Triple Covering Week 3

On the verge…
I’ve seen plenty of devastating Raiders losses in the past several years, but I nearly reached the breaking point this week.

I usually come out of losses like this week’s 24-23 disaster with some sort of optimism, but couldn’t muster any feelings of hope from what I witnessed. The Raiders committed 11 penalties for a total of 123 yards, converted on third down only four times on fifteen attempts, finished the game 1-5 in the redzone (1-3 with goal-to-go), and capped off the most sickening drive I have ever witnessed in my life as an Oakland Raider fan with 7:59 remaining in the game. Following Arizona’s second inexplicably brainless muffed punt of the game, the drive played out like this:

1-10-ARI 16 (11:38) McFadden up the middle to ARZ 12 for 4 yards (Keep this in mind throughout this sequence: the drive starts at the Arizona 16-yard line.)

2-6-ARI 12 (10:59) Gradkowski pass short right to Reece to ARZ 16 for -4 yards (Horribly thrown ball by Gradkowski towards the sideline and behind the line of scrimmage; could’ve been immensely worse.)

Timeout #1 by OAK at 10:27.

3-10-ARI 16 (10:27) Gradkowski pass incomplete deep left to Miller. PENALTY on ARZ-27-M.Adams, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at ARZ 16 (First Arizona donation of the drive)

1-10-ARI 11 (10:23) Gradkowski pass short right to Murphy to ARZ 9 for 2 yards

2-8-ARI 9 (9:39) Gradkowski sacked at ARZ 13 for -4 yards (puts Oakland in yet another difficult third-and-long)

3-12-ARI 13 (9:17) Gradkowski pass incomplete short right to Heyward-Bey (28-G.Toler). PENALTY on ARZ-28-G.Toler, Defensive Pass Interference, 12 yards, enforced at ARZ 13 (second Arizona donation of the drive)

1-1-ARI 1 (9:12) M.Bush left tackle to ARZ 1 for no gain

2-1-ARI 1 (8:25) PENALTY on OAK- Gradkowski, Delay of Game, 4 yards, enforced at ARZ 1 - No Play. (First and goal at the one. Quarterback sneak play is called. And you get penalized for Delay of Game. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW THIS HAPPENS!!! HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CALL A QUARTERBACK SNEAK??? This play, unequivocally, rendered some of the most exasperating and utterly confounding emotions I have ever felt as a Raiders fan. It all but vindicated my theory that no matter what players, coaches, or organizational employees work for the Raiders, the team will still suffer as long as Al Davis is around. The mere presence of his carcass leaves a stench over the organization. The ambiance in Oakland is irrevocable at this point until he passes.)

The drive would ultimately end with a 23-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal. Eight plays, 11 yards, 3:39 time of possession. The Cardinals gift-wrapped a touchdown and the Raiders threw it away. To make things worse, the refs gift-wrapped a game-winning field goal after a dubious pass interference call on Arizona with 1:02 remaining, but Janikowski missed the now-infamous 32-yarder.

Furthermore, the Raiders out-gained the Cardinals in rushing yards (133-119), passing yards (255-122), and won the turnover battle (4-1). Those stats alone should entail a win, but they didn’t. At this point, the Raiders have lost in every fashion possible, which should’ve led me to the breaking point. I thought it did.

However, I cooled down a little bit on Monday when my non-Raider fan friends pointed out the positives. They obviously put complete blame on Janikowski, which shouldn’t be the case, but pointed out some things that describe a “scrappy” team.

Darren McFadden did play well, and is running harder than he ever has in his NFL career. He’s third in the NFL in rushing, looks healthy, and is carrying the full load without coughing up the football. Rolando McClain is showing promise on the defensive side, Nnamdi Asomugha is solid as ever, and Bruce Gradkowski gives the team energy and gets the ball to receivers in areas where they can make plays. And in the end, the Raiders had a chance to win, albeit against the dismal Arizona Cardinals.

So, I’ll hold off my tantrum for now, only because the traits of a “scrappy” team are still visible. After devastating losses such as last week’s, the traditional scrappy team always rebounds and shows heart in the following home contest. If the Raiders do so against Houston this week, I’ll refrain from doing anything drastic.

3-0 through 3
Nobody would’ve predicted the Chiefs, Bears and Steelers to be the only undefeated teams through three weeks. But here we are, three weeks in, and the Chiefs are undefeated with a plethora of playmakers and a daunting defense, the Bears are undefeated with (“gulp” would usually be used in this space) Jay Cutler at the helm, and the Steelers are undefeated with a carousel of backup quarterbacks leading the offense.

The most striking thing about these teams is that they all seem legitimate at this point. The Chiefs’ victories may have seemed a little fluky at first, but the defense is now seemingly good enough to lead the team to an AFC West crown.

Speaking of good defenses, Pittsburgh’s is undoubtedly tops in the league. Its allowed a total of 33 points through three games, allows an average of 59.7 rushing yards per game (third in the NFL), and is single-handedly leading its team to victories. There’s no telling what this team is capable of, especially once Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension in week 5. This could conceivably be a 15-1 team.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Bears are good. The defensive line is good, the secondary tackles exceptionally, and Jay Cutler is playing well. For now. If it wasn’t for the abundance of secondary penalties and dropped interceptions by Green Bay last week, Cutler would’ve thrown at least three picks. We’ll see how long his efficiency lasts.

Cover 4
Some week 4 intrigue to chew on: SF@ATL (San Francisco’s final chance to debunk this year’s Ubiquitous Sleeper Selection); BAL@PIT (Baltimore’s chance to prove elite status/ Pittsburgh’s chance to start 4-0 with backup quarterbacks at the helm); HOU@OAK (Oakland’s last chance before I write a 2,000+ word column about the disgrace I’ve been witnessing for the past 6 years); WAS@PHI (Donovan McNabb’s return to Philadelphia against his former predecessor/ Vick’s next step towards possibly being a top quarterback and the complete quarterback that he never was in Atlanta); NE@MIA (Another primetime AFC Beast showdown. Yes, the AFC Beast. The NFC East lost its title).
Top bets of the week: PACKERS (-14.5) over Lions; FALCONS (-6.5) over 49ers; Jets (-5) over BILLS; CHARGERS (-8) over Cardinals; DOLPHINS (+1) over Patriots.