Week 3 Matchup @ oakland

Alright, so I'm going to start this thing up with some of my personal comments on the game coming up. Here goes:

1. This is NOT the 2008 raiders. They are tougher, and seemingly have found their mojo in the run game. The Bush/McFadden combination is definitely their strength.

2. THIS IS NOT THE 2008 rAIDERS! For better and worse, these guys are who they are. I believe, so far, they are better in their good areas, and worse in the areas they struggled in last year. So, exploiting their weaknesses shouldn't be that hard to do.

3. Tom Cable might be doing something right, but he's definitely not there yet. They've got a lot of stuff to fix and some of their problems can't be fixed (Jamarcus the Hutt's arm). Like I said before, their strengths are better, and the weaknesses are worse.

4. We're traveling up to the bay and facing the lesser of the two bay squads. The raidaz and their dirty, ugly fans believe this is their year (like every year), and it's our duty to smash their painted faces in the dirt and show why you don't mess with the Orange Crush!

5. Last but not least, next weekend will not be an impressive outing from KO, but it's ok! Knowshon and Buck will show their two backs what it's like to get more than 1.5 YPC. Check the stats out below and we'll analyze together!

::Come together, right now....::

Here's my format: We'll go on 5 main focal points, and discuss advantages/disadvantages in all of them.

Denver pass offense vs. oakland pass defense:

Not going to get a whole lot done here, since Nnamdi is around, and his counterpart (whats-his-name) have been pretty solid so far. Don't get me wrong, I've seen crazier things, but I don't fully expect KO to blow their secondary up at all. Although, oakland's defense is ranked 21st against the pass, averaging 238 yards and they've allowed 2 passing TD's so far, but they have also gotten 3 INT's thus far. Could go either way.

Denver run offense vs. oakland run defense:

This one gets fun and colorful for us. oakland isn't a strong team against the run yet. Their defensive line has shown some balls, which is nice for them, but really they aren't THAT good. Believe it. They are 21st against the run as well. They are averaging 125 yards allowed per game on the ground, but they haven't seen a running game like ours. They held Larry Johnson pretty well today, but without a decent pass game from KC, it's tough to have a successful run game either. Matt Cassel had 39 attempts on the game. Can't set up the run when passing THAT much. We win this one.

oakland pass offense vs. Denver pass defense:

Currently, Denver is ranked 11th in the league against the pass.  We average 204 yards allowed per game, but we haven't allowed 1 TD on a pass play yet. Not that that means a whole lot right now, but consider that we've been pinned back deep in our own red zone more than a couple times the past two weeks, and still haven't allowed a passing touchdown. If you're curious, oakland is rated 29th in their passing offense. Thanks Hutt, I love your 7/26 passing game! Oh yeah, his rating is 49.3 as well (against the weaker KC secondary, mind you). We will smoke the inaccurate one a few times on Sunday. Win for us

oakland run offense vs Denver run defense:

If ever oakland had a strength, this one is it. They have that all powerful run game (overrated). With their two headed run game, they average out at 16th in the run game, racking up a whopping 107 yards per game. Oh yeah, Denver's run defense is ranked 10th allowing 70 yards per game. Oh, one more thing, we've only allowed one offensive touchdown all year. I know I know, it's only been two weeks, but it stands for something. We will win this battle. Our front 7 will overwhelm the Hutt and show why you don't mess with Denver.

Denver QB vs oakland QB:

Probably pointless to mention, since they will never actually play against one another on the field. I had to do this though, because there's a lot of Orton haters that are trashing him for throwing away when needed, and not taking stupid risks. Oh yeah, there's even some Bronco fans that believe the Hutt is better than he is too. Let's not make crazy statements kids, everyone will think you're on drugs. Here's the numbers for the two:

Kyle Orton in 2009:

36/65 Comp % @ 55.4% total

506 yards passing (at this rate, he'll have 4000+ by seasons end, FYI)

2 TD's (equally entertaining, at this rate he'll have 16 TD's by seasons end, lol)

0 INT's (at this rate, he'll have 0 INT's by seasons end, NICE!)

avg Rating: 90.9

I know, no way he goes all year with no INT's. I get that, and I know he'll have more than 16 TD's this season. Oh, and I also believe he'll throw for many more yards than that as well. So much for the noodle armed QB, suckers. Check out the Hutt's numbers:

JaMarcus the Hutt in 2009:

19/54 Comp % @ 35.2% total

317 yards passing

1 TD

2 INT's

Avg Rating: 46.6

Please, tell me again if you think he's a better quarterback than Kyle Orton? Oh yeah, KO is the 11th ranked QB in the league, and the Hutt is 30th.

Alright, so what does it all mean? Well, essentially nothing. Stats can be made to say anything you want them to. I'm making a humorous attempt at it here though. As for a prediction, I'll go back to my post (written in August). Here's what I had to say then, and I hold it true now:

Week 3 @ Oakland: Well, all the usual suspects are here (and I mean suspects). With Tom Cable facing an inevitable suspension from the league, Oakland seems to have nothing figured out on any side of the ball. Nnamdi Asamugha is in full force, but still can't stand up to Brandon Marshall in the one on one. Marshall takes it home for 2 TD's, Gaffney takes a nice third down RZ pass in, and HIllis rocks the house once as well. Prater lands himself 2 more field goals as well. JaMarcuss the hutt actually eats a football in the 3rd quarter. Win 34-7

Let's talk.