeping Rhodes on the bench. I know that Jordan was falling into his old habits. I don't attend practices or meetings, and I don't know the things that are said on the sidelines. You kind of have to either give Kiffin your trust, or you don't, be he's the only one with sufficient information to make the decisions. If we can't make it into at least the second year with any HC, expect to go through exactly the same thing next year. I grant you, it's not easy to be patient right now, but until the off season all we can do is be patient. We're not going to the playoffs this year, and with that reality we have to find a way to be as productive as we can until well informed (on Kiffin's part) personnel changes can be made.
Personally, I prefer dealing with it in that light rather than turning to insane ranting for the next few months. Kiffin wasn't here during the four years prior, so all he knows is what he's seen in camp, on film, and this season. He never knew the learning capabilities of each player until he worked with them directly. For instance, he got to see Jordan's improvement during camp but couldn't know that Jordan would just fall back into his old habits half way through the season until he watched him do it.
As for the minimal use of Jordan and Rhodes during the last couple of games - my feeling is that Kiffin knows what Jordan and Rhodes will do, but he's still learning how far Fargas might take us. Does Fargas have the durability to carry the load? I really would like to see Kiffin spend the time, now, learning all he can about every player on the 53 man roster.
I anticipate that the first game of 2008 will show six, maybe as many as eight, different starters on the offensive side of the ball from 2007. My interest right now is finding which of the people currently on the team might figure into those positions. I already know that Jordan and Rhodes won't likely be here. I want to see Fargas and Bush.
Oh, and re Fargas. Fargas hurt his cause. Not because he failed to gain a first down on 3rd and two, but because he started falling into his habit of upright running again. He's much harder to bring down when he lowers his running stance.
I agree that if someone needs to be benched, bench them.
But these continued high-dollar signings of skill position players who end up getting benched (Porter last year, Jordan and Rhodes this year) or effectively bench themselves (Moss) is mind boggling and wasteful and indicative of a rudderless ship.
If it happens once in a while, that's an incident. If it happens over and over, that's a pattern, one that reveals a lack of evaluative ability and an inability to sense character and/or toughness.
If I had a time machine, I'd pass on Rhodes and apply that $2.5 million toward 500 more Porta-Potties in the Coliseum parking lot. Now that would be money well spent.
It's bad enough having our eyes suffer the offense, must our bladders suffer as well?
Bama:
I am with you 100% on everything you are saying about the team and if you remember I have said that Fargass is a great addition for us but he is no starting caliber RB, he should come in after the second quarter and start to pound the ball to the outside with Rhodes as the featured back.
With the defense you are right but if we don't score any points on offense we'll never know if or how good we really are, yesterday we did not have Washington or Asomougha in the corners and we were competitive, even Stu gave us a c+ grade yesterday.
About Mr. Davis, I guess this is the same as saying what was first the chicken or the egg or if a tree falls kinda thing, you can hate him as much as you want but there is a higher posibility that you might stop being a Raider's fan than Mr. Davis selling or getting rid of this team, you and everybody in the world can complaint all you want, the only constant in this team is Mr. Davis, love it or hate it, it is what it is, last time I spoke with him he wasn't loosing any sleep over the comments people make about him.
last post by raiderdecoachella
My feeling about Davis is that he appreciates everything that is reported about him. Good and bad, truth or fiction. It neither breaks his leg, nor picks his pocket. The uncertainty people have regarding who he really is gives him an advantage of sorts. This is part of my reasoning when I say that the Raiders don't do things as well as they used to because Davis delegates far more of it than he did in the early years.
Off the topic somewhat - Someone here, in comments last week, said that van Eagan wasn't a good RB. Huh? Seems to me that everyone around the league at the time considered him to be rather elite. Also, don't forget that he was a FB and not a HB. Not only did he gain almost 1,000 yards a season running from the FB position, he was virtually an unstoppable force on a FB screen (you did not want anything to do with that man running at you with a full head of steam), and he was part of the blocking structure which allowed Raider QBs time for tea and crumpets while waiting for receivers to come open.
Mr. Davis might not be losing any sleep about comments, but you can bet he's losing sleep over the performance of his beloved team, and the fact that he's witnessed a grand total of four victories since November of 2005.
I agree with you I would like to see Rhodes carry the ball more. I like Fargas but I think Rhodes can carry us because he is a good fit for this offense. Lets use him Coach Kiffin, get him ont he field.
Also, lets give Walter a shot before we waste Russell. I don't think that #2 should be forced into a 2-7 record with no line protection and no wide recievers to make the passing game work. I think Kiffin has admitted that to himself. Look for the Raiders to go after a vet wide recieve after this year.
we may go after a vet wr this offseason, but will they come?
we need veteran o-line help. start at center, and then left and right tackles.
i can't say it enough, we lost our o-line, when we lost barrett robbins. a knowledgeable o-lineman comes in handy when you have young qb's, or qb's that don't know how to read defenses (kfc, brooks, mccown, culpepper).
then go after a receiver. i think we could make a couple steals in this area in the draft. we don't need another old decrepid receiver who can't break away from the db's.
Adrian Peterson is not going to play on Sunday. That eliminates the obvious way of losing. Sorry, but feeling a bit pessimistic lately.
RT, I agree. There is no insult that Al feels greater than the one from this offense.
I'm not sure why everyone suddenly seems so hot for Rhodes. From what I've seen of Rhodes this season (and I'm not talking about prior years, just this season), I haven't seen him offer anything extra. It seems like folks want most what they've seen the least.
Rhodes is on essentially a one year contract. He'll be gone next year, and that's likely why he is getting such limited time, because Kiffin obviously wants the Fargas test to be completed, and then I bet he goes with Bush.
Kiffin explains that the only reason Walter is still here is because McCown and Culpepper will both be gone at the end of the season, and we need someone besides Russell who knows the system. Walter, then, is bringing along Russell in his own way.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Russell play this weekend. When he does, it will be for only a series or two, and limited to the plays that Russell is best at. I'll be curious to see what those plays are. I would expect that one of them would have to be a play action roll out, with a 50 yard strike.
Russell keeps saying, "I can handle adversity, that's my thing, put me in there." If it turns out Russell is right, we might see him finish out the last quarter of the season.
Kiffin promised the players when he came in, "what happened in the past doesn't count. From here forward, everything counts." Kiffin had to make that promise to find out if what had happened in the past was coaching or players. That they have not improved under four coaches is pretty definitive that it's the players.
I don't think that it is particularly important, at this stage, to know who brought each particular loser in is not necessarily productive. It isn't all Al, and three coaching regimes have come and gone with essentially this core of players. What is important is that Kiffin learns who is worth keeping and who is not, and to do everything possible to get them replaced with reliable substitutes. But there is little doubt in my mind that Kiffin expected more players already with the team would step up to the plate. It's going to be a very interesting off season.
It was asked earlier if the team is better now than they were at the beginning of the season. The answer to that question is a resounding "NO!" They are, in fact, worse. At the beginning of the season, when they had all bought in to the Kiffin way, they shook bad habits and started to excel at various components of the game. It didn't produce a winning streak, so many, if not most, of the players have gone back to their bad habits.
Interesting watching the coverage units of Special Teams begin to excel as they have. Two things of note: 1) They seem to have definately learned to value of staying in their lanes; 2) Coop is back.
Coop says he wants to retire a Raider. He may well be able to do so. But this is the best I've seen kick and punt coverage on this team since they were in LA. Brian Schneider is a find. I hope we keep him for awhile.
H:
NFL.com has the replays. You look at that 59 yard strike, Sapp is just about to put serious wood on Grossman, then gets grabbed by the jersey and spun before he gets there - then Grossman fires. No way an official (who is supposedly watching the backfield for infractions) fails to see that. It's obvious! Sapp wasn't blocked, he was grabbed and spun!
Carr blew his coverage, but played well the whole game. There should have been a flag and a 10 yard penalty on that play. Raiders' D got hosed.
Bama7
Raidercoachella, I hear you... but you can bet your ass Al cares that our team is no longer feared in the nfl. He worked hard to cultivate an image of the baddest of the bad in the nfl, and as each day passes we became a bigger joke. If he doesn't care what people are saying, maybe that's the problem.
I want to see McQuistan given a shot at LT. We know Simms is a lost cause, get him out of there. It's not like we're going to the playoffs. And pick-up S. Rice now... one less hole to fill next year.
Bama7, McQ got almost an entire game at RT last week and had two false starts. He looked like a good back up for Miss Amy's saloon doors.
Just a guess... Kiffin's 1st pick in 2008...
(drum roll, please)
LT Sam Baker, USC. WAIT A MINUTE! Don't shoot me! That's just a guess. I know you'll tell me he should go WR, but we need a speed WR and speed isn't a big commodity for the '08 draft class.
Add to previous...
Currently I'm thinking that Kiff goes free agent for WR in the off season. It's okay if he's (or they're) old so long as he's fast. Kiffin will want veteran help at WR to help Russell.
Take...too funny about the porta potties....but seriously..has anyone asked Kiff why Rhodes ain't playin'? I know, I know..he probably doesn't put us in the best position to win....right? but for real, what is wrong with him? I don't really mind that he's not playing if he can't help any...but there needs to be some justification as to why we picked him up...why he get's 2.5 mil...and why he ain't playin'
raiderhip
The Rhodes mystery speaks to a larger one: what's with this "one back" mentality that plagues us now, as well as last year, regardless of who's starting? I swear, everyone saw it yesterday: Fargas up the middle. Fargas up the middle. Fargas up the middle. Why not throw Jordan or Rhodes out there at times to mix it up?
Even when Adrian Peterson was smashing the single game rushing record for the Vikings last week, the Vikings also handed the ball off to Chester Taylor nine times. Look at Rhodes complementing Addai with double-digit carries last year during the playoffs and Super Bowl.
Just because Jordan isn't the starter, why does that mean he suddenly can't even get on the field to mix it up and give the opponent something to think about?
It would be one thing if we had some spectacular feature back, but Fargas or Bust is just plain weird.
I continued to be mystified by these peculiar Raider phenomena.
Take, I think I can answer the Jordan mystery, but not the Rhodes.
Through reading all the articles last week, Jordan gave voice to his disappointment in himself for how he carried the ball (and his attitude about being benched) last week. He said he was disgusted in himself for ever letting it get that far. Jordan's problem is that when he gets - inside himself (for lack of a better phrase) - he pays no attention to blocking schemes or the alignment of the defense. No point in playing him when he's like that because he's useless. It's accidental if he gains five yards.
My only guess with Rhodes is that they don't expect him here next season and that playing him is merely an exercise. If any running back increases his carries, I think it will be Bush.
I've been reading some interesting things regarding play 1st Round picks. A good theory as to why some low first rounders start their first season and do well, while high first rounders turn into busts has to do with their surrounding cast. The low 1st Rounders go to teams with a pretty good supporting cast, and the high 1st rounders go to junk teams (like the Raiders currently).
On teams with a good supporting cast, the coaches can impress upon the rookie to play within himself and let everyone else do their jobs. On teams like the Raiders, high round picks attempt to be responsible for everything, they leave their positions or try to make foolish plays. Apparently Kiffin is a follower of this theory. He wants Russell to play with confidence and within himself.
I read somewhere that Rhodes was whinning about not getting the ball or he was around practice claiming himself the "Michael Jordan" of football.
He definitely pissed in someone's cereal, that's for sure.
Could be, but then that's just more philosophical inconsistency that will undermine the locker room and mystify the fans. If we're playing for tomorrow at the expense of today (ie: Rhodes) or trying to prove a point to underperforming malcontents (ie: Jordan), how do we explain Barry Sims and Jerry Porter?
Sims and Porter, who, exactly, do you replace them with until the off season. You can only call treating players differently inconsistent when they play the same position, but the situation at each position has a different level of talent. Also, there is no problem this year with either Porter or Sims regarding attitude - only ability.
RT and Blanda, I agree with you both. But that Rhodes news is just something I read on the net. Who knows if its even credible?
Mr.Duva
Yes, but are Porter and Sims any bigger part of our future than Rhodes? So how about Higgins at WR? Or McQuistan at LT? Get them some reps, see what they can do and learn over an extended period?
Also, I'm not asking Rhodes and Jordan to be named starter, just to be used to help mix things up. There are lots of guys who wont be on this team next year who are on the field. So why not give Rhodes or Jorda a meager six or eight carries, mix things up and give poor Fargas a break?
With McCown under center, the offensive playcalling is serverly limited. McCown is not comfortable passsing from within the pocket. McCown doesn't possess the arm strength for the intermediate to deep passes. The defensive opponent only needs to concern itself with 2 things:
(1) Stop the run
(2) Flood the zone coverage within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.
Rollouts, bootlegs, and moving pockets are fine as a complement to a traditional passing attack. However, when you rely on it soley and use a dink & dunk passing attack it is extremely difficult to be successful. There simply is not enough space for clear throwing lanes & open targets. The only logical way to create more space is by stretching the field with an intermediate & deep passing attack which is not in McCown's tool kit.
In order for the remaining 7 games to not become completely meaningless a few things need to happen.
#1 An aggressive evaluation of players with an eye towards 2008. If the player is not performing well or isn't going to be in our plans for 2008, what business does he have taking valuable snaps?
#2 An aggressive plan to coach up, accelerate the learning curve, and get our young guns on the field as much as possible.
Off the top of my head, these are the guys I want to see on the field more/sooner;
Josh Shaw (DT), John Bowie (CB), JLH (WR), Michael Bush (RB), Orlen O'Neil (FB), Paul McQuistan (LT), Mario Henderson (RT), and last but not least, JaMarcus Russell (QB).
The despair hanging over the Raiders head right now is largely due to the futility of the offense.
I undertand the conservatism of Kiffin's playcalling (especially with McCown under center) and the desire to protect Russell.
However, ultimately it is Kiffin's job to find a way to manage his offensive personnel and the game plan in such a way that there is a sense of building a brighter future.
With our non existent passing attack, Kiffin is in jeopardy of losing the minds of the rest of the team. The D & ST needs to know that when they do their part that the offense can generate 17+ points.
No matter how bumpy the road might be with Russell initially as our starter, I would feel like we are finally getting started with our future. Not only would a spark be created but guess what ... the entire field would open up with new possibilities like a complete pass of more than 10 yards.
It is time for Kiffin to chuck Russell's training wheels to the curb. It is time for Kiffin to trust himself to creatively playcall to fit Russell's strengths and minimize Russell's physical & mental anguish. It is time to trust the reasons you drafted Russell #1 ... namely that he is a highly skilled, athletic, strong, mobile QB who is mature enough to handle the stress & adversity that faces him.
"Russell, Russell, Russell!"
bama7, don't know if you heard but rice signed with the colts today.
something off the beaten path but cool.... remember many years ago when mike tyson was doing a comeback fight wearing all black, meaning he was all business? for next year, the raiders should change their home uni's to ALL BLACK baby! yepper, that logo would look AWESOME on an all black helmet and facemask! black pants/jersey, black everything. it'll show we mean business. then for the road uni's, go back to the old school whites with the silver numbers/black trim.
just something random to fend off all the negative vibes.
seriously now, even if kiffin decides to throw walter out there, do we think he'd do better that the other 2 guys? no. it's because our receivers can't get open and our line can't block. kiffin says that mccown is the better QB for his system. that's not true. he's mobile but not accurate. we all clamored for culpepper. turns out he IS washed up. but we didn't find that out until we threw him out there. but hey, putting walter out there is better than traumatizing russell now and for the future isn't it? we tried the other 2 options and they didn't work. put walter kiff!
Putting Walter out there would serve many useful purposes right now.
1). It gets McClown and Culpepper off the field. With the exception of the miracle in Miami, neither of these guys has shown what it takes to scratch out a victory... and they've each had their chances.
2). It allows Russell some valuable time to continue his maturation... at least as Kiffin would argue. I'm more inclined to agree to Calico Jack in that Russell is mature enough to handle whatever he faces.
3). It allows more time to "solidify" our offensive line before handing the ball over to a rookie. This is arguably a waste of time.
4). Of our three veteran QBs, Walter is the only QB under contract next year. If this is the only reason we've kept him on the team as a 4th QB, shouldn't we get him some valuable time on the field, particularly if we're too afraid to play Russell.
5). If Kiffin starts McCown again he needs his head examined.
I'll be on the road for the next few days... probably the best thing right now.
One last thought. T.Jackson, the Vikings backup QB (starter this Sunday). He picked us apart last time we played the Vikes. He's mobile, and has a strong and accurate arm. So, don't get too comfortable about Peterson not playing.
Bama7
Scorpio, no I didn't see where the Colts signed Rice. Damn. The rich get richer (next year they'll have Rice and Freeney!)... meanwhile we have guys like... Brayton and Richardson.... feel the rest of the league shudder with fear.
And Blanda, McQuistan is a LT, not a RT. Footwork is different... he might be more comfortable playing the spot he played in college for 4 years. Like RT suggested, let's take a look at him (and others) in his natural spot, before the season ends. What are we gaining having Simms at LT at this point (Calico's point#1)? Simms is not our future.
And the McCown verdict is in... not a viable nfl qb. I was never a Walter fan, but I'd rather Walter be getting the snaps than McCown. McCown is simply not an nfl qb.
And agree with RT and others that the Rhodes situation is simply crazy. Do we get cap relief if he doesn't play a certain amount? It makes no sense. But it does make sense if you think in terms of the coach and GM playing cat and mouse with each other's FA & draft selections. I have to think Rhodes is Al's pick. Superbowl star...has Al's fingerprints all over him. Kiffen's proably pissed at all the BS he's had to deal with personnel-wise that he just won't play Al's pick.
Dysfunction. Just like Moss said, something smells fishy around our team.
Bama7
See what Kiffen says about the Bears deciding to keep 7 in the box even though a 3 WR set should have called for a nickle pkg from the bears.
http://www.raiders.com/Common/Article.aspx?id=35352
You can't take advantage of that situation when you have a QB that can't make reads nor WR's that are worth a shit.
Porter is awful. Curry is decent, but he's Al's pick so he'll be here for an eternity. We have no QB's and no WR's... and no RB's. Basically we have nothing at the skill poistions, and a very mediocre offensive line.
i wouldn't mind seeing walter out there. i mean, he can throw. he may not be the best at moving around in the pocket, but he can at least get the ball to the receivers.
we really need a qb who can throw, move around the pocket, big enough to run over linebackers, is not afraid to stay in the pocket, and has zip on his passes.....oh wait, that's jamarcus. nevermind.
Note to Kiffin:
"It's a different world for me than what I'm used to," Kiffin said. "Because, you're the head coach and you have to take it all in. If you're just calling the plays on offense, you don't necessarily take in all that.
"It does make you play less aggressive a lot of times."
***************************
Hey Kiffin, just go for it man. We're basically out of the playoffs and it's time to tweak around with different things and evaluate the outcome. You might as well try to 'spark' your team with a little more aggression.
Right now you understandably do not have confidence in them to score. So show a little confidence, raise the bar a little bit and expect them to make a play. They probably feel like you're holding their hands and it's not helping the situation. With all of our problems I still feel we can turn into a fairly solid team with just an attitude adjustment alone. One win can do that. If you go balls out and get lucky just once, it could go a long way in regaining confidence.
Psycho
Take:
I am with you on the running back cituation, I like Fargas a lot but I know that he is not a back that can carry our team for a season by himself and basically that's what we've been asking him to do the last couple of games, the kid's got a lot of heart and he has proven it, the problem is that in the nfl heart is not everything.
Rhodes has to come in and "if anything" compliment Fargas with at least 5 to 10 carries a game, specially since we are primarly a running team, as soon as Bush is available get him as many carries as he is able to handle but no more, don't force him to carry the whole load right off the bat.
Russell is making a ton of money(pennies for Bill Gates) and he is not being utilized, my problem with this deal is that if we wait until next year to get him any playing time, he will be this much farther behind, we need to get him in there and even if for a couple of reps a game or a quarter or whatever we need to give him some playing time.
raiderdecoachella
Bama:
I want you to know that your posts in my eyes are dead on most of the times as I see it, the only disagreement that I have with you is the constant trashing of Mr. Davis.
Keep up your posting, I think that you and Scorpio speak with your heart and are truly devoted fans.
raiderdecoachell
coachella, we are ALL devoted fans. we may dislike al and his shenanigans and you guys fail to understand why we are at the bottom of the heap but we have that one thing in common - we love the raiders.
dumb as it may be to spend thousands of $$$$$ renewing our season tickets or going to the games and buying gear, i don't think we'll be down too much longer. then again, i've been saying that for years!
al is the central figure in all of this mess. soon as you guys put the kool aid down you'll understand.
The nation seems to be rather divided. More or less, I agree with Calico and think that the youth should see considerably more playing time. Before continuing, however, you can find the "official" explanation for the offense here:
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/12/sportsextra/doc473936a6bcf15506352987.txt
First off, we had a good look at McQ against Tennessee. Two false starts, and I think two sacks given up. I guess that might be on a par with Sims. But Calico's right in that, since we're not going anywhere, why waste snaps on people who aren't going to be here after this year. Take, I don't think "poor Fargas" is too upset that he's getting 20-25 carries a game. Personally, I agree with Kiff, I want to see if he can handle a 20-25 carry load. How many years have we had Fargas? Isn't it about time, before his contract expires, that we find out what he's capable of doing? Even if Fargas isn't showing me that he's a starter, he sure as hell is showing me that he's an excellent back up and change of pace. Fargas stays.
As for QB changes, every time you change a QB you make a statement regarding the team's prospects. If Kiffin brings in either Walter or Russell, that says to the team that the season is over, and the remainder of the season will be exhibition football for the benefit of examining the roster for next year. At that point the team completely melts down.
The players immediately stop being any semblance of a team, and everybody is freelancing to either showcase for the rest of the league, to just write the season off and go through the motions, or attempting to build their season stats. Consider that situation, and then consider whether that's a healthy situation to bring Russell. Kiffin has to be very careful here.
As to Walter, Kiffin has conceded that Walter is no part of what the Raiders are currently doing. His habit of holding the ball too long, coupled with his lack of mobility, would be disastrous. The only reason he's still here is because when McCown and Culpepper are gone, without Walter Russell is the only QB who knows the system.
Walter will, I think, gain his freedom. Both McCown and Culpepper have played so poorly this year that I'd expect at least one of them would stay on as back up. Most likely McCown.
Psycho:
Very nice post you made at 6:29. Spoken from the heart of the Raider Nation.
Thanks Blanda. I know Kiff has it in him. I've seen him go for it on 4th when maybe no other coach would've. Coincidentally those were the days when we still had 'fire'. Even if we didn't win them all, we had something early in this season that we must regain.
Kiff no longer has the confidence in his offense to convert that ballsy 4th down play, but this is the same group of guys out there playing who did just that.
Psycho
H:
Jerry McDonald backs us both up...
"– Best case scenario is the Raiders get a nice letter of apology after Warren Sapp appeared to have been held on Rex Grossman's 59-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian which put the Bears ahead for good."
There's no way an official missed that. The official just ignored it. For those who haven't seen it, find the replays on NFL.com.
I think Al's desk drawing must be over-flowing with letters of apologies. The front office must have a standard "Raider Apology" form by now which they simply print, check off the "holding no-call" box and sign it.
Psycho
desk drawer...
Blanda, from my vantage, Fargas needed a break. The Bears were stacking the box, and Cousin of Take and I were calling the play before it happened: Fargas up the middle! It was sad, and he was literally running into a brick wall. Take out his 15 yarder (the one he got blown up on, if I recall) and he averaged 3.0 yards per carry.
Fargas is a gamer, and I'm sure he doesn't mind the carries, but I'm also sure he'd like to win some games, too.
I'll bet Tony Dungy knew that Dominic Rhodes wasn't going to be a Colt this year and that Edgerrin James was on his way out after 2005, but did he use that as some weird excuse to not use them in their contract years?
I'm concerned about all these convoluted scenarios and explanations that we come up with to convince ourselves that there's method to the madness, because when there's this much madness, it can't all be method.
I'm not able to check in very often and won't be the next few weeks. So, here are a couple of quick hits.
I find it interesting that people are now negetive on Fargas. For what. Two plays. Even Jim Brown fumbled on occasion. And, he didn't get thar first down on third and two. Last time I checked, what a minute I don't have to check, the percentage of backs making that play wasn't 100% before the ball was handed to Fargas.
My point about Fargas is this. Kiffin as head coach is supposed to put the people on the field who are performing the best and give the team the best chance to win. Right now that IS Fargas. He is busting his ass for this team. And, as a fan I appreciate that. He's throwing his body around with abandon. He hurdled and attempted tackle that would have easily brought down Jordan.
He got 81 yards rushing and over 20 more receiving against a very good Bears defense with our current line. He has taken a lot of flak over the years remained silent and kept working.
If no one else on the offense is producing, he sure as hell is. He has had over 100 total yards in every game he has been the feature back.
From what I'm hearing some folks think there is no one on the offense worth keeping. Ok, how do we replace the entire starting offense plus their backups.
We all seem to be hindsight geniuses. And, we are absolutely great finger pointers. I, personally, am not enthralled with Kiffins playcalling at the moment. We can't go deep, but I don't see any quick slants to try and get some yards after the catch. Everytime I see a team do that against us, I say "Why can't we do that?"
At this point it time we have problems with the personnel on the field. But, I don't see the coach trying to win with what he's got. Most of the time Kiffin is just as placid as Shell was. This team has no fire, no enthusiasm. I'm not seeing any leadership on the field, even on the sideline.
H
Blandarocked,
I saw the hold again when I reviewed the recording looking for that play.
H
PANTY - RE: JANO as you call him. you still don't know which jano is gonna show up! it's an adventure every time he steps up man! come on, don't tell me you guys are sitting there in your comfy chairs expecting this guy to be automatic 'cause he's NOT! i cross my fingers on every kick.
and blanda - as for schneider, "Brian Schneider is a find. I hope we keep him for awhile." special teams hasn't been special ALL YEAR and all of a sudden after this ONE game and he's a keeper?
H, just to clarify, I'm not down on Fargas. Let him start, turn him loose. But we've got $7.5 million worth of running backs on the sideline, they must have some skills that could help us mix it up and give us a better chance to win.
Adrian Peterson is clearly the man in Minnesota, but they still give the ball to Chester Taylor (who, like Rhodes, might not return to his team next year) at times to mix it up and give Peterson a break.
Perhaps if we mixed it up and gave Fargas some time to catch his breath, he'd be even more productive.
H, I agree regarding Fargas. Take, if I saw Jordan or Rhodes making plays on their few attempts, I'd agree with you. It's not going to make me feel better sending Jordan in to lose a yard so Fargas can have a rest he doesn't want.
H, I'm not quite sure how I feel about your second part. Kiffin explains he's running a conservative, ball control offense to create a positional game, believing that's the only kind of game we have a chance to win. And, you're right, Shell did the same thing.
While I'm fully on board with the idea that Shell was the wrong choice as HC, Shell isn't an idiot. There is, after all, a good reason why he chose that approach. That Kiffin believes he has to go down that same road is a reflection on the players now, not of the coach. Kiffin says this offense is not his style, but he believes it gives the team its best chance to win.
Which brings us to the next phase. When we are effectively eliminated from contention, Kiffin may decide to take off the training wheels just to see if the team can stay upright.
Take, it wasn't just you. Several were down on him, not just saying he needed a breather. That I can appreciate.
By the way, a quote from Kiffin:
"We got into a conservative mode," Kiffin said, explaining his cautious game plan in the second half, while the Raiders had the better field position. "We didn't want to screw it up."
This is what I mean by playing to not loose. Players want to win games, not "not loose" them.
H
The Raiders Offense is that indeed...OFFENSIVE!!! There is not a defensive coordinator in the NFL that doesnt doze off watching our game films. We are the most predictable team in the NFL. They were playing a safety to cover our third wideout and had a rookie cornerback covering another. Its unfavomable to understand the philosophy of our offense. Lets do what they expect us to do so they know how to stop us. This team is an embarrassment to the NFL. I would love to hear one of Kiffin's Halftime speeches, how he motivates the team by telling them that we dont have an offense so lets play the "field position game"
Good grief, Rhodes has 10 carries total this year and, based on that, we write him off completely? Jordan is averaging 4.0 yards per carry this year, but in your argument, of course, he would lose a yard each time he took a carry away from Fargas.
The NFL is filled with players who want the ball every snap. That's an admirable quality. Thankfully, this admirable quality is usually tempered by coaches who know better.
RT-
I am with you on the running back change-up. Just for fresh legs vs. a tired D. There actually is a lot of depth to do this.
I have not gotten to today's reading but if the bears were daring the Raiders to pass with 7 in the box on a 3 wr set, that is bad.
I know Kiffin has essentially eliminated Walter from the mix and, as Blanda points out, a start by Walter or Russell signals the season as over. But what are the options especially if McCown is too banged up to play - Culpepper?
You refer to an audition for next year but as far as McCown and Culpepper I think the auditions are over. Would McCown be a servicable back-up with a better surrounding cast? I don't even know about that.
I agree with Blanda and CJ as I have posted before, regardless of who is qb, time to let these young kids play.
The benefit of a positional game, when an offense is basically incompetent, is that it keeps the score low and managable. If you attempt to open up the offense, and take extra risk, you can quickly find yourself at the wrong end of a lopsided score.
We're griping because we lost a game where we were on top by 3 points in the 4th quarter. Would it make people feel better if we went into that 4th quarter behind by 20 points? People have remarked that we could be 8-1 because we've had the lead in the 4th quarter of 8 games. I think we don't come that close unless Kiffin plays it the way he's playing it.
Bama7
Raidercoachella, appeciate your kind wordss and admit I tend to blame everything on Al... in my heart I feel he's the root problem.
And I've been bashing Fargas, unfairly. He's been bustin' butt, no doubt. I just view him as one of the scholarships... and the scholarships are killing us. Fargas is one of the few scholarships that seems to have at least earned a place on the team (back-up). I don't think Fargas is an NFL starter. Would love for him to prove me wrong.
And again, Blanda, I don't call the chances Mcq has gotten as good opportunites. Again, he is a LT. Not a RT. We need to finish out the season deciding if there are any keepers on the roster. It'd be nice to discover we had a LT on the roster (Henderson or MqQ), instead of spending money or a pick on one next year and then have Henderson and Mcq play away from their natural positions next year... continue the dysfunction.
As for the scholarships, I have seen enough of Porter, S. Williams, Simms, Jano & Brayton. These guys should be gone... now. Enough is enough.
Take, Jordan compiled that YPC average in the first 3 games, and he's been absolute crap since, which is why he lost his job. As for Rhodes, I don't know what he's doing or showing in practice, and neither do you. Rhodes presents an interesting question which deserves an answer from Kiffin. If someone asked the question, I expect he'd probably say something politically correct, like, "Rhodes is just not the best option right now."
H:
I think just like RT, Bama and Scorpio in regards to Fargas, he has proven that he is deserving of playing for the Raiders (may be the only offensive player worth keeping for next year) but he is not a Charlie Garner "I'm sorry" he has a heart that is second to none but he is not a 25 to 30 carries a game back for 16 games, I am sorry but he is not that durable.
I would love for Rhodes to prove to us that he is not worthy of keeping him, I don't mind us cutting him but at least let us see why we are doing it, also please have Bush dressed and ready to go as soon as possible,