 }})
Blognosticator - DixieFlatline
The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
Da Raiders come to town on Sunday night. Primetime. Listening to this, how can you not get pumped for the challenge? These aren't the Raiders of old, but they are very solid and will make for a tough matchup. Can the Skins, and in particular Kirk Cousins, get rid of their Primetime curse?
I usually like numbers to help me determine how things may play out. So here are some:
• 8-5…..Raiders lead all time head to head.
• Raiders scoring 35.5 per game, allowing 18. Skins scoring 22 and allowing 25.
• Raiders #5 in rushing, Skins #4 . Passing…Raiders #14 , Skins #23 .
• Defense? In rushing Raiders are #14 , Skins #24 . Passing Raiders #20 , Skins #7 .
I could go on, but at this point, I don't think numbers over two games tell us much at all yet. So to my gut.
Providing Kelley can play and Gruden doesn't get all pass happy, I think our offense can hold their own against this Raider defense. The third game in we should see the WRs and Kirk start to click a little more. My bet is Pryor makes some clutch possession catches and once again Chris Thompson provides a big impact out of the backfield to keep this offense moving although there will be the usual hiccups along the way.
Outside of a few mental breakdowns, I'm excited about how our defense has been playing. The Zach Brown's Band third in the league in tackles. Kendall Fuller is making key plays. D. J. Swearinger is throwing his body around making some people think twice. I think we've gotten better on this side of the ball which is good because we are going to need it this week.
This Oakland team was dangerous last year and probably a Derek Carr injury away from making some serious noise in the playoffs. And now they have Marshawn Lynch who looks like he hasn't lost much of a step. Add Cooper and Crabtree on the outsides and they are no slouch. We will have our hands full.
The Raiders are favored by 2.5 as of this writing with an over/under of 53.5. I think early on the game will trend towards the under as we'll see a little bit of a slugfest in the first half with both offenses struggling to move the ball consistently. However, in the second half, I think things will open up with the Raiders putting us on our heels and forcing us to play comeback almost always seemingly down by a score. But we are used to this and show continued grit to keep us in the game.
In the end, I do come back to one stat, however. Since the 90s, the away team is 6-0 in the series. I think that continues with the Raiders putting in a late score to seal it, 31-24.
The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
Da Raiders come to town on Sunday night. Primetime. Listening to this, how can you not get pumped for the challenge? These aren't the Raiders of old, but they are very solid and will make for a tough matchup. Can the Skins, and in particular Kirk Cousins, get rid of their Primetime curse?
I usually like numbers to help me determine how things may play out. So here are some:
• 8-5…..Raiders lead all time head to head.
• Raiders scoring 35.5 per game, allowing 18. Skins scoring 22 and allowing 25.
• Raiders #5 in rushing, Skins #4 . Passing…Raiders #14 , Skins #23 .
• Defense? In rushing Raiders are #14 , Skins #24 . Passing Raiders #20 , Skins #7 .
I could go on, but at this point, I don't think numbers over two games tell us much at all yet. So to my gut.
Providing Kelley can play and Gruden doesn't get all pass happy, I think our offense can hold their own against this Raider defense. The third game in we should see the WRs and Kirk start to click a little more. My bet is Pryor makes some clutch possession catches and once again Chris Thompson provides a big impact out of the backfield to keep this offense moving although there will be the usual hiccups along the way.
Outside of a few mental breakdowns, I'm excited about how our defense has been playing. The Zach Brown's Band third in the league in tackles. Kendall Fuller is making key plays. D. J. Swearinger is throwing his body around making some people think twice. I think we've gotten better on this side of the ball which is good because we are going to need it this week.
This Oakland team was dangerous last year and probably a Derek Carr injury away from making some serious noise in the playoffs. And now they have Marshawn Lynch who looks like he hasn't lost much of a step. Add Cooper and Crabtree on the outsides and they are no slouch. We will have our hands full.
The Raiders are favored by 2.5 as of this writing with an over/under of 53.5. I think early on the game will trend towards the under as we'll see a little bit of a slugfest in the first half with both offenses struggling to move the ball consistently. However, in the second half, I think things will open up with the Raiders putting us on our heels and forcing us to play comeback almost always seemingly down by a score. But we are used to this and show continued grit to keep us in the game.
In the end, I do come back to one stat, however. Since the 90s, the away team is 6-0 in the series. I think that continues with the Raiders putting in a late score to seal it, 31-24.