THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

For those of you looking for information on the Kim Kardashian wedding, if you are over 18 you should be beaten to death or sterilized. Do not reproduce since idiocy is exponential. After burning through football players, at least she married some basketball guy to spare the NFL from ever having her associating with it. This concludes the Kardashain wedding report. Now on to football.

The Raiders traveled across the Bay to play the hated San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 of the 2011 NFL Preseason.

Last week the Raiders showed some promise in a loss, but one interesting blunder had the Raiders kicking off to start both halves. Getting the coin toss wrong will not be acceptable in the regular season. What also will not be acceptable will be giving up 1st downs on 3rd and long.

Yet much maligned Alex Smith completed a 3rd and 11 pass for 12 yards. Nahmdi Asomugha is no longer with the Raiders. This is not going to be an excuse. We have the players we have, and they are expected to get the job done. They did not get the job done early on as the 49ers moved the ball with ease. Yet despite having the ball for over 9 1/2 minutes to start the game, the 49ers were unable to punch it in. On 3rd and goal from the 3, the 49ers tried to run laterally and went nowhere. The chip shot 20 yard field goal never happened as the snap was fumbled. The punter then turned into Garo Yepremian, and his wild throw before getting belted was intercepted by Rolando McClain.

The defense and special teams came up big but the offense began pathetically. On 3rd and 6, Jason Campbell threw a short pass to absolutely nobody. Darrius Heyward-Bey ran straight and apparently Campbell was expecting a corner route.

The 49ers made it look easy on their second drive as Alex Smith found Josh Morgan for a long gain. A run had the 49ers at the Oakland 15, but it was nullified by holding. On the next to last play of the opening quarter, with the 49ers having all of the momentum, Smith was intercepted by Matt Shaughnessy.

The final play of the quarter had Campbell complete a pass for the only first down of the quarter for The Raiders. They had 16 yards of total offense, most of it on that one play since they only had it for 3 minutes. Yet despite being totally outplayed, Campbell found a rhythm, and a perfect throw into double coverage was caught by Heyward-Bey at the 49ers 4 yard line.

This is where Hue Jackson shows why the Raiders have improved in terms of play calling. He faked a run up the middle and had Campbell roll out. Yet Campbell got tentative and was upended for no gain. Michael Bush got very little, and Marcel Reese could not bang it in. On 4th and goal at the 2, Jackson decided to go for it. After all, this is preseason. Campbell was sacked at the 5. In the regular season it would have been a field goal, but nevertheless the game remained scoreless.

The 49ers continued to make it look easy on offense with Dixon gaining 15 on the ground and a 3rd and 4 being converted on the ground. A deep ball from Smith to Braylon Edwards had the 49ers at the Oakland 22. The 38 yard gain was against the second team defense, but again, excuses are not acceptable. The 49ers bogged down at the 5 yard line when a running play went nowhere. A 23 yard kick this time was good, and the kicker was David Akers. The Philadelphia Eagles were gobbling up free agents but let him go after 12 years. The 49ers led 3-0 with under 5 minutes left in the half.

A long completion from Campbell to Heyward-Bey plus a barrel of 7 yards up the middle by Michael Bush had the Raiders past midfield. Yet Campbell tends to hold on to the ball longer than other quarterbacks, and another sack had Campbell on the ground. With Bruce Gradkowski traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, the remaining quarterbacks were Kyle Boller and Trent Edwards. Last week Boller was the backup and Edwards 3rd string, but this time it was Edwards who came in as the backup. Edwards immediately hit Bush for 12 yards at the 2 minute warning, setting up 3rd and 1 at the 49ers 38. Edwards snuck across for the 1st down. Edwards hit newly acquired tight end Kevin Boss for 14 yards down to the 12. Consecutive holding penalties set up 1st and 30. Edwards then threw a duck into coverage and was intercepted, as the 49ers led 3-0 at halftime of a game neither team wanted to win.

The Raiders got the ball to start the second half, and in another surprise Kyle Boller came in. Edwards barely had gotten into the game, and was out of it. Boller did complete a 3rd and long pass for a first down, but holding nullified it and the Raiders punted. Colin Kapernak came in for the 49ers at quarterback, as Alex Smith was done for the night.

The 49ers were dominating statistically but not on the scoreboard. That changed when Kendall Hunter took a handoff and raced 53 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders were lifeless on offense, and now trailing 10-0. With star kick returner Jacoby Ford out with an injury, another phenom named Denarius Moore took a kickoff deep in the end zone and returned it 48 yards. A dropped pass led to a miserable 3 and out series as the Raiders punted.

The Raiders held on defense and got the ball back with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. Boller found Derrick Hagan for 14 yards as the Raiders crossed midfield again. Yet on 3rd and 1 from the 49ers 40, a run up the middle resulted in a brutal collision and one yard loss. Jackson decided to go for it on 4th and 2, but Boller was intercepted as the Raiders ineptitude on offense continued.

With their punter injured earlier in the game on the botched field goal attempt, placekicker David Akers was doing the punting. With less than one minute left in the third quarter, an Akers punt was blocked. The Raiders took over at their own 45. A well executed screen pass went for 17 yards to the 49ers 29. The drive stalled, but when Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 46 yard field goal, the Raiders were finally on the board down 10-3 with 12 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Yet the defense could not hold as Kapernak led a time consuming drive, mostly on the ground. He kept handing off, and the chains kept moving. With 4 minutes to go, a 3rd and 1 run inside the 10 led to another first down. Oman ran it in from 6 yards out to end any suspense in what was a hideous game from start to finish.

Jim Harbaugh got the win, while Hue Jackson is 0-2 and looking for his first preseason win as a head coach. The Raiders on paper have a good coaching staff stocked with former Raider greats, from Steve Wisniewski to Greg Biekert to Rod Woodson to Willie Brown. Al Saunders is one of the most respected offensive coordinators in the league. Yet while Hugh Jackson is talking a very good game, the results are not very promising so far.

San Francisco 49ers 17, Oakland Raiders 3.

The wait is finally over. After 6 long months intensified by an NFL Lockout, real football in pads with men hitting each other is back.

The 2011 preseason officially began on Thursday August 11th, due to the Hall of Fame Game several days earlier being canceled.

The Oakland Raiders began their preseason by hosting the Arizona Cardinals. In news only I care about, my roommate is a Cardinals fan. Also, after 7 straight seasons of going 5-11 or worse, the Raiders went 8-8 last year. They would have been 9-7 except they lost 24-23 to the Cardinals when Sebastian Janikowski shanked a 32 yard field goal as time expired.

While the Raiders appeared on the upswing, they have a rock hard schedule to start the regular season. As for the Cardinals, they are a mess only two years after reaching the Super Bowl. Apparently a Hall of Fame quarterback does make a difference.

The Cardinals began with newly acquired Kevin Kolb taking over. Kolb did convert a 3rd and 10 by running for 15 yards, but the Cardinals punted after that. The Raiders took over at their own 31 and Al Davis had to be smiling when coach Hue Jackson decided to have Jason Campbell go bombs away on the very first play. It was incomplete, but defensive pass interference meant a 40 yard gain. An incompletion on 3rd and 2 set up Seabass for a 39 yard field goal. Seabass connected and the Raiders led 3-0.

On the next series the Cardinals took over on their own 14 and Kolb led them down the field. On 2nd and 2 Kolb went deep to Larry Fitzgerald for a 43 yard gain. After a false start, Kolb hit Fitzgerald again for 17 more. Beanie Wells gained 15 to set up 1st and goal at the 8. Wells gained 5 more and another 2, but on 3rd and goal from the 1 Wells was stopped. Ken Whisenhunt decided to go for it, and on 4th and goal at the 1 Wells ran up the middle and got nailed by a Silver and Black wall.

The Cardinals would not have their starters in on offense after that, so let’s give the Raiders 1st stringers some credit. They led 3-0 after the opening quarter thanks to a fantastic goal line stand.

From the one, Campbell led the Raiders slowly down the field. On 3rd and 2 Michael Bush gained 7. Campbell hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for 13, and on 3rd and 5 from the Oakland 34, Campbell found Miller for 6. On 3rd and 12 Campbell went deep and found Moore for 26 yards. The drive would stall, and on 4th and 8 from the Arizona 34, a 51 yard field goal was well within the range of Seabass. Yet a killer false start penalty instead led to a Shane Lechler punt.

In the second quarter the Cardinals punted, and Kyle Boller came in at quarterback from the Oakland 34. A strong ground game mixed in with efficient passes finally bogged down at the Arizona 7. Seabass nailed the 25 yarder to have the Raiders up 6-0.

With 6 1/2 minutes left in the half Ike Skelton was leading the Cardinals in place of Kolb, and he moved the Cardinals 75 yards. With 30 seconds left in the half, and 18 yard touchdown pass to Williams had the Cardinals up 7-6 at the half.

Skelton would lead the Cardinals to a 38 yard Jay Feely field goal early in the third quarter to have Arizona up 10-6. Trent Edwards came in at quarterback for the Raiders. From the Oakland 28, he looked good, hitting Bodiford for gains of 15 and 10. From the Arizona 47, Edwards went deep to Hagan for a 42 yard gain and 1st and goal at the 5. Yet the drive stalled again, and on 4th and goal at the 3 Hue Jackson had Sebass nail the 21 yard chip shot to get the Raiders within 10-9.

After an exchange of punts, the first miscue of the game occurred when the Cardinals fumbled a punt deep in their own territory. The Raiders needed only one play as Edwards hit Ausberry for the 18 yard touchdown. The 2 point conversion failed but the Raiders led 15-10.

Bartel came in at quarterback for the Cardinals and immediately impressed from the Arizona 27. After a defensive penalty, from the Arizona 48, Bartel hit Sampson for 41 yards to the Oakland 11. On 3rd and 7 Bartel hit Housler for the 8 yard touchdown. In a regular season game a 2 point conversion would make sense, but Ken Whisenhunt opted for the one pointer and the Cardinals led 17-15.

In the fourth quarter the Cardinals reached the Oakland 28, but penalties killed the drive and Arizona punted with 8 1/2 minutes left in regulation. The Raiders began at their own 10 and Edwards moved them all the way to the Arizona 27. Yet this time the Raiders suffered penalties back 12 yards. With 2 1/2 minutes remaining, Seabass was brought in for a 57 yard field goal attempt. The Polish Cannon drilled it, and the Raiders led 18-17.

The Cardinals took over at their own 32, and Hall came in at quarterback. While the Raiders did have all of their backups in on defense, Hall made it look way too easy. He hit Williams for 12 and Stuckey for 20. With 50 seconds left in regulation, Arizona faced 3rd and 2 from the Oakland 28. The winning field goal attempt was well within range. Instead, Hall found Williams, who took it all the way for the touchdown. Again, Coach Whisenhunt opted for the one pointer when it would absolutely be a 2 point conversion try in the regular season. Yet rather than practice those tries, the one pointers had the Cardinals up by 6.

Edwards fired deep a few times, all incomplete, and the Cardinals had the win. Yet both of these teams showed some sparks from the starters and some entertainment when the backups came in.

Week 1 preseason 2011 is in the books, and the Raiders will make their adjustments.

Cardinals 24, Raiders 18.

eric