Raiders- Cowboys

To say that the Raiders-Cowboys exhibition game was ugly would be an understatement. Abomination would better describe the proceedings.... but! it was after all nothing more than a glorified scrimmage. At no point in the game were The Raiders ever in danger of forcing their will or dominating. The only reason The Raiders were even in the game is because Dallas did little to redeem themselves. On a night when Kyle Orton (the new Dallas backup Qb) was the best quarter back on the field, The Cowboys prevailed 3-0, for those who keep track of such things.

As Raider fans we can come away from this less than spectacular showing, armed with the knowledge that we know who The Raiders are, they are not the Forty Niners or The Giants. I would say let's just put all talk of a playoff spot or a divisional title aside right now, but it's still too early to write off the entire season. I will say this, if Peyton Manning stays healthy, Denver will run away with the division. This isn't Hue Jackson's AFC West anymore and if the Raiders plan to stick around towards the end, some radical improvements will have to take place.

We finally got to see Terrelle Pryor in action,  he went 8-15 passing (he misread routes and over threw his receivers more times than I care to think about) he rushed 6 times for 21 yards (he showed flashes of post-prison Michael Vick type talent) He did manage (in spite of his own misfires) to get the Raiders within field goal range to tie the game, but hapless rookie place kicker, Eddie Carmona missed from 36 yards (Sebastian Janikowski, was wide right on a 47 yd. attempt) Matt Leinart completed six passes to the same receiver (undrafted free agent Rod Streater) but failed to get The Raiders into the endzone.

Actually, I'm just thankful Leinart saw some playing time that didn't end with him being placed on the disabled list. Darren McFadden returned to action and appears to be healthy (he always appears healthy during the first half of the season) McFadden started out hot, running the ball for a 4 yard gain, pulling in an 18 yard reception and then reeling off an 18 run, only to see his efforts go for naught when Carson Palmer threw an interception to Gerald Sensabaugh.

 

Kyle Orton on the other hand looked good, taking Dallas 61 yards down the field to set up the only score of the game. Tony Romo played sparingly, but was no more effective than Carson Palmer.

It is what it is, pre-season exhibition football. This however was a game that they shouldn't have charged admission to attend, or at the very least given Oakland fans their money back. This  was a sloppy contest, even the replacement refs stunk up the place.

In fact the only ones in the stadium that seemed to be in mid-season form were The Raider fans. (they booed Pryor a couple of times when he missed wide open receivers by a country mile) I'll say it now, Terrelle Pryor might be better suited at another position, to quote Brian Urlacher (sort of) as a Qb. "he's a good running back" The former Buckeye was known for tucking it in and running the ball in college, but this ain't college. 

The defense actually held up throughout the entire game and avoided the classic and obvious "dumb penalties" for the most part. But, of course The Cowboys' lack of offensive momentum and silly mistakes made the Raider defense look somewhat competent. I did like what I saw from the defense, Jason Tarver looks to have them on the right track. Although to be honest, anything is an improvement over last season's matador defensive schemes.

Raider Notes: There was a moment of silence observed before the game for former Raider Ben Davidson. The linebacker great passed away last month. The Los Angeles Times titled its report on his passing "Ben Davidson dies at 72, Oakland Raider, fixture in beer commercials" Ben was larger than life and nobody epitomized the Raider spirit like Ben with his throwback handlebar mustache and take no prisoners approach.

His helmet spike on a prone Len Dawson, led to an all out brawl between the Raiders & Chiefs and to an NFL rule change regarding personal fouls, making a distinction between fouls called during the play and fouls called after the play (with KC up 17-14, Davidson's hit and the resulting melee led to offsetting fouls that nullified a Chief's first down, The Raiders got the ball back and tied the game on a George Blanda field goal) 

Davidson a native of Los Angeles was attending East Los Angeles Community College on a basketball scholarship (he stood 6' 8" tall) when the football staff convinced him to give the gridiron a shot. He went on to star at The University of Washington and played for The Packers and Redskins before landing in Oakland. He finished his career with The Portland Storm of the World Football League.

John Gruden called the game for ESPN and bored us all night long with his "Raider memories" Here's a memory for you Gruden, you cocksucka!, remember the time you bolted for Tampa Bay and then beat us in the Super Bowl because we were stuck with your dull witted offensive coordinator Bill Callahan?  Callahan was such a clueless asshole that he failed to change the offensive signals and The Tampa Bay defense (led by Warren Sapp) picked us apart. 

Let's not forget that Barrett Robbins fucking flaked out and pulled a drug fueled vanishing act a few days before the Super Bowl. (Robbins was recently added to the roster of former Raiders doing prison time, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for violating his probation in Miami-Dade county) So fuck you very much John Gruden, it's because of you that every Raider game now takes on the appearance of a tawdry Halloween haunted house and invariably leads to a photo op for some meat head dressed up in a Darth Raider costume.

Join us next week as I break down the road game against The Arizona Cardinals. It should be a doozy, the Arizona crackers are salty, coming off  a loss to Kansas City. This will be Arizona's third exhibition game, they've lost the first two and head coach Ken Whisenhunt is threatening to leave his starters in for the entire game if necessary. "When they get it right, maybe they'll come out" Whisenhunt has always been a bit of a red ass, which makes him a hero in this sun baked myopia.

I now take my leave with a song,  ♪ "Oh Arizona... accordions playing through the broken glass, ♫ swing low Arizona, you got the weight on your shoulders, that's breaking your back. ♫  I'm from a new land, I come to you and see all the ruin, what are you doing.... Arizona?  Remember Raider fans, Arizona is the new Alabama, shame on any Raider fan that makes that road trip and spends his hard earned money to finance the machinery of hate.

Here's the depth chart for The Raider's offense, cuts are coming so this is subject to change in a hurry. 

Quarterback Carson Palmer      Matt Leinart    Terrelle Pryor Kyle Newhall-Caballero

Wide Receiver 1 Darrius Heyward-Bey Jacoby Ford Duke Calhoun Eddie McGee

Wide Receiver 2 Denarius Moore  Juron Criner Rod Streater Derek Carrier

Running Back Darren McFadden Mike Goodson Taiwan Jones Lonyae Miller

Fullback  Marcel Reece           Owen Schmitt  Manase Tonga   Rashawn Jackson

Tight End  Brandon Myers            David Ausberry Richard Gordon Tory Humphrey

Left Offensive Tackle Jared Veldheer Zach Hurd Kevin Haslam Dan Knapp

Left Offensive Guard  Cooper Carlisle Tony Bergstrom

Center            Stefen Wisniewski  Colin Miller Nick Howell

Right Offensive Guard Mike Brisiel Alex Parsons Lucas Nix

Right Offensive Tackle Khalif Barnes Joseph Barksdale Ed Wang