Uglier Than Usual

Different coach, same result. New Orleans 34, Oakland 3.

The Tom Cable era began yesterday in uglier fashion than anyone could have predicted.  New Orleans not only won, but they embarrassed the Raiders in every facet of the game. The offense, both the passing and running games, were non-existent. Sebastian Janikowski missed a couple kicks, but they were from 50+. The defense was scorched. Some will argue that the time of possession was so one-sided that the defense was simply out of gas. But, Drew Brees completed 26 of his 30 attempts. That’s ridiculous. Couple that with an effective Saints running game and you’ve got yourself a rout.

I did find a positive though. Special teams were solid. Shane Lechler was his usual self, with a punting average a shade under 50-yards per kick. Johnnie Lee Higgins had a nice 35-yard punt return. Even better, the Raiders held Reggie Bush to a single 8-yard return. That’s something.

The Jets are up next. It’s hard to envision a win. Brett Favre and the Jets offense are on par with the Saints offense (the current version of the Saints offense that doesn’t have Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey). Statistically speaking, the Jets’ defense is better than the Saints (giving up 23 less yards per game).

You can throw the stats out and just go with a gut feeling. The Raiders showed so little yesterday. The Jets struggled and still won by 12. Momentum is going the wrong direction at breakneck speed.