To be sure Hester is the greatest return man in the history of the game. Sometimes there is nothing you can do except kick and pray.

That is unless you are the Oakland Raiders who have a knack for keeping Hester in check.

Given Oakland’s success you’d assume teams would be studying game tape to unlock Oakland’s secret. In reality there is no secret. The Raiders do things the Al Davis way. They kick to Hester and dare him to do what he does.

Of course it helps when you have an All-Galaxy punter like Shane Lechler doing the honors. Yesterday Lechler boomed one of the most memorable punts in NFL history as he sent the ball 80 yards downfield forcing Hester to attempt a Willie Mays style catch.

Today the Raiders took another big step towards realizing their goals as a team. Now this was far from a thing of beauty. I’ve seen hung-over frat houses that look better than the football played today by the Bears and Raiders.  In the end the scoreboard was as sexy as Salma Hayek in the nude pouring a celebratory drink.

Oakland out lasted Chicago in a 25-20 win that was as much about grit as it was execution.

As usual the Raiders found a way to keep things interesting late.

Early on it looked like Caleb Hanie was out of his element. Three first half picks pushed the Bears to the limit yet the Raiders couldn’t capitalize in the form of touchdowns. Thanks to a stout Chicago run defense Sebastian Janikowski became the Raiders’ scoring punch.

Sebass set a franchise record as he connected on six field goals. In keeping with the theme of the game most of Jano’s kicks were composed of equal parts doubt and relief. His attempts twisted, twirled and curved before finding their way to three points on the scoreboard.

But what is true in fantasy football holds equal weight in the world of real football. Points are points.

Oakland needed every one of Sebastian’s kicks. For the most of the first half the game was controlled by the men in the trenches. Chicago terrorized Carson Palmer while Oakland harassed Hanie.

Yet where we saw the Raiders become a playoff team was in the adjustments made during halftime.
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When you look back on it you could argue that Janikowski was almost as important to the Raiders as Darren McFadden. Now I’m not trying to make an apples to apples comparison. But there is no doubt a weapon as valuable as Janikowski can influence how Hue Jackson goes about putting together his game plan.

Janikowski’s range allows for more risks to be taken by the offense knowing that once they cross midfield the worst case scenario is three points. In a close game Janikowski gives the Raiders the benefit of going a little more conservative as they know field goal range is only a few yards away.

Hopefully Janikowski trusts his leg enough to open it up a little more on Sunday. We’re so accustomed to seeing Jano boom balls out of the back of the end zone that it has been disconcerting to see him hitting kickoffs short of the ten yard line. Safe to say those big kicks will be invaluable against Devin Hester.
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