October 2, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) runs the ball against the New England Patriots in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Patriots defeated the Raiders 31-19. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Every Sunday in the fall, groups of bros gather in mancaves across the nation to cheer on their favorite teams. The groups generally consist of three different types of fans. The Home team Fan whom cheers for any yahoo hailing from the same state (this fan group is typically larger then the remaining two groups). The third branch of football fandom is the Chosen Fan. This type of fan shares a special bond with his/her team of choice other than location (commonly confused with the third type of fan). The final fan type is the most hated fan in all the football world. The Bandwagon Fan is a fan of whatever team is headlining Sports Center. This sad pathetic animal mocks those who have found comfort in a football family knowing their team is always the one that wins.

Unfortunately dealing with the latter of fans has become increasingly worse. With the rising popularity of fantasy football many fans have gone rogue jumping on the bandwagons of players. Fantasy football is a great game, and doesn’t require one to leave their team. Although it may feel like cheating it is perfectly acceptable to partake in this competition amongst bros. However, one mathematical rule must always be followed when playing fantasy football; The Oakland Raiders > your fantasy team.

Sadly this game tends to give a leg up to those band-wagoners who don’t feel so guilty when drafting players from all around the NFL. So in order for all of the Raider fanatics out there to beat those loud mouthed homeless fans, knowing what Oakland has to offer in the fantasy world is crucial. Hopefully this evaluation of players will allow the Raider faithful to claim their rightful spot at the top of everything football.

Darren McFadden – Lets start with the hottest player on Oakland’s roster. Now in today’s drafts a lot of people want to go out and grab big name quarterbacks in the first round. That’s great and all, but I’m old fashioned and prefer to start my team out with a solid running back. I can back this method up by pointing out that it is quite difficult to find a quality running back. Whereas it is rather easy to come across a solid quarterback in later rounds (Eli Manning, Mathew Stafford, Big Ben). Darren McFadden I believe will drop in most leagues due to the QB craziness and a lack of faith due to his injury problems. This Raider is far past due for a breakout season and should be drafted before the 9th overall pick in most peoples drafts.

Carson Palmer – I expect a great season out of Palmer. With a rejuvenated McFadden, a great offensive line, and a horrible defense this quarterback will be slinging the ball plenty. With that said, Palmer is too inconsistent to be a starter in somebody’s roster. He is a late round pick and a backup at best. The fact that the Raiders defense seems close to hopeless will hurt Palmer and force him to be responsible for leading comebacks. These comeback attempts will very likely end in games with 3 or more interceptions. I also predict Palmer putting up some big numbers in games where he is able to manage his passes better. Unfortunately Palmer is just to unpredictable to start and should be left alone to hang loose in free agency.

The Raider Recievers – This group of recievers will cause defenses fits week in and week out. The speed of Jacoby Ford, with the Deep threat of Denarius Moore, and the route running of Darius Heyward-Bey is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to this talent filled position in the Bay. Looking at it from a fantasy perspective is more then just talent. Fantasy is about players putting up stats. Oakland Recievers are the worst recievers to have on your fantasy team. The Raiders utilize many of their weapons throughout the season and due to the large number of playmakers at this position it makes it near impossible to tell which reciever is going to come up big. Stay away from these guys if you want to win.

Seabastion Janikowki – This is a no brainer. Take him late and watch him rival your tight ends and defenses in points.

The Raider’s Defense – If it comes down to it, dont play a defense. I wish I could say this defense was anywhere close to good, but they couldnt stop a car with a stop sign.

Best of luck Raider Nation!

The line that separates champs from chumps isn't so wide the Raiders can't cross into Giant territory. (Photo: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE)

The New York Giants are far from a perfect football team. Their flaws were on display for much of the regular season as they rode a weekly rollercoaster. Tom Coughlin’s team seemed to shift focus from week to week looking like champs one week and chumps the next.

What made the New York Giants world champions was more than a drop by Wes Welker, a poor decision by Tom Brady or a great throw by Eli Manning. All of those factors contributed to the Giants’ 21-17 Super Bowl stunner against the previously invincible Pats.

What gave the Giants a chance to be champs and eventually got them a second ring in four years was the ability to dig deep when it matters most.

If the Oakland Raiders ever want to see another Lombardi added to the cabinet then they’ve got to take a page from the Giants’ formula. Not much separated the Giants from the Raiders this past season. Both teams needed help to make it into the postseason. Both were teetering on the brink of an early vacation. Both controlled their own fate down the stretch.

The difference between the two is simple.

When the Giants saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the horns, they went forward without hesitation, possessing supreme confidence in their talents and perfect execution of their game plan.

When the Raiders saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the tail, they cowered into a corner, rolled over in the clutch and lost all faith in what had put them in position to win their division and go forward into the NFL’s championship tournament.

On paper these teams aren’t that different.

Both teams have the ability to give you different looks in the running game with two unique running backs. The Raiders just so happen to have an elite game breaker in Darren McFadden when healthy. In fact, the Raiders ran the rock infinitely better than the Giants with Michael Bush carrying the load.

Both teams boast of a talented receiving corp. The Raiders receivers are slowly coming into their own while the Giants’ group is clearly ready for primetime.

Both teams view their defensive line as the foundation upon which titles are built. The Raiders just wish they could get the consistent and clutch performance from their unit similar to what New York got from theirs during the biggest moments of the season.

Where the two teams greatly differ are in some of the most important areas.
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Here in Los Angeles, mid-way through the third quarter, CBS took the Raider game off the air in favor of the Detroit Lions.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Oakland Raiders do not deserve to play in the NFL.

Sad efforts like the pathetic 44-7 loss to the New York Giants today barely merit membership in the UFL.

Ahmad Bradshaw had more total yards by himself than the Raiders, out gaining the Silver and Black 165 to 124. The most crushing of his large gains was a 55-yard reception when Bradshaw converted a 3^rd and 24 on a screen pass thanks in part to outside linebacker Ricky Brown going down injured.

How can we add insult to injury?

That is now four consecutive games in which Tom Cable’s play calling has produced less than 200 yards of total offense. Nothing is working. The running game is non-existent. The passing game is laughable. The play calling is unimaginative. The opponents can see what’s coming from a mile away.

The injuries along the offensive line haven’t helped any but neither has the coaching staff. The only adjustment the coaching staff is making right about now is updating their resumes. Cable shoulders the blame as the man who sits atop the pile of toxic waste that is Raider football in 2009. However, the head coach is not alone.

JaMarcus Russell’s work ethic would only impress Kevin Federline. Not cutting Russell any slack, but I don’t think working with Paul Hackett is something that would motivate anybody to clock in early and stay late. Hackett is quarterback kryptonite.

Hackett nearly pissed away a Heisman trophy winner in Carson Palmer at USC. Were it not for Norm Chow, Palmer would be playing in Canada.

The good news is that JaMarcus won round one of the Bust Bowl as he bested former number one oveall selection David Carr. Carr entered the game in the second quarter in relief of Eli Manning who was forced to be benched thanks to Tom Coughlin honoring the mercy rule.

Carr had a victory clearly in hand until he had a moment of madness and actually scrambled for a touchdown. Plays like that are the reason why Carr will never be able to take down Ryan Leaf as the greatest bust to ever play quarterback. Carr needs to carefully study Russell’s three fumbles today if he wants pointers on how to be epically awful.

Fixing JaMarcus Russell seems as futile as expecting the Raiders to beat the Eagles in Oakland next Sunday; not that it is impossible, it’s just that the coaching staff has no clue how to do it.  

It would seem that Al Davis has finally taken control of Cable’s mind. The scary thought is that Davis might have unknowingly created a monster. Cable appears to have gone rogue like that jet in the classic Jamie Foxx film Stealth (What can I say? A crappy analogy about a crappy movie for a crappy team). Even if Davis phoned in the benching of Russell, Cable would continue to roll the dice on his young QB, leaving him in the game to fumble like an amputee trying to catch a golf ball coated in Crisco. The head coach’s tunnel vision has the top pick in 2010 clearly in sight.

Bruce Gradkowski might not be the answer to the offensive woes, but the Raiders should feel obligated to find out.

If there is a way for this team to become even worse, it can be found in the dark thoughts that flood the mind of Paul Hackett. Hackett has what it takes to make the firing of Tom Walsh look controversial.

With the possibility of Cable being either fired, jailed or suspended, it would seem only a matter of time until Hackett is the newest marionette on the Oakland sideline.  

Get your stale popcorn ready, we’re just over ¼ of the way through the season.

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