Raiders- Jets Game 3

As I was watching highlights of Raiders vs. Jets, it suddenly dawned on me, I've seen this before. Years have passed since Chuck Bresnahan's previous stint as Raider defensive coordinator, but his imprint remains the same. Under Chuck the Raider defense was known for being stingy in the red zone and toughness. We didn't see that against the Bills, but it was a different story when the Raiders met the Jets this last Sunday. The defense which Hue Jackson had to implore not to get down on itself after the loss to Buffalo did a complete turnabout. On this glorious Sunday, they played like barbarians, they stormed the Jets and left them bloody and dazed. 

When Chuck was hired, I went on The Silver & Black Raider website to gauge the reaction of Raider fans.  I sent in my comment "That's a good hire... Go Raiders!" (Raider fans often end their conversations with "Go Raiders" just like Auburn fans do with "War Eagle") I soon got a reply from a NoCal fan "Sure! if you like a defense that gives up crucial third & longs" another fan chimed in "If you like disorganized, grab ass defense and penalty flags, Chucks's our guy, Go Raiders!"  Tough crowd, but it's all true, Bresnahan's schemes can be maddeningly rife with inconsistency. Although, more often than not the defense will get the job done, it just won't be pretty to watch.

In front of a rare sellout crowd, the Raiders scored two touchdowns within 42 seconds late in the third quarter to pull away from the Jets. Darren McFadden, who is starting to establish himself as one of the best running backs in the league finished with 171 yds. rushing, and two touchdowns. The Raider defense coming off a debacle in Buffalo, hounded Mark Sanchez leaving him little time to woof down another sideline hot dog like he did his rookie year.  An act that didn't go down well with the Raiders or their new head coach Hue Jackson.

By the time the game was over Sancho Panza had been sacked four times and was nursing a broken nose. Roughing him up was part of the Raiders game plan. For his part, Sanchez was philosophical about the painful loss: “I just feel like they’re a revamped Raiders group,” Sanchez said. “We had momentum on our side, we let them hang around at halftime then they came and knocked us around a little in the third quarter.” Jackson expressed his feelings “That made me feel good, I'm glad he could see it, especially after what he did a couple of years ago, eating a hot dog.” 

There's no bigger crybaby than the bully who gets bullied. After the Raider defense left his Qb. looking like a mugging victim, Rex Ryan protested loudly " "Our guy gets a broken nose, I don’t think there was a flag," Ryan said. "I think he must have got hit in the chest and broke his nose."

Coach Ryan then added that Raider defender Kamerion Wimbley deserved a penalty or worse for the hit.

The last time I checked, this was the same N.Y. Jets team that Bart Scott, NFL bad guy plays for. As for Sanchez he'll survive, although he may have to wear a protective face shield for a while.

Raider Notes:

Raider Qb. Jason Campbell was 18 for 27 for 156 yards passing. The Raider offensive line has allowed just two sacks this season. The re-built line has been anchored by the play of rookie Stefen Wisniewski,  "We know what we have here," Wisniewski said. "It's just a matter of trying to get everyone else to see that. Kevin Boss made his Raider debut by catching a 28 yd. pass to set up a Darren McFadden touchdown run. 

Big plays from a pair of rookies, Denarius Moore scored on a reverse that at first appeared to go nowhere. Taiwan Jones recovered a fumbled kickoff by Antonio Cromartie which led to a Michael Bush touchdown, putting the Raiders up 31-17 early in the fourth quarter.  An old Raider nemesis, ex-Charger LaDainian Tomlinson, who has had some career days against the Raiders, tried hard to spoil the party. Tomlinson broke a tackle and sprinted 74 yds. to the 1yd. line setting up a Sanchez td. dive. L.T. later caught an 18 yd. td. pass, his 26th career touchdown pass against the Raiders and 160th overall. 

The Quote machine was busy Sunday: 

“They’re a physical football team and I felt like that played right into our hands,” Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. “Because we’re pretty physical up front on the offensive and defensive lines. Any time a team wants to come in and play that type of game with us, I like our chances all the time.”  

“Let your players make plays,”  Hue Jackson said. “That’s what I’m trying to create here. I’m going to create an environment where our great players can do something special.” 

“It was a statement but you can’t get too full of yourself because Tom Brady is coming in next week and they lost to the Bills,” defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said.

That's right! next week The New England Patriots come to town. A week ago I didn't like our chances against them, but now I see that game as a toss-up. Tom Brady threw four interceptions against the Bills, proving that he is after all... a mortal man. 

Highlights: Darren McFadden, is now an elite running back in this league, but we already knew that. I predict that his jersey and number will replace that of Warren Sapp as the most popular with Raider Nation fanatics.

Lowlights: This week it was all good

The Other Side:  Broken nose and all, Mark Sanchez completed 27 of 43 passes for a career high 369 yds. He pulled the Jets within a touchdown late in the game, with a td strike to Plaxico Burress. He also ran for one touchdown. 

New Mexico Football Report

"We had a divided and apathetic fan base," UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs

UNM 45  Sam Houston St. 48

An overtime loss to Sam Houston St. (a FCS school, albeit a good one) by the score of 48-45, did not get Locks fired. A close heartbreaking loss coupled with the Joshua Butts fiasco and continued regression by The Lobos on the field is was what did Locksley in. A narrow Lobo victory and maybe Mike gets by, a decisive win by the Lobos and the entire matter gets swept under the rug. But, the Lobos didn't win, and it's starting to look like they won't win any games this season.

The Mike Locksley era is over. Defensive Coordinator George Barlow will run the team for the remainder of the season. Paul Krebs does not have a black eye or broken jaw, so the firing went about as well as can be expected. Let's take this moment to remember Mike..... on second thought, fuck him! Although, I would like to thank Joshua Butts, a high school classmate of Locksley's son Meiko, for his role in getting Locks run off.  Butts was pulled over by APD on his way to the game for speeding after almost hitting a pedestrian.

Butts had been drinking and failed a field sobriety test. He told police that he's from Chicago and had been brought to New Mexico to play for the Lobos. The car he was driving is owned by Mike Locksley and registered to Mike & Kia Locksley.  Reports surfaced that Meiko uses the car and that he either allowed Butts to drive it or Butts took it without permission. If Butts were an actual UNM recruit it would be a major NCAA violation, except he's not a recruit and is not associated with the football program, outside of being Meiko's homeboy.

Sam Houston St. came into town undaunted at the task of taking on a Div. 1 (FBS) school on their home turf. The Bearkats arrived with a 2-0 record and lots of swagger. Rightfully so, because they had a secret weapon in Tim Flanders, a man who will play in NFL one day.  For the Lobos this was billed as the game they would win, and when Deon Long returned the opening kickoff for a td, that certainly appeared to be the case. The Bearkats however came back to score twice and take a 14-7 lead, it was all rock 'em sock 'em football after that.

A 54yd. td. strike from Tarean Austin to Deon Long just before halftime pulled the Lobos even at 21 In the second half the Lobos had no answer for Tim Flanders. He would finish with a career-best 194 yards on 30 carries, 5 tds, including the game winner in overtime from four yards out. For UNM Deon Long had nine receptions for 209 yds. and 378 all purpose yds, which is a school and Mountain West record. With the clock running down, Long capped an 80 yd. drive with a td. catch to send the game into overtime. The two teams combined for 1,075 yds. of offense and not one lick of defense.

In overtime, The Lobos settled for a field goal after their drive stalled at the four yard line, James Aho then chipped in a field goal.  With their first win of the season and just their third in three seasons within reach, the Lobo defense couldn't stop the Bearkats, who needed just four downs to score the winning touchdown. This was the Lobo's sixth loss in their last seven homecoming games and as fate would prove, Locksley's final game as Lobo head coach.

NMSU 24  San Jose St. 34

The Spartans were riding a thirteen game losing streak, the longest in the nation for FBS schools. San Jose St. had not defeated an FBS school since 2009 when they beat The Aggies 13-10. So, who strolls into town minus  Qb. Andrew Manley (who is out for the season with an ACL injury) That's right! The NMSU Aggies, on the road in search of their lost mojo. By the end of the game, the Aggies would prove to be the magical cure-all for what ailed SJSU football.

Matt Christian took over the Qb. duties for the Aggies and damned if he didn't pick up right where Manley left off. Christian threw for 238 yds. and 1 td while giving NMSU the added weapon of having a mobile Qb. The Aggie running game which was non-existent against UTEP suddenly came to life. Rb. Kenny Turner registered 129 yds. rushing with 1 td.  Matt Christian carried 13 times for 58 yds. Taveon Rogers continues to shine at wide receiver, he had 5 receptions for 120 yds, but no tds for Mr. Rogers this week.

After finishing the first half tied up at 10, the Aggies came out slinging the pigskin. Following a San Jose St. touchdown that put them up 17-10, NMSU scored twice to pull ahead 24-17. That's all the points the Aggies would get as SJSU's defense clamped down.  Spartan Sr. Rb. Brandon Rutley overpowered the Aggie defense rushing for 209 yds on 33 carries, including a 66 yd. scramble for a touchdown. When Rutley blasted into the end zone late in the third quarter, it gave San Jose St. not just their first lead of the game, but for the first time this season. 

The Spartans scored 17 straight points to put the Aggies away. The Aggies played two and a half good quarters, but the last half of the third quarter and the fourth quarter belonged to San Jose St. Brandon Rutley was the key, the Aggies never stopped him and this allowed Spartan Qb. Matt Faulkner to pick the Aggie pass coverage apart. Faulkner had all the time in the world as NMSU failed to register a single sack.  

The Aggies at 1-3 now face winless in-state rivals UNM, and once more it's a must win game.  DeWayne Walker has had the Lobo's number, or I should say he had Locksley's number. With Mike's departure anything can happen. Will the Lobos rally around interim head coach George Barlow and get pumped up for the Aggies, or are they slated for a long death march towards an almost certain winless season?.... to be continued!

On paper the game looks like a toss-up. Neither defense is capable of stopping anyone and both teams have trouble running the ball. UNM has a potent offensive weapon in Deon Long while the Aggies answer with Taveon Rogers. Tarean Austin is a better runner, but Matt Christian is a better passer. If Kenny Turner shows up and runs like he did against SJSU, the Lobo's are screwed. The Aggie receiving corps is much deeper than the Lobos and given time, Christian will find them.

This Is the End... My Friend

Are Lobo football fans fair weathered friends? The question came up again this weekend as Mike Locksley was officially dismissed as UNM head football coach. Rocky Long upon casting his alma mater aside, used similar words to describe the local gridiron aficionados. Dennis Franchione, Joe Morrison and Joe Lee Dunn also brought up the question of fan loyalty, attendance and financial commitment.

It's not a fair question of course, since we've suffered nothing but unfair weather for so long. In all actuality, Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico owe the Lobo football team nothing. They have the backing and facilities to compete against teams on their level. Should this infrastructure be upgraded in order to compete with the football powers of the BCS? The good years have been few and far between, there is no reason to believe that pouring more money into Lobo football would produce a better product on the field.

When Mike Locksley was hired we were sold a bill of goods. Mike was the answer, he would take us to another level, which he did do, just in the wrong direction. Lobos fans had every right in the world to expect a competitive football program under Locksley. It never happened and he never owned up to his shortcomings, which only made his job harder. Mike Locksley is an obstinate man, not to say he's determined or driven, just hard  headed and dull. He was never cut out to be a head coach, Locks took the job for the same reason a grifter scams a sucker... the payout, or in his case the buyout. 

To ask the community to put down their hard earned cash, in times of economic uncertainty, in one of the poorest states in the country is delusional. Steve Alford and Mike Flanagan are worth every penny UNM pays them, because they produce winners. Locks on the other hand was, as we like to say in New Mexico "Stealin' Paychecks." The fans and the entire community soured on him the moment he attacked an assistant coach. What kind of man does that, what kind of man resorts to violence when dealing with those under his charge?  A man who was supposed to be a leader and a mentor, instead became the subject of ridicule across the country. 

UNM is a progressive institution, and the thought of firing a black coach left Paul Krebs, the Regents and everyone else frozen with fear and indecision. Rather than endure the possible outcry of racism (and a hefty buyout) that would follow Mike's dismissal, they gave him free reign to ruin the football program.

Race has never been a factor, it's about incompetence. Everything that Rocky Long and UNM built up over the course of eleven seasons, Locks destroyed in one. Yet, he got two more seasons and if not for Joshua Butts driving under the influence and almost hitting a pedestrian, he still had a couple more to go.

At least they restructured his buyout clause, and the violations surrounding the Butts incident may reduce that payment even more. Chalk this up as a lesson well learned, one that I thought we had learned with Joe Lee Dunn or Mike Sheppard. Whenever the Lobos hire a head football coach and he starts out with back to back seasons of fewer than 2 wins, it's not going to work out, let him go. Fuck! we never learn or listen to our own advice. Now!, will someone please call Rich Rodriguez and see what he's up to these days. 

My Short List of UNM coaching candidates

1. Rich Rodriguez

2. Jim Tressel

3. Mike Lynch

4. Mark Mangino

5. Dennis Franchione

6. Vince Lombardi

Get to crackin' Paul Krebs, I've made the job easy for you.

Keep your head down, the shit has hit the fan!

Raiders- Bills Game 2

Perhaps buoyed by having stopped Denver's "My Little Pony" rushing game, the Raider defensive unit came into the Buffalo game with just a hint of that old swagger. Hue Jackson's rebuilt bully squad was feeling  it on Sunday. Although, by the time the game ended and they were on the losing end of an improbable 38-35 loss, their mood had gone south. Most were wondering what had gone terribly wrong and Jackson was imploring them not to point fingers at one another. 

The Raiders had The Bills on the ropes 21-3 at halftime, the game seemed well in hand. Then, it all came tumbling down. Ryan Fitzpatrick found his mark and he shredded the Raider pass coverage.  His quick reads and release  stymied the Raider pass rush all day long. The Raider D, which had five sacks against Denver, never got to Fitzpatrick. The Bills marched into the end zone on each of their five second half possessions. The head shot came in the form of  a six yd. td. catch by Buffalo's David Nelson with 14 seconds left on the clock.

  

After holding Denver  to 38 yds. total rushing, The Bills ripped Oakland for 217 yards on the ground. This led to 25 first downs in the second half for Buffalo. Sloppy coverage, miscommunication, cheap penalties and missed tackles killed the Raiders defense. Tommy Kelly said it best:  “In eight years, we have never been up on anybody 21-3 and lost. We have never been up on anybody 21-3 that many times since I’ve been here. It’s just a real tough pill to swallow. Real tough.”

At the very end, Oakland still had a chance to win, as Jason Campbell launched a hail mary pass into the end zone. Rookie WR Denarius Moore had the ball stripped from his hands by Bills defender Da'Norris Searcy. In a strange turn, the play was reviewed by officials after the game in a mostly empty stadium, it was ruled an interception. Watching from nearby Richard Seymour dryly added:“We’re the Raiders—you think we’re going to get that call?” 

Buffalo gals... go 'round the outside

Raider Notes:

Denarius Moore broke out in a big way, he had five catches for 146 yds. and 1 td. Yes! Raider fans, you can believe the hype about Mr. Moore. Darren McFadden scored twice and had a total of 143 yds. rushing from scrimmage. Jason Campbell was 23-33 passing for 323 yds and 2 tds.  Having game officials at practice made a difference. The Raiders, who were flagged 15 times for 131 yds. against the Broncos, had 8 penalties for 85 yds. against The Bills.

There's plenty of quotes: “Not a whole lot to say other than that effort isn’t going to be good enough,” said Richard Seymour,  “We didn’t seem to give the offense any help in the second half. That’s on us. It isn’t good enough.” he added.  Hue Jackson had some thoughts: “Good job by them, bad job by us,” Jackson hit on a common theme  “When it’s all said and done, we did not finish the game.”  

The Raiders can't dwell on this loss, they're hosting the New York Jets in their home opener next week. That will be followed by a home game against New England and a trip to Houston to face the Texans. That's a tough stretch against some of the NFL's best teams. 

Highlights: Denarius Moore, he's for real. Jason Campbell, Darren McFadden.. the offense did enough to win the game. They scored 35 points and were within a hail mary of pulling it out!

Lowlights: The Defense, all of it, the line, backs, safeties, corners and coaches

The Other Side: Ryan Fitzpatrick, he's a Harvard man with a hot hand!

New Mexico Football Report

UNM 13  Texas Tech  59

As the sun set on a long day, it also set on Mike Locksley. The Lobo head coach stood in the fading sunlight, shaking his head and staring towards the horizon. The answer is somewhere out there... an assistant coaching job... peace of mind. But, in reality there is only the unrelenting pressure brought on by failure. The UNM football squad failed miserably on both sides of the line. 

During the Lobo's plunge into the deep pit of college football despair, Mike Locksley has not come off as a sympathetic figure. Yet, during this game I felt sorry for him. It was an agonizing contest, made even more painful by two prolonged game delays due to lighting strikes within the six mile safety zone mandated by UNM for outdoor events.

Although this was the Lobo's third game of the season, it was the first nail in Locksley's coffin.  There is no coming back from this, a 59-13 shellacking at the hands of a youthful and inexperienced Texas Tech squad. The time for Mike to leave has come and gone and now has come again. After a close loss to Colorado St. to open the season, the Lobos have regressed. Mind you, in Arkansas they played a ranked team, but a better showing was expected against Tech.

It was as if the UNM defensive unit wasn't even out on the field. Tech quarterback Seth Doege set an NCAA record for completion percentage for those with 40 or more completions. Doege finished 40-for-44 for 404 yards and five touchdowns. For Doege and Red Raider wide receiver Darrin Moore it was a Saturday in the park. They could've been playing Frisbee football, Doege was untouched the entire game. Moore caught nine passes for 118 yards and three tds. for the Red Raiders

Lobo fans had to wait out interruptions of 51 minutes in the first half  and 44 minutes coming out of the half time break. Although by halftime the stadium had emptied out and only the diehards and foolhardy remained. The game was essentially over after the first delay, the Lobo defense which had ample time to rest and re-group instead was plagued by a multitude of missed tackles.  “Obviously, very disappointed in how we performed today,” coach Mike Locksley said about the defense.  

WR Deon Long had three catches for 139 yards, he's the only Lobo receiver with the skills to make things happen for the passing game.  RB Crusoe Gongbay led the Lobos with career highs of 14 carries for 61 yards and 1 td. He also had a 21-yard reception. It would be wise to hand the ball off to Crusoe, since James Wright (who rushed 7 times for 19 yds.) just can't produce much more than 2 yds. per carry.

Up next for the Lobos is Sam Houston St. an FCS school. And it goes without saying, if they don't beat the Bearkats, they're looking at a winless season. A season that started with the hope of maybe three or possibly four wins is reduced to a must win game against a D-2 school.

NMSU 10  UTEP 16

This game was "paper bag with eye holes" ugly. The Aggies coming off an inspiring victory over Minnesota of The Big  10, were primed to pound the Miners. That didn't happen, instead the two slugged it out in a schoolboy alley fight that neither seemed capable of winning. Ultimately it would take a trick play and some key Aggie miscues to settle the contest.

UTEP got three field goals from Dakota Warren to stay in it and then scored the game winner on a fake punt that saw Joe Banyard race 60 yds. into the end zone, game over, thank you for coming.

Aggie Qb. Andrew Manley was 20-37 passing for 242 yds and 1 td. The "Go-Deep" Aggie offense stalled when UTEP unleashed the hounds. With no NMSU running game to speak off, Manley found himself on the receiving end of six brutal sacks. 

NMSU was inside the UTEP five yd. line, three times and came away with just one field goal. New Mexico State couldn’t establish a running game, rushing for just 16 yards on 29 attempts. Robert Clay led Aggie rushers with 10 carries for 11 yds. That's an average of 1.1 yd. per carry, if they had handed off to him 100 times, he would've picked up 100 yds., shame on them.

This is Aggie football in a nutshell. Coming off a huge win (albeit over a weak Golden Gopher squad) facing their arch-rivals, with everything going their way and every reason in the world to win, they laid a big fat egg. It's an enigma, what does it take to turn this around? The Aggie defense which was suspect after the season opener has come around, but now the offense is starting to sputter.

It was NMSU's game to win, the Miners as always, are off to a slow start. UTEP's passing game is anemic, hardly "The Flying Miners" of lore.  Back to back wins going into a game with WAC weakling San Jose St. equals: three game winning streak. The big "mo" was there with its thumb out, waiting to hitch a ride with the Aggies. The Aggies let one get away on their home turf, they can't do that against San Jose St on the road. It's a must win game for NMSU, a loss here and they're looking at yet another two win season. Taveon Rogers still has the hot hands, he had  5recs. for  69yds. 1td.

Breaking News!

Aggie starting Qb. Andrew Manley, who was injured on the Aggies' final offensive play of the UTEP game Has been diagnosed with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will miss the remainder of the campaign. Manley had taken the reins of the Aggies' offense, and was well on his way to a highly productive season. Matt Christian will replace him as starter. NMSU head coach DeWayne Walker, announced that Manley, may qualify for a medical redshirt, which would allow him to return next season as a sophomore.

Thus, the sun sets on Mike Locksley & Andrew Manley.... adios amigos

Raiders- Broncos Game 1

As I suspected the Raider defense was sandbagging during the entire pre-season. They came out ready and managed to stop Denver when it counted. With that said, the game was way closer than it should have been, 23-20. That old albatross: penalties, showed up early and stayed late. The Raiders committed 15 penalties, which kept Denver in the game.

Jason Campbell did what a Raider Qb. needs to do: help us win, don't help us lose. (I'm looking at ya' JaMarcus, you fucking oxygen thief.) Sebastian Janikowski kicked an NFL record-tying 63-yard field goal, three crucial points that turned out to be the difference in the game. There were breakdowns on both sides of the ball and there were penalty flags thrown, including one offensive series where The Raiders drew 3 straight flags. 

The refs spent a good part of the game breaking up scuffles throughout the chippy encounter. Rolando McClain narrowly escaped an ejection after throwing a sucker punch at a  hapless Bronco lineman. Which I attributed to the ongoing process of building a bully.  To help fix the penalty problem, The Raiders have brought in actual officials to officiate at practice this week. Hue's thoughts on the penalties? "Obviously, we committed them," Jackson said. "It's something we have to correct." I had my doubts about Jackson early on, but I'm starting to catch on to his way of thinking. 

Going into the game The Broncos had every reason to believe. Old school head coach, John Fox (a former Raider assistant) seemingly had injected them with some of that old "Anus of the Rockies" swagger. Meanwhile, the Raiders were 0-4 during the exhibition schedule and at times looked incapable of winning a single game this season.  Which once again proves that the pre-season is an indicator of absolutely nothing.  

Kyle Orton was ineffective and had trouble hooking up with any of his receivers other than Brandon Lloyd. In Orton's defense, he has no running game to support him and the offensive line was..... to say the least, offensive. His struggles led to Donkey fans booing loudly and chanting for Tim Tebow. For some Denver fans that wasn't enough, after the game a group of them announced that they would purchase space on billboards demanding that Tebow be anointed the starting Qb.  

As one despondent Denver fan put it: "We used to be a team that if we weren't in the Super Bowl hunt, it was a losing season." The fans had set aside $10,000 to use, if and when the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl. The fans reason that with Orton at the helm those chances are nil. So, they'll blow it on a couple of billboards, which is better than spending it on crack & whores. Kudos to Josh McHoodie, for stomping the Broncos into a mud puddle of mediocrity. Otherwise, we wouldn't have all this drama to keep us entertained.

Raider Notes:

It's the Buffalo Bills on the not yet frozen tundra of upstate New York next week. Consecutive road wins would be a nice way to start the season, Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bills starting Qb. might be thinking otherwise.  A sloppy win over a bad team is still a win. The Raiders are now 8-0 over their last eight divisional games.  The Raider running game finally came to life in the form of Darren McFadden, while the pass attack was hit and miss. Punter Shane Lechler, added a 77-yard punt in the fourth quarter, tying a team record that has stood longer than many Raider fans have been alive.. 

The Raiders (1-0) won in Denver for the fourth straight season in coach Hue Jackson’s NFL head coaching debut. Handing the Broncos (0-1) their first loss in a home opener since 2000. After struggling in the pre-season, The Raider defensive unit showed some life. Tommy Kelly, Matt Giordano (who had been cut) Tyvon Branch and Quentin Groves forced the Denver offense into making a series of  comical errors. My quote of the week comes from Bronco stalwart Chump Bailey:  “It’s very disappointing because we talk about having to stop Darren McFadden, and we don’t do anything to stop him,”  

Highlights: Darren McFadden, 22 rushes for 150 yds. Sebastian Janokowski 63 yd. fg. Shane Lechler 77 yd. punt  Matt Giordano INT.   Donks: Eric Decker punt return 90yds for a td.

Lowlights: The Raider passing game (105 yds. total)  The Donks, Knowshon Moreno 8 carries for 22 yds. before finishing the game on the sidelines. 

The Other Side: Bronco fans need to drop the awe factor when it comes to Tebow, he is not their savior. What the Donks really need is fewer cats and more dogs. (Thank you! Dick Bennett & Teddy Brusci)

New Mexico Football Report

 "We had everything before us, we had nothing before us"

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair" This is the tale of two cities, Albuquerque and Las Cruces,  two college football squads going in different directions.  We need not wait for the first snowfall to despair over the Lobos. "Now is the winter of our discontent" a pair of games into the season and they are toast.

The right thing to do, the honorable, manly thing to do, would be for Mike Locksley to just walk away.  Locks is not a FBS caliber head coach, he is in over his head, he lacks direction, imagination and leadership qualities. The man inspires only by intimidation, he can't recruit because nobody wants to play for him. In effect he has nailed his own foot to the floor and is now stuck in that one spot waiting for the hammer to fall.

College football coaches at this level operate on a different set of rules, they are given too much power for the what the schools get in return. For every Bronco Mendenhall or Chris Petersen there are a handful of Mike Locksleys. More and more they are of a brutish, arrogant nature, overly defensive and prone to verbal abuse. Sure, the same things were said about Vince Lombardi, but Locks is no Lombardi. You get away with it if you're great. Questionable coaching decisions can be overlooked if the payout is good.

DeWayne Walker, given much less to work with, competing in a lesser (and soon to be much lesser) conference is on a verge of making miracles happen. Why the difference? DeWayne Walker is a leader, NMSU has a franchise Qb. in Andrew Manley and Coach Walker inspires his players to rise up and play beyond their talent level. Other than the first half of the Ohio Univ. season opener, the Aggies have played with heart and pride. Which is something we haven't seen from the Lobos in a Long time (as in Rocky Long!)

Locks has yet to beat the Aggies and the way things look he won't beat them this year. He has been out recruited, not just within the Mountain West Conference, but within the state. DeWayne Walker has lined a Qb. stud and a corps of fearless receivers, to help maintain superiority over the Lobos. Please! Locksley, go away... these dark wretched days could be made glorious summer by your departure. 

NMSU 28 Minnesota 21

Last week I said, "Stranger things have happened, but an Aggie win over Minnesota would be very strange indeed." Well just call me Dr. Strangelove, The Aggies a team that had never been within 49 points of beating any Big Ten team pulled off what can only be called a mild upset. 

They're feeling Minnesota up north, The Golden Gophers are not a good football team. As things stand they'll be the cellar dwellers of the Leaders, Legends, Pitchers, Catchers or whatever the fuck the Big Ten calls their divisions. Knowing this takes a little something away from the Aggies' victory as does the Minnesota coach almost dying on the sideline.

The Aggies came out and throttled the Gophers. Just like Brock Lesnar in that YouTube video where he's blasting the varmints with a high caliber rifle, Gophers were flying ass end up in the air as the Aggies rolled across the gridiron. By halftime the goofy mustachioed shitkickers were up 19-3 and grinning like they had just fucked some kind of critter.

MarQueis Gray, who had sat out the entire third quarter came back in and rallied the Gophers to within a touchdown. Then with a chance to tie the game, snap up momentum and put the Aggies in their place, Gray and Minnesota choked... big time. 

Midway through the fourth quarter, Gray was stopped just short of a td on third down. The play was initially ruled a touchdown, but after a long look by replay officials the ball was placed at the one yard line.  After which, Gopher Rb. Lamonte Edwards was stopped one foot shy of the goal line by the Aggie defense.

NMSU burned five minutes off the clock on their ensuing drive, before punting the ball back to the Gophers. With Gray eating up big chunks of real estate, Minnesota marched 89 yards down the field to the Aggie 20 yd. line. Two incomplete passes brought up a 4th & ten with :20 seconds on the clock. 

That's when Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill collapsed on the sideline, thrashing his arms and legs violently in the throes of a seizure. The game was delayed for 15 minutes as Kill was attended to by emergency personnel. Once the game resumed, Gray and the Gophers still shaken by the sight of their coach going out on a stretcher, were unable to compete a pass play. This allowed the Aggies to run out the clock and claim a momentous win on the road.   

Andrew Manley was 20-31 passing for 288 yds. and 2 tds. Rb. Robert Clay carried 20 times for 93 yds and 1 td. Aggie receiver Taveon Rogers had a big game, 4 recs. for 88 yds.  2 tds. The Aggies' next game will be against their bitter I-10 rivals the UTEP Miners, who are 1-1 coming off a loss to SMU.

UNM 3  Arkansas 52

When the Lobos highlight the fact that they didn't allow any sacks (after giving up ten against Colorado St.) and didn't fumble the ball away. You know there wasn't much to talk about after Saturday's game The Razorbacks ripped the Lobos a new one 52-3, in a game that wasn't even as close as that score would indicate.

Arkansas outgained UNM 632-297 in total yardage, they dominated the Lobos in every single aspect, stopping just short of making them their prison girlfriends. There was no bright side for the Lobos, this was no moral victory (although 52 pts. is better than the 72 they gave up to Oregon in the season opener last year) 

Now we know how the Aggies felt during the Hal Mumme era. The Lobos showed up with nothing, their effort amounted to nothing and as fans we received nothing. "Obviously very disappointed in the loss" said UNM head coach Mike Locksley "Arkansas is a talented team and very deserving of their ranking" he then trailed off, almost as if talking to himself "We've still got a lot of work to do."

 UNM sophomore Qb. Tarean Austin was 15-28 passing for 162 yds. and was spelled by B.R. Holbrook who wasn't any better.  The UNM running game featured James Wright rushing 10 times for 20 yds. (a whopping two yards per carry) Crusoe Gongbay doubled Wright's average by carrying  2 times for 8 yds. 

The Lobos' next opportunity to score three points will be at home against The Texas Tech Red Raiders, a real honest to Gawd! Texas football team. Tech is well rested, coming off a bye week following a season opening win over Texas St. Univ. 

Afterwards Mike Locksley was heard to say: " A horse, A horse... my kingdom for a workhorse running back, that can carry the goddamn rock more than two fuckin' yards per carry"  And this concludes this week's performance of The Left Nut Players.... see you Tuesday with The Raider recap.

New Mexico Football Report

It's time for your New Mexico college football update...Why? because both UNM and NMSU insist on playing college football!  Season openers for both schools turned out how we expected, both lost. 

The U.N.M. Lobos:

 According to Yahoo sports The Lobos had this penciled in as a winnable game, so did I.  If you can't beat the CSU's of the college football world, on your home field, in the season opener... who can you beat? Yahoo sports goes on to say that UNM needed this win "as it seeks a six-victory season to become bowl-eligible." Let's back up a little Yahoo, what the Lobos need to do is win a game... as in singular, just win baby.

We know better, a bowl game is not a realistic goal in the Mike Locksley era. “ No doubt, we’re hurting,” said sophomore quarterback Tarean Austin, “but we’ve got to move on.”  Austin beat out B.R. Holbrook for the starting job and when he wasn't picking himself up, he flashed his raw talent. (Tarean was sacked a disturbing nine times) 

Austin can run with the ball but he also looks to pass, he was 20-31 for 179 yds. passing including one td. That's the good news, the bad news would be the offensive line's inability to protect him.  A couple of bright spots for the offense besides Austin were WR Deon Long and RB James Wright.

The defense played well enough for the offense to win the game, which they didn't due to critical mistakes and turnovers, most notably Austin's fumble in the closing seconds with The Lobos at CSU's  15 yd. line. “All of those things are correctable for us if this team continues to play with the effort that we played with." so says the ever embattled Mike Locksley.

With a trip to Little Rock and a match-up with Arkansas coming up next, Locks better hope that lack of talent is a correctable flaw. Otherwise, the Hawgs will feast on some scrawny desert dogs. Crusoe Gongbay had 5 carries for 17 yds. rushing, which is hardly note worthy, but with that crazy name, he has now become my favorite Lobo. Go Crusoe.... Go Lobos!

The N.M.S.U. Aggies:

I would say if you can't beat the Ohio U's of the world who can you beat other than UNM, but Ohio U. is not a bad football team. They ran a balanced attack, on their way to a 44-24 win over NMSU.  Aggie Qb. Andrew Manley threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns, he completed 22 passes, had one INT and was sacked three times. 

Manley a sophomore looked in charge and played with composure. It helps that NMSU has a trio of productive receivers led by Todd Lee (5 recs. 140 yds.) Taveon Rogers ( 97-yard kickoff return for a td, 5 recs for 92 yds.) and Kenny Turner (7 recs. for 93 yds.) you gotta love those numbers. 

The weakest link for the Aggie's is their defense. Lack of depth will hamper their rotation, allowing the opposition to wear them down. Missed assignments and opposing running backs breaking through tackles will become a familiar sight for Aggie fans. If injuries deplete the defensive unit even further, things will only get uglier.

The offense will have to put up big numbers every time out, just to stay in the game. Which might be hard to do given that the offensive line didn't blow anybody away in the opener. Up next for the Aggies is Minnesota of The Big 10 which is coming off a close loss to USC. Stranger things have happened, but an Aggie victory would be very strange indeed. 

Call me Mr. Helpful

Today I solve all of college football's problem

The college football season is underway and already one pretender has bitten the dust. The purple clad Horned Frogs of TCU were edged out by the Baylor Bears in a high scoring affair. The sports ticker hailed it as an upset.... but it's not. This is not the TCU of old, Andy Dalton will be sorely missed. Over the course of this upcoming season it will become apparent just how hard it is for schools like TCU to maintain the status quo. Two or three lackluster seasons and schools like TCU crash back down to earth. It's unavoidable, just look at Florida St., Miami, Notre Dame etc. 

One school that seems to defy the odds and stay at the top is Boise St. and once more they appear to be for real after rolling past Georgia at the Georgia Dome. 

The Big 12 seems to be on its deathbed, now Oklahoma is ready to bolt and Ok St. may be right behind them. Every scenario that was talked about last summer is now coming to fold.  How will this shake out? While the Big 12 could survive the departure of Texas A&M, if Oklahoma and Ok St. leave it's all over. If the Oklahoma schools stay, you bring in Tulsa, SMU and Houston. When it's all said and done the Sooners & Longhorns will still battle it out for the conference title in most sports. I can't see Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. in the Pac 12 even though that's now very likely to happen. What about the schools left out?  Baylor (MWC or Conf. USA) Kansas St. (MWC or Conf. USA) Iowa St. (MWC or Conf. USA) Kansas (would join the Big East) Missou (Big 10, SEC or Big East if all else fails)

 Boy! what the hell is wrong with you?

I still don't understand why Terrelle Pryor is serving a suspension in the NFL for NCAA violations. Is the NFL (of all people) appeasing the NCAA by doing this? I say fuck the NCAA, it's time to take that toothless tiger down. Fuck all you naysayers and traditionalists, this is where college football is headed anyhow. The time to yank the cash cow from those undeserving bastards is now. 

Dump the NCAA by transforming the BCS into a pro-league. Pay the players a salary based on a sliding scale. A starting Qb. or any player designated as a "Star" or "Franchise" would get more money. All other starters would earn a set amount, reserves would get less with adjustments if and when they become starters. If an opening day starter loses his job due to injury or demotion he still gets paid the same. Kickers would make less than anyone and walk-ons would become free agents.

The bowl games as we know them have to go, they must be incorporated into a playoff system. Let's say we have a 16 team playoff, that comes out to 15 games, so 15 established bowls will get post-season games. 16 teams, 8 games over two days for the first round, 4 over two days for the second round, the semi-finals can be held on one day and then the national championship game. 4 weeks of college playoff action and it will all be over before the NFL post season starts (by eliminating the long lay-offs between the regular season and the bowls) The title game will rotate between the same bowls and cities that are in place now, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange. 

Naturally only  the upper echelon would be able to meet these salary demands. Those teams able to pay their players would form the top tier or Div. 1. Schools unable to meet D-1 salary demands would compete as Div. 2 and pay their players less. Those schools with no hope in hell of paying anyone would stick with the NCAA and play "amateur football"  We're talking two divisions, 64 schools.  It would weed out the programs that lack financial backing to be competitive. While ridding college football of all pretenses about being an amateur sport. Like any pro franchise if properly managed it would make money for the schools & players.  

Why Yes! I am a Trojans fan, how did you know?

Raiders- Seahawks Pre-Season Game 4

Let's review the just completed pre-season, during which The Raiders went winless. The offense showed signs of life in two games, but was d.o.a. in two others. The defense was often is disarray and with few exceptions simply couldn't stop the opposition, especially on third down (long a Raider weakness) 

Kyle "Fuck Drinking Responsibly" Orton has got to be rubbing his hands with glee over the pickin's on opening day..... Ah!!! the season opener, and yes they do stack shit a mile high... in Denver.  Although the way the Raiders played during the exhibition season, who can blame the Broncos for feeling froggy.

This we know: Hue Jackson is no Tom Cable, the man is not a fire breather, he's a spin doctor spouting off all the right cliches. Every single player that bolted will be missed Nnamdi, Morrison, Gallery, Gradowski, all were key components in last year's miracle 8-8 (undefeated in the AFC West) season. We had a potential winning team in place and management let it slip away. 

There are two possible scenarios for the season opener 1. Both the offensive and defense come to life and choke out the Broncos or  2. Kyle slices and dices the Raider secondary and the Broncos roll to a blow out.  Forgive me Father...err, Al Davis, but the second scenario is more likely than the first.

Nonetheless it's the season opener and hope springs eternal. Oakland: while some say there is no there, there.  I say, The Fucking Raiders are there! what more do you need?  I too have a dream, that one day we will sneer at 8-8 seasons, nothing less than a AFC West title will suffice. I dream these things they are viable dreams. 

Raider Notes: 

I won't breakdown the final game with Seattle, what's the point? It was a repeat of the Niner game, go back and read my post on that game and insert Seahawks wherever it says Niners. Pryor was on the sideline but saw no action, just as well, he's not ready. Terrelle will now serve out his five game suspension and come back in October. The Raiders kept all eight of this year’s draft picks on the active roster. Which tells me that either someone's wrong or that The Raiders had the best draft in the NFL. Terrelle Pryor taken in the supplemental draft last month, does not count against the roster limit until after serving his suspension.

Show 'em the Door: 

The one cut that caught me by surprise was Qb. Trent Edwards. Sure, he's nothing more than a tackle dummy, but he was once a starter in this league (albeit a bad one)  Trent's exit was certain once Terrelle came on board, Pryor with zero experience still holds out more hope for the future than Trent Edwards. Lito Sheppard was let go after just one week in camp and limited playing time, other notable cuts included: Sam Williams, Stevie Brown, Bani Gbadyu, Sterling Moore, Walter McFadden & Jeremy Ware. 

What's Next? 

Look for the Raiders to sign a third string Qb. to fill in until Terrelle comes off his suspension. Former Charger DE Igor Olshansky who was cut by the Cowboys, would seem to fit the Raider mold. Rumors about Lance Briggs coming over from Chicago or Brandon Merriweather landing in Oakland are unfounded. Quote of the week: "Hue is trying to build a bully, so we're trying to live up to what he wants us to be." Samson Satele

Highlights: None...zilch...zero

Lowlights: plenty, the players cut were the ones who had a bad game. 

The Other Side: Sneaky Pete almost had a stroke when Robert Gallery went down with an injury, yep sometimes the best laid plans go down the crapper. The Seahawks with the Qb. duo of Charlie Whitehurst & Tarvaris Jackson are in for a long season.