Week 13 - Dec 6 - Oakland

[Finnegans Wake]

Hmmmm.  Guess I don't need to watch the TiVo of this one, huh?

How the fuck exactly did we lose this?

Unfuckingbelievable.

[SCacalaki]

You could see it coming a mile away.  Oakland O had over a minute left in the 4th and you could just feel the D getting burned.

[otismalibu]

Didn't the Raiders start at their 11, with only one TO?

As soon as #27 dropped the gift, you knew it was over. I missed the start of the game, but that's the only really bad ball I recall Gradkowski throwing.

Why the QB sneak, when RM seems to always gain a yard?
Why try Reed from 53?
Why can't Gay stand up?
Why did BR have to throw that pick in the EZ?
Why couldn't #27 just end it?

Why am I surprised by the shittiness of this team?

[Finnegans Wake]

Why am I surprised by the shittiness of this team?

This team is capable of anything.  Greatness. Shittiness.  Greatness and shittiness, alternating by the minute.  But lately, more shit than anything. 

[SCacalaki]

Check out Tomlin's post-game presser...no promise of hell but lots of warm fluff

[Merman1983]

It's 2006 all over again only so much worse. At least that year, we started 2-6 and not 6 and fucking 2 with gimmes against KC and the Raiders. Even after the shitstorm in KC I still thought this team would pull their heads out of their asses and make a run.

The lack of focus on this team is unbelievable. I can't believe they lost a must win game to the Raiders at home. Wow. Someone better get fired over this.

[bamf16]

They left too much time on the clock  :rolleyes:

I was ridiculed today after that last TD.  As soon as Ben let the ball go, I yelled "NO!" at the TV.  Here was my strategy given that situation.  2 minute warning, 1st and 10 at the 11, down 3 to a team with one timeout.

1st down, run the ball.  Get a couple yards, they use their last timeout.  2nd and 7 or 8 from about the 8 or 9 yard line.

2nd down, about 1:50 to go, shotgun, draw up the middle to Moore.  I know, I know, I've criticized draws to Moore, but let's face it, Parker or Shard in there tips it off to the Raiders.  Put Hines in motion and draw attention to him.  Moore gets 3 or 4 down to the 4 or 5.  3rd and 4 or so from 5 yard line.  Now every play is open, and we're down to 60 or 65 seconds to go in the game.  If you score, they have under a minute to go.  If you're stopped short, clock runs down to 20 seconds or so, squib kick, OAK takes a knee, go to OT.  Incomplete pass results in a FG and still under a minute for OAK to get into position, with no timeouts, and let's face it, there is less desperation, and they take fewer downfield chances.

Instead, you score, give them 1:50+ and a timeout, against a porous 4th quarter defense that had just recently been burned.

My scenario:  Best case, win.  Worst case, OT.

BA:  Best case win, Worst case, loss. 

My scenario:  No time, no timeouts for Oak.

BA:  Almost a full 2 minutes, a timeout, and the necessity to take risks we're not capable of stopping.



Still, it's all about execution...

[Finnegans Wake]

Too much strategizing for a "dominant" defense, bam.  You should be putting up plenty of points early against bad teams.  You score with less than 2, your defense should hold.  The problems are manifold.

[give'emthaboot]

By the time it was late and the Steelers weren't knocking the Raiders teeth in, I was actually just hoping they would lose.  If you can't dominate the Raiders you don't deserve to beat them.  This season may as well just end in a disaster and hopefully it gets BA run outta town.  Something like this had to happen, this team couldn't continue to win in spite of it's glaring weaknesses (O-coordinator, O-line, secondary) because then those weaknesses don't get fixed.  Now at least we'll get a better draft pick.

Speaking of draft picks, forget O-line/D-line, we need a CB in Round 1.  Ike Taylor & Will Gay = The Suck.  

On a positive note, Mendenhall is fucking awesome.  Love his blitz pickups, love the fact he doesn't do any TD dances and he just drops the ball when he scores, hell i even love that fucked up spin move of his.  The guy just rocks and BA & Tomlin are really fucking stupid for not giving this kid more carries late in games.  The play from this game that epitomizes Mendenhall for me was the broken play, I believe it would have been a Draw play out of the shotgun, but Ben and Mendy weren't on the same page so Ben took it and scrambled to about the 11.  Rather than look around and act confused, Mendenhall turned around and put a shoulder on a Raiders blitzer that helped free up Ben to gain about 10 yards on the play.  Mendenhall has been one of the few bright spots on this team this season, and there's no doubt in my mind that if he would get more than 10 second half carries, this team would probably be 9-3 right now.

[Preacherman0]

By the time it was late and the Steelers weren't knocking the Raiders teeth in, I was actually just hoping they would lose.  If you can't dominate the Raiders you don't deserve to beat them. 

As twisted as that logic is, there is a degree of truth to it.

I absolutely cannot believe this.  Maybe I'm stupid, but I am absolutely distraught.  Add it to a "wonderful"  :rolleyes: weekend of class and work, and this is just the icing on a lopsided fell down in the oven and got batter all over the place butt-ugly and it's not even cute like your six-year old made it cake.

Didn't see the game.  Glad that I didn't.