Raiders Bounce Back with Win vs. Colts

Final: OAK 31 IND 24 (2-2)

I said it last week, this matchup against the Colts has "bounceback win" marked. After a 14-34 shellacking in Minnesota, the Raiders rebounded with a 31-24 road win over the Indianapolis Colts. We gotta give credit to Jon Gruden for adding some tweaks on what has been mundane playcalling in the past two weeks. He mixed it up with two Tight End sets with Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. There was great balance in the distribution of the football. Chucky claimed he wanted Josh Jacobs involved more, particularly in the passing game. Jacobs had more involvement earlier today. Especially since the Colts were missing their stud LB Darius Leonard, that opened up opportunity for Jacobs to rack up yards: 79 yards on 17 carries and 29 yards on 2 receptions. Derek Carr had a nice bounceback game. The stats are not eye opening as Carr passed for 189 yards and 2 TDs. But, Carr overall played okay sans the 1 fumble lost. The O-line kept him clean for the most part. We got to see Trevor Davis in action. The Raiders acquired him from Green Bay in exchange for a sixth round pick. They used him sparingly in a Percy Harvin-esque role, but he made the most out of it. Davis took an end around 74 yards to the house to put the Raiders up 14-0.

Overall, the scoreboard is a bit misleading. The Raiders dominated time of possession and controlled the momentum the majority of the game with a few hiccups here and there. As mentioned, the Carr turned the ball over to set up Brissett's TD to Jack Doyle to cut it to 14-7. After Erik Harris' pick 6 to pretty much seal the game, they inexplicably gave up a sideline 48 yard TD to Eric Ebron. But luckily, the Raider offense managed to drive and get a few first downs to seal the game overall. This was the matchup that the Raiders had to take advantage of and they got the job done. On side notes, Carr had a precautionary X-Rays on his leg from what I heard after the game. Hopefully, there's no issue and he's okay. He actually took a hit from ex-teammate Denico Autry. Vontaze Burfict could be facing suspension after a hit on defenseless receiver penalty. Those kinds of penalties are ticky tacky since defenders can't stop their momentum. But as I said, Burfict is marked man and a walking 15-yard penalty due to his reputation as a dirty player. He'll be a big loss for Guenther's unit.

The Raiders move ahead after their cross country trip and they'll be traveling to London next week for a "home game" against the Chicago Bears. Now, this game we've had circled since the schedule came out. It's been a year since Chucky shocked Raider Nation by sending Khalil Mack to Chicago and so far, that trade has been lopsided in favor of the Bears. Mack was the missing piece for Chicago to resurrect the "Monsters of the Midway." After an opening night dud to Green Bay, they've picked it up. It's going to be quite a matchup in the trenches with the Raiders' revamped O-line and the Bears' stellar D-line. That defense will be hard to pick apart for sure. I'll see you guys next week after that game.

Raiders Fall Behind 21-0 Deficit vs. Vikings

Final: OAK 14 MIN 34 (1-2)

This team is begging me to bring back "The Silver and Black Shitshow," which I promise never to do again. Anyway, the Raiders get routed by Vikings 14-34 to open up a grueling road trip. Last week, the Raiders run defense contained Kansas City's rushing attack. This week, they got shredded. Dalvin Cook rushed for a 110 yards and 1 TD against the Raiders' run defense. When the opposition's running game opens up, that spells a lot of trouble for this defense the entire game. It also doesn't help that they couldn't get off the field behind some really silly penalties to keep Minnesota's drive alive. The unit was also dropping like flies this game with a couple of injuries. The offense was stagnant this game as well. The only legit TD is Carr's flea flicker to J.J. Nelson for this offense. Other than that, Carr was stagnant. Minnesota's defense got to him 4 times going up against what really is a patchwork O-line with some key injuries.

As I mentioned before, this is a daunting stretch with the Raiders not having an Oakland home game until November. And this is obviously an unpleasant way to start. Next week against Indy has "bounceback" game written all over it with the Colts' struggles this season since Andrew Luck's shocking retirement. This team needs a little bit of regrouping with some blowout losses the last two weeks. I'll see you guys next week after the game.

Chiefs Bombard Raiders in 2nd Quarter to Win

Final: KC 28 OAK 10 (1-1)

A little short and sweet, this was an expected result against a human cheat code in Patrick Mahomes and a high-powered Chiefs offense. For the most part, the Raiders tested Kansas City in that first quarter. The defense held that high octane offense without a score in the first quarter, which is a silver lining. The run defense was on point. Secondary jammed the line of scrimmage and didn't give KC receivers any breathing room to turn loose for the most part. Defense had a nice game plan to start.

And then, the 2nd quarter hits and Mahomes just started throwing bombs. The Chiefs quickly adjusted to what Guenther's unit was doing and you have to credit them where credit is due. Mahomes relentlessly heaved a lot of bombs. Two to DeMarcus Robinson. One to Mecole Hardman. The receivers for KC stepped up to open up the playbook in Tyreek Hill's absence. How they managed without getting the run game going is beyond me. But, that is a testament of how unfair this offensive unit is. The next three quarters after Q1, the Raiders were overmatched big time.

On side notes, Derek Carr surpasses the legendary Ken "the Snake" Stabler as the all-time leading passing yards leader for the Raiders. However, that was a little marred by his 2 INTs. The first INT though, Bashaud Breeland outmatched Tyrell Williams off the LOS to get that INT in the end zone to stall a would-be positive drive by the Raiders sparked by Josh Jacobs' 51 yard run. The 2nd INT, there was no receiver in the vicinity. That was the only puzzling throw by Carr this game. The point is, the offense left a lot out there to be desired. Stalled drives, pre-snap penalties, turnovers, the usual suspects of the Raiders' inefficiencies on offense.

It's going to be a while before Oakland sees the Raiders again for the last time this season. They are going to be on the road for 5 straight games. The game against the Chicago Bears is a home game, but that's going international...again. A very daunting 5-game journey awaits the Silver and Black. I'll see you guys next week after the game against the Vikings.

Raiders Pound Broncos on Monday Night

Final: DEN 16 OAK 24 (1-0)

Welcome in guys. Just providing my quick thoughts here on the game. You won't see a lot of open thread and full recap posts moving forward. Those days are over. Onto this game, it has been awhile. It has been awhile since the Raiders won on opening night, let alone at home in Oakland. These last 10-13 years on home openers, they have not been good times in the Black Hole. Most of those openers were blowout losses, close losses off stupid mistakes. It's a breath of fresh air.

The Raiders needed this game tonight to wipe out all the Antonio Brown mayhem that has transpired in the last 48 hours or so. Forget about the one possession score, the Raiders dominated the Broncos from start to finish. A lot of credit goes to Jon Gruden and Greg Olson for putting a solid game plan together to neutralize Vic Fangio's defense. A lot mixing and matching involved on run plays, quick screens and slants. Fangio looked dumbfounded in the 2nd half. Tyrell Williams had a pretty solid game against this Broncos secondary. He was key in allowing this offense to open up the playbook. Josh Jacobs, I know it's just one game, I think he may break the running back curse for Alabama. 100 yards from scrimmage, 2 TD rushing TDs, first rookie RB to put up those numbers since LaDainian Tomlinson. The most impressive thing about it is, this was without the Raiders two best interior linemen in Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito. This is a respectable Denver front seven and Jacobs was able to gash them at no problem.

The defense did its job tonight. They completely shut down Denver's running game. This was supposed to be an improved Denver running game now that they've shored up they're offensive line and healthy Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. The front seven kept that in check. Paul Guenther's defensive unit looks like it's coming together. Benson Mayowa, 2nd stint and all, lead the team in sacks. But we gotta give overall credit on the coverage and blitz packages PG dialed up to generate pressure on Flacco. The Broncos offense got the benefit of a doubt with some fluke plays and questionable penalties to get back into this. As I mentioned, the score can be a bit misleading. Johnathan Abram showed definitely stood out on defense, flying all over the field. Tonight, he proved to be as advertised as a hard hitting Safety. But, he might want to control it a bit on where he hits. We don't want him to be marked man for walking 15-yard penalties. They already have Vontaze Burfict for that. But all jokes aside, defense did well.

It's good to be 1-0. However, the Raiders have to start looking ahead against a very tough task vs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs next week. However, Kansas City will be missing some key weapons that makes this offense dangerous. Most of that is centered on Tyreek Hill. He'll be out for a bit with a collarbone injury. But they still have Kelce. They Damien Williams. They just signed LeSean McCoy. Sammy Watkins has stepped up in Hill's place. This offense is still potent. The Chiefs' defense though will be a juicy matchup for the Raiders, particularly in the running game as displayed tonight. Last year, the Chiefs run defense could not stop a wet paper bag last year. Their unit is much improved, but probably not much. It'll be interesting to see how well the Raiders matchup this year as opposed to last year with a younger, more athletic roster. I'll see you guys next week after that game.

2019 Oakland Raiders Preview (Not Really)

This has been a really long 48 hours with this whole Antonio Brown fiasco. Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock, the entire Raiders organization, you guys just got played.

There's an old saying: "what you want is what you get." The Raiders wanted to give Derek Carr an elite receiver in Antonio Brown. As talented as he is, we all know that know that he was going to bring a lot of baggage to this team. But they still traded to get him at the cost of a 3rd round pick, which is not bad. However, as this whole shitshow unravels, Pittsburgh's front office look like absolute geniuses. And the Patriots adding Brown at half of the price of his guaranteed money, after he was released by the Raiders today is more insult to injury.

The Raiders should've seen this coming. That when you bring Antonio Brown in, you knew you're getting yourself into a deranged soap opera. Gruden is in his 2nd year after a 10 year hiatus. Mike Mayock is in his 1st year as a GM. They were not prepared for a circus of this magnitude with this clown. This is Antonio Brown's Raider tenure in a nutshell: frostbite, helmet, fines, altercation with GM, released. His entire Raiders tenure was popcorn entertainment all the way through. At first, we thought the helmet drama was just a facade for Hard Knocks. It's not too big of a deal. But when it escalates after the show to the point AB threatens to punch Mayock in the face after getting slapped with a reasonable fine, that's when we should know this was was gonna turn ugly. 

Mayock tried laying down the law. The only problem is you have Gruden undercutting the power of the GM, sweeping this under the rug, and ultimately letting him play. Literally after Brown just gave a half-assed apology to the media. Hey "Chuck E. Cheese!" What happened to "no one is above the team" mantra? Cause it worked so well with Khalil Mack that you shipped his ass to Chicago even though he didn't say anything and his agent was doing all the talking. But with Antonio Brown, you kissed his ass all the way through when he's berating the team and the organization and he pulls this shit to make you all look stupid. 

I don't even want to share my hype video on here cause I posted it 24 hours before all this happened. Big promotion and such to amp up the Monday Night game since AB was back. The video was in a very awkward position with suspension looming, a possible release, etc. 24 hours after I uploaded, he's gone from the team. I'm done promoting that. As a content creator, the last hype video I'll always remember are my hype videos from 2015-2017. They were the most genuine. Everything else after looks like a desperate view grab even though I still put 110% on it while this shitshow unravels to throw jabs at me and force me to call audibles even though I'm a big advocate of expecting the unexpected.

This post was almost a chance for me to make amends to Raider Nation about poking fun at this team this past season. My biggest gripe is the sheep who support everything this team does. You disagree with the majority, you get labeled a fake fan. Those "It's Raider Nation or nothing. You don't like our team, go support somebody else" type of fans. That kind of mentality is the reason why the team has no desire of getting better and the last decade (excluding 2016) has proven that. We tend to forget a football team is also a product. When that product is not performing to our expectations that we pay for and are highly invested in, of course we're not going to be happy about it! You think I'm gonna call some Samsung owners fake Samsung customers when a Galaxy S7 just exploded inside their pocket and their voicing their displeasure? Of course that's not cool and you have a right to tell them that they dropped the ball on poorly mass producing the product. That's where I stand with the Raiders now. You just want to pull them to the side and tell them that they're fucking up and they need to get their shit together. Stupid decisions year after year is the reason why this team is a cellar dweller since 2002. 

It's sad the last season in Oakland will end with a distinct plop. There was no intention of winning one more Super Bowl for that city and the Bay Area. Sure it might get better when they get to Las Vegas, but at the same time they're watching this incompetence unravel very closely. These last three seasons are just a facade so they can finally build from the ground up when they get to Vegas. They have the cap space and draft picks to do that. Whether or not the incompetence and dysfunction carries over remains to be seen. If this team surprises me this season with some wins, I'll accept that I'm wrong with humility. Until then, here's to another evaluation season to see how the three 2019 first round picks pan out and everybody else is fighting for a roster spot in 2020. Deuces! 

Lakers Acquire Anthony Davis (Finally)

The King and The 'Brow

I'm officially bipolar with the Lakers right now. It was teased before the trade deadline, but both sides couldn't come to a deal. But now, it is official (well until July) and as expected, it was making waves in the headlines since it was announced. The Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to a trade to get Anthony Davis in the Purple and Gold in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and 3 first round picks.

LeBron got what he wanted. He wanted Anthony Davis to come over here to LA and contend for a title and he got it. Like I said, the Lakers are just begging me to become bipolar with their moves. I gotta give credit to Rob Pelinka and David Griffin for pulling off this deal with no strings attached. Compared to the midseason, then-Pelicans president Dell Demps tried everything to sabotage the Lakers by getting them to give up the entire team for AD. But, it turns out he was bluffing and it lead to his firing. With David Griffin, whether or not the Cavalier ties with LeBron helped or not, they were able to pull off this deal. We also gotta give credit to another outside source: Rich Paul. He represents both LBJ and AD via Klutch Sports. He failed in pulling the strings during the midseason, but it worked this time around.

I get the excitement because AD is one of the best big men in the game today. He can play inside and outside and is the ideal rim protector and shot blocker that the Lakers were missing since 2013. Now on the flip side, many may argue that the Lakers gave up too much. Which is true. The risk in getting a player on 1-year rental for that much is that player might leave when things go sour on their short tenure with the team. We've seen this first hand with the Dwight Howard experiment from 2012-13. Now granted, AD has verbally expressed to sign the Lakers in the long term, but that may change depending on how the season goes playing alongside LeBron. Not to mention, the Pelicans might've secured their future for the next 5-7 years. I'm not gonna lie, they're going to be an exciting young team with Lonzo, B.I., and possibly Zion Williamson coming to town. They still have Jrue Holiday to provide that veteran presence and they have the Lakers' #4 pick this year. They'll be a team on the come up. The silver lining here is that the Lakers held on to Kyle Kuzma. At least they keep one of the key young players and it's none other than the Lakers' 2017 draft steal that showed major strides with his ability to score. With AD and 'Bron, Kuz is the ideal 3rd option. He could be the fourth option if they make a run at Kemba Walker or get Kyrie Irving to reunite playing alongside LeBron.

Now that the trade is over with, the Lakers now have some major holes to fill. Their back court is literally void of talent. Small forward is also a need now. A scoring point guard like Kemba or Kyrie could shoulder the load off of whoever fills that shooting guard spot. If they manage to land either one, great. They must use up the remaining cap to sign quality role players who can shoot and play defense. If not, they're still solid mid-tier options available like re-signing Rajon Rondo. This might actually entice Rondo to stay considering he had success with AD in New Orleans. Either way, now that the Lakers have their act together (for the moment) and with the West wide open with Golden State in shambles due to KD and Klay's injuries, they must strike while the iron is hot in the offseason in order to get back to the top.

Raptors Dethrone Warriors in Six for First NBA Championship

Series Breakdown

05/30: Game 1 - GSW 109 TOR 118 TOR 1-0
06/02: Game 2 - GSW 109 TOR 104 Tied 1-1
06/05: Game 3 - TOR 123 GSW 109 TOR 2-1
06/07: Game 4 - TOR 105 GSW 92 TOR 3-1
06/10: Game 5 - GSW 106 TOR 105 TOR 3-2
06/13: Game 6 - TOR 114 GSW 110 Toronto Raptors 2019 NBA Champions (4-2)!

All things are settled down after an amazing Game 6 last night. The Toronto Raptors are your 2019 NBA Champions as they dethrone the Golden State Warriors in six games, capping off with a 114-110 game 6 thriller in what is effectively the last game in Oracle Arena in Oakland as the Warriors move to their new Chase Center home in San Francisco for next season. As you look at the overview of this series, the home team has won once. This hasn't been done since the 1993 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls. Not only, that it's impressive on the Raptors' part that they won all of their games at Oracle Arena this season. It's never an easy feat to win in that raucous arena, especially against the reigning dynasty Warriors.

Game 1, history was made as it marked the first NBA Finals game to be played outside of the United States. The Warriors were in unfamiliar territory as they have to go on the road to achieve that elusive 3-peat. The Raptors, you wonder about jitters having hosting their first finals game, the pressure was all on them. And they stepped up to the challenge. Pascal Siakam made his case for MIP (Most Improved Player) with 32 points. Marc Gasol stepped up with 20 points. They dominated the Warriors inside the paint. It was a pretty convincing win for a team making its finals debut. Game 2, the Warriors responded like the champions they were. The third quarter was huge for them as they completely blanked the Raptors at the start with an 18-0 run out of the gate. It wasn't until Fred VanVleet's three that Toronto finally put up some points. Nonetheless, the Raptors hung in there. They had a chance with a near interception by Kawhi Leonard at the final seconds. But, the ball bounced back to the Warriors' favor and Andre Iguodala hit a clutch three to seal it. The Raptors leaving Iggy open was controversial. I can understand the rationale to leave him open as he's not a reliable 3-point shooter. But, there was no denying in the big stage, the former Finals MVP can deliver in the clutch for the Warriors.

As the series shifts to Game 3, we first see our glimpses of the Warriors' dynasty cracking as Klay Thompson had to sit out with a hamstring. Kevon Looney was initially out for the rest of series with a chest injury. This game was easy picking for the Raptors. Curry will do his thing as indicated in his 47-point explosion that game, but everybody else didn't bother to step up. Danny Green found some life this game with the Raptors, draining six threes. He has been a non-factor this postseason, but we saw a little throwback of San Antonio Danny Green. Kawhi lead the team with 30 points. Lowry made some key buckets to put this game on ice early. Serge Ibaka had a block party with 6 blocks. Game 4, the Raptors won convincingly with a healthy Klay back and Looney surprisingly playing through the chest injury. They were trailing and then stormed back in the second half with a resounding performance from Serge Ibaka off the bench with 20 points. The pick and roll with he and Lowry is absolutely devastating. Fred VanVleet took advantage of that pick and roll with Ibaka as well. The Warriors had no answer to stop it nor could they guard Ibaka's hook shot in the paint. Leonard once again lead the team with 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 steals. You can just feel it that he's determined to end the 3-peat hopes of another dynasty.

Game 5, the Raptors have the opportunity of a lifetime to close this series out in front of their hometown, but Kevin Durant is back to give the Warriors a lift and possibly set up another 3-1 comeback. Durant showed no signs of rust with 11 points to provide a spark to Golden State's offense. Then, the devastating Achilles rupture happened and this is the first part of the Warriors' downfall. The Raptors fought their way back in the 2nd half. Kawhi Leonard is taking over the game, despite a bad shooting night. The Warriors are playing sloppy. The refs are trying their best to rig this game. Then Nick Nurse calls a timeout with 3:05 in the 4th quarter. If there's ever a time for a rookie coach to make a mistake, it's the regular season, not when you have a championship to clinch on your home floor. Coach Nurse made that timeout blunder, completely stopping all momentum and giving that momentum back to the Warriors. The Splash Bros. shot the Warriors back to tie and take the lead. The Raptors had a final chance with Lowry's potential winning shot, but Draymond lays a fingertip on the shot to allow the Warriors to fight another day.

Game 6, this is where it all came down. Again, the Warriors have their backs against the wall and this game is even bitter sweet that it is the final game in Oracle Arena. Nothing else was on their mind other than win one final game for Dub Nation and for Durant as well. This game was absolutely incredible down to the wire. It was like a heavyweight fight  with the defending champ knocked down by the new challenger, but the champ continued to fight to 12 rounds despite major swelling and bleeding. Unfortunately, the Warriors lost too much blood with not only KD out, but Klay going down this game with an ACL injury. The Raptors saw some heroics from Fred VanVleet off the bench and Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard taking over the game and eventually leading the Raptors to their first NBA title for the City of Toronto and all of Canada.

I've said it in my preview, that if the Raptors were to win this series and dethrone the 2x defending champs, a lot of variables have to happen. Somebody else has to step to take some load of Kawhi because obviously the Warriors will try to account for him on defense. And that came to fruition. You had Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol step up for Game 1. Danny Green for Game 3. Serge Ibaka for Game 4. Kyle Lowry played amazing on the road. Fred VanVleet has been solid off the bench. Kawhi Leonard, didn't shoot the ball particularly well this series, but he still found ways to take over the game. The key to beating these Warriors is to play physical against them, out rebound them, and most of all make them turn the ball over. And the Raptors with their #1 ranked defense checked off all those categories.

With the way the Raptors built their team, it reminded me of how the old school teams would build their championship team: have two All-Star players and surround them with role players. And if push comes to shove, make midseason moves to find the missing piece to bolster the roster. Masai Ujiri and the Raptors took a calculated risk and it paid off. The next step is to keep the roster in tact. Kawhi Leonard is the biggest wild card here. No matter if he stays or leaves, he's cemented himself in Toronto basketball lore with this epic run and Raptor fans should be forever grateful even if meant sacrificing DeMar DeRozen in the process. Also, I gotta thank him because that's twice this decade that a team tried to supplant the 2000-2002 Lakers' 3-peat and he stopped both of them. Nonetheless, if they're going to break up this championship team immediately, don't do it like what Mark Cuban and the Mavericks did following the 2010-11 season.

For the Warriors, I haven't seen something like this since the Pistons outclassed the Lakers in 2004. Granted, injuries to Durant and Klay decimated this roster. But, that's the risk that goes with fielding a superteam. You gain superstar players at the expense of a deep roster with reliable role players. As always, injuries are always a part of the game. It's unfortunate, but reality. So any Warrior fans who are salty about this, remember your first title came at the expense of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love-less Cavaliers. It's the way the NBA works, dynasties don't last long and they have to break up in order to restore competitive balance in the league. Regardless, dark times are coming for the Warriors and the loss in their final game in Oracle in Game 6 is symbolic that it signifies the end of an era. Now with Klay hurt, KD hurt, Bob Myers has a tough decision to make. Granted, they're planning to lock both players to long-term deal, but are they willing to give two injured players big contracts at the expense of the opportunity to get younger and sign quality players to bolster the team's depth? Do you really want to lose a sense of your mantra in "Strength in Numbers?"

Regardless, both the Raptors and Warriors are at the critical point after these Finals with a lot of questions heading into the offseason. But for now, the Golden dynasty falls while the North rises and so opens a brand new, unpredictable world of the NBA. Because when a superteam in one conference gets too dominant, make sure to have a Kawhi Leonard on a team in an opposite conference to face them in the finals to bring balance back to the league. Anyway, the Larry O'Brien trophy has moved to a new country. It's new home is the home of the first basketball game ever played in: O Canada.