MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH. 2009
7:00pm

The stage will be set.. the lights will be on…the fans will be in a frenzy and the cameras will be rolling..

How will our 2009 Oakland Raiders respond against the San Diego Chargers in the season opener?

Recent history hasn’t been too kind to us against those notorious bastards.
Whether we’re up 15-3 in the 3rd Quarter like in the 4th week of the 2008 season, or getting our asses kicked throughout the entire game like in the 14th week of the season..
In any event, we have come up on the short end of the yard stick for quite a while now.

What has to change? What player has to be stopped?
The #1 answer; two capital letters that all Raider fans despise: LT.
The kid racked up a combined total of 45 carries for 197 yards for both games and has been known for sticking it to the Raiders even since he signed with the damn team.
I repeat, for the zillionth time, WE MUST STOP THE RUN!
Hell, what does our Defense really know about the word: “stop”? I’ll go again with “contain”. Mention that word after a game (Media) and I’ll say we are FINALLY progressing.
The same problem seems to be haunting us every damn year…the incorrect personal to slow down the opponents run.
The bad news is we have practically the same squad from 2008 (ranked #31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed..YIKES!) .

Emperor Al seems to think that our team has improved with the added addition of our new Defensive Coordinator, John Marshall. He will be expected to give our secondary, D-line and Linebackers a fresh new outlook and approach to defensive philosophy, therefore improving the weak spots overall. I hope for all our sake, the old man’s right. (He’s probably not, but remember…we also have the Force with us!)

Philip Rivers tore it up in both meetings too. The first game he went 14/25 for 180 yards with 1 Td while in his second meeting, he completed 10/22 passes for 214 yards with 3 Touchdowns.

You think this year we can we put a helmet on that man’s hip?!??!

Hopefully, our new teammate, Greg Ellis can find #17 behind the line of scrimmage. The warrior had a total of 8 sacks last year while playing limited minutes with the Cowboys.
Oakland envisions the 33-year-old Ellis as the every down player he was earlier in his career.
“I think he can be,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said earlier last month. “You look at the film and he’s been doing that, albeit in a different position. This is a guy you would rely on to come in and compete to be a starter and all that. He’s got so much left in terms of where he’s at physically, in terms of his body, his production, so (it’s) just a positive for our team.”
Ellis played outside linebacker the last two seasons in Dallas’ 3-4 system, but he’s listed at defensive end on the Raiders’ roster. That is the position he played while with the Cowboys before being moved by former coach Bill Parcells at the end of the 2006 season.
Oakland already has a two-time Pro Bowl left defensive end in Derrick Burgess, but Burgess wasn’t at last month’s practices. He hasn’t attended any of the Raiders’ offseason workouts except for a brief appearance at a mandatory minicamp in May when he was sidelined due to an upset stomach.
Not to worry DB, my tummy aches after offseason sessions too.
Burgess has also been the subject of trade rumors this offseason, but the Raiders insist the signing of Ellis is not related to that situation.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with it at this point,” Cable said. “This [Ellis signing] was just let’s make our team better and here’s the next opportunity to do that.”
The NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2007 when he garnered his only Pro Bowl selection, Ellis had been at odds with the Cowboys for several years. He was finally released by the team on June 2 in a move Dallas owner Jerry Jones said was based more on performance than pay.
Ellis, who was scheduled to earn $5.6 million in salary and bonuses from the Cowboys in 2009, drew interest from several teams before agreeing to a three-year deal with Oakland.
“It came about pretty quick last week, and once it got in motion, I think this was the place he wanted to be,” Cable said. “What we’re doing defensively, it fits him. It makes our team better.”
Ellis has had at least 7.5 sacks in seven of his 11 NFL seasons and has started all but six of the 162 games he has played in during his career.
Hopefully, John Marshall and Greg Ellis can be enough. If not we’re going to have to pray for a great showing by at least TWO of the following: Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Kirk Morrison, Justin Fargas, JaMarcus Russell, JL Higgins, Chaz Schilens, DHB or Javon Walker.
Nnamdi Asomugha? Hell…we already KNOW that man’s going to get the job done!!!!

I hope you’re all having a great summer vacation!!!!
Cheers!!!
-DR