99 Problems

Back on the scene after a bye and already I want to go into hiding. First my sons 10-0 team loses a playoff game 37-28. USC got spanked and the Raiders....well lets get into that. JaMarcus started off okay, completing his first 3 passes but then good ole Russell came out and he missed his next four. To be fair JaMarcus played an okay 1st half. He threw some good passes and his receivers couldn’t catch them. I was yelling and screaming at the receivers for once. I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, they could have been doing it so JaMarcus knows how it feels to have something tricked off but at the same time business needs to be handled. If it’s a ball you can catch, catch it. If it’s a fumble to recover, sack to make or pass to pick, handle it. It’s what yo get paid to do. I didn’t think I’d be saying this anytime soon but Janikowski even missed a FG! I don’t know if that bye helped us or hurt us.

It was fumbles we could have recovered and passes we should have picked but didn’t. Seven dropped balls and penalties played a part in us losing the game as well. Coach Cable needs to make a decision about the person he wants to use as QB. Gradkowski seems to get in there and make things happen. He had 2 interceptions and I can’t really blame all of it on him. He needs more reps and Heyward-Bey among others, needs to learn how to catch. Granted, HB did make a great catch when it was 3rd and 1 with 38 seconds left that was all erased when Gradkowski put the ball right in his hands and he bobbled it allowing the safety to intercept it, ending the Raiders chances at making a comeback. We have two 1st rounder with contracts that total 99 million dollars. Russell has a contract for $61 million and Heyward-Bey has one for $38 million. NINETY-NINE MILLION DOLLARS for what? They are weak as hell right now. They say money talks. Well if money talks those two are deaf. Russell and Heyward-Bey collect a check and go on about their day while the majority of the players go out and play harder for a lesser amount of money. Russell and Heyward-Bey act like they don’t care about the way they produce Sunday in and Sunday out. Russell was on the bench staring into space when he should have been looking over those stills to see where he made a mistake. Heyward-Bey needs to do the same thing. Instead, they both sit on the sidelines like they are lost; hanging their head so it seems to us they are sorry for what has just transpired. Bull!

I defended Heyward-Bey in the earlier part of the season. A lot of people were telling me he couldn’t catch and he was just fast. My reason for defending him was the lack of talent at the QB position but after seeing Russell put a ball in his numbers and Gradkowski putting two in the same place, he's just as big of a trick as Russell. Now is it fair to say they are the weakest link or should I blame it on the program? I’m going to put it like this. 60% is their fault and 40% is the programs fault. No matter what the case you should still want to shine by doing the best you can. If you have a teacher that isn’t putting 100% of an effort when they are teaching does that mean you can put a less than 100% effort into your studies? Not to me it doesn’t. This is your grade, like it’s their season. Murphy made a couple of Rookie mistakes but he shook it off and got back out there. When Watkins doesn’t have a good return, he shakes it off and gets back out there. That goes for the better part of the team. Our money makers need to be making it happen for us. The Chiefs didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves. Out of the next seven games, it’ll surprise me if the Raiders are better than 2-5. Our leaders don’t seem to be confident and comfortable in the decisions they make and that’s needs to change A. sap.

If I don’t know anything else, I know this, we have 99 problems and a trick aint one!