Crazy. That's back to back wins off the right foot of Jason Elam in games that we probably should have lost. That was one of the most bizarre endings to a game I've ever seen. Nice work by Cutler to again get the job done when it mattered most. If you're scoring at home, that's three straight games that Cut has driven us down the filed late in the 4th quarter to either tie or win the game. That's nutty shit, and impressive as hell, but eventually it's going to bite you square in the ass.
The Raiders are clearly an improved team. They flat copied our zone blocking scheme and as a result are a better rushing team. Way to catch up - about a decade late, but whatever. They still lack a decent passing game (the TD on the bomb to Porter notwithstanding - Bly got caught peeking into the backfield), but they can move the ball on the ground. They got a huge game from crybaby Lamont Jordan. I'm not sure if that's a testament to his skill or to the Donks' problems with stopping the run, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. l
Quick hits:
We're still dominating on offense, but again, we had problems getting it in the end-zone. Critical mistakes down low, a false start and holding penalties moving the ball back and out of Elam's range, crappy ass red-zone playcalling, a TD called back because Marshall pushed off, etc. We gotta clean that shit up or Indy will clean our clocks in two weeks.
For christ sake, please find someone, anyone, else to return kicks. Dominik Hixon is awful, stupid awful. His average is terrible, and that alone should get him replaced, but it's not his biggest problem. Dumbass fair-caught two punts INSIDE THE TEN. Inside the fucking ten. You're not supposed to even go near the damn ball when you're inside your own ten, but there's Hixon, waving his hand in the air and putting all of his brain power and coordination into making the catch. Anyone else, please. He's killing us.
Cutler made less mistakes, but his first pick was inexcusable because the back in the flat was wide open with nothing but daylight in front of him. The pick-six was tipped at the line, and not really his fault. The safety was solely on Chris Myers, who got destroyed Big Money. Otherwise, he was pretty damn good. The TD to Stokley was the second best throw of his young career. Speaking of Stoke, Shanny has finally found the third receiver this team has been looking for since Ricky Nattiel retired. This is the best group of receivers this team has ever had. If Rod can come back this year, he's going to have a hard time even getting playing time.
Now, on to the weirdness, Janikowski's winning then non-winning OT field goals. Shanahan waited until the last possible second to call the timeout, but the ball was snapped anyway and the kick was good. Luckily Shanny got the TO called just in time and the kick didn't count. Signal to Noise calls it douchebaggery on the part of Shanny, but I disagree. After I got home, I watched it again and you can clearly see the linesman coming in and waving his hands to stop the play a good second before the snap. The crowd was making an insane amount of noise, so it's no surprise that the whistle wasn't heard. Anyway, after the timeout, Shankikowski doinked the second kick off the upright, Cutler drove the Donks down and Elam nailed a chip shot to win it. It was one of the craziest endings I've ever seen in person (second only to the missed extra point at the end against Cincy last season).
All that said, a win is a win, and that's all that matters. 2-0 beats 0-2, right Oakland?
Around the League:
Kill yourself, Brett Favre.
The rest of the AFC West lost yesterday. Including everyone's darling, the Super Bowl "contending" Chargers, who got absolutely destroyed by the pissed off Patriots. I've been saying they're overrated since day one, and they didn't do anything to disuade me. Philip Rivers is Ryan Leaf 2.0. I'm sorry, but he is. Both overrated coming out of college, cant keep their emotions in check, pout and cry when shit doesn't go their way, etc. Christ, Rivers even looks like Leaf.
Thanks to Cincy for ruining every single suicide pool I was in. Nice defense, fuckers. 51 points? To Cleveland? Strangest score of the day.
7 comments:
I suspect that all members of Bronco Nation will disagree with allegations of douchebaggery. It's a bit odd though, that the commentators to the game claim that Shanahan has done this before and in fact told the refs that he'd wait until the last possible second to call the TO.
If I were the ref, I'd say "No you're not, Mike. In fact, here's your timeout right now. We're not going to tweak the progress of the game. We have television commitments to uphold. And not to mention that that wouldn't be fair to the other team, regardless of whether or not it's the Raiders."
They say "douchebaggery." I say "dou-shay buggeria." The guy's a fink.
Bah - that's dogshit. You believe everything Rich Gannon tells you? Who do you think he's pulling for yesterday?
Nobody knows what the situation was there.
What's the difference between this situation and a QB that wants to burn time standing around with a referee and waiting until there's 1 second left on the play clock to call his TO?
There's nothing treacherous or devious or wrong with letting a notorious head-case like Janikowski stand over a game winning kick a couple extra seconds.
teams ALWAYS tell the ref when they're going to call a timeout at the end of the play clock and the like. This was no different. I'm sure Shanahan's done it before. In fact, I've seen Shanahan do it before. It's not fair to the rest other team- that's what makes it strategy. Boo fucking hoo. Janicrackhead was probably already thinking about his next fix, or hoping he could beat Sam Adams to the Golden Corral for the all you can eat waffle bar.
you could here the whistles before the snap on television. Douchebaggery? Perhaps. Doing it to a former employer who owes you boat loads of $$$? The rules of "douchebaggery" go out the window.
Elam- You guys know Im on him this year. The Donks have to get inside the 25 to even make it reasonable for him now. How much longer until maybe Shanny pulls the old "bring in 3 kickers on a Tuesday" just to send Elam a message?
How about tomorrow? Has he had any serious competition in the last decade?
Scott Bentley?
just kidding
Justin Medlock can't possibly suck as much as he did in preseason, right?
herc --
here's the difference: the QB's not nullifying a play that the other team just executed, especially one that puts points on the board.
i don't care if the kicker is a date raper or a head case or a pill popper, or what have you. it was a manipulation of gameplay, something he knew he could get away with. there's nothing honorable in accomplishing something in such a fashion.
see: Office Space dude trying to explain the secret account strategy to Jennifer Anniston. bronco nation looks like that guy trying to justify this.
and don't forget that i understand the outcome: a W. i'd take it, too, but i'd admit that it was fiendish instead of trying to justify it somehow.
finally, boy you should know by now how much i love me some rich gannon. i actually rooted for the raiders in the SB, just 'cause i felt ol' richy was ring-worthy.
that is all. i'm over it now. go jacksonville.
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