Week One always presents the biggest challenge for handicappers. They have to base the spread upon last season and the offseason to speculate who the best teams in the league are. There are no trends, no basis for comparison and no streaks to evaluate. That means you've got a chance to really take advantage of unknowing handicappers. Here are three underdogs that are going to shock the world in Week One. Dallas Cowboys (+4) The Cowboys had a disappointing season last year, to say the least. After giving Wade Phillips ...
The time for NFL teams to whittle their rosters down to at or below the 53-man limit has come and gone. In the process, teams have cut players young and old, experienced and inexperienced. With so many player cuts, it's inevitable that teams will regret some of the cuts they make.The Oakland Raiders are one of those teams, as they will regret cutting veteran quarterback Trent Edwards.Edwards wasn't going to be a franchise quarterback for Oakland. He has had plenty of chances to start and he hasn't taken advantage of any of them. That's not why they missed on him, ...
Given their struggles at the quarterback position in recent years, you would think that the Oakland Raiders would make sure they were well stocked with quarterbacks before embarking on their 2011 season. Instead, the team cut loose Trent Edwards, leaving them with just Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller. Fools! Well, at least for the first five games of the regular season. After that, the Raiders will get reinforcement in the person of rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor. You may have heard of Pryor. Suffice it to say he's the guy who starred at Ohio State, scuttled the program with his role ...
Those that read Moneyball remember it well. There was the case of Scott Hatteberg. Hatteberg moved from behind the dish to first base because he could no longer throw effectively. He could however, draw walks and hit with moderate power. Then there were the collective drafts of Nick Swisher and Jeremy Brown—Swisher you have heard of, Brown you probably haven’t. The most important points people seemed to draw from the book was that OBP was the most important offensive statistic in baseball and baseball players aren’t supposed to look good in jeans.Okay, maybe they can look good in jeans, but ...
Moneyball will be coming out in theaters soon. Billy Beane had a strategy that was phenomenal for the first couple of seasons.As the years went on, Beane and the Oakland Athletics were less and less successful. Their efforts to build a talented, cost-efficient team have not worked.These are some reasons why Moneyball has hurt Beane’s career much more than it has helped it.Begin Slideshow
For the first time this season, Brandon McCarthy tossed a complete game and won.Now, it’s not the first time this season that McCarthy has gone the distance; he’s done that four times. It also marked the second consecutive game that he has pitched the entire game. On this particular Saturday, though, McCarthy was masterful on the mound. He allowed just three hits while walking none and striking out ten Mariners without allowing a run. The shutout was only the second of his career, and first of the season. The A’s were able to secure the victory ...
Well, the 2011 "fake games" are now over with as of last night. Let's take a look at what we've learned about the Oakland Raiders so far. Even though the Raiders went 0-4, there were some bright spots. However, some things went badly and some were downright UGLY! I'm usually a pretty positive dude. How else do you explain the articles I wrote in the past defending JaMarcus Russell? Check my archives, they're there. Unfortunately, I must say I'm a tad bit concerned. So let's just break it down and go from there! Being the positive dude I am, we'll start ...
When you remember that the Oakland Raiders have not won one preseason game, you realize that there must be a win, soon. Why not tonight?.
Also, since Tom Cable was fired by the Oakland Raiders and he now is an assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks it means that Cable can stand proud, for a moment, if his team defeats the Oakland Raiders.
On another note, Hue Jackson replaced Cable and that suggests that Jackson will be a better head coach than Cable. However, if Jackson's team does not defeat the Seahawks some folks may consider that something is amiss.
The game may ...
In just a few days some players are going to get cut from the Oakland Raiders. The roster has to be trimmed. Next, the coaches must select the 11 starters on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. 11 men on a team at one time. 11 men who supposedly have a commitment to excellence, according to the Al Davis motto for the Oakland Raiders. This motto causes one to think. A player cannot have a commitment to excellence without having a personal pursuit of excellence in his own performance.In other words, an Oakland Raider is not really competing ...
So now that Terrelle Pryor is an Oakland Raider, after everything that's occurred with him this offseason, does that make him a bust?Well, it certainly doesn't help the cause, but that apparently was irrelevant to Al Davis.As we all know, he'll go after anyone regardless of what the critics say.In any event, Pryor has a lot of proving to do.But, until he actually does perform, here are five reasons to not believe.Begin Slideshow