Once again Biscayne Bay has taken the air out of the East Bay. We saw something eerily similar last year when Miami rolled into Oakland and left with a convincing result. Today was more of the same.

Where was that bully Coach Jackson has been building? This afternoon he sported a helmet with a fish logo. The Oakland Raiders were completely outclassed in every aspect of the game. This is a loss that cannot be attributed to anything more than effort or lack thereof on Oakland’s part.

Miami played like a team grinding towards the playoffs while the Raiders looked like the squad sucking for Luck. The good news is the season is far from over. The bad news is the Raiders are officially fighting for their playoff lives as the Denver Tebows did what they seem to always do these days.

If you blinked you might have missed those Mile High Donkeys sneaking up from the rear. Suddenly it is Denver in the driver’s seat for AFC West supremacy.

Certainly Reggie Bush had a lot to do with Miami mauling Oakland. The reborn runner continued his improved play by torching the Raider run defense for a workman’s 100 yards on the ground. All after noon the Dolphins dominated the trenches. Even Matt Moore found success running the rock.

When the Dolphins weren’t shoving the rock down the Raiders’ throat they were stopping every offensive effort Oakland made. Michael Bush and the Oakland ground game was nowhere to be found leaving Carson Palmer to shoulder the offensive burden. Too bad for Palmer that he spent most of the afternoon running for his life.

Miami beat the Raiders at their own game. They were the bullies on the block dominating the trenches with a physical brand of football built for the playoffs.

Speaking of the playoffs…

Playoffs? Playoffs! Don’t talk about playoffs!
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On the surface it would seem the odds makers missed as badly as Tim Tebow trying to throw on the run.

Thus far this season the Raiders have resembled the Mad Max sequel cause they’ve been Road Warriors. Oakland has lost just once in five road games this season. Meanwhile until recently the Dolphins couldn’t win at home if they were playing the University of Miami.

In recent weeks Miami has made a dramatic turnaround. Well…not dramatic enough to stay out of the Matt Barkley sweepstakes, but they are playing some inspired ball.

As for the Raiders…they’re riding a three game win streak while trying to fend off the Fighting Tebows in Donkey Town.

So…umm…why exactly are the Fins favored?
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Could Huff go from goat to G.O.A.T.?

In this case, I was wrong to have spent the last six months calling out Michael Huff for his inability to live up to the money given to him as the seventh overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft.

Ok, so Huff Daddy isn’t exactly Ed Reed but he’s slowly becoming the dynamic talent Al Davis envisioned when he first saw still images of the former Longhorn on his overhead projector. In the first two games of the 2009 season, Huff has quadrupled his career interception total and has been involved in 4 turnovers (3 interceptions and one fumble recovery).

Even though he’s primarily seeing the field as a situational substitute, he’s producing and playing with passion. 

When the Raiders drafted Huff, I was excited. He always caught my eye whenever I saw Texas play. Once he got to the NFL, it seemed more like he was just another one of Mack Brown’s spoiled and pampered recruits who never knew what it was like to have to compete for playing time. Combine Huff’s college pedigree with spending his rookie season under the stoic eye of Art Shell and it becomes clear why things have been so difficult for the gifted safety to find his rhythm.

Whenever he’s on the field now, you’ll mostly likely see #24 somewhere near the ball. As we speak, Matt Cassel and Todd Haley are probably locked away in a dark room in Missouri, scratching their heads as they review game tape, trying desperately to figure out how to avoid both Nnamdi Asomugh and Michael Huff for the November rematch in Oakland.

That same ability to read, react and close with the speed of a cheetah that Al Davis saw of Huff in Austin is what Cassel is seeing over and over again today. Yesterday in Arrowhead, Huff was everywhere. Aside from those two Favres that Cassel threw his way, Huff’s biggest play was the final hit of the game that sealed the 13-10 victory.

This is not to say that Huff has shed the bust label and is on his way to Canton. He’s simply doing all he can to prove haters like me wrong.

When the ’08 season ended, it seemed like Huff was going to take his place on the waiver wire, never to wear Silver and Black again. To his credit, Huff has shown the heart and determination Tom Cable so covets. Instead of simply accepting his lot, Huff has taken every opportunity John Marshall has given him.

Michael Mitchell was an unknown in college until the Raiders picked him in the second round in hopes of replacing Huff. Now it is Huff who is making Mitchell and his tender hamstring an unknown in the NFL as well.

My apologies to you, Mr. Huff.

I am truly sorry for listing the day you were drafted among the worst moments in recent Raider history. If things continue to improve around here, then there is no doubt we could look back at that draft and wonder how scrubs like Reggie Bush and Vince Young were selected ahead of you.

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