A day of redemption
I'm proudly waving my Oakland Raiders banner today. My team got its first win of the season, holding off St. Louis 16-14 in The Black Hole.
No, it's a bit premature to start screaming "the Silver and Black is back!"
But, it does feel good to at least be competitive.
Oakland's defense was stout. Yeah, the Rams' offense is horrific but Steven Jackson is a big, strong, fast back and the Raiders shut him down in the second half.
Offensively, I never lost faith in Darren McFadden. Thanks to an injury to Michael Bush, Coach Tom Cable had no choice but to give the ball to the former Razorback All-American. Even behind that porous offensive line, McFadden brushed aside the "bust" talk, pounding his way for 145 yards on 30 carries.
That's right - 30 carries.
He was the workhorse of the offense. Give some credit to Bruce Gradkowski for sparking the team at quarterback. But, the man who carried the load was McFadden.
Hopefully, he showed the powers that be in Oakland that he should be the team's focal point on offense. Give him the ball again and again and eventually, he'll get into a rhythm and he'll produce for you.
McFadden didn't break off a lot of big runs but he ran hard - real hard. He was delivering hits instead of absorbing them. He looked like an NFL back. He looked like a stud.
Another player who made the most of a rare opportunity was Michael Vick in Philadelphia. He took advantage of an injury to make his first start in a long time. Vick passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns and led the Eagles to their first win of the season.
It was a great day for two players who have seen their stock plummet. It was a great day for two players who have been given up on.
It was also a great day for me. I believed in both of these guys so much, I started them on my Fantasy Team. That's right, I benched Tom Brady and started Vick. I benched Joseph Addai and inserted McFadden.
Who's crazy now, suckers?
No, it's a bit premature to start screaming "the Silver and Black is back!"
But, it does feel good to at least be competitive.
Oakland's defense was stout. Yeah, the Rams' offense is horrific but Steven Jackson is a big, strong, fast back and the Raiders shut him down in the second half.
Offensively, I never lost faith in Darren McFadden. Thanks to an injury to Michael Bush, Coach Tom Cable had no choice but to give the ball to the former Razorback All-American. Even behind that porous offensive line, McFadden brushed aside the "bust" talk, pounding his way for 145 yards on 30 carries.
That's right - 30 carries.
He was the workhorse of the offense. Give some credit to Bruce Gradkowski for sparking the team at quarterback. But, the man who carried the load was McFadden.
Hopefully, he showed the powers that be in Oakland that he should be the team's focal point on offense. Give him the ball again and again and eventually, he'll get into a rhythm and he'll produce for you.
McFadden didn't break off a lot of big runs but he ran hard - real hard. He was delivering hits instead of absorbing them. He looked like an NFL back. He looked like a stud.
Another player who made the most of a rare opportunity was Michael Vick in Philadelphia. He took advantage of an injury to make his first start in a long time. Vick passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns and led the Eagles to their first win of the season.
It was a great day for two players who have seen their stock plummet. It was a great day for two players who have been given up on.
It was also a great day for me. I believed in both of these guys so much, I started them on my Fantasy Team. That's right, I benched Tom Brady and started Vick. I benched Joseph Addai and inserted McFadden.
Who's crazy now, suckers?
posted by Tony at
5:31 PM
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