What a difference a week makes.Last week, all the talk was what was wrong with the Oakland Raiders. They had surrendered a 21-3 lead against the Buffalo Bills and were set to face the New York Jets.The Raiders were triumphant this week, however, defeating the Jets 34-24 and improving their record to 2-1. Fueled by Darren McFadden's career game, Oakland was able to effectively move the chains on one of the league's better defenses. Jason Campbell was mistake-free and the Raiders defense, which allowed Buffalo to move the ball at will in the second half of last week's game, put ...
A little over a year ago, I wrote an article entitled, "Can Darren McFadden Be Another O.J. Simpson?" It was a couple of months before his breakout season, so most of Raider Nation thought I was crazy at the time.In fact, at that time, much of Raider Nation was clamoring for Michael Bush to start—saying McFadden should be a third-down back or move to receiver.But that was over a year ago and I forgive all those in Raider Nation that called me crazy back then.With the way McFadden is playing now, I thought it would be a good time to ...
Let’s stretch your mind a little to establish a framework for the discussion of the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots game.There is a law of transitivity, which says that if a is greater than b, and b is greater than c, than a is greater than c.Now, let’s apply that reasoning to the Oakland Raiders and their game with the New England Patriots.The New England Patriots played the Jets three times in 2010. First, they lost a game, then won a game, then lost the game in the 2010 playoffs, scoring 14-3.In a powerful encounter in Week 3 (2011) with ...
Art Howe let on to Siriux XM's Mad Dog Radio that he was not pleased with his portrayal in Moneyball (via Yahoo! Sports). I would like to second the notion that Howe wasn't given a fair shake, at least in the movie. In the interest of fair disclosure, this is being written by a former Pittsburgher about another former Pittsburgher.Most Hollywood films like to have a villain. Unfortunately, the movie casts Oakland's former manager, Art Howe, in that role to make general manager Billy Beane look good. This overlooks the role that Howe had in successfully executing Beane's moves.For instance, ...
“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit,” Aristotle once poetically remarked.If the late, great philosopher had been a psychic, I’m assured that his eloquent quote would be a prediction of Darren McFadden’s performance against the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. The fourth year running back has dazzled the sports world for the past three weeks, while fostering the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL. But what McFadden did on Sunday against the Jets vaulted 3-4 defense had not been done this season: No running back had gained 100 yards, or ...
While the movie Moneyball has the A's in the spotlight, the A's are in for yet another losing season and are in need of some much needed changes.The A's did manage to go .500 in 2010, but 2011 was supposed to be the year the A's made a run at playoffs. Injuries and other factors killed the A's chances, but there should still be hope for the A's going forward as long as they make a few changes. Begin Slideshow
With the highly talented New England Patriots next up on the schedule for the Oakland Raiders, they will need more than a few players to step up for what will be a very exciting game. Oakland got a huge win last week against the Jets and shouldn't get complacent as the Patriots lost in Buffalo and will come out looking to bounce back. In the AFC it doesn't get much tougher than the New England Patriots. Here are the five Oakland Raiders who need to step up going forward. Begin Slideshow
After carving up the New York Jets defense for 171 yards and two touchdowns through three quarters on Sunday, Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden had to leave the game with an apparent groin injury.The Raiders held on to win 34-24, but McFadden's status was uncertain following the game.While McFadden's injury doesn't appear to be exceedingly serious, his availability Sunday's game against the New England Patriots is still in question.Check back here for the latest on McFadden's injury situation throughout the week. Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 11:40 a.m. EDTDespite the fact that McFadden was removed from the game with what has ...
In Foxborough nearly a decade ago, Tom Brady led his Patriots past the Oakland Raiders in the game that would be called many things, one of the catchiest of which is "The Snow Job."Charles Woodson attacked Brady out of a cornerback blitz and caused Brady to fumble, which led to Oakland's appearance in the AFC Championship against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the fumble was deemed an incomplete pass—thus, opening up an intense disliking from the Raider Nation for the New England Patriots and Brady, revenge that can be dealt with on Sunday, Oct. 2.From that game, only Brady and Matt Light ...
During the NFL lockout, I spent a lot of time watching different nature channels and documentaries. Out of all the animals I marveled at only one stuck out: the notoriously fearless honey badger.
Coated in black fur with a silver-ish lining draping its back, the tough badger savagely attacks cobras, lions and coyotes—larger animals that carry a much more dangerous reputation. Labeled by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most fearless animal, the honey badger is tireless in combat, and more often than not, wears out his opponents with its relentless aggression.
The similarities between the Oakland Raiders offensive line ...