I used to have doubts about whether it was possible for the NFL to have an agenda or strategy when it came to dealing with the OAKLAND RAIDERS.They couldn't possibly treat one team differently to all of the others could they.The tuck game put it beyond doubt.
It is a fact, a fact I tell you, that there is nothing that the NFL likes more than screwing the RAIDERS.
Sticking it to Al at every possible opportunity obviously gives them a great deal of pleasure, whatever floats their boat.When the RAIDERS have had success, going to the playoffs, going to five Superbowls, there was only so much they could get away with, good teams will win through the bad calls and bullshit.
During last nights game it was easy to be angry as a RAIDER fan.It's easy to be angry when watching this present team, to witness the ongoing futility of it all.The game is hardly worth mentioning from a football standpoint, actually it's not worth mentioning at all.What made me angrier than my teams inability to produce anything vaguely resembling football, was the performance of the officials.
Louis Murphy must think that he has done something wrong in a previous life.Following on from his wiped out TD from week one, we now have the no you didn't catch that pass even though you caught the ball and got both feet down in bounds kind of call.Everyone watching including the CBS commentators saw the catch made which would have kept a drive alive in a season where RAIDER drives are hard to come by, but somehow superslowmo with zoom option wasn't enough to spot it.
And Chris Johnson, what were you thinking.Ok so you made a nice interception in your own end zone, that doesn't give you any right to be happy with yourself.And that going down on one knee holding your arms out thing is clearly unsportsmanlike.I have watched two other games from Sunday and in both players were guilty of more extravagant celebrations, for things like making a special teams tackle or knocking a ball down on third down, not a fifteen yard penalty to be seen, but then they don't play for the RAIDERS do they?
The outlawing of making contact with a quarterbacks head is probably a good idea, I mean the NFL wants to protect them at all costs.So when a defensive lineman comes through and smacks the QB around the head as he releases the football, that will be a personal foul and a fifteen yard penalty, that is of course unless you happen to be a QB for the OAKLAND RAIDERS, then, as an official despite being only a few yards away you are allowed to totally ignore the infringement.Happy Days.
You see NFL, even if your employees hadn't screwed the RAIDERS again, we would still have lost the game.We are a terrible football team, we are quite capable of screwing ourselves at the moment thank you very much.So how about you let us get hammered by teams every week without adding to the scoreline in your own little way.It must be hard to resist putting the boot in when the RAIDERS are down, but what goes around comes around and when we can play football again, hopefully while I am of an age where I can still dress and feed myself, we as RAIDER fans will take great delight in raising a collective middle finger in your direction.
It's not easy to see where the whole organisation can start to turn this around, the start of this season seemed to offer a glimpse of something, but that has faded pretty quickly and that feeling of deja vu has returned.Barring a miracle of biblical proportions another season is effectively written off already.It's a sad state of affairs, and looking at the imminent fixtures it isn't going to improve anytime soon.One thing that will endure is the RAIDER NATION, there is no choice for us, we have to ride out the storm, a bloody long and ugly storm, and hope that there is better to come.But soon, very soon the man at the top and those around him have got to realise that drastic measures are required to right the ship, it has already drifted aimlessly for too many years.
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2 comments:
Hey Leigh, I always enjoy reading your takes. You can't imagine what it's like out here in Oakland, like a pall has been cast over the city the way this team has been playing. And I say team because at this point if you had even Favre himself out there, I don't believe they could do much better. Where's the leadership? And now Cable has to answer to the authorities about his little "incident" and who knows where that is going to lead. I can't believe the officials are just so blatant and obvious with their wrong calls. It's laughable. I was listening to the radio broadcast and after the Murphy call, Tom Flores, who does color, was speechless. Just stunned silence from the booth. It's pretty clear we would have lost anyway, but jeez, give us a flippin' first down for Christssake. They aren't content with taking away TD's, now it's onto first downs? Aggregious. But I agree, as Raider Nation, we are in this together, for the loooooong haul. Cheers. PS, how you likin' that O-line? Pretty special....huh? lol
Great take, Leigh Raider. The blown calls by the officials just adds insult to injury, so to speak. Riding out the storm has tested all of us. This stretch of ineptitude (7 seasons) is begging out for systematic, urgent change. It all starts at the top. Davis needs to hire a capable GM to shoulder the heavy load of getting this ship off the rocks and back to glory.
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