Raiders VS Chargers/week#4 picks

In Oakland we have a saying that we live by. Commitment to excellence. Or is it commitment to exing coaches? I can’t remember.

This game against division rival San Diego will prove to be more then just a win or loss. It will prove to be an answer to whether or not the coaching carousel in Oakland continues.

If head coach Lane Kiffin manages to beat the team that has dominated the Raiders for the past several years, he might just keep his job. Then again, Al Davis may be just waiting for the bye week to make the change, and it won’t matter at all what the outcome of this game is.

Regardless, a week 4 win against the Chargers would be a good thing.

How might the Raiders pull this one off? 

Stop LT. Tomlinson has owned the Raiders, and with an ailing foot, it is about time that we hold him off.

Stop Phillip Rivers. He is one of the best, if not the best QB in the league right now, and if he has another strong performance against the Raiders, it could be a long night.

Have some ballance on offense. Run the ball well, but get Jamarcus Russell involved more into the game. He has to be given the chance early on to make some passes, unless the running game is tearing it up. If thats the case, why pass? Pound the ball on the ground, until it stops working. Soon enough, we are going to need to know what we have for a QB, and at WR.

Win the special teams battle. Our special teams are doing a great job thus far, but it has to continue. Field position will be key in this game.

The spread on this game is high for the Charger, and anyone in the betting world should really concider taking the Raiders against the spread. They are starting to play some good football, and even though they may not win, I see them keeping it close.

There are a lot of injuries that the Raiders are dealing with, so our backups are going to need to step it up. Among the players that could be out, or at the very least, not 100%

Nnamdi Asomugha, Cooper Carlisle, Justin Fargas, Ben Troupe, Seth Wand, Gerard Warren, Derrick Burgess, Darren McFadden, and Stanford Routt.

Not a nice list to see, but only Fargas and Warren are expected not to play.

This is a home game, and having another home loss will really hurt, so expect this team to come out flying. The Raiders aren’t being given much love in this one, as they didn’t against the Bills, so don’t put much stock in that. This team is going to be fine, and we might just win this one.

With that said, I took the raiders against the spread, but the Chargers straight up.

Lets hope we can win this one for Kiffin! If he’s going out, he might as well go out with a win!

For further info on this game, and the Chargers perspective, check out Brandon Campbell’s latest blog. Its a great read, with lots of interesting stats. For your post game blog, and more info on the Kiffin saga, stay tuned, as I will be back for some more.

Now on to week #4 picks. I currently sit at 30-17 straight up, and 30-17 against the spread, which you can check out under Kevin Lee’s blog “NFL contest…”

SF @ NO; LEE’S PICK, NO

HOU @ JAC; LEE’S PICK, JAC

CLE @ CIN; LEE’S PICK, CIN

ATL @ CAR; LEE’S PICK, CAR

ARI @ NYJ; LEE’S PICK, ARI

MIN @ TEN; LEE’S PICK, TEN

DEN @ KC; LEE’S PICK, DEN

GB @ TB; LEE’S PICK, GB

SD @ OAK; LEE’S PICK, SD

BUF @ STL; LEE’S PICK, BUF

WAS @ DAL; LEE’S PICK, DAL

PHI @ CHI; LEE’S PICK, PHI

BAL @ PIT; LEE’S PICK, PIT

 

TREMBLAY

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Last post (s) by Lee Tremblay

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