Raiders must find a way to win the turnover battle

By Anthony Carroll  |   Friday, September 30, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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Five teams are winless thus far in the NFL season: Oakland, Baltimore, Houston, Arizona, and Green Bay. However, looking beyond the win/loss and column and exclusively at overall performance, the Oakland Raiders are playing much better than an 0-3 ballclub. Week four's matchup at home against Dallas provides Oakland with their most winnable game to date.

Dallas (2-1) has edged out two relatively weak opponents thus far this season-San Diego (1-2) and San Francisco (1-2) by just a combined seven points. Last week's comeback victory across the Bay sparked Coach Bill Parcells to keep his team on the West Coast for the entire week. Already 2-0 on the road, Dallas has hopes that his decision to remain in the Bay Area will help them jump off to an early 3-0 road record.

Sunday's game will provide plenty of action, as Dallas' fourth-ranked offense will collide with Oakland's eighth-ranked offense. At the helm are two fantasy team studs: Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe-ranked third in NFL passer rating with a 103.7 rating, and Oakland's Kerry Collins-fifth among all NFL quarterbacks with 95.9 rating. Additionally, each team brings a top five NFL wideout to the playing field in second-ranked Randy Moss and fourth-ranked Terry Glenn. Already, Moss and Glenn have amounted for 679 yards and three touchdowns.

Who will get the best of this offensive collision? The answer is far from obscure: It is simply the team who forces the most turnovers. A shift in the control of the ball will not only swing field position, but also change the momentum of the entire game. Forcing the opponent's offense to turn the ball over is something the Oakland Raiders have struggled with for several years. However, if they can manage to win the turnover battle on Sunday expect Norv Turner's high-powered offense to control the tempo of the game.

Winning the turnover battle is particularly imperative for Oakland, who holds the home field advantage in the matchup. Starting drives inside the opponent's 50-yard line will bring the home crowd into the game. Even if Oakland is forced to punt the ball away, All-Pro punter Shane Lechler will have the opportunity to pin the Dallas offense inside their own 20-yard line and closer to the dreaded Black Hole-a place where even Hannibal Lector would have trouble fitting into.

Look for the winner of this matchup on Sunday to be the one who comes out of Oakland with more takeaways then their opponent.

Key Offensive Comparisons:

Drew Bledsoe: 63/98 850 yards, 6 TD's, 2 INT's
Kerry Collins: 63/116 873 yards, 6 TD's, 0 INT's

Terry Glenn: 14 receptions, 336 yards, 1 TD
Randy Moss: 15 receptions, 343 yards, 2 TD's

Julius Jones: 74 attempts, 259 yards, 3 TD's
LaMont Jordan: 49 attempts, 148 yards, 1 TD
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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