Before getting to the Raiders, there is news around the NFL. In an unsurprising move, Commissioner Roger Goodell reduced Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension from six games to four. In much bigger and more surprising news, the Arizona Cardinals have released Matt Leinart.
While I initially found Leinart to be an overrated Hollywood celebrity more interested in chasing girls than championships, I was not expecting this. I thought Derek Anderson deserved to start, but did not see Leinart being cut entirely.
Maybe this will finally give Leinart the wakeup call he needs to focus on football.
Now on to the main event, featuring Leinart’s former college coach Pete Carroll.
The Oakland Raiders posted the Seattle Seahawks in their final preseason game.
While times have been tough for the Raiders over the years, fans should be pleased about the 2010 preseason and this game in particular.
Seattle failed to pick up a first down on their opening drive and the Raiders took over. On 3rd and 11 at their own 30. Bruce Gradkowski started for the injured Jason Campbell as a precaution. I will say it again and again until somebody in Oakland listens to me. Gradkowski is a leader. He makes players around him better. He went deep to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey seems much improved since last year. The speedster did not catch the ball, but drew a 38 yard defensive pass interference call. Gradkowski then threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Tonga as the Raiders quickly led 7-0.
Seattle again failed to pick up a first down and the Raiders took over at their own 36. Gradkowski again went to Heyward-Bey for a 34 yard gain. Al Davis was feeling vindicated, although an incomplete pass on 3rd and 3 to Heyward-Bey led to Waters connecting on a 41 yard field goal to put the Raiders up 10-0. Sebastian Janikowski will remain the starting kicker, but a little healthy competition will keep Seabass flying right.
Seabass is beloved for his booming kickoffs that lead to touchbacks. Waters kicked very short to the 15 yard line, and it was returned 54 yards to the Oakland 31. Yet with golden field position, again the Silver and Black rose to the occasion on defense to deny Seattle a first down. A 43 yard field goal by Olindo Mare had the Seahawks within 10-3.
The Raiders turned the table on special teams as Figurs returned the kick 34 yards to the Raiders 41. This time the Raiders failed to move on offense, but a booming punt by Shane Lechler was fumbled by Seattle and recovered by the Raiders at the Seahawks 16. Gradkowski hit Myers for 13 yards, and after a short penalty, Gradkowski hit Johnny Lee Higgins for the 9 yard touchdown pass. The Raiders led 17-3 after the opening quarter.
Perhaps the Seahawks really are that bad, but the Raiders dominated this game on both sides of the ball when the starters played in the first quarter. The defense gave up 0 first downs and Gradkowski had the 2 touchdown passes and moved the Raiders with ease.
The Raiders did get complacent in the second quarter, allowing Seattle to make a game of it. This team has not gotten to the point where they can do that in the regular season. Also, Charlie Whitehurst was playing as Matt Hasselbeck rested, which had to be taken into account.
Whitehurst finally got the Seahawks going, leading an 11 play second quarter drive from the Seattle 17 to the Oakland 18. Another field goal had the Seahawks within 17-6. The Raiders reached midfield on their next drive but again had to punt. Seattle took over at their own 10. On 3rd and 10 from the 24, Whitehurst went deep to Obamanu for a 37 yard gain. He then hit Butler for a 26 yard touchdown and it became a 17-13 game.
The Raiders picked up a first down on their next drive before punting. Seattle moved from their own 10 to the Oakland 28 before Mare hit a 46 yard field goal as the Raiders only led 17-16 at halftime.
In the third quarter the Raiders dodged a bullet when Figurs fumbled a punt but the Raiders recovered at their own 3 yard line. Kyle Boller came into the game for Gradkowski. Boller also had Al Davis quietly pumping his fist as he threw a 62 yard bomb to Ford followed up by a 16 yard touchdown to Miller as the Raiders led 24-16.
After a Seattle punt, Boller led a staggering 16 play drive that lasted only 8 minutes, moving from the Oakland 14 to the Seattle 9 before stalling. A short field goal had the Raiders up 27-16. However, a 99 yard kickoff return and a 2 point conversion had the Seahawks within a field goal. This is not the first time in the preseason the Raiders have had a special teams breakdown in the return area.
The Raiders took over at their own 20 with 12 minutes left and Boller went to work. On 3rd and 6 Boller hit Figurs for 14 yards to keep the clock and the chains moving. The Raiders then went backward and faced 3rd and 25 at their own 28. Boller scrambled far short of the first down, but an idiotic taunting penalty on the Seattle defense led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a first down. On 3rd and 11 from the Oakalnd 48, Boller hit Bodiford for 10 yards. With less than 8 minutes left, facing 4th and 1, Tom Cable decided to go for it. Boller picked up 2 yards.
On 3rd and 4 from the Seattle 34, Boller threw incomplete. However, another dumb Seattle penalty meant unnecessary roughness and an automatic first down. Bennett did the rest on the ground, but on 3rd and goal from the 2, Bennett only picked up a yard. Cable again decided to go for it on 4th and goal from the 1 with just over 3 minutes to play. Bennett got thrown backward and the Seahawks took over.
From the 2, a long defensive pass interference penalty on Oakland had the Seahawks at their own 27. J P Losman was in at quarterback, and he scrambled for 16 more yards. However, 4 incomplete passes later, and the Raiders had the ball at the Seattle 43. Cartwright picked up a first down on the ground and the Raiders ran out the clock.
The Raiders finished the preseason 3-1, with plenty of reason for optimism.
This team is far from elite, but in the past few years they have not even been competitive. The players are playing hard for Tom Cable on both sides of the ball. The Raiders open on the road at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, September 12th.
It is time to get ready for some real football.
Raiders 27, Seahawks 24.
eric
I’m just drooling over the Monday Night opener with my Jets and the Ravens! Oh man, is that ever gonna be a game!
As for Leinart, I don’t know what to say. If you can’t pass to the best receiving squad in the NFL, with a very good pass-game OL, then you are not nor ever will be an NFL QB, period. Maybe I’m oversimplifying, but that seems awfully self-evident.
As for the Raiders – I like them. They’re going to have at the very least a decent and fun season. I worry about some aspects of their defense and running game, but with the weapons they do have, they will be a fun and exciting team to enjoy watching this season. For me, anyway, as a life-long fan of the NFL, appreciative of the historic role of the Raiders, that makes me very happy.
JMJ