BOLT ANALYSIS: SLOPPY YET SATISFYING

Hmmmm......I must admit the ANALYSIS appears to be at a loss for words. Usually, the first game of the season brings some significant material and pithy observances come the day after. But not today. Last night’s midnight matchup between the Raiders and the Chargers kind of just leaves me feeling, uh, I don’t know. My glass does not appear half-empty, nor does it appear half-full. It is just a glass. For all the good things I saw last night, I saw an equal number of bad things. Ying with the Yang.

We will start with the good stuff. We won. The Chargers looked well coached last night. Yep, I said it.  I know there are a lot of Norv-haters out there, but Norval and company had a conservative game plan designed to protect their QB, and use every last player at their disposal. They had flashes of that frustrating Norvalism that includes conservative play calls, but, for the most part the plays worked, they kept Philip upright...they moved the chains...and they took time off the clock. All eyes were on Mike Harris, who I’m sure was as nervous as hell starting play. They gave him a lot of help with running backs and tight ends sliding over to assist blocking on the left side, but give the kid credit. He held up pretty darn well. The passing game featured a lot of screens and quick hitters to running backs. Fine with me. Gates, Meacham, Royal, and Floyd all got involved and had some good catches...especially Floyd. Gates dropped two balls, one in the end zone, but it sure was nice to see him running at full speed out there and taking hits. 

Also qualifying (for the most part) in the ”good stuff” category was the defense. Not a great game by any stretch but they were solid all around. Their run stuffing was excellent. Holding McFadden to 30 something yards is a major accomplishment for the guys up front. Donald Butler stood out to me. He looked fast, in position, and dangerous all night. He is also a sure tackler. This guy, in only his second full season, sure looks like a gem. The new guys, Ingram and Kendall Reyes, looked good. The defensive line was getting some push. Atari Bigby had some nice hits and provided some MUCH needed physicality in our secondary and I thought old man Jammer looked rough and ready. He got jobbed on a bad pass interference call but he seemed solid all night long.

And, then there was the play of the Special Teams. The punting apocalypse that happened to the Raiders last night was similar to our special teams problems two years ago. That poor dude trying to long snap looked like one of those rugby dudes rolling the ball out of the scrum. Terrible. And, the blocked punt was a thing of beauty. Lost in these mishaps was the fact that Eddie Royal looked good on punt returns and Richard Goodman looked good on kickoffs. The hero of the night however proved to be Nate Kaeding. Coming off of a missed season caused by his single kickoff in 2011, he blasted 5 field goals. All right down the middle. Off the dirt, off the grass, did not matter. He nailed ‘em. Good for you Nate. We need you.

So. What was not so good. Well.....it was the same cast of characteristics. We simply cannot score touchdowns in the red zone. The Raiders so completely self-destructed in this game with penalties, boneheaded plays, drops, and turnovers, we should have put it away early. I don’t know if it is play calling or what...but having the ball that many times inside the 20 without scoring TD’s ain’t gonna work against a real team. There was a drop or two....and Philip airmailed a sure TD ball to Floyd. But mostly it was just plays that got blown up. You can point to the positives...no turnovers and we did get field goals...but this just has to improve. The lack of a real running game is a big part of this failure. We had a total of 34 yards on the ground. Ouch. This limits the options and allows teams to play our receivers with confidence.

The other thing that was disappointing was the third down defense and overall lack of a pass rush. Again, the same old thing. Sure, we got going late with some sacks, but that was only when the Raiders finally chose to try to throw the ball downfield. No pressure for much of the night. The saving grace was the Raiders have no downfield threats with their two best receivers out. I thought Cason played soft, so a real receiver back there would have done some damage. As it was, we just got the drop pass to McFadden over and over again. It moved the chains, but did not add up to much.

So, how to summarize?  Uh....as I mentioned in the lead paragraph....there is just not a lot to say. I must apologize for this post but, much like the lingering impacts of the preseason, the ANALYSIS is not yet in mid-season form. That being said, you can only call ‘em as you see ‘em, and this game was just kind of blah. But, in keeping with my optimistic hope-filled thematic (that was penned in the afterglow of my coveted Stanley Cup win) I will just say the following:

We won the game. We beat a Divisional opponent. We beat a Divisional opponent on the road. Our QB played with poise. Our defense was solid. We are in first place in the Division. Our record is the same as the Patriots and the Broncos and the Ravens and the Jets. Yes, we have a lot of work to do. But that is OK. Opening games can be sloppy. This one was but we are better for it. We open up our home slate next weekend against a banged up Tennessee team. That is all good.

And, perhaps most importantly, football is back baby.