COUNTDOWN to 0-16

[Atlas]

So what do you think?

How many wins will the Faiders get this year?

SoCals link: http://forums.mercurynews.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=kr-MercuryOR&msg=10529.1&ctx=0

From: harryangel Oct-3 6:45 pm
To: RAIDACANE (6 of 27)

10529.6 in reply to 10529.1

NO, NO, NO. Moss is doing what Raiders fans should have done after Shell and Walsh were hired.

Raiders fans it is time to act!!!

R.M. is not the problem. Our problem is AL DAVIS. He is the real culprit of this mess.

I believe we need to begin a boycott of the Raiders. several thousand Baltimore Oriole fans showed up at Camden Yards last week wearing "Free the Birds" t-shirts. They then walked out during the middle of the game. They've realized that a new GM or coach is not the answer. New ownership is the only cure!

Raider Fans, myself included, the most fierce and loyal fans in all of football, it is time for AL DAVIS TO GO!!

I urge you to chant Al MUST GO at games, in the parking lot. Stage a walkout at home game later in the season!?

Trust me, you won't be able to live with yourselves if youstand by and do nothing as the Raiders go 0-16. Contact your local radio and TV stations , set up websites. It is time go on the offensive

It's not MOSS, he hates Al just as much as we do!! Let AL hear your disgust as he sit in his fat box with all the other outdated cronies.

It is time for a RAIDER REVOLT!

AL MUST GO! AL MUST GO!! AL MUST GO!!!
SAY IT LOUD SAY IT PROUD

[Crushaholic]

I think they could beat San Francisco this week. That is a very BAD 49ers team. If Oakland loses this game, 0-16 is almost a sure bet...

[Atlas]

Bay Area already talking about the #1 overall pick!!

To the loser may go the spoils
Either Raiders or 49ers might be able to get a head start on 2007 draft

SoCals link: http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_4439285

Column by Monte Poole
THE COMMON perception is that Sunday's tussle between the Raiders and the 49ers is about pride, that the Battle of the Bay is nothing more than a slow race to avoid disgrace.Hilarious!
While this contention is not inaccurate, it misses the greater significance of this clash of the absurdly flawed.

It is a game in which the loser stands to receive the greatest long-term benefit.

The winners get to call itself the Bay Area's better NFL team, which is like bragging about having the best rotary phone on the block. It's the kind of pointless compensation any real competitor would consider no more fulfilling than a big bite of cardboard.

The losers, however, achieve clarity. Having received a bright red note informing them this is not their year, they can immediately begin shifting time, energy and resources toward the 2007 NFL draft.

The No.1 overall choice, unwanted yet coveted, is theirs to have.

And while the 49ers know the feeling from being in that exact position only 20 monthsago, when they took quarterback Alex Smith, the Raiders have spent 36 years in the NFL without having the privilege of spending six months "on the clock."

Not that Oakland would know what to do with it. The Raiders, once masters of the draft, accurately judging top talent while uncovering hidden gems in the faraway places, have developed a habit of fumbling on draft day.

While it's much too soon to give up on anyone taken in the last two drafts, their 2004 draft, with offensive linemen Robert Gallery and Jack Grove taken in the first two rounds, has been underwhelming. The No.1 picks from 2003, Nnamdi Asomugha and Tyler Brayton, are starters but remain light years away from the Pro Bowl.
Indeed, Oakland's last eight drafts have produced only two players, cornerback Charles Woodson and punter Shane Lechler, who earned the right to represent the team in Hawaii.

Having a 61/2 months to prepare, though, might give the Raiders enough time to nail it on draft day. Maybe. It surely would leave them with no excuses.

If they aren't convinced Andrew Walter is their quarterback of the future, they can look at Notre Dame's Brady Quinn or Ohio State's Troy Smith. They need linemen, so they'd have to consider Wisconsin's Joe Thomas and Penn State's Levi Brown. Other skill players include juniors like Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and Ohio State blur Ted Ginn Jr. Georgia lineman Quentin Moses is among the best defensive players available.

Such a dismal track record in the draft helps explain Oakland's recent troubles. They are not as talented as they used to be, certainly not along the offensive line and in the secondary. The road to rectifying this begins Sunday. A loss to San Francisco would leave Oakland at 0-4, among several teams tied for the league's worst record one-quarter of the way through the season.

Then again, there may be a better idea for the Raiders, should they finish with the league's worst record: Trade the pick. That they can discover a player like Derrick Burgess suggests they might be better at assessing players within the league.

Dealing is precisely what the 49ers should do if they stumble into the No.1 overall pick. They're building around mediocre players on defense when they need a star. An impact pass rusher or defensive back. Swapping the pick would get them an established presence — and probably additional mid-to late-round draft pick.

Early returns indicate the 49ers have a clue about drafting. Player personnel chief Scot McCloughan is finding guys who seem capable of playing at NFL level, and he's finding them throughout the draft. If Smith is the 49ers' quarterback, as he should be, their best use of the draft is to find players who don't cost as much. Players who don't require first-player-taken money.

Look, neither team is willing to accept it isn't winning anything anytime soon. They both talk of fixing themselves, same as was said last year. But to know where they stand within the league, there can't be a stronger clue than being on the wrong end of the score Sunday.

There is plenty of season left, but not enough to go from brutal to beautiful. When a team's needs far exceed its haves, what can be more valuable than the chance to make the first overall pick?

The team that scores more points Sunday will sleep better that night, might even bring temporary peace of mind to its fans.

But the team that loses greets the truth about itself. It is hapless for the immediate future, perhaps best served by thinking beyond 2006. If it makes the right calls in the coming months, it just might have the last laugh.

[-Slap-]

How about the Raiders and former Raider Matt Millen's Lions go 0-32?

[Paladin]

All that analyzing just adds up to what has been said many times: that whole organization is one F**ked up group with that old man on Life Support hanging around.


Not that its a bad thing for the Broncos' organization. Shanahan ought to put a lein against Greasy Al's house for non-payment of debts....

[Killericon]

They'll win one and take Quinn.

[watermock]

Battle at the Bay. Losers will spend eternity continually touch up the Orange paint on the Golden Gate Bridge for Eternity. While the Mets and Yankees prepare for a possible World Series subway series, across the continent, the fight is who gets to suffer with Johnathan Quinn, and incredibly overrated QB that Lou Holts loves to slobberknob.

Wasn't it just a few years ago when we were telling Faider Fan that Crazy Al had lost his marbles they vehemently defended him? Even those squirrels seem to of found a nut, and it has a name.

Unfortunately, the Al Davis era seems to be close to ending. His days of making Tag shudder are long gone. His complete betrayal of Oakland when he moved to L.A. was completely ignored as he limped back and promptly created Mt.Davis and instituted the most absurd PSL ticket scam in the history of the NFL. They have managed to make a great prospect in Gallery into a quivering turnstile. As far as QB's and coaches go, I have seen goldfish have a longer half life.

They have become so pathetic it's becoming increasingly difficult to even hate them. I actually feel sorry for Art Shell and the handfull of honorable players that are suffering under complete incompetence. Even gang members in the bay area have burned their Raider garb, altho they probably haven't watched a game ever...hard to do when your selling crack out of the jets.

Across the bay, the Niner's have never been the same since they pulled a power play on DeBartelo. I have only seen power grabs since that since Georgia Fontinairie offed her husband. Well, a certain whore named Anna comes to mind...but this is a team that is having trouble beating such traditional powerhouses as Arizona.

I honestly believe that the time has come to hand control of the Raiders to gang members. Maybe they can toughen up the pussies. Randy Moss is only quiet because he's pulling a Brett Favre and simply cashing checks. Remember how Randy said that he had always wanted to wear the Silver and Black? I doubt he does. That's a ticking time bomb. He thinks he's basking the the aroma of team leader...what a joke.

Who are they going to get to coach next? Mike Ditka? I imagine there are plenty of Jr. College coaches willing to cash a years worth of checks. If we lose to Oakland at home I will absolutely go bonkers.

[watermock]

I think Matt Millen would be an excellent choice as a new head coach. He brings in a winning record and impeccable qualifications out of Detroit. Millen could keep them in the lottery derby for several more years.

[Popps]

Who's the projected #1 pick next year?

[OrangeShadow]

i think they win one or two

[NaptownChief]

It is extremely tough to go 0-16....Almost as tough as going undefeated. You have to work extremely hard at being so $hity that the natural course of luck doesn't bring you at least one win. That said I think Art Shellshocked and crew can pull it off.

[Kaylore]

As much as I'd love to see them go 0-16, I have trouble believing they won't win at least one game this season. Hopefully it's the Chiefs.

[Northman]

Although it would be funny to see them go winless i think they will squeek out a couple of wins this year.

[-Slap-]

It is extremely tough to go 0-16....Almost as tough as going undefeated. You have to work extremely hard at being so $hity that the natural course of luck doesn't bring you at least one win. That said I think Art Shellshocked and crew can pull it off.

I remember the 1976 Bucs team that went 0-14, on their way to an 0-26 beginning. They were pure comedy. I think the Raiders were 19.5 point favorites against them that year and they covered easily. We handed them an equally lopsided loss.

The Bucs were so bad they only came close to winning two games. In week sx they were edged by fellow expansion team Seattle and in week seven they threw a pretty good scare into Miami. Shula must have killed the Dolphins at practice the following week.

The point is Tampa was so off the chart bad they would have required almost divine intervention to beat anybody that year.

1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Record: 0 - 14 - 0
Head Coach: John McKay

Points scored: 125 (#28 of 28 in the NFL)
Points allowed: 412 (#27 of 28 in the NFL)

+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+
| Week | Opponent | Result | Score |
+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+
| 1 | at Houston Oilers | L | 0-20 |
| 2 | San Diego Chargers | L | 0-23 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | L | 9-14 |
| 4 | at Baltimore Colts | L | 17-42 |
| 5 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L | 0-21 |
| 6 | Seattle Seahawks | L | 10-13 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | L | 20-23 |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | L | 19-28 |
| 9 | at Denver Broncos | L | 13-48 |
| 10 | at New York Jets | L | 0-34 |
| 11 | Cleveland Browns | L | 7-24 |
| 12 | at Oakland Raiders | L | 16-49 |
| 13 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L | 0-42 |
| 14 | New England Patriots | L | 14-31 |
+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+

[-Slap-]

The 1991 Colts were an interesting case. I really thought they were going to be 0-16. They had the worst offense in League history, going without scoring a touchdown in nine of 16 games. Somehow they exploded for 28 points against the Jets and squeaked out a one point victory.

1991 Indianapolis Colts
Record: 1 - 15 - 0
Head Coaches: Ron Meyer (0-5-0), Rick Venturi (1-10-0)

Points scored: 143 (#28 of 28 in the NFL)
Points allowed: 381 (#26 of 28 in the NFL)

+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+
| Week | Opponent | Result | Score |
+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+
| 1 | New England Patriots | L | 7-16 |
| 2 | at Miami Dolphins | L | 6-17 |
| 3 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L | 0-16 |
| 4 | Detroit Lions | L | 24-33 |
| 5 | at Seattle Seahawks | L | 3-31 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L | 3-21 |
| 7 | at Buffalo Bills | L | 6-42 |
| 8 | New York Jets | L | 6-17 |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Miami Dolphins | L | 6-10 |
| 11 | at New York Jets | W | 28-27 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | L | 17-31 |
| 13 | at Green Bay Packers | L | 10-14 |
| 14 | Cleveland Browns | L | 0-31 |
| 15 | at New England Patriots | L | 17-23 |
| 16 | Buffalo Bills | L | 7-35 |
| 17 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L | 3-17 |
+--------+-------------------------------+----------+---------+

[NaptownChief]

The 1991 Colts were an interesting case. I really thought they were going to be 0-16. They had the worst offense in League history, going without scoring a touchdown in nine of 16 games. Somehow they exploded for 28 points against the Jets and squeaked out a one point victory.




I remember this one well...They were the worst team I could remember in the last two decades and even they had luck allow them to squeak one out. It is really tough to be that bad....Most would have to really give a hard intentional effort to pull it off.

[Hotrod]

They are bad enough to screw up and win 1 or 2 at home.

[ludo21]

Who's the projected #1 pick next year?



if Fade lose it could be Quinn....

They win a game or 2, i mean they have to, right?

[NaptownChief]

if Fade lose it could be Quinn....

They win a game or 2, i mean they have to, right?


Surely they aren't giving up on Aaron Brooks....that guy is good. ;D

[ludo21]

Surely they aren't giving up on Aaron Brooks....that guy is good. ;D

he is definitely a scarmbler. Hilarious!

[watermock]

Can Oakland rival the Bucaneers?

Aboard the Lusitania in Tampa Bay
By ROGER KAHN
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Monday, Nov. 22, 1976


The entry of John McKay into professional football, riding a swan boat across the glinting waters of Tampa Bay, was converted into a financial report by certain elements of the press. There is a lingering Neanderthal quality in some of our new sports journalism. If you can't find a sex angle, write money.

According to a glut of stories, McKay was leaving the University of Southern California—where he had won four national championships—for a salary of $175,000 a year, a $350,000 home, complete with furniture, maid, gardener and pool service, plus five new cars and a variety of land deals that could have seduced the Shah of Iran.

McKay's response was characteristic and brief. "Nonsense," he said. "The figures are wildly out of line. Actually, I'm going to Tampa for the cigars."

The Contract. In becoming midwife to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, currently staggering through their first season in the National Football League, John McKay won instant independence. At 53 he will not again have to worry about economic indicators. But by concentrating on the man's capital rather than his style, one misses the point. McKay was a great college coach who never publicly confused his success with the state of humanity. Football, he has suggested, is only a game. "You draw Xs and Os on a blackboard and that's not so difficult. I can even do it with my left hand."

Among the governors of the N.F.L., such talk is heresy. They insist that football is America, manliness, work ethic, integration and Vince Lombardi saying for the thousandth time, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." This, if it means anything at all, means that Lombardi saw a movie called Trouble Along the Way in 1953. Playing a football coach in that film, John Wayne mouthed the lines that everyone now attributes to Lombardi.

But like McKay, Lombardi had a style. It was ferocity. That, plus his victories at Green Bay, made him the focus for a generation of football writing. Presently, we heard from the right that Lombardi was the noblest Roman since Octavius. (Not Brutus. Brutus lost.) The left suggested that he would have made a perfect fascist. In the cacophony people forgot that Lombardi was only a football coach who put Xs and Os on a board—righthanded.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were formed from a pool of pro freshmen—"rooks" in the argot—and a group of veterans other teams considered expendable. Approaching Tampa, McKay said that it would take three years to assemble a competitive team. Meanwhile, he would do the best he could.

From the Nov. 22, 1976 issue of TIME magazine

[watermock]

You can't really blame Oakland...they are of course, an expansion team.

[broncocalijohn]

I remember the 1976 Bucs team that went 0-14, on their way to an 0-26 beginning. They were pure comedy. I think the Raiders were 19.5 point favorites against them that year and they covered easily. We handed them an equally lopsided loss.]

The worst part is that Dwayne gave those 2 bad thugs the upset pick of the decade by taking the Bucs over the Raiders based on that the bucs helmet looked better than the Faiders. Boy, i thought he was going to get killed that day. Thank God, for good ol' Roger and Rerun. "How did you come up with your pick?" Dwayne said, "By their helmets!"

I have the Faiders taking this weekends game. If theyu dont, I still see them winning one game at least. How pathetic that we are talking about one of the worst teams ever in football and it is no other than the Faiders.

[NaptownChief]

The worst part is that Dwayne gave those 2 bad thugs the upset pick of the decade by taking the Bucs over the Raiders based on that the bucs helmet looked better than the Faiders. Boy, i thought he was going to get killed that day. Thank God, for good ol' Roger and Rerun. "How did you come up with your pick?" Dwayne said, "By their helmets!"





I remember that...Rerun had quite a run of success there for a while.

[Disco Man]

The key is this weekends game, if they come out of it with a loss to the 49ers it just might happen. Like Al Davis said "we got the guy we wanted all along......Art Shell"

[orangeatheist]

THE COMMON perception is that Sunday's tussle between the Raiders and the 49ers is about pride, that the Battle of the Bay is nothing more than a slow race to avoid disgrace.

Having lived as a dyed-in-Blue-and-Orange Broncos fan through the 1980s in the Bay Area, and now living back a Mile High with my fellow Sunset Fans, you have NO IDEA how PLEASED I am to watch the Bay Area slip off into the (NFL) sea. I couldn't be happier. !Booya!

[Atlas]

How about the Raiders and former Raider Matt Millen's Lions go 0-32?


That would be amazing!!!!

I think unlike the Raiders the Lions actually have some decent talent and a decent coaching staff. That would be cool though.

[Atlas]

Here is a cool article. Two of worst owners in the NFL battle it out this weekend. Check out this conversation(LOL)

Davis vs. York -- just bicker, baby
Raiders' ego, as well as record, taking beating
Davis vs. York -- just bicker, baby

SoCals link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/15674573.htm


The Raiders' lucky telegraph machine is on the fritz again, meaning a phone call has to suffice. Words can't go unsaid, not this week, not when the proud owners of the NFL's most hopelessly bungled franchises -- the Raiders (0-3) and 49ers (1-3) -- meet Sunday for Bay Area "bragging" rights. Let's listen in:

Al Davis: Howdy neighbor. Just wanted to RSVP and let you know we can't wait to check out that new stadium of yours.

John York: About that. It's not quite done yet. It takes time to figure out how to replace a relic, such as you atop the Raiders hierarchy.

AD: How (expletive) dare you? I've forgotten more football than you'll ever (expletive) know.

JY: Your shrewd mind is the only thing you haven't lost. What's the streak at now, nine straight Raiders losses dating back to last year?

AD: At least the greatness of the Raiders never endured a 41-0 loss at Kansas City, not even when we let the Chiefs have that (expletive) Marcus Allen. So how are you liking that Norval Turner offense now?

JY: Check the win/loss column, Brooklyn boy. We've got a "W." And you?

AD: We've got a "B&B" guy. That's short for "bed and breakfast," in case your Notre Dame education fails you.

JY: Don't knock Notre Dame. You'll be drafting Brady Quinn No. 1 overall next April.

AD: What ever happened to that quarterback of yours who (expletive) beat us in overtime the last time we played, in 2002? He was a slippery little (expletive).

JY: You must mean Jeff Garcia. He was part of our highly acclaimed 2004 housecleaning, and he left town with about $20 million of my hard-earned money.

AD: Don't you mean your wife's money?

JY: Back off, bucko. Garcia would have been a better free agent pickup than Aaron Brooks. I guess you dropped the ball on that, kind of like a typical Brooks snap. Hardy, har, har.

AD: Two words: Alex Smith. Two more: Ha, ha.

JY: You're sure getting your worth out of Randy Moss. Nice trade. He lights up the scoreboard, what, once in a blue moon?

AD: Pity that you don't have anyone capable of stopping him Sunday.

JY: Listen, you guys are the ones with the NFL's worst record (13-38) since 2002.

AD: You (expletive, expletive) are 14-38 in the same span. By the way, thanks for bringing up 2002. We made it to the Super Bowl that year. And you?

JY: We won the NFC West. Then I fired Steve Mariucci. Good times. Good times.

AD: Nobody waxes nostalgic better than me. You (expletive) guys owe me for letting you trade for Fred Dean in 1981. I could have had him. He saved Bill Walsh's career.

JY: I ended Bill Walsh's career.

AD: Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you: Dumb move.

JY: And I've been meaning to praise you for exhuming that Art Shell-Tom Walsh dynamic duo.

AD: The greatness of the Raiders is in their future.

JY: Pardon?

AD: Just win, baby.

JY: Oh. Great. Anything else?

AD: Yeah, did you know I got Eddie DeBartolo Sr. to buy the 49ers? If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had a franchise to ruin once you got to take it over in 2000.

JY: It's not in ruins. It's not, it's not, it's not.

AD: That's right, deny, deny, deny. Works for me. Especially when those "rumors" (ha, ha) pop up about us moving back to Los Angeles.

JY: I thought the rumor is that the 49ers love L.A.?

AD: Keep out, pal. That's our territory, from Irwindale to Hollywood Park to the Pete Carroll Coliseum.

JY: Why go down there, I say, when Santa Clara, er, Hunter's Point looks so attractive?

AD: By the way, nice look bringing back Wendell Tyler. I thought I recognized those fumbles.

JY: That's Frank Gore. He's a Mike Nolan draft pick, so talk to him if you've got a problem with it. And at least I'm not paying my starting running back $5.5 million a year to run behind a horrible offensive line like you're doing.

AD: Penny pincher.

JY: I know you are but what am I?

AD: You're taking up too much of my time. Got to go. Jerry Porter just finished waxing my Town Car. And don't make me park in the mud again at Candlestick. You and I have been stuck in the mud long enough.

[Atlas]

This is great. Two teams I hate. I'm pulling for the 9ers to really lay one on the Faid however!!!

What should be the slogan for this weekend's Battle of the Bay?


Erik Wilson, San Francisco
"Niners vs. Raiders: They Can't BOTH Lose!"

Ken Shaw, San Francisco
How about, "The Battle for the Bottom of The Bay!" Ouch!

Abra White, San Francisco
"The Dreary vs. The Weary." Someone's going to win finally, that's for sure.

Al Sartor, Walnut Creek
"Resistable force meets moveable object"

Robert Golomb, Lafayette
William Shakespeare got it right: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Rex Prather, Moss Beach
"The cellar-dwellers stupor bore; guaranteed to be a real stinker."

Michael Santo, Castro Valley
"Just Win, SOMEBODY"

Brinke Guthrie, Concord
49ers: "Our stadium is worse than yours"

Chris Murphy, Modesto
This is like watching two slugs race. Maybe the slogan should be "Proudly lowering the bar on both sides of the bay, so have a beer." Please bring back some quality ball to the Bay Area.

Roger Weatherford, Larkspur
"Incompetence vs. Inexperience: A Struggle for Ignominy"

Keith Wardin, Pleasanton
My slogan for this game is: "The Game of the Weak"

Adam Reyes, Santa Rosa
It's not whether you win or lose -- it's about two teams with big improvements to be made. Better do it quick, as reporters have already said both seasons are over.

[Florida_Bronco]

This is great. Two teams I hate. I'm pulling for the 9ers to really lay one on the Faid however!!!

What should be the slogan for this weekend's Battle of the Bay?


Erik Wilson, San Francisco
"Niners vs. Raiders: They Can't BOTH Lose!"

Ken Shaw, San Francisco
How about, "The Battle for the Bottom of The Bay!" Ouch!

Abra White, San Francisco
"The Dreary vs. The Weary." Someone's going to win finally, that's for sure.

Al Sartor, Walnut Creek
"Resistable force meets moveable object"

Robert Golomb, Lafayette
William Shakespeare got it right: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Rex Prather, Moss Beach
"The cellar-dwellers stupor bore; guaranteed to be a real stinker."

Michael Santo, Castro Valley
"Just Win, SOMEBODY"

Brinke Guthrie, Concord
49ers: "Our stadium is worse than yours"

Chris Murphy, Modesto
This is like watching two slugs race. Maybe the slogan should be "Proudly lowering the bar on both sides of the bay, so have a beer." Please bring back some quality ball to the Bay Area.

Roger Weatherford, Larkspur
"Incompetence vs. Inexperience: A Struggle for Ignominy"

Keith Wardin, Pleasanton
My slogan for this game is: "The Game of the Weak"

Adam Reyes, Santa Rosa
It's not whether you win or lose -- it's about two teams with big improvements to be made. Better do it quick, as reporters have already said both seasons are over.

Hilarious! :~ohyah!: :giggle:

^5

[elpasojoe]

The fade go 0-16 and are assigned an Arena League post until further ntoice. Yea, that would make me happy.

[Atlas]

0-4

Hilarious!Hilarious!Hilarious!Hilarious!Hilarious! Hilarious!Hilarious!Hilarious!

[Atlas]

Raiders can't win for losing

SoCals link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/15713524.htm

SAN FRANCISCO - The question, then, would be this: Who do the Raiders beat this season? All acerbic wisenheimery aside, what game do they win? If they can't win Sunday's -- and that seems a lost cause, given that the final gun sounded hours ago with the Raiders two touchdowns in arrears to the 49ers -- where's the soft touch on their schedule? Hint: It's probably not coming up on Sunday.

"Now we're 0-4," Warren Sapp said, "and we get to go to Denver."

Sapp laughed darkly, taking care to enunciate each and every "heh."

"That ain't gonna be no picnic," he said.

It is unlikely the Raiders will go winless. No team has since the advent of the 16-game schedule. But a breakout next week would seem to be especially unlikely, given that they are 2-9 in Denver since moving back to Oakland.

After that, well, no sense getting ahead of ourselves. Especially since it seemed the Raiders would never have a better chance to win their first game of the season than they did on Sunday.

[Atlas]

GAME PITS HOPEFUL AGAINST HOPELESS

by Ann Killion
Mercury News Staff Columnist

Jim Gensheimer / Mercury News archives
SoCals link: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/columnists/ann_killion/15707535.htm

2002: Jeff Garcia led the 49ers to a 23-20 win in overtime the last time they played the Raiders. Both teams made the playoffs that season.
Desperation, not rivalry, marks Bay Area battle
Awful vs. Horrible. Wretched vs. Execrable. Repellent vs. Abominable.

Pick your negative adjective and it applies to today's football game. Two once proud franchises -- combined owners of a fifth of all the Super Bowl trophies ever awarded -- meet as the dregs of the NFL.

This will be the 11th time the Raiders play the 49ers. In the previous 10 meetings one team or the other was always a factor in the NFL power structure. Sometimes both were.

Not today. 0-3 vs. 1-3. Ick vs. Yuck.

So which of our unlovable losers are the most futile? The most pathetic? The most embarrassing?

Congratulations Raiders. Entering the Fungus Bowl, your team is the losingest loser. And not just because the 49ers already have one victory this season. Not just because Randy Moss is redefining the term ``jackass'' on a weekly basis.

There are two kinds of losers in the NFL: losers with some direction and hope for getting better. And losers without a clue.

The Raiders fall into the latter category. And you can thank Al Davis for that.

Both of our local owners have run their franchises into the ground through bad decisions, bad drafts and extreme arrogance.

[Atlas]

ON THE NFL
How low can this team go?

Nancy Gay

(10-08) 20:28 PDT -- While 95 percent of football-watching America on Sunday could see Philadelphia fans effectively torment Terrell Owens and the Eagles overcome the Cowboys by two touchdowns, Bay Area NFL fans simply had no choice.

Empty the overflowing diaper pail? Clear out the clogged grease trap? Remove the dead, fetid raccoon carcass from the crawl space?

Or watch the NFL on television.

The complex labyrinth that is league's blackout rule dictated the nation's 5th-largest market was unfortunately force-fed the Raiders (0-3) at the 49ers (1-3), despite longstanding Geneva Convention policy regarding the fair treatment of prisoners.

Blindfolds and last cigarettes weren't even offered. Where is the humanity?

That's exactly what we were, captives to some really terrible football

-- on both sides, let's be fair -- that saw the less awful 49ers take advantage of the now-routine Raiders blunders and suspect play calling.

These are the distinctions that continue to ensure the Silver and Bleak remain the hands-down worst team in the NFL. So the outcome wasn't terribly surprising.

The 49ers prevailed 34-20, despite their many foibles: two failed attempts at 4th-and-inches inside their red zone, a badly played ball by veteran receiver Antonio Bryant that allowed Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt to pick up his first career interception.

Oh yeah -- and the fact they allowed the Raiders, with the NFL's last-place offense, to actually carry a 10-7 advantage into the break.

A crew of NFL employees sitting upstairs, a group that rotates around the league week to week, couldn't contain their laughter.

"Worst game I've seen in two decades," one of them said.

In the end, the 49ers were simply better.

That was thanks, in large part, to four Raiders interceptions, a blocked Shane Lechler punt at the Oakland 24-yard line and one of the most embarrassing plays ever in football.

From his own 20, Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter threw what was supposed to be a swing pass. Instead, it sailed backward and landed with a thud at the feet of running back LaMont Jordan, who just stood there and, well, stared at the loose ball.

[Blueflame]

This is great. Two teams I hate. I'm pulling for the 9ers to really lay one on the Faid however!!!

What should be the slogan for this weekend's Battle of the Bay?


Erik Wilson, San Francisco
"Niners vs. Raiders: They Can't BOTH Lose!"

Ken Shaw, San Francisco
How about, "The Battle for the Bottom of The Bay!" Ouch!

Abra White, San Francisco
"The Dreary vs. The Weary." Someone's going to win finally, that's for sure.

Al Sartor, Walnut Creek
"Resistable force meets moveable object"

Robert Golomb, Lafayette
William Shakespeare got it right: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Rex Prather, Moss Beach
"The cellar-dwellers stupor bore; guaranteed to be a real stinker."

Michael Santo, Castro Valley
"Just Win, SOMEBODY"

Brinke Guthrie, Concord
49ers: "Our stadium is worse than yours"

Chris Murphy, Modesto
This is like watching two slugs race. Maybe the slogan should be "Proudly lowering the bar on both sides of the bay, so have a beer." Please bring back some quality ball to the Bay Area.

Roger Weatherford, Larkspur
"Incompetence vs. Inexperience: A Struggle for Ignominy"

Keith Wardin, Pleasanton
My slogan for this game is: "The Game of the Weak"

Adam Reyes, Santa Rosa
It's not whether you win or lose -- it's about two teams with big improvements to be made. Better do it quick, as reporters have already said both seasons are over.

We were referring to it as "this week's toilet bowl"....

[Atlas]

Denver are 15 1/2 point favorites over Oakland.

Does anyone not like this line??

Right now I'm seeing 31-10

[Atlas]

They’ve pummeled the Patriots, roughed up the Ravens and now enjoy the luxury of a home battle against the stumbling, bumbling Oakland Raiders, a game that is about as challenging as an off week. Hilarious!

SoCals link: http://www.gazette.com/broncos/display.php?id=1322474

[Atlas]

0-5

Winless Raiders are in a league of their own
Oakland, at 0-5, is now the only team without a victory this season
SoCals link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/15770793.htm

By Steve Corkran
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
DENVER - And then there was one. One, as in only one NFL team remains without a victory this season. One, as in, can the Raiders just win one, baby?

Four teams entered play Sunday without a victory. Only the Raiders awake today without anything to show for their efforts through the first six weeks of the NFL season.

Misery loves company, they say. Perhaps. Well, the undesirable company the Raiders kept through last week's games scratched out victories Sunday and left the Raiders to commiserate amongst themselves thanks to a 13-3 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

No one else feels sorry for the Raiders. Certainly not a Broncos team coached by Mike Shanahan or the 75,707 fans who filled Invesco Field at Mile High in hopes of witnessing yet another Raiders thrashing.

They got what they came for. The Raiders? They got what they received each of their first four games: a demoralizing loss.

"Instead of moving forward, we're moving backward," Raiders left guard Barry Sims said. "There's positive things, but you have to look at wins and losses. We're 0-5. We're the only team in the NFL without a win. That makes me sick."

The Raiders stand at 0-5 for the first time since 1964. They stand alone without a victory in light of the Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers notching their first victories of the season Sunday.

The big question is, do the Raiders stand together? Or are they a fractured bunch? Time will tell. They put up a good front against the Broncos, only to collapse under the weight of penalties, turnovers and botched defensive plays.

"Too many mistakes against a good football team, too many penalties against a good football team," Raiders coach Art Shell said. "When you do that, you don't give yourself a chance to win."

Not that this came as a big surprise. Denver has won 13 straight regular-season home games in a streak that dates to when the Raiders beat the Broncos here Nov. 28, 2004.

The Raiders lost for the 11th straight time, lost to an AFC West team for the 10th straight outing and lost a road game for the sixth consecutive time.

When will it end? Who knows. Oakland's upcoming game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday provides its best shot at winning a game between now and a Dec. 3 matchup against the Houston Texans.

The Raiders' schedule gets much tougher once the Cardinals leave town. The five opponents after that are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.

"It's tough, man," Raiders running back LaMont Jordan said. "We got a tough road ahead of us. We put ourselves in a position where we can't afford to lose any more games."

The Raiders had their chances in the first half against the league's top-ranked defense in terms of points allowed.

Those ended, respectively, with a broken-up pass for wide receiver Randy Moss in the end zone, a Sebastian Janikowski miss of a 54-yard field goal attempt and a Champ Bailey interception of an Andrew Walter pass intended for Moss at the Broncos 1-yard line.

In between, the Broncos scored on three straight possessions in turning an intriguing game into a 13-0 cushion at halftime.

The Raiders finally broke through in the third quarter but only with some help from the Broncos. Chris Carr forced a fumble on a Darrent Williams punt return and turned a Broncos possession inside Oakland territory into the Raiders ball at their 48.

Twelve plays later, Janikowski converted a 47-yard field goal attempt to make the score 13-3. Back-to-back sacks turned a second-and-eight at the Broncos 14 into a fourth-and-22.

Hope remained until late in the fourth quarter. That got dashed when Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams -- a De La Salle High School graduate -- forced a Jordan fumble that teammate Michael Myers recovered at his 23.

"I definitely (messed) up with that fumble," Jordan said. "Momentum was clearly coming on our side. ... We did a good job of beating ourselves."

This qualifies as Oakland's most-balanced performance this season. At the same time, this game had the same feel of losses against the Chargers and Baltimore Ravens.

That is, jump to a double-digit lead, keep the clock moving with an inordinate amount of run plays and turn over things to the defense. It worked for the Chargers. It worked for Ravens. It worked for the Broncos.

Call it a moral victory, if you will. Walter said that's no consolation.

"It's frustrating," he said. "We're getting better, but there's no room in professional sports for moral victories. We're judged on wins and losses."