Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

If anybody out there has the right to say whatever he wants to about the pathetic performance of the Oakland Raiders’ offense this year its Hue Jackson. Under Jackson the Raiders became a top 10 NFL offense that featured a burgeoning MVP candidate in Darren McFadden and a trio of young playmakers out wide.

Under Greg Knapp…I can’t talk about it anymore. You know…

So when Jackson was asked about the Raiders becoming so dependent on throwing the ball (you know because they couldn’t run with a healthy McFadden all of a sudden) he avoided the question like McFadden used to do tacklers when he was  in the open field.

“Honestly I don’t want to comment because I’m not there. I don’t know exactly what’s going on. I know they have some very good players, I know the quarterback is playing extremely well. They’re rallying around him. Carson’s there to throw the ball because he knows how to throw the ball, and they have some weapons there. I’m not surprised. That’s a really good football team. They have some talent there and they’re throwing it all over the yard.”

Of course you’d expect Jackson to keep singing the praises of  Palmer. Whatever Raider legacy Jackson will ultimately have is as much tied to the success of McFadden as it is the failure of Palmer. No surprise he’d keep beating the how-great-is-Palmer drum.

What is revealing is that he didn’t even want to address anything about the Raiders struggles in running the rock when McFadden was healthy. Almost as if it’s painfully obvious to him what went wrong…cough, cough, Knapp, cough, cough…

Okay ref,which play should I run?

Greeting Nation,

I love me some social media. Speaking with the Twitter fans, I know for a fact that I am not the only Raider fan who has noticed Greg Knapp’s lame offensive scheme.  The #fireKnapp hash tag has been used every Sunday for the last four weeks. (More so after one of our countless three and outs.) Knapp’s lack of creativity is astounding.  The commentators and the so-called NFL experts are finally picking up on it and are bringing it to the light. You can’t hide your dirty laundry Knapp. All of your neighbors see you nasty ass chonies hanging from the clothing line.

The one thing that Hue Jackson did that Knapp has not was speak to Darren McFadden and ask for his input. What are his favorite run plays? Help me help you! A smart coach designs a game plan around his talent, not brings the same game cookie cutter plan out and hopes it works out for everyone. When you have a stallion like DMC in your stable, you don’t tie a wagon to him, you set that horse free! #freemcfadden 

Our QB play has been a pleasant surprise this season. Carson Palmer has shown poise and strength in the pocket. His movement in the pocket has been outstanding as he dips and dodges for his existence. I wonder if Patches O’houlihan threw wrenches at him in the off season to prepare for this season. (If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a D lineman.) Palmer has shown great strength in shaking off would be tacklers and has shown great mobility. Madden has him listed as a pocket passer, they may need to change that next season. I’m kidding. I think Carson is feeling the pressure on certain (okay ALL) plays and that’s where the forced mistakes are happening. When we ran the no huddle, and Palmer was in charge of the play calling, we looked good. Hmmm, I wonder….

All in all, we won ugly this weekend.  We will be facing a stout run defense this weekend in KC. I hope Knapp can pull his head out of his ass in time to help Darren McFadden find his former self. Free that pony and watch him go!

Greg Simon

Staff Writer

Justblogbaby.com      

@simonizr

I spoke with JBB follower and die hard Oakland Raider fan Ryan Tie @raider_ryty on Twitter the other night. I posed the question to Ryan about trading DMC. Ryan, like most, said we should keep DMC for a few more years to see what he can do with Carson Palmer at the helm. Ryan stated that DMC is our “playmaker” and with him we should not suffer from TD supressed game like in the past. Ryan stated if McFadden gets hurt this year, we should definitely draft a running back as a priority.

The Nation Loves D-Mac ~Photo A.P.

I agree with Ryan that we have yet to see DMC’s full potential with a legit QB. I’ll always have fear that McFadden will get hurt again and our backups do not look that sexy! (The average RB’s carrier is usually only 3 years for obvious reasons.) In the last four years, McFadden has surpassed the 500 yard mark only twice. One of those times, however, was a 1,000 yard season.

McFadden is a game changer but for how long? Trading at him at his peak could net us several high value draft picks that Hue and Al gave away like breath mints at an AA meeting. I love DMC and I hope he goes full beast mode this year, however, the temptation is what is behind door #3.

Follow Ryan on Twitter at @raider_ryty

Greg Simon

Staff Writer for JBB

@simonizr

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