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Find out more about Patrick: Patrick A. Patterson bleeds Silver and Black. He studied creative writing at Chabot College and CSU Hayward and writes about the Raiders at the Web site, 'Thoughts from the Dark Side' at http://tfdssports.com. |
The Oakland Raiders head down to San Diego to face their division rival Chargers and redeem themselves after the embarassment that was their loss to the Cheifs on Sunday. Considering the fact that the Raiders have not beaten the Chargers since they were defending AFC West Champions, it hs a tall task ahead.
The task for the Raiders defense is to do something they have never done. STOP LADAINIAN TOMLINSON. This will be Tomlinson's 16th game against the Raiders, and if he has a big game, he will have a total of 2000 rushing yards against the Silver and Black. Tomlinson has beat the Raiders by running the ball, catching touchdowns, and even throwing touchdowns.
The Raiders also have to stop Antonio Gates. Tony Gonzalez had his way with the Raiders defense last week, and at this point in their careers Gates is the better tight end. The key will be for the Raiders defensive line to get some penetration. That has been something that has often been lacking this season.
Offensively, the Raiders have to score points. They can't get cute and try the "Wild Bass" formation on fourth down when they could be getting a lead with a Janikowski chip shot. They can't go for it on fourth down, when a field goal would be prudent. The Raiders offense is 31st out of 32 teams in scoring. They need to take points when they can get them. PERIOD.
The raiders will need to be more inventive in play calling on offense. (NOT ON SPECIAL TEAMS, BUT ON OFFENSE.) They need to look no further than their success against the Broncos to find a recipe for offensive performance. Overall, this game just has bad mojo for the Raiders.
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