Raiders- Buccaneers Week 8

We're starting to see just where the Raiders belong in the NFL's pecking order.  Finally we can put aside all the hype of a new G.M. and Head Coach, set aside all the overblown expectations and take a cold hard look at what we actually have.  The Raiders are not a contender, nor are they better than the Dolphins and Bucs. We can however rate them above the Chiefs and Jaguars. The win over the Steelers was an anomaly, the Raiders are good for one of those every now and then.

With this in mind let's look at the second half of the Raiders 2012 schedule

Sun 11/11 Baltimore Ravens (a) (McFadden is back to being McInjured and Goodson isn't up to par, which puts the running game on life support, East Coast game) pick: Ravens
 
Sun 11/18 New Orleans Saints (h) (the Raiders had a chance when the Saints were struggling, now the Saints ain't struggling) pick: Saints

Sun 11/25 Cincinnati Bengals (a) (Carson Palmer's past catches up to him, Bengals are on track to turn their franchise around, thanks to the Raiders)  pick: Bengals

Sun 12/2 Cleveland Browns (h) (If you can't beat the Browns at home who can you beat?)   pick: Raiders

Thu 12/6 Denver Broncos (h)  (I'm an idiot and I hate the Donkeys, but I can't bring myself to pick  Oakland to spring the upset)    pick: Broncos

Sun 12/16 Kansas City Chiefs (h)  (KC isn't getting any better and with Romeo Crennel in charge, there's  a good chance they'll get even worse)  Pick:  Raiders

Sun 12/23 Carolina Panthers (a)  (Cam Newton will have alienated all his team mates and coaches by this time, it's an East Coast game however and that's bad news for Oakland) Pick: Panthers

Sun 12/30 San Diego Chargers (a)  At the rate the Chargers are going, they'll have shut it down and started sulking  by week 16     Pick: Raiders

The Raiders are 3-5 now, I have them winning three more games at the most (only the KC game is a sure bet) Best case scenario; 6-12, worst case; 3-13, most likely scenario; 4-12. You can call it what you want, rebuilding, reloading, restructuring...  when in fact it is what it is, a regression. 

The Associated Press Pro32 NFL Power Rankings, which is an attempt to create some of that BCS poll hype at the pro level, has the Raiders ranked at No.27, down from No. 25 the week before. The No. 25 Carolina Panthers and No. 26 St. Louis Rams moved ahead of the Raiders. 

The Panthers beat the No. 23 Washington Redskins 21-13 on the road, and the Rams had a bye. The teams ranked below the Raiders include  Buffalo (28)  Tennessee (29) Cleveland (30) Jacksonville (31) Kansas City (32)

Oakland Raiders  32         Tampa Bay Buccaneers   42   

Doug Martin, a rookie rushed for 251 yards on 25 carries and 4 td's. Martin abused the Raiders in a manner not seen since former Seahawks running back Shawn Alexander's 266 yds. on 35 carries in 2001.  Martin had racked up 214 total yards, 135 rushing and 2 td's the week prior against Minnesota.  He burned the Raiders on td runs of 45, 67 and 70 yds. and then for good measure added a 1 yd. td run, just because he could do whatever the hell he wanted. 

 So now we're back to where we were last season, the offense scores points while the defense allows more points than the offense can score. Raider Law: the more things change, the more they remain the same. Martin exposed the Raider linebackers for what they are... overrated. Knapp is installing his intricate offensive schemes, while opposing teams just come and bludgeon the defense to death with a sledge hammer. 

Until the Oakland defense gets right, there'll be more days like this.  In 2011 before Jason Campbell went down and after the Carson Palmer trade, the defensive unit was the weakest link. That is still the case this season, missed tackles, missed assignments  boneheaded penalties. To the casual observer there's little difference between Chuck Bresnahan's defense and Jason Tarver's. 

 Worst of all the defense is slow...... slow to close in, slow to react and slow to make adjustments. If the offense is a piece of shit Corvette rescued from some scrap yard and rebuilt with mismatched spare parts, then the defense is like Mater the tow truck, an obsolete rust bucket that only serves one purpose. At the very least they could have thrown themselves in Doug Martin's path to serve as a speed bump.

Darren McFadden left the game in the second quarter for X-rays on his left ankle. It wasn't broken, so he may return before the end of the season. Mike Goodson picked up the load but he left the game after a pass play in the fourth quarter.  The running game hasn't been that productive, so it may not matter much. Taiwan Jones could be our savior, but that's expecting too much from a man named after a country known for producing shoddy goods.

Taiwan Jones carried just one time for 2 yards and he recovered his own fumble after a short pass from Shane Lechler on a fake punt. Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune describes Taiwan as someone who "has gotten nowhere fast" It's a poke at his lack of productivity, Jones ran a  4.3 40-yard dash at his pro day, which led to Oakland drafting him. Taiwan is a running back, who runs his fastest when he's not carrying the ball. 

Fullback Marcel Reece could and should see an expanded role come Sunday. Reece is a running back who according to McDonald "has excelled out of the backfield doing just about everything but running the ball"  Coach Allen says "Whether it's running it 50 times or throwing it 50 times, we've got to do what we feel gives us the best opportunity for success"  I say let's just drop all pretense of a running game go fucking vertical again.

Why not pass 100 times and run once? our chances are the same either way. What would give us a better chance on third and long, handing off to Taiwan or just slinging the ball down field and letting the receivers chase it down? Carson Palmer completed 39 of 61 pass attempts for 414 yards and 4 td's. as he brought them back from being down 35-17. But, a rally killing  int. (he had three in all) kept the Raiders from pulling even or possibly scoring a go-ahead td. 

"Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About  my neck was hung." Interceptions have bestowed upon Carson Palmer the sullied reputation of a quarterback that can't get it done. (similar to Tony Romo) This opinion runs counter to all statistics and arguments to the contrary. Palmer is the most productive signal caller the Raiders have had since the days of Rich Gannon, yet he's haunted by failure. 

Carson Palmer has a history against Baltimore. He beat them nine times in thirteen starts while playing for the Bengals. "I don't fear any quarterback, but I'm always worried when I play Carson Palmer," said Raven LB, Terrell Suggs.  He's just blowing smoke, of all the things that worry the Ravens, the Raiders ain't one of them. Carson simply doesn't have the offensive weapons that he had at Cincinnati

Raider Notes:

The process of turning the Raiders into a normal NFL franchise is well underway, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News offered this insight into Oakland's progress. "This is what normal teams go through in normal building processes. The Raiders are trying to be a normal, rational team for the first time in decades, and Allen is trying to be their normal, rational leader" Could the Raider way come to mean normal and rational?

Former Raider Stanford Routt, was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. It was part of a defensive shake up that saw Romeo Crennel step down as defensive coordinator. Routt who signed a 3 year deal with K.C. was cut because "the relationship was not progressing", that's exactly what my ex-wife told me when we separated... Ouch!  The Raiders had made a point of going after Routt during their recent game against the Chiefs. 

Oakland is short handed at cornerback, but when Coach Allen was asked if there was any possibility of Routt returning to the Raiders, his answer was an emphatic "No!"  It seems that we'll sign all cast offs except our own and that's a sure sign of progress. Seriously Stanford Routt in less than a year has been cut by both Oakland and Kansas City, that can't bode well for his future or look good on his resume. 

Transactions & Injuries:

Shawntae Spencer is still not practicing and Richard Seymour was also on the sidelines. Neither will play on Sunday. LB Aaron Curry has returned to the active roster, he's yet to see any game action this year. To make room for Curry, Oakland waived LB Vic So'oto. Khalif Barnes also returned to practice after almost two months sidelined with a groin injury that required surgery.

The Raiders are proceeding with plans to go without McFadden or Gooden in the backfield on Sunday. Both Taiwan Jones and Marcel Reece have been prepping all week for their expanded roles. Neither McFadden or Gooden has practiced, both suffered high ankle sprains in the Tampa Bay game.