You’ve got questions? We’ve got answers… sort of. Well, maybe just educated guesses. Actually just guesses. But the questions are real, and soon enough maybe we’ll have real answers. So here goes…
- Why T.J. Houshmandzadeh now that Schilens and Murphy are finally getting healthy? I don’t think it has as much to do with Carson Palmer as Hue Jackson would have us believe. This has everything to do with 2007 and how important Houshmandzadeh was to the Bengals offense. If he come close to that form in 2011 the Raiders will have made reasonable move. If the other 31 teams were right about him, the Raiders will have made a big mistake. Hue told reporters this week he didn’t have a good reason why this move didn’t happen sooner. Well I have a good reason. Al Davis would never have gone for it. Houshmandzadeh doesn’t have the skill set that Davis craved. He couldn’t stretch the field when he was 24. He certainly can’t do it now. I’m sure the move is justified in Hue’s mind since I don’t think Davis was a huge fan of Derek Hagan either.
- How much will Houshmandzadeh play? Plenty. I would guess 12-20 snaps. Hagan was the Raiders third among Raider receivers in receptions. He’s gone now. Doesn’t simple logic make T.J. the new #3 receiver?
- Why was Derek Hagan the odd man out? This is a tough one. Obviously the decision had little to do with performance. Hagan played well in his limited role. The answer may simply be that Hue wanted T.J. to fill Hagan’s role from the beginning. In fact, he said as much when talking to the media this afternoon. With Hagan out of the picture the job belongs exclusively to Houshmandzadeh. Hue always referred to Chad Ochocinco as his “son” and this move seems like a move a father might make looking out for his newest former “son.” Hue is a loyal guy, and so far Carson and T.J. have been the beneficiaries. Cedric Benson anyone?
- Why did the Raiders keep 4 tight ends and a backup fullback instead of Hagan? Looks like the Raiders may try to take a lot of pressure off Palmer with the running game this weekend. Tight ends don’t catch the ball alot in this offense, so they’re around to block. Go ahead and start Michael Bush in your fantasy football league this week. It is also possible that Marcel Reece isn’t quite 100% yet, but he practiced in full today and seems ready to go.
- Will Darren McFadden play this weekend? If he is going to play football 14 days after his foot injury, he should probably be off crutches before day nine. I wouldn’t be as skeptical if he were just wearing a boot. A boot and crutches makes me think he’s unlikely to be ready for the San Diego game as well.
- Will Carson Palmer be ready to make a difference this week? Hue would love to keep all the pressure off him. If he’s still rusty it could be a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances with the Raiders ground game likely to be short handed. One thing I’d like to see is the velocity behind Palmer’s throws that is evidently back. It’s unfair to judge him based on the Chiefs game where he rarely got the opportunity to make a confident throw. I think an average performance is all the Raiders need. Anything similar to two weeks ago could spell trouble.
- Who’s feeling more pressure this week, Hue Jackson or Carson Palmer? Palmer may be feeling the pressure, but Hue should feel far more pressure. He’s going to take criticism like he’s never seen if the Raiders can’t win this weekend. He’s made some gutsy calls in the past two weeks, and the release of Hagan was hardly a popular decision. He managed to win once with the 2007 Bengals, if he can’t do it again, he’ll watch his popularity drop in a hurry.
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Posted in: Oakland Raiders
Posted on November 3, 2011
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