Raiders Win In Jacksonville; Stay In Florida For Tampa Game

Raiders Punter Marquette King's Knockout Run

The Oakland Raiders have earned their best season starting record (5-1) since 2002, the season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rained on their Super Bowl party.  After whipping up on the Jacksonville Jaguars with little effort, the team decided to stay over in Florida for the upcoming game against guess who? the Buccaneers of course. 

The Bucs are playing decent football, but might find the high scoring Raiders offense just too much magic to deal with.  The Raiders staying over in Florida for this game is a smart move that comes at just the right time.  That ugly home loss against Kansas City should be a distant memory when the Raiders return for their Sunday Night game against division rival Denver in Oakland on Nov. 6th. I expect to see a more mature and cohesive silver and black squad when they return home; a better team.

I keep hearing the players and coaches saying they just wanna keep getting better each week. I see that as the team not reaching their full potential yet. That can be a good thing or not so good. Can this coaching staff bring out the best in these players? Can the players play the schemes they're being coached to play? Can the team play a full game of dominant football that leaves no doubt in our minds that they've gotten better?  I'd really like to see some consistency from them in all aspects of the game. The defense has clearly gotten better, but against tougher opponents I don't know if their good enough yet.

One Raiders fan pointed out to me this weekend that what's missing is a big, fat nose tackle to give the Raiders defensive line more push and power, which will also help free up Khalil Mack. He said it's not happening this year and the Raiders will have to just outscore opponents in order to win. Sounds about right based on what we've seen this season so far.  

But you gotta give this Oakland Raiders team credit for they're consistency in winning. They're 5-2 with a chance to come home 6-2 and possibly play for sole possession of first place in the division. They didn't get it done for first place against Kansas City in that last stinking home game. Let's see if they can put together a nice two-game winning streak that'll prove the "keep getting better" motto isn't just media fluff. 

After seeing what the Broncos did to the Houston Texans this past Monday Night, I'm convinced that the Raiders must get better before they go up against the Broncos. If not, it can be another divisional disappointment and possibly lead to doubts in the minds of our young players. Winning sacks all doubts; Just Win Baby! Just Win.

Final Score
Raiders 33
Jaguars 16