Rookie QB Connor Cook Gets Playoff Start

#8 Connor Cook to quarterback Raiders in playoffs

And there you have it Raider Nation. Our first playoff game in 14 frick'in seasons and we're going into it on the road with a Rookie at the helm starting in his first NFL game. Not to knock or jinx the rook, but the odds are simply not in his favor to lead the Silver and Black to victory on the road in Houston this wild card weekend. 

Maybe with a better defense they could eek out a win without having to score lots of points. But the opposing Texans defense, ranked #1 overall, will see the young QB as a freshly unwrapped tasty treat and will be trying to eat him alive. Welcome to the Hunger Games Connor.

Unless the team as a whole steps up their game and maintains the intensity for 60 minutes, I don't see the Raiders moving on to the divisional round of the playoffs. 

But this is the playoffs and unpredictable Shite Happens on this grand stage of sports. I mean look, the frick'in Cubs just won the World Series. Da' Cubs for chrisssake! Down 3 games to 1. Down 6-7 on the road going into the top of the ninth inning of game 7. The frick'in Cubs, with a bad-news-bears history unparalleled in professional sports, never quit and pulled off a miraculous championship victory.

I will be watching and supporting Connor and the Raiders come kickoff Saturday afternoon. I'll wear my silver and black colors proudly, knowing and showing 49er and other fans just how far we've come. What I won't be doing is talking myself into believing that Connor is the coming of the next Pro quarterback messiah and will lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl this season. Dreaming it maybe, but not talking it.

It's been a great season of rediscovery and return to greatness for the Raiders. Win, lose or tie, the next game will not define all that's been accomplished to get them to a 12-4 regular season record. The Oakland Raiders are back!