Is It In You?

Friday....... Early AM........ Plane ride to the Donkey City to face off with one of the most hated rivals in the Division.......... so I ask...... Do you have it in you?

Huffy, do you have it in you to play more press coverage? To make the solid tackle? To not get caught in the pick route? To play with passion and intensity for 60 minutes? To make a difference? Is it in you?

Seymour, is it in you to be the leader you were brought here to be? To pressure the shit out of Peyton Manning? To put him on his ass? To be an effective team mate and guide that D-Line to victory? Is it in you?

Kelly, is it in you to play your ass off on every down and stay the fuck onside? To protect your defensive backfield by containing the run? Is it in you?

Rolando, is it in you to play smart and be the king of the second level as you were brought here to be? To play from sideline to sideline and to stay in your fits? To put the hurt on the Denver running game and any wide outs that come accross the middle? Is it in you?

O-Line, is it in you to OWN the line of scrimmage? To make holes big enough for a mack truck to drive through and allow your running game to be explosive? To keep Palmer on his feet and not allow any sacks? To play with the same heart and intensity you did against the Steelers?

Palmer, is it in you to play with poise and stand in the pocket and deliver the ball on time to your receivers? Is it in you to play with heart and passion and make good sound decisions? To play effective football for 60 minutes? To protect the ball in our possession for the duration of the game? Is it in you?

D-MAC, is it in you to put your foot in the ground and run North and South with thundering power and no regard for your opponent? To pound that bullshit Donkey defense into submission? To slash and gash that secondary on your way to a 150 yard game? To put that rock in the end zone and show who we are? Do you have it in you?

Coaching staff, do you have it in you to call a smart game? A game plan to puts us in the best position to succeed, but not so vanilla that you take any momentum out of the players? To allow our skilled players to get the ball with enough time to make big plays? To call a smart mix of plays on offense and a strong relentless game on defense with hidden blitz packages and good solid rotation on the line?

I'll make this simple.... we are going up against one of the best. He got there because he understands how to break a teams will. He is relentless. He is dominant. He is smart and poised. He knows that he is not to let his foot off of the gas until the final bell rings. He will tear you apart and keep his foot on your throat as you bleed to death. Going into this bye week, I and the Raider Nation will accept nothing less than 2-2. Just because we beat a good team in the Steelers does not mean that everything is fine. That's bullshit to think that. We expect greatness every week. Not one week on and one week off. EVERY WEEK!  That's what it takes to be champions. That's what it takes to be great.

DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU TO BE GREAT?

Do something about it! Whoop that ass on Sunday! Prove the Raider Nation right! 

Chaotic View

Pre-Season Game 2...... Cards Vs. Raiders

Wonder what just happened? Don't. Want to know why? Its pre-season and you can only learn so much with players who put in 80% effort because they do not want to get injured and those who have secured a starting role on the team and do not feel the need to go the extra mile in games that don't matter.

I do not put much weight on these games, and my thought is that neither should you. But, for s*its and giggles, I think I should touch on what I saw and give my two cents.

Offense-

Better, but still not where it needs to be. I saw a lot of the vintage Texans offense on display.  A few bootlegs, some misdirection and even cut backs. Inconsistencies reside at the Wide Receiver level and Offensive line, but for the most part the team was able to move the ball with some level of purpose.


Carson was able to avoid some pressure and get the ball on the hands of his wideout's, but as I mentioned, there are a lot of inconsistencies there. DHB dropped a sure touchdown in the end zone and a few other balls that should have been caught.














 Mike Goodson has his debut and subsequently failed miserably. 2 fumbles lost by him alone and looking like he had absolutely no ball control skills. Scary to think this cat could be our back up to McFadden. Not really a chance I think we should take if this keeps up.

Streater looked good at Receiver. 7 for 43 yards and could potentially be our starter opposite DHB should Ford and Moore be out for substantial time. No different than last year, early injuries derailing our hopes of having a great tandem running the sidelines.








Defense-

"That boy is scared" was something you could read from the lips of Tommy Kelly after the sack on Kevin Kolb in the end zone for a safety. That was for the most part the way the game went. The defense (1st team) stood their ground and just about put Kolb on his ass every other play. Aside from poor starting field position, thanks to our special teams and offensiv

e fumbles, the defense held their own forcing 4 turnovers, 3 by way of fumbles and 4 sacks.










Special Teams-
Sucked a big one and this could get bad. A blocked punt, huge return and some other missed responsibilities could spell disaster should this not get taken care of quickly.

What does it all mean? Work, work and more work...........Post game Vids coming soon.

Chaotic View

Its keeps breaking today.... Raiders hire Frank Pollack

Bob Wylie, who entered his fourth decade of coaching football that includes 18 years at the professional level, has been released by the Raiders as our offensive line coach.

Wylie spent last season retooling an offensive line that relied heavy on the run. The Raiders seemed to really produce at times last year and I am sad to see him go.

Frank Pollack on the other hand was in his sixth year as the Texans assistant offensive line coach. Pollack  worked closely with offensive line coach John Benton to mold the Texans offensive line into one of the most productive in the NFL.

Last season, the Texans were 13th overall. They scored an average 23.8 points per game, amassed 372 average yards per game and only allowed 33 sacks Vs. the Raiders who only allowed 25. The Texans were also 2nd in the league in rushing and ran for 2,448 yards with an average of 4.5 per carry which was good enough for 7th in the league.

In 2010 the Texans front five paved the way for another record-setting season for Houston’s offense. The Texans ranked third in the NFL in 2010 with a franchise record 6,186 yards of offense (383.3 yards per game), a team-record 290 points (24.4 points per game) and helped produce the NFL’s rushing and touchdown champion, running back Arian Foster. Foster set team records with 1,616 yards rushing and 18 total touchdowns. It was the third-straight season Houston’s offense finished among the NFL’s top-five offenses.

In 2009, the line provided protection for the NFL’s leading passer, Matt Schaub, who threw for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns.  Overall, the offense ranked fourth in the league, averaging 383.1 yards per game.  The passing attack led the league with an average of 290.9 net yards per game, and the 25 sacks allowed were the fifth-fewest in the league.

In 2008, the Texans line featured the same starting lineup for all 16 games, marking the first such occurrence in team history.  The line paved the way for rookie running back Steve Slaton to set a franchise record with 1,282 rushing yards, while the 32 sacks allowed were the second-fewest in team history.  The 2008 offense was the most productive in Texans history, gaining 6,113 total yards, which ranked third in the NFL.

In his first year with the Texans, Pollack helped mold an offensive line that became the best in team history in terms of pass protection. The line cut its 2006 sack total nearly in half, from 43 to just 22 in 2007, allowing a sack on just four percent of the team’s pass attempts. On the ground, the line helped running back Ron Dayne to a team- and career-high 773 yards and six touchdowns.

Pollack’s first collegiate coaching position was at his alma mater, Northern Arizona, in 2005 as the co-offensive line coach working specifically with the tackles and tight ends. He was promoted to the offensive line coach in 2006 where the Lumberjacks produced the Big Sky Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. The Northern Arizona offense led the conference in scoring (34.4) and passing (267.2) and finished second in rushing (137.9). Their points per game were fourth in the Division 1-AA.

Pollack was a sixth-round selection by the San Francisco 49ers in 1990. He played by the Bay from 1990-91 before moving to Denver where he played from 1992-93 before ending his career with the 49ers from 1994-98. He finished his career with 90 career games and one Super Bowl Championship with San Francisco in 1994.

Pollack attended Greenway High School in Phoenix and graduated from Northern Arizona with a degree in advertising in 1990. He was inducted into Northern Arizona’s Hall of Fame in the fall of 2010. He and his wife, Wendy, have three sons, Frankie, Carter and Wilson.

His Coaching career is as follows:

2007-11:  Assistant Offensive Line, Houston Texans
2006:  Offensive Line, Northern Arizona
2005:  Co-Offensive Line, Northern Arizona

I am sure this is a Greg Knapp pick. Based on his relationship he had this year with Pollack, the Raiders are looking to keep some sense of similarity on the Offensive side of the ball. Look for more of a Zone Blocking Scheme to make its way back into the picture.

Chaotic View