Previewing the Raiders’ second quarter

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, September 30, 2008  |  Comments( 90 )

Oakland Raiders
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With Lane Kiffin’s career in a holding pattern – save, of course, for the obligatory daily non-story based on innuendo from “a source” repeating his gossip for the fourth straight week – RealFootball365.com can stay on the actual football page for another day.

In a rare season that may be considered simultaneously disappointing and successful, the Oakland Raiders find themselves with a 1-3 (coulda/shoulda/woulda been 3-1) record at the end of one quarter of play: Hardly a huge hole from which to climb back into contention, though a transitioning coach may not be the best bit of rope.

Assuming – for no good reason, really – Kiffin maintains his position, a quick look at the second quarter of action for the silver and black in 2008.

Week 6: at New Orleans. Could this be Oakland’s highest-scoring game of the year? For a team averaging under 20 points per game, the antidote for an anemic offense just might be a jaunt to Louisiana to face the Saints, who are giving up 25 points each contest. A defense notoriously soft against both run and pass – New Orleans is 30th in yards per carry and bottom five in most pass ‘D’ statistical categories – the Saints should allow Darren McFadden to romp. On the other side of the ball, the pressure’s all on the Oakland secondary in facing off against a Drew Brees-led attack currently No. 1 in passing yardage. Having said that, DeAngelo Hall may come out of the bye week ready to resume his quest for the all-time single-season posterization record. Prediction: Saints in a high-scoring squeaker (unless Kiffin’s gone, then it’s Saints in a blowout and Raiders kept on board only with a late score, possibly by Justin Fargas).

Week 7: vs. New York Jets. Wow, the Raiders may be drawing these guys at the wrong time, eh? The Jets are in the middle of a nice bye sandwich right now, comfortably resting between the laugher against the Arizona Cardinals and a prospective torching to the Cincinnati Bengals. (And after the Oakland game, New York gets the Kansas City Chiefs; visualize the Jets at 5-2 ...) Brett Favre and the boys showed Arizona that they can indeed connect on the long ball, particularly, ahem, when no pass rush is forthcoming. Oakland has proven its ability on the blitz and could make Favre’s life miserable, but here’s to thinking it’ll more frequently be the other way around. Prediction: Jets in a low-scoring game, but a Raider upset would hardly be surprising.

Week 8: at Baltimore Ravens. Does Baltimore have the best defense in the league this year? Yes, but can the Ravens stuff McFadden? Might Joe Flacco vs. JaMarcus Russell be the biggest non-shootout of the season thus far? These questions answered in Week 8! Prediction: Ravens.

Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons. Ah, someone the 2008 Raiders’ own size! In the Falcons, the Raiders are presented with a beatable team roughly in the same stage of development: Facing off here are novice quarterbacks, thinness of depth and mediocre-at-best offensive lines. Like Oakland, 2-2 Atlanta has been getting outplayed after halftime, having put up just 33 points in the second halves of four matches. Prognostications this far in advance on this game are folly, but it’s not too great a stretch to assume that every team remaining on the Falcons’ schedule will get the ‘W’ against the Dirty Birds. Prediction: Raiders.

Not too much cause to be optimistic before the halfway mark in the Raider Nation, it seems. Staying on the bubble in a competitive AFC West is certain to require wins in three of these four games, and that would require a consistency – not to mention an ability to hold the line on the offense – which hasn't yet been seen from the Raiders this year.

Plus, who knows what will happen if/when Kiffin’s gone? Prediction: Al Davis and many others will be sorry when he is.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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CommentsComments: 90  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
03:03 AM
09/30/2008
REPLAY, from last nights thread a curiosity question for Raider Sensation… None of my business Raider Sensation only because...
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No.2
03:11 AM
09/30/2008
os are you kidding me? here's how i see it whoever is coaching, New Orleans torches us because drew brees will throw deangelo...
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No.3
03:15 AM
09/30/2008
SLH, it's true, that delusional paranoid non med taking poster known as raidehz most certainly called for the death of al davis...
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