The Return of the Blackhole

The one overlying question about the Oakland Raiders at the beginning of the season was whether Jason Campbell was the answer to their quarterback problems.  From the start it looked like he wasn’t and Oakland turned to Bruce Gradkowski once again.  Gradkowski isn’t the best quarterback, but brings added life to a struggling offense.  When he went down to a shoulder injury, head coach Tom Cable decided to change the offenses approach.  The answer was to run the football.  Darren McFadden, a former 4th overall pick of the Raiders, has been a big part of the Raiders turnaround the past three weeks.  With that added emphasis on the run, that has made it a lot easier for Jason Campbell to throw the ball down field.  That has led to Campbell throwing 5 touchdowns to 1 interception in the last three games.  It marks the first time that the Raiders have won three straight games since their Super Bowl season of 2002.  Rejoice Raider Nation, with that showing against your rival Kansas City, the rest of the league might have to take you serious once again.

J.J. makes a move

I’ve been confused about the Dallas Cowboys for a long time.  It goes back to the time when they hired Dave Campo as their head coach.  Yeah, who is that again?  Anyway, the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has made a big investment once again into his team and he like any owner expects a return on that investment.  A 1-7 start is not the return he expected.  When J.J. said after one of their losses that Wade Phillips was going to be the head coach for the rest of the season.  I found that kind of odd.  Yes, Jerry has never fired a head coach in the middle of a season, but this was Jerry’s making.  He and many others expected the Cowboys to be Super Bowl contenders.  Dallas was not living up to his expectations.  This last butt whooping against the Green Bay Packers on national television no less was the last straw.  Jerry fired Wade Phillips, who will definitely get another defensive coordinator gig, but I don’t believe he will get another chance as a head coach.  He’s had so many chances to succeed with good teams.  This latest one in Dallas will stick with him for a long time.  Jerry now will have to start over and bring in someone who knows football to over see the operation.  He will also need to bring in a no nonsense coach, like Jon Gruden, to demand more from his players.  If J.J. can do those two things, the Cowboys will be a contender very quickly.

Brett Favre does it again

Just when you think Favre can’t be the old gunslinger again, he surprises us all.  The Vikings being down by two scores against the Arizona Cardinals at home.  Really most of the pressure was on head coach Brad Childress who was probably going to be fired as soon as the game was over.  Favre calmly after throwing his second interception of the game, is given another chance to drive the Vikings down the field for a Adrian Peterson rushing touchdown.  The Cardinals offense is stagnant and the Vikings have another chance with Favre throwing the ball all over the place to tie the game.  Why Visanthe Shiancoe was that wide open I will never know.  With all that momentum the Vikings were sure to win it in overtime thanks to a Ryan Longwell field goal.  Now does this mean the Vikings will turn their 3-5 season around?  Probably not.  It does say that Favre is still Favre and the Vikings have made a deal with the devil in a sense that last season and this season rests on the right arm of Brett Favre.  Childress’ fate has been sealed, but if they have a miraculous turnaround, say winning the Super Bowl, they will probably keep him around for another year.  It won’t happen, but it’s in the back of our minds.  Crazier things have happened.