John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Forget what you’ve heard. The Madden Curse is real. That is why it’s a really good thing that Sebastian Janikowski’s bid to grace the cover of football’s best video game ended as soon as it started. Seabass was eliminated in the first round of voting for the cover, losing out to Maurice Jones-Drew in a none-too-close vote.

MJD got 64% of the vote so Jacksonville’s odds of returning to Los Angeles increased with the potential to lose their best player remaining very much alive.

Over the years, men such as Eddie George, Barry Sanders, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk and Vince Young have all fallen victim to the curse in some form. Last season Peyton Hillis became the latest entry on video gaming’s most infamous list.

Hopefully becoming a perennial Pro Bowler will be a more welcome reward for Jano than becoming the first kicker to grace the Madden Cover.  It’s a curse both he and the Raiders don’t need.

Long before there was even an NFL season JBB has taken the stance that Kyle Boller just wasn’t a good enough backup plan. Needless to say this is one topic that I hoped to never revisit. None the less here we are as Jason Campbell is already rumored to be done for the rest of the season with a broken collar bone.

Gulp!

But before we go there let’s stick to the here and now.

Right about now Hue Jackson can do no wrong. Jackson’s perfect play calling married with his significant swagger is a marriage made in heaven. Jackson has no problem making the unconventional calls as evident by his fake field goal that resulted in an unlikely Shane Lechler to Kevin Boss score.

While we’re on talking about Lehcler throwing the rock, he could be the best option at QB going forward.

But I’m still not ready to discuss that topic.
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Yet they are.

If form holds true then come Sunday night the Raiders will be back to .500 yet again. That’s how this roller coaster season has gone. In fact this goes all the way back to last season when the Raiders finished as a .500 club. If you really want to do some digging then go back to those consistently inconsistent .500 years prior to Jon Gruden’s arrival. Chucky helped the team to take the next step. Can Hue Jackson do the same but in a shorter amount of time? That remains to be seen.

What we have seen is the following: A win, followed by a loss, followed by a win, followed by a loss. That is the pattern and that is the tendency this team bust break in order to finally breakout.

Standing between Oakland and a town called Consistency is Cleveland. Ironically the Browns are a .500 club. Some are calling this a trap game for the Raiders but that is being far too dismissive of Cleveland. This game is no more a trap than last week was in Houston, or the week before that against the Pats.

Simply put the Raiders aren’t in a position to fall into any trap. All there is right now on the schedule is opportunity. How Coach Jackson and his team embrace the chance to gain a little momentum will be seen Sunday.
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