Raiders beat the Rams 16-14.
When the game first started and the Rams took the opening kickoff, I was happy to hear that the Raiders deferred and let the Rams have the ball first. This was what they should have done last week as well. We need to have our best unit on the field first to set the tone of the game and that is our defense. When the offense started out the game in Tennessee, we immediately did nothing and gave the crowd energy. Subsequently, if our defense had started the game on the field and we had stopped them, it would have taken the crowd out of the game and gave our offense a little better chance to get settled in. Also, if there were adjustments needed to be made at halftime, we would have started off the second half with the ball. So, needless to say, I was happy when I saw the Raiders kicking off to the Rams.
Neither team really got off to a great start. The Rams were able to move the ball well with Steven Jackson running and catching the ball early on. However, when they got down close to the end zone, a sack by Lamarr Houston on third down pushed them back to try and attempt a 36 yard field goal. Josh Brown would then miss the field goal. The Raiders on their first possession started out with good field position when Johnnie Lee Higgins returned a punt 53 yards into Rams territory. The drive would stall, however, near the goal-line when they tried to get a first down on 4th and inches and failed. They would also later miss a field goal of their own when Janikowski missed a 46 yarder. The Rams get the scoring started on a TD pass from Sam Bradford to Mark Clayton early in the second quarter. The Raiders would later get a field goal to make the score 7-3 at the half with the Rams leading. Campbell threw an interception right before the half and that play would ultimately determine the outcome of the game.
The Raiders came out after halftime with the ball, but this time, with a different QB at the helm. Bruce Gradkowski was given the start to the second half. He would immediately take the ball right down the field, but the Raiders had to settle for a field goal. That would make the score 7-6 in favor of the Rams. The Rams would get absolutely nothing going on offense in the second half. What worked in the first half, all of a sudden was being bottled up by the fired up defense of the Raiders. They would only manage 17 yards in the first 26 minutes of the second half. Meanwhile, the Raiders had found their mojo on offense. With McFadden running the ball and Gradkowski throwing it, the Raiders amassed nearly 270 yards of offense in the second half. They would score a TD on a 4 yard pass from Gradkowski to Louis Murphy to put the Raiders on top 13-7. They would later add a field goal to put them up 16-7. An interception with about 4 minutes to play, however, would put the Rams back in business. Bradford led them down the field and found Clayton again in the end zone for the score to bring them within 2, 16-14. On the ensuing possession, the Raiders gained only a yard on first down and had to throw it away on the next play. However, Fred Robbins was called unnecessary roughness on the play when he pushed Gradkowski after he had thrown the ball. This would give the Raiders an automatic first down and it was all over after that. The Raiders would get a few first downs and would go into the victory formation after the 2 minute warning.
One thing i noticed about the game that was different than the Tennessee game was the Raiders came with a lot more pressure on defense. They didn't just rush with the front four. Also, by the second half, the defensive backs were playing very aggressive at the line of scrimmage because they were not intimidated by the Ram's receivers. Also, Gradkowski has a special flare about him that brings immediate excitement and confidence into the team.
I noticed that Campbell doesn't really look much different than Russell did. The line doesn't look like it protects very well and everything seems out of sync. Gradkowski, on the other hand, looks like he has enough protection even though he is playing with the same line. One reason for this i think is that he gets the ball out quicker and has better reads on where to throw the ball. Louis Murphy and especially Darrius Heyward-Bey looked like they really awakened in the second half. Heyward-Bey had his best game of his career catching 6 balls for 80 yards. He even broke a tackle and gained an extra ten yards on a play. McFadden is really running hard and currently stands in second place in rushing in the NFL. If he continues to play like this, it's going to be hard for Cable to take him out of the lineup in favor of Bush. He ran the ball for a career-high 30 times for 145 yards.
Now, time to prepare for Arizona!
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