BRONCOS VS. RAIDERS
Anyone that's been on this forum for any period of time will vouch for the fact that I rarely if ever bet on any games involving the Oakland Raiders.........They are my all-time favorite team of course, and I'm a fan whether they win or lose.........which has been mainly lose over the past few years...........but tonight's game is different and heres why:
Having watched team owner Al Davis lose touch with reality (and the football team) over that last few seasons (you should hear the fans in the stands and in the walking tunnels in the stadium calling for his head), something inspired him to spend over $225 million during the off-season to try to stop the bleeding, a move that mostly drew laughs and criticism from reporters and publications, and just about everyone else in the pro football world.......I myself wasn't very enthused about much until I started watching the pre-season camp notes and the pre-season games themselves.
Now I'm not going out on a limb and stating here that the Raiders will all-of-a-sudden become the dominating team they were known to be, but big improvement is guaranteed............The secondary should be called the primary , because they are second to no one in this league...........With the additions of DeAngelo Hall, whom the Raiders signed from the Atlanta Falcons, and Gibril Wilson, who comes over after helping lead the New York Giants to the Super Bowl Trophy, saying this backfield will be hard to pass against - is a hell of an understatement........as Jay Cutler will see tonight, especially having to go without suspended Brandon Marshall, his favorite target........Fans and coaches are already comparing the tandem corners of Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha to the legendary Michael Haynes and Lester Hayes of the Raiders glory years..........The acquisition of Wilson allows Michael Huff to return to his natural position in the Free Safety spot...........A trio of quick-hitting LB's in Morrisson, Howard and Thomas don't exactly hurt the cause, and pass-rushing specialist Derrick Burgess round out what should be the most improved defense in the league this year.
The real reason I love this game though, is the way the Raiders running game stacks up against the Broncos......Although limited in his touches during the pre-season, look for #1 draft pick Darren Mc Fadden to see plenty of action tonight -- alternating duties with the hard-running Justin Fargas........The Raiders dominated the Bronco defense on the ground the last time they met, and cruised to a 34-20 victory at McAfee Coliseum........I'd be surprised if JaMarcus Russell threw more than 15-20 passes tonight, as I think this will be a fast moving, run-oriented attack from the Raiders ........Coach Lane Kiffin refused to start any of his 1st string offense during last week's meaningless game against Seattle, nor did he unveil much of his playbook in his game plan in that one.........Look for him to pull out all of the stops tonight, in an effort to jump start these young kids out of the blocks, and find themelves in 1st place in the division by night's end.............No predictions on a total or anything, just that the Raiders will control this one early and late, and they will win this game handily straight up..........Big money play on the Raiders tonight on the moneyline, no points needed...........in a game that the bookmakers got backwards.
Good Luck to you tonight.
Anyone that's been on this forum for any period of time will vouch for the fact that I rarely if ever bet on any games involving the Oakland Raiders.........They are my all-time favorite team of course, and I'm a fan whether they win or lose.........which has been mainly lose over the past few years...........but tonight's game is different and heres why:
Having watched team owner Al Davis lose touch with reality (and the football team) over that last few seasons (you should hear the fans in the stands and in the walking tunnels in the stadium calling for his head), something inspired him to spend over $225 million during the off-season to try to stop the bleeding, a move that mostly drew laughs and criticism from reporters and publications, and just about everyone else in the pro football world.......I myself wasn't very enthused about much until I started watching the pre-season camp notes and the pre-season games themselves.
Now I'm not going out on a limb and stating here that the Raiders will all-of-a-sudden become the dominating team they were known to be, but big improvement is guaranteed............The secondary should be called the primary , because they are second to no one in this league...........With the additions of DeAngelo Hall, whom the Raiders signed from the Atlanta Falcons, and Gibril Wilson, who comes over after helping lead the New York Giants to the Super Bowl Trophy, saying this backfield will be hard to pass against - is a hell of an understatement........as Jay Cutler will see tonight, especially having to go without suspended Brandon Marshall, his favorite target........Fans and coaches are already comparing the tandem corners of Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha to the legendary Michael Haynes and Lester Hayes of the Raiders glory years..........The acquisition of Wilson allows Michael Huff to return to his natural position in the Free Safety spot...........A trio of quick-hitting LB's in Morrisson, Howard and Thomas don't exactly hurt the cause, and pass-rushing specialist Derrick Burgess round out what should be the most improved defense in the league this year.
The real reason I love this game though, is the way the Raiders running game stacks up against the Broncos......Although limited in his touches during the pre-season, look for #1 draft pick Darren Mc Fadden to see plenty of action tonight -- alternating duties with the hard-running Justin Fargas........The Raiders dominated the Bronco defense on the ground the last time they met, and cruised to a 34-20 victory at McAfee Coliseum........I'd be surprised if JaMarcus Russell threw more than 15-20 passes tonight, as I think this will be a fast moving, run-oriented attack from the Raiders ........Coach Lane Kiffin refused to start any of his 1st string offense during last week's meaningless game against Seattle, nor did he unveil much of his playbook in his game plan in that one.........Look for him to pull out all of the stops tonight, in an effort to jump start these young kids out of the blocks, and find themelves in 1st place in the division by night's end.............No predictions on a total or anything, just that the Raiders will control this one early and late, and they will win this game handily straight up..........Big money play on the Raiders tonight on the moneyline, no points needed...........in a game that the bookmakers got backwards.
Good Luck to you tonight.
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