Raiders Curb Stomped in London

This was probably for the best that I missed this game since I was busy promoting the next Lakers hype video. I'm gonna do my best to Urinatingtree impression to describe this game. *Warning NSFW language*

On this week's failure, the soon-to-be Vegas Silver and Black shitshow takes its dumpster fire across the world to the outskirts of London to take on a Seahawks squad in shambles and whose team photo is literally Russell Wilson. 

Raider Nation has traveled well to Wembley Stadium for this "home game..." only to have their numbers outnumbered by the 12s or what's left of them. The chants of "SEA-HAWKS" echoed around Wembley as the Silver and Black shitshow lead by Coach Jon "Party Like It's 1998" Gruden and "$125 Million Checkdown Derek" proceeded to lay down for the Hawks for three quarters. Russell Wilson looked like the Russell Wilson of old scrambling around, tossing something out of nothing TDs. Meanwhile the defense did what it did best...becoming a doormat and letting the Seahawks running game run all over them.

But it only gets worse. The offense sputtered as the Chuckster called plays straight out of Tecmo Super Bowl (minus Bo Jackson). Spider 2 Y Banana.exe failed to run. The script isn't going as planned! Let's just run Beast Mode for three straight downs even though the O-line sucks. Checkdown Derek got poor little Cooper killed over the middle yet again. They didn't go to Jared. Finally for the first time, a Kenny Norton defense did not get burned by a mid-tier Tight End! The patchwork O-line made the Seahawk defense look like the Super Bowl XLVIII defense with a thrift shop Legion of Boom as Kolton Miller, Jon Feliciano, and Brandon Parker proceeded to fall flat on their buttocks, causing Checkdown Derek to eat a fistful of English turf. Checkdown Derek then cried in distress as he gimped over to the sidelines clutching onto his arm. The Silver and Black shitshow spent their time in London well, by putting up a mere 3 points for their U.K. faithful in which the Seahawks had the game covered like your All State insurance have you covered from mayhem. The loss was so bad that Bruce Irvin sees nothing wrong with a little Bump n' Grind to take his mind off of the embarrassment caused by his former team.

In all seriousness, the Raiders claim to be a global brand, but in three out of the four games they've been embarrassed big time in international games. How can this team be so delusional that the fans will travel to Vegas, but forget the opposing fanbase of better teams travel as well? Last year, Patriots fans overwhelmed them greatly in Mexico City. This year, the Seahawks 12s took over London. Three times out of four, the world was exposed to a glorified dumpster fire of an organization! It is a preview of their fate in Vegas when the opposing fanbases overwhelm them big time. I can't believe the sheer narcissism behind Bowl Cut Davis and Jon 10 yr, $100 million Gruden. This team, this organization is lost in the head. "We'll win a Super Bowl before we leave Oakland." Proceed to then trade your best draft pick and star defensive player for picks that may or may not pan out. Then, let's shop around Amari Cooper and Karl Joseph because you know, picks! You jackasses have torn the foundation and culture that Reggie McKenzie and Jack Del Rio built into asunder. As a matter fact go to Vegas already because you guys are a match made in heaven. Gamble away your best assets and then wake up the next day with nothing and wondering "what happened last night?" Congratulations, you played yourself! Mark Davis, you've driven this organization and this once-proud and united Nation closer to the brink of oblivion. Al Davis would be proud. 

Don't get it twisted, I still love this team. I'll still be a fan. I'll still cover the games. But I'm just done with this shitfest of a season. 11 more weeks to go until this dumpster fire gets extinguished.

*LET'S GO LAKERS!!!!! LEBRONZO!*

Patriots Dethrone Seahawks for Super Bowl Victory

Alright welcome in to a special full recap post of Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks where the Seahawks are no longer the defending champions as the Patriots knock off the Seahawks 28-24 in a wild finish thanks to a game winning drive orchestrated by Tom Brady once again and a Malcolm Butler interception in the end zone.

What a wild finish! A divine catch, a fight at the end of the game, no-names being big heroes on the grandest stage in all of football, this Super Bowl had it all. Patriots fans, you can take off all that winless since Spygate, Deflategate, etc. because giving credit where credit is due, the Patriots stood calm and collected despite being down 10 when both Seattle’s offense and defense turned it on. Once that 4th quarter hit, Tom Brady became Tom Brady and masterfully executed a game winning drive.

Seattle Seahawks

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Chris Matthews, 4 receptions, 109 yards, 1 TD. He played some hardball this game. Even though the Seahawks lost, you gotta give it up for this kind of performance. Matthews was just a special teams player all season long, and to put up these kinds of numbers in the big game is just unbelievable. The Seahawks couldn’t get anything going on offense until Wilson hit one long play to this guy to set up a Marshawn Lynch TD. With Baldwin and Kearse being shadowed by Revis, McCourtey, and Arrington, Matthews stepped up his game to give Seattle’s offense something.

Marshawn Lynch, 24 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD, 1 receptions, 31 yards. How do you not hand off to Lynch for the go ahead score with your title on the line is beyond me? Sure, the Patriots’ defense had some good highlights stopping and bringing down Lynch, but once he finally hit his stride, he was impossible to stop in the ground game. Beast Mode was on for this game and he has outrushed New England’s running backs 102-53. It’s impossible to run over a defensive line when Vince Wilfork is waiting on the other end, but still Lynch was unstoppable for the Seahawks.

(-)

Play calling in the final seconds. I touched on this while talking positive about Lynch and I’m going to ask it again, how do you not hand off the ball to Lynch? The Seahawks had an identity of running the football till the defense tires out. You have one timeout left, Lynch just got you to the half yard line or 2 yards, why not punch it in? To abandon what you usually do on offense at the goal line, I am just completely dumbfounded. Run it with Lynch down their throat, read option with Wilson, that’s something that Seattle fans will talk about for the remaining offseason.

Sportsmanship. Pass it on. If you’re going to lose, lose with class. The Seahawks defense got caught with an encroachment penalty as the Patriots were about to try and get out of their own end zone to avoid a safety. Then ensuing play, Seahawks pulled something ala Greg Schiano and all of a sudden they started a fight resulting in a 15-yard penalty. Now, you see why some people hate the Seahawks because of their lack of class and dignity. Yeah, play until the final whistle blows, but once it’s game, set, and match, take the loss and prepare for next season to come back stronger.

New England Patriots

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Tom Brady, 37 of 50 passes, 328 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs. Tom Brady joins the pantheon of the great quarterbacks with 4 rings, joining Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw. As a Raider fan I hate this guy with a passion, I can’t stand him, but this stage is no surprise to him. As you guys saw, Brady’s been announced the Super Bowl MVP. Seattle managed to get to him like once or twice, but once they get pressure on him, Brady released the ball to a receiver for first down yardage.  Aside from the two INTs, Brady has been consistent, beating Seattle’s defense with the short passes and his quick release.  Honestly, put the Brady-Manning debates to rest. I think we all know who we want when the game is on the line in the playoffs. Aside from all the hate for Brady, I can’t deny his greatness.

Julian Edelman, 9 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 7 yards. Wes who? With the game Edelman had in the biggest stage, he constantly burned the Seahawks’ pass defense all game long. I said it before, look at the tape in the San Diego game when the Seahawks had no answer for Eddie Royal, the Patriots exploited that with quick passes to Edelman. He had a chance to haul in 2 TDs, one he should’ve caught to cut the lead to three, but the Patriots eventually cut it to three with a pass play to set up a Amendola TD. This guy is the reason why Patriots fans don’t miss Wes Welker in the slot and with the game he had this game, there should be no mention of Wes Welker to Patriots fans.

Malcolm Butler, 3 tackles, 3 pass defensed, 1 INT. It’s a game of no names! If there’s one defensive we want to see from the Patriots to come up with the biggest play to seal the Super Bowl, we’d expect it to be Revis or Browner or McCourtey, but Malcolm Butler, he has his name stamped on here. Prior to that INT, he came up with a big play of deflecting a ball to Jermaine Kearse that would’ve put Seattle back into New England territory and he came up huge to make it fourth down. And in his big moment, with the game on the line, Butler picks off Wilson to give the Patriots their fourth Super Bowl championship. You can’t write a better fairy tale than that. There may be a lot of positives for the Pats, but Malcolm Butler, for sure is one of those under-the-radar positives.

(-)

Running game. Seattle’s the #1 rush defense, it’s understandable as to why New England’s running game can’t get going. They tried to ground and pound with Blount, then play finesse with Vereen and they just couldn’t get anything. Luckily for Vereen, he managed to burn Seattle’s defense in the screen game softening up this negative more. Credit to the Seahawks’ defense, they kept this running game in check.

Conclusion

Congrats to the Patriots for winning a hard fought Super Bowl. This team has gone to four straight AFC Championships, two Super Bowls in that span. It’s really tough with all those regular season games, practices, postseason games to do something like that, especially in a physical game like football. I’ll give the Patriots 100% credit for that. Their perseverance through all that plus the Spygate scandal and the Deflategate investigations, there’s not a way to summarize that kind of perseverance the Patriots had to go through. As for the Seahawks, they’ll be back and contend in the NFC West again, but that last play will be looked at forever as the play that lost them the game and a chance for a repeat. Yes, there a lot of questions for the Seahawks going forward. Is Marshawn Lynch going to stay? That’s one of the most asked questions the Seahawks have to answer once the offseason hits. Anyway, crazy game, but at the end of the day, the Patriots are the last team standing. Thank you guys for following my coverage for the 2014 NFL Season and Super Bowl XLIX. Once you guys finished reading this, we’ll go back to our normal lives cheering for our own team again and looking forward to the offseason and the draft. I’ll see you guys later.

Congrats New England Patriots Super Bowl XLIX Champions!

(photo courtesy of: espn.com)

SUPER BOWL XLIX: New England Patriots (AFC) vs. Seattle Seahawks (NFC) Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: NE 28 SEA 24

The biggest mistake ever by the Seahawks to not let Lynch punch it in after making it to the half yard line to set up a game winning TD and cap it off with the defense getting an encroachment penalty and not let Brady attempt to get out of his own end zone to run the clock out. What a crazy game with Kearse getting a reception off of his feet to set up a potential game winning TD for the Seahawks. This is a game for no names with Chris Matthews getting it going for Seattle's offense and stepping up big, but in the end, the undrafted rookie, Malcolm Butler came up big with an INT for the Patriots. The Seahawks had a chance to repeat, but not letting Lynch run for a TD on their one yard line for the go-ahead score will be looked at forever. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: NE 14 SEA 24

Seattle opened this game up just quite a little bit. The offensive execution is much better and Chris Matthews continues to have the game of his life on the big stage. Seahawks' defense is feeding off the energy of that offense getting going as they managed to pick Brady off yet again to set up a Wilson TD to Doug Baldwin. Could've had another red zone trip if Jermaine Kearse didn't drop that deep ball and that could be huge for the Patriots driving right now as they attempt to make yet another comeback orchestrated by Tom Brady.

Q2:

Score: NE 14 SEA 14

All deadlocked at 14. With the pace this game is going in, it's going to be a grudge match. The Patriots offense continued to roll with 2 TDs from Tom Brady, but the Seahawks responded back with a run TD by Lynch and a pass TD to Chris Matthews from Russell Wilson. Seattle's offense may have started slow, but they are playing the role of catch-up this quarter. When the Pats score, the Seahawks answered back. Gutsy call by Pete Carroll on that last drive to go for a TD. They call him "Big Balls Pete" for a reason. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: NE 0 SEA 0

Well, I didn't have to change the score. There's no quick score 12 seconds into the game this time. I thought the Patriots did a great job controlling the majority of the quarter offensively. They kept Seattle's defense out there with a lot of power running plays and quick throws. The Seahawks had to play "bend but don't break" defense during the Patriots' long 2nd drive and they didn't break as Jeremy Lane picked off Tom Brady to give the ball back to Wilson, Lynch, and company on Seattle's offense.

Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Post

Score: NE 14 SEA 14

Alright welcome in to the special halftime post for Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and the defending champion Seahawks where it's all tied up at 14 a piece.

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NE: Julian Edelman, 3 receptions, 41 yards, 1 rush, 7 yards. I said in my preview, the only thing that could hurt Seattle’s secondary is New England’s small, yet swift receivers like a Julian Edelman. That prediction is coming true. Sure Brady passed to LaFell and Gronk for the TDs, but Edelman has done most of his damage in the Patriots’ quick passing game to set up most of those TDs and he got a nice gain off a receiver sweep. So far, the Seahawks have no answer to figure out Edelman and the Patriots’ spread offense.

NE: Shane Vereen, 1 rush, 1 yard, 7 receptions, 42 yards. LeGarrette Blount may be doing most of the damage in the running game, but when the Patriots are looking to the screen game, they go to Shane Vereen for that. They have done that for the most part of the game, especially when Seattle’s pass rush is clamping down the pocket. Luckily for Brady’s quick release, he’s able to find Vereen in most cases and he’s able to field decent gains, especially during 3rd down.

SEA: Chris Matthews, 2 reception, 55 yards, 1 TD. First off, you guys are going to ask, “who?” This is the same Chris Matthews that fielded an onside kick to set up a game tying rushing TD by Lynch against the Packers in NFC Championship game. He’s started to come on in these few games. The Seahawks are known to pick up these no-name or undrafted players and in games like these, they answer the call. Chris Matthews is doing exactly that. Seattle’s offense couldn’t get anything, until Wilson hit a long ball to Matthews to set up the Lynch TD and another TD before time expired in the first half.

(-)


SEA: Offense, before Wilson hit that ball to Matthews, the Seahawks’ offense couldn’t get anything. Credit to the Patriots’ defense, they were winning the one-on-one press coverage, not giving Seattle’s receivers any space to get open and they have managed to get Wilson to scramble. Chandler Jones managed to get a hand on him and Revis got a hand on him. Seattle’s O-line’s got to do a better job in pass protection, especially when Wilson’s pocket collapse, there has to be that extra blocker for him to extend the play a little more.

Bottom Line


The Seahawks get the ball to start in the 2nd half after deferring. They have to ride Chris Matthews while he’s hot because that’s the only the offense can get anything big. That plus running the ball with Beast Mode and trying to get Doug Baldwin or Jermaine Kearse going should get the Seahawks’ offense to stride. For the Patriots, they have to continue to wear down Seattle’s defense with the short throws, slants, crossing routes, screen passes to give the #1 defense a tough time and once opportunity arises, start giving the ball to Rob Gronkowski. Let’s see what happens in the 2nd half.

Super Bowl XLIX Preview: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

Alright everybody, another Sunday before the Super Bowl since nobody cares about the Pro Bowl anyway, another preview. Welcome in to the True Raider Laker’s Super Bowl XLIX preview between AFC champion, New England Patriots and the NFC champion and the reigning defending Super Bowl champs, Seattle Seahawks. Like last year, I will evaluate both teams’ roster, their season, and my final prediction on who will the champion at the end of the day when it’s all said and done.

For the 2nd straight time, the top two teams will match up against each other in the Super Bowl and for the 1st time in 10 years, the defending Super Bowl champion advances to back to the big game the year after. The Seahawks will look to end all this talk that “it’s hard to repeat in the Super Bowl” and they will look to do so against the team that was the last team to win back-to-back titles in the New England Patriots.

New England Patriots

For the Patriots, the team has revolved on two people for over a decade: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick (Shady Brady and Bill Belicheat). As long as Brady is on that field, commanding the offense and Belichick is on the sidelines, the Patriots have compiled consistent winning season after season. They’ve barely relinquished the mountain top of the AFC East (2008 as the exception of course since Brady got hurt) and they have consistently added pieces to the puzzle whether its big names or under the radar names to keep contending. Of course on the defensive side, they’ve revamped their secondary with the additions of Darrelle Revis and former Seahawk, Brandon Browner add that up to Chandler Jones and a healthy Vince Wilfork to wreck the pocket and that spells a pretty good defense. On the offense, for the first time in a long time, Rob Gronkowski is 100% healthy and that Brady-Gronk duo has had defensive coordinators shaking their heads. With Gronk on the field, it opens up the passing game for the Patriots and if defenders double-team him, then that leaves either Edelman or LaFell open. This season, the Patriots have played a game of “running back roulette,” constantly switching with LeGarrette Blount, Shane Vereen, and Jonas Gray and all are capable of doing damage to defenses in the trenches.

During the season, the Patriots started real slow and I mean real slow. If you can recall Week 3 when the Raiders played them, we were expecting Brady to throw darts, but they barely scored multiple TDs and still wound up winning 6-16. The real concern was the following week in the Monday Night game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs took it to the Pats and hammered them out of Arrowhead. After that game, there was just a little turmoil in the team that the fact Tom Brady’s age is catching up and questions were surrounding Belichick whether it’s necessary to start rookie QB, Jimmy Garoppolo for evaluation. Belichick muttered the words in the press conference: “we’re on to Cincinnati” and that’s all that’s written. After that Chiefs game, New England got hot and crushing multiple beatable teams beginning with the Cincinnati Bengals in a Sunday Night game. It was like the prime example of waking up a sleeping giant and the Patriots cruised on to a 12-4 record, home field, and another AFC East division title. For a team that has been to the AFC championship game 4 times and constantly recording double digits in the win column, it’s an astounding feat. Of course we all know their situation with “Deflate-Gate” where they used underinflated balls in their AFC championship beat down to the Colts and that can especially take off some momentum riding into next Sunday if the investigation is still ongoing.

Seattle Seahawks

Wait, I already wrote about them last year. Then I realized; they’re in the Super Bowl again. The Seahawks have carried their core from last year to this year and will look to use the same winning formula in hopes for a “RePete.” The Legion of Boom is still intact. Richard Sherman is still “the best corner in the game,” Byron Maxwell has done an exceptional job taking over the departed Brandon Browner’s spot permanently and of course you have Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor flying all over the field and delivering hard hits. The Seahawks defense overall outside of the LOB is still exceptional. They may have lost a couple of key pieces during the offseason, but Pete Carroll has done a great job getting the defense to stay bulwark against opposing offenses. Speaking of offense, Seattle is still reliable on their dynamic 1-2 combo of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson, running the ball with Lynch and getting Wilson to extend plays to find open receivers like Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Luke Willson, etc. Not a lot of change except for the glaring fact that they traded Percy Harvin midseason to the Jets, especially with the way how Harvin contributed during the Seahawks’ 43-8 domination over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

A lot has happened for the defending Super Bowl champs this season. It’s safe to assume that the Seahawks had some inconsistency and some divide in the team. After their convincing opening night win vs. the Green Bay Packers, they fell flat on their back the next week in a stunning loss to the San Diego Chargers. The first week they’re like the team to beat again and then the next, it’s like they could be the third consecutive Super Bowl champion to get knocked out of the playoffs. It was a bumpy road early on for Seattle considering Arizona had firm control of the NFC West and they were looking up to the 49ers at one point for the Wild Card spot. They’ve had tough and embarrassing losses: against the Cowboys at home, against the Rams in St. Louis when the Rams sealed it on a fake punt run, the Chiefs in Kansas City. Just like the Patriots, after the Kansas City game, the Seahawks started to flip the switch and they have held opponents to a single digit score. They climbed their way back up for another NFC West division title and the number 1 seed. In the conference championship (I know everybody saw that crazy game), it looked like Seattle was dead in the water and their chances of another Super Bowl trip diminished when the Packers were leading 16-0 throughout the game. Then, through crazy special teams play and their defense keeping them alive, the Seahawks came back and won it in OT despite committing 4-5 turnovers. This team just finds ways to win when they’re down, never doubt the heart of a champion. You can’t write a better script with the Seahawks looking to win back-to-back titles and against the team that did it a decade ago and nobody has done it since.

Matchups and Prediction

Obviously Russell Wilson vs. Tom Brady is the top-tier matchup to look forward to. Wilson is undefeated against Super Bowl-winning QBs and Brady is like that final boss to beat in a video game. We’re looking at Wilson’s ability to extend plays and find open receivers vs. Brady’s ability to quickly find receivers on his quick release. Also here, it’s a battle between the best shutdown corners: Revis vs. Sherman. Those two have been trash talking to each for quite some time and there’s no better way to settle the great debate in the big game. It’s expected Revis will have his way against Seattle’s receivers, while Sherman has to look for Julian Edelman. I’m referring back to the Week 2 Chargers game where the Chargers used a small, elusive receiver like Eddie Royal to catch Sherman off guard and the Patriots are looking to that blueprint. Matchup three, Marshawn Lynch vs. ????? in terms of the running game. You can just never guess who New England’s gonna put in there as the feature back as they keep rotating. Obviously, the Patriots’ run defense is going to account for Lynch while the Seahawks’ run defense has to decrypt whoever’s starting at running back whether it’s Blount, Gray, or Vereen. And the most pivotal key matchup, Rob Gronkowski vs. the LOB or Seattle’s linebacker corps. Seattle has had a tough time covering Tight Ends all season long. Seattle’s the champion until dethroned, so there’s understandability to pick them, but I just don’t see how they can cover Gronkowski down, better yet even take him down or how the Seahawks’ receivers are going to get separation from Revis Island. As much as I really hate the Patriots, I’m gonna be honest, they have a real legit chance to knock off the Seahawks and ending their reign. In conclusion, I’m predicting the Patriots to win the Super Bowl and I’m predicting them to win big time against the defending champions.

Final Score (Prediction): NE 31 SEA 16

Raiders Commit 3 Turnovers; Costly in the Long Run vs. Seahawks

Alright, welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' 2nd NFC West matchup vs. the defending Super Bowl champs and former AFC West rival, Seattle Seahawks where the Raiders scratched and clawed back into the game in the 2nd half, but their 3 turnovers early on overwhelmed them at the end of the game as they fell to the champs 24-30.

0-8 and counting. This is probably one of the games we should've had. You consider the offense of the Seahawks, you see that they are too inconsistent. The defense did its job to exploit that, but as usual, bad teams find ways to lose and the Raiders committed costly turnovers, costly penalties and they let another opportunity squander to shock the experts and shock the NFL world to get that long lost W on the column against a good team, especially against the defending champs in their own house.

The Positives

Defense. Our offense couldn't get going early on and that put the Raiders in a massive hole. As bad as the defense is for the whole season, they've been playing a lot better. I think the personnel is starting to gel with Tarver's over the top defensive schemes, they've shown up and kept this team alive. Like I said, take away the Lynch TD's, which were capitalized on penalties, the defense kept Seattle's offense in check, allowing just 9 points on 3 field goals by Hauschka. The defender who stood out to me, 2nd year cornerback D.J. Hayden. I'm sure a lot of us are still pissed off that McKenzie reached for him early on two years ago in the draft. He's missed the first half of the season, but he showed some strides today. He almost had two picks that were unlucky: one where he could've taken it to the house and the other to keep the Raiders alive in the 4th. He had those two penalties, but you can't help his emotion to be on that field full time. He was rusty, but he showed great flashes of being that cover corner McKenzie envisioned out of him.

Mychal Rivera, 8 receptions, 38 yards, 2 receiving TDs. Rivera has sucked the last few games, he almost had a fumble this game. That took me back to his Week 2 fumble against the Texans and I was about to blow up, but luckily it bounced out of bounds. Rivera provided that security blanket for Carr this game. The rest of our receivers were held in check by Seahawks' LOB secondary or half of them since Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman played and Byron Maxwell and Kam Chancellor were out. Rivera's numbers may not be impressive, but he made critical plays to keep the Raiders alive.

The Negatives

Turnovers. Those turnovers hurt. I'll run you back to a couple, two of them were on Carr, a pick six to Bruce Irvin and another pick to Sherman and the fumble by Carrie on the kickoff that bounced into Hauschka's hands. Those proved to be a really big difference in this game and the Raiders shot themselves in the foot for that. Carr will make those kinds of rookie mistakes, especially playing on the road with a deafening crowd in the 12th man. A lot of Carr skeptics will call him out for that, but these are the growing pains we're going to endure until we surround Carr with a stellar running game and a #1 receiver that can make plays catch after catch.

Conclusion

Well this Halloween weekend blew. The Lakers lost twice, at home against the Clippers, on the road against the Warriors, and today the Raiders lose a tough one in Seattle. I'm not even 21 yet, but that kind of result makes me want to drink (I'm 20 btw). Anyway, it was going to be tough playing against that 12th man and the Raiders felt their presence, but they kept their head in the game. However, there are no moral victories in the NFL. I sound like a broken record saying that because the Raiders have come up empty the last few games dating back to last season. The Raiders have the Broncos next. It's another daunting task because unlike the Seahawks' offense, the Broncos know how to finish a drive with a TD thanks to Peyton Manning and his command of the offense. With the Raiders 0-8, it's likely that fans won't give a sh*t in attending games at the Coliseum. Let's hope that's not the case and sell that Denver game out for next week. If sold out, I'll see you guys for that game.

Week 9: Battle with the Champs RAIDERS @ Seattle Seahawks Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 24 SEA 30

A fight to the finish against the defending Super Bowl champions in the daunting place of Seattle and the 12th man, yet again the Raiders couldn't capitalize on a W. The 3 turnovers early on definitely hurt the team in the long-run. Competitive, yet short again. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 17 SEA 24

We gotta hold the champs to a field goal here to have a chance. As win-less as the Raiders are, they've played tough against the tougher teams and it showing here in this game yet again. Special teams, there's a reason they're special and the Raiders' special teams came up with a huge block to put them back into the game, then Carrie's punt return set up a passing TD by Carr on 4th down. They just won't go away.

Q2:

Score: OAK 3 SEA 24

So many missed opportunities this quarter. The defense was holding its own for the majority of the quarter, but the offense is not cashing in on those opportunities. Turnovers and penalties also played a part to why the Raiders are in a 21 point hole against a Seattle team that is erratic on offense, yet their cashing in as Lynch is carrying the Seahawks on his back. Onto the halftime report

Q1:

Score: OAK 3 SEA 14

That was an unlucky pick Carr threw since Bruce Irvin tipped it and hauled it in for a pick six. That's not just the only problem the Raiders had this quarter. When is Greg Olson going to learn that running McFadden up the middle play after play is not going to work? This is especially against a Seattle run defense that is solid at stuffing the run up the middle. Not a good start for the Raiders, although we've been off to not a good of a start for some time now.

RAIDERS @ Seahawks Halftime Post

Score: OAK 3 SEA 24

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' week 9 matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion, Seahawks where the Seahawks go into the locker room with a 21 point lead over the Raiders.

The Positives

Defense. You take away the two rushing TDs by Lynch and the Raiders have only given up three points. Lynch will do his thing in the running game, but the Raider D has done a great job containing Russell Wilson and not biting on his pump fakes. You never know when Wilson's going to throw or take off, but the defense is holding their own down there.

The Negatives

Turnovers. This is the story so far for the Raiders. The first turnover, Derek Carr throws to Bruce Irvin for a pick 6, Carr throws again, this time to Sherman's side, gets picked off, Carrie takes off on a kickoff return, fumbles, ball falls into the hands of the kicker, Steven Hauschka. Without those turnovers, the Raiders would've pulled in a lot closer, but bad teams tend to make mistakes against good teams and the Raiders are demonstrating that.

Penalties. Poor D.J. Hayden is getting picked on. Hayden's penalties were the sole reason why Seattle's offense was able to run it down with Lynch for 2 TDs. The first one was off a P.I. and the second one Hayden was taunting after bringing a Seattle player down. The Raiders committed two other penalties, I forgot where they happened. Other than this and the turnovers are what is killing the Raiders so far in this game.

Bottom Line

This Seahawk team is anemic on offense, they're missing 8 of their starters this game, yet the defending champs are still putting a hurtin on the Raiders. The offense has gotta find a way to get it going, especially the running game. Jason Tarver has stepped up his play calling on defense and the defense is keeping us alive. Greg Olson has to step it up with his offensive play calling, but he's probably going to keep running up the middle again and making these conservative pass plays.