It's Got To Be The Morning After
So yes, both the Niners and the Rai-duhs lost yesterday in typically awful fashion. But we don't think this is such a bad thing. Not a bad thing in all. In fact, we think it's a good thing: it’s just a matter of how you look at it. Take the Niners for instance; they’re now 2-10 and owner of the second worst record in the NFL. On the other hand, they're still a game out of the chase for human highlight reel Reggie Bush. And as for the Rai-duhs, well, frankly, they’re always way more entertaining when they lose anyways. There’s nothing in sports quite like the implosion of the Raiders. Plus, we got ourselves a full blown QB controversy and a coach now officially designated as "Dead Man Walking." Who doesn't love QB controversy and coaching death watches?
First, let’s go out to Monster Park, and check in on the Niners. They lost to the Arizona Cardinals, another truly awful team with truly awful uniforms, 17-10. The Niners actually had a good first half, with designated franchise savior Alex Smith showing flashes of brilliance (which we think would make a cracker jack title for the 2005 season highlight film, as much because it comes off much better than "Sucking a Little Less Than Last Year" or "Anyone Can Be QB!") with a Manning-like 11 of 12 passes for 138 yards. They also led 7-3.
It was all downhill from there. The Cards changed their defense and put more pressure on the kid and the Niners couldn't figure out a way to stop it. So much for halftime adjustments.
Yes, the team is playing better than they were in the first half of the season when they were getting clobbered on a regular basis, but the team is still not playing well. They got called for way too many penalties, blew way too many coverage assignments, and couldn't solve the Cards defensive adjustments, a problem not faced by many other teams this season. And frankly, while we like Nolan's gumption, we are starting to get the feeling he's Not Ready for Prime Time. There's no excuse for blowing all your timeouts mid-way through the second half so you have none in the last few minutes. That's a rookie move.
Now off to San Diego, the no longer "Finest City in America" where the Rai-duhs got beat up by the Chargers, 34-10. Somehow, the Raiders managed to play a game in which they held Tomlinson in check, were called for NO penalties (first time since '71) and still managed to stink on ice. The culprit is the offense, which was not how it was supposed to be when it was all drawn up. That's why Al hired supposed offensive genius Norv Turner. That's why he got all those shiny new toys during the off-season, like Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan. While Moss had 7 catches for 74 yards, nothing he did factored into anything, and Jordan got just 55 yards on 15 carries, 42 of them in the first quarter.
Once again, so much for halftime adjustments.
This, actually, is when the Raiders get more entertaining, when they lose, as silver & black rats can't flee fast enough from sinking ships. With the team way out of playoff contention, expect more finger pointing, more quitting during games, more backstabbing, more sidelines fighting, and hopefully maybe even an arrest or two.
The Raiders are already in spin mode, sending out a press release last week calling themselves the "Best Team in the AFC West" by virtue of their dominance two years ago. Ha! We half-expect Al to give a press conference in a week or so with a "Strategy for Victory" backdrop behind him. Either way, buckle up Raiders' fans; it's going to be a bumpy ride.