FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The third preseason game is in the books and the Raiders have looked new and improved so far.  Daunte Culpepper had another solid performance and pretty much has locked up the starting position.  His stats, 4-8 47 yards and 1 TD, could have been better but his overall performance was good.  His TD pass was very impressive as the Rams sent everybody on a blitz and he found Curry over the middle despite throwing off his back foot with guys in his face.  Curry did juke a defender just as he caught the ball.  He also had some good looking runs as he seems to have answered all mobility questions by now.  I was convinced on that 13 yard scramble last week when he juked a defender in the open field.  LaMont Jordan got a lot of work with 18 carries.  He only had 41 yards but did get at least 7 carries in short yardage situations.  He also caught a screen and looked explosive picking up nearly 50 yards on the play.  The defense looked outstanding again.  The starters allowed just 3 points to the high powered Ram offense.  Even though Steven Jackson didn't play they still have Bulger throwing to Holt and Bruce.  If you take away Bulger's first pass of the game he would've been just 7-20 for 69 yards.  Jerry Porter had a deep pass bounce off his hands but did come back and catch a 20 yarder.  Johnnie Lee Higgins showed his speed on a 19 yard run.  Higgins also had a punt return for a TD called back by a penalty that wasn't even close to the action.  Echemandu had another solid performance picking up 60 yards on 14 carries.  Quentin Moses put a lot of pressure on the Rams QBs and had a sack.  Thomas Howard let a sure INT go through his hands.  Mike Williams had a 23 yard reception but also dropped a couple of passes.  Madsen and Miller both continued to look good at TE.  The offense is starting to look explosive with 7 plays gaining at least 19 yards.  Kiffin seemed to have opened up the playbook more this week as he ran screens, reverses, and some play action.  The Raiders have come far from the "vanilla" offense of last season.  The O line looks solid on both run and pass plays.  They are only going to get better as the learn the scheme of blocking guru Tom Cable.  Aside from the 40 yard pass on the first play of the game and LaMonts fumble at the goal line, I was very impressed with what I saw and am even more excited about Raider football this season.  The future is looking "great" and if we can get things together, the future could end up being this season.  The defense will do their part and the offense is coming together.  The Raiders have 3 very winnable games in the 1st 4 weeks vs DET, HOU, and MIA.  If they can play solid vs. these teams they could start the season 3-1 or even 4-0 if they beat the Broncos, who they always play down to the wire.  The Raiders are starting to look like this year's team that comes out of nowhere and wins a bunch of games.