The Oakland Raiders have been stealing the Bay Area Spotlight
from the 49ers for the past couple of days.
The Oakland Raiders have been stealing the Bay Area Spotlight from the 49ers for the past couple of days.
For a team that went 2-14 last year, that’s probably one of the more impressive things they’ve done recently.
National sports pundits have been saying Oakland’s name in the same breath as Everyone’s Favorite Sleeper That’s Not Really A Sleeper Anymore (the San Francisco 49ers) and Everyone’s Favorite Sleeper Pretty Much Every Year (the Arizona Cardinals) in these last few days leading up to today’s NFL season opener.
Some are saying the Raiders could be in the neighborhood of six or seven wins this year, an estimate that would have been laughed at last year, and an estimate that would be the most wins the team has had since their 11-5 record in 2002.
Six or seven wins? HA! That will never happen!
But everyone seems to like rookie coach Lane Kiffin; everyone loved the Raiders’ defense last year; and everyone thinks that with the roster moves made this year – Randy who? – the Raiders are moving in the right direction.
Of course, everyone was thinking these things with the full intention that Daunte Culpepper would be starting at the quarterback position.
According to ESPN.com’s Michael Smith, the Raiders are “leaning” toward naming Josh McCown the starting quarterback for Sunday’s opener against the Detroit Lions.
Seven wins, anyone? No?
Reports say that McCown, who many had pegged to be Culpepper’s backup, has been practicing with the first team the last two days, and is more familiar with the playbook than Culpepper is.
Culpepper was signed July 31 to perhaps fill the void left by holdout quarterback and No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell, while McCown has been around the Raiders practically forever. Or since April 28.
With that said, the latest win total I heard for the Raiders this season, after reports swirled of McCown being the man behind center, was two.
Wow!
So you’re saying with Culpepper, who may not know the Raiders playbook that well, Oakland was destined for six or seven wins. With McCown, who the Raiders brass is “leaning” toward and who knows the playbook better than Culpepper, two wins.
Ouch.
It’s a sad day when everyone jumps ship on the Raiders, who were quickly turning into The Little Sleeper That Could, picking up wins left and right just on the notion of Culpepper behind center, when in fact the season hadn’t started yet, nor had Kiffin ever announced who will be starting behind center.
If McCown is given the role, one would have to wonder how many games he’ll be in there for. While Culpepper isn’t exactly the second coming of, say, Kenny Stabler, he is proven, and he has performed the strongest among the quarterbacks in the preseason.
He is coming off a pair of knee surgeries, however, which has definitely hindered his mobility, but it hasn’t turned him into a pocket passer.
Although it is ludicrous for analysts and pundits to guess how many wins Team X will have, without fully knowing who will start for Team X, the quarterback situation in Oakland is not helping stir images of the Super Bowl Raiders from 2003.
In fact, it’s not exactly helping stir images of a six- or seven-win team. While I do feel Culpepper will be starting in a few short weeks, the quarterback situation is becoming a tad ridiculous. We are T-minus four days and counting from the season-opener, and positions still haven’t been filled.
If all of this is an elaborate plan to throw off the Lions on Sunday, because they, like us, don’t know who will be throwing the ball, just remember Josh McCown played for Detroit last year, so they may already have an idea of what he brings to the table.
In the Raiders case, hopefully he’ll be bringing more than just two wins.
