It seems every year, just about this time that I begin frothing at the mouth. Yes, it’s time for yet another NFL season. It may seem like I’m a techie nerd geek through and through, but I’m a lover of some football. American football that is. If you got dragged in by the title thinking you would hear about european football A.K.A. soccer, you can probably leave now.

Most of my friends know that I’m a through and through Raiders fan. I have been for as long as I can remember. I guess I got dragged into it by the rebel mantra of the early Raiders. Bunch of bad-asses running around and kicking ass. I love that. That’s what football is all about. Beating the crap outta your opponents in a somewhat fair way. I wont say that clotheslining someone is a fair move. But a little aggressive action is A-ok with me.

The regular season starts on the 7th. Seventeen weeks from then the playoffs start. May your team do good, but only slightly worse than the raiders.

Technorati Tags: raiders, oakland raiders, nfl, sports, football, super bowl

After the “tuck rule” made a debacle out of NFL rules a couple of years ago, there is nothing I would have liked than to see my Raiders dethrone the Defending Champion Patriots. And after the first Raider offensive drive, I thought for sure that I might see it. With the additions of Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan in the offseason, their offense looked pretty sharp for the first half. The defense showed signs of being able to defend against the run this year, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t still using that “swiss cheese” pass defense that they’ve used the last couple of years. The pass defense last night was horrid. Tom Brady had free will to complete anything he wanted to, and he did. Two long third down completions to the Patriots TE were completely unacceptable. Especially when there is a safety covering him. I could understand it if it were a linebacker, but a safety?

Overall, the Oakland Raiders made some pretty good plays offensively that show promise for a good offensive season, but if their defense doesn’t come to play about 200% more than they did last night, they’ll be lucky to reach 8 wins and don’t stand a chance at the playoffs.

Technorati Tags: NFL, Raiders, Defending Champion, Patriots, Randy Moss, Tom Brady

Mr. Jerry Rice retired yesterday. #80 is no more. I was born in ’79 so much of Jerry’s career was long before I remember anything, but I still remember much of the last half. And it was great. I believe that Jerry was the best wide receiver the NFL has ever seen. Yes, I think he’s better than Randy Moss. Yes, Terrell Owens too. What about Steve Largent you say? Yep. Jerry has him beat too. Jerry may not have ever been the fastest receiver in the NFL, but no one had the dedication that he had. He ran perfect routes and had hands that seemed to be coated in glue. For an entire generation, he was a hero. And as a Oakland Raider fan, I couldn’t have been happier to have him wear the Silver and Black. Five years from now, he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and it would be worth the trip to see the G.O.A.T(Greatest Of All Time) take that walk.

Goodbye Mr. Rice. Thanks for the memories.