Exposed Defense and Inconsistent McCown Doom Raiders In Opener

The Oakland Raiders loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 1 is either a curse or a blessing. The Raiders showed they could bounce back from a 17-0 deficit and bad first-half play. They showed, in front of a sellout crowd, that they're a team, a team that fights for all four quarters. Unfortunately, they showed their vulnerability against the pass, their inability to pressure a quarterback and inconsistent offensive attack.

These were the Detroit Lions they were playing, not the Peyton Manning/Marvin Harrison Colts. It'll be interesting to hear what coach Kiffin has to say about the Raiders opening day performance. The fans definitely did their part in filling the Coliseum and bringing the 12th man noise. However, the Raiders were slow in getting into a rhythm on offense and never completely convinced us fans that they could stop any offensive threat. Sure their run-stopping was top notch, but again, we're talking the Lions, the Detroit Lions.

Those poisonous penalties reared their heads a bit but weren't a big factor in the game. Our offensive run blocking which looked so promising in the preseason was missing in action for a good part of the game. Ronald Curry seemed to be the only wide receiver that could make a play or run a decent route, either that or our quarterback was having trouble seeing the field.

Speaking of our quarterback in week 1, the chosen one (Josh McCown) just never looked like a leader on the field. Once the boos started pouring down on him from the stands he started making gutsier plays but that was probably due more to better second half pass protection than from leadership skills coming to fruition. Chants of Daunte! Daunte! Daunte! never brought about a change at QB but I'm sure the entire Oakland Raiders Organization is aware they've got a quarterback controversy on their hands. How long? is the question fans will be asking come next Sunday. How long before coach Kiffin replaces McCown with Daunte Culpepper and gives the team a proven leader at the helm. Until the change is made, McCown will have to take the fall for an offense that is lacking that something.

A Disappointing Loss
Raiders 21
Lions 36