Posts tagged DeAngeloHall at FanHouse

Road Chalk and Alaskan Pipelines is Will Brinson's weekly NFL gambling column at FanHouse. Because everyone loves a loser.

I don't expect to be perfect every week. In fact, I rarely expect to be good. But Ed Hochuli ... you are killing me, sir. Anyway. We've chatted enough about that little debacle enough already, haven't we?

Besides, it's more fun to talk about things that are positive in nature ... like me being 3-0 this week on the STONE COLD TUNGSTEN PIPERS (shown with asterisks). That's right, Brandon Lang (*cough*0-3*cough*), bring it.

Overall, however, not as well, only going 8-7. But hey, we're slowly climbing back up the ladder of mediocrity, checking in with a season record of: 14-17. Woo.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons (-6)
I feel like the "Loser Bowl" starts us off every week, for whatever reason. Might wanna work on that, BoDog. The beauty of this FAIL-fest, is that the freaking Falcons are going to be 2-1 once it's all said and done. Additionally, we should be just about finished writing up the eulogy for Larry Johnson's fantasy career by the time the 4:15 games kick off.

Falcons -7

The Raiders entered this season with one clear strength on their roster: running backs. In their 23-8 win on Sunday at Kansas City, they were all on display as Oakland bulldozed the Chiefs' defense to the tune of 300 yards on 47 carries, led by veteran Justin Fargas and youngsters Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. Trouble is, only one of those guys appears to be healthy heading into the teams week three game against the surprising Buffalo Bills.

Fargas hasn't practiced all week and could miss the next two games, while McFadden has been sitting out practice with a case of turf toe. Head Coach (for now) Lane Kiffin insists McFadden could play right now if he had to, but fact is he's not 100%. That means the only completely healthy back in the Oakland backfield is second-year man Michael Bush, who in his first NFL action on Sunday rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries. He could be getting quite a bit more work this Sunday.

If the Raiders are without Fargas and/or McFadden for any amount of time it could be a tremendous blow to their offense. Crushing, more like it. Especially since JaMarcus Russell only completed five passes on Sunday while Javon Walker, the $55 million man, still can't make it through practice, let alone suit up on Sundays.

If the Raiders get desperate, perhaps they should consider putting DeAngelo Hall out there on offense, seeing as how there's almost always a touchdown scored when he's on the field.

The Denver Broncos and Jay Cutler have been playing the role of school yard bully the first two weeks of the NFL season, causing two different defensive backs to have awkward, game changing penalties called against them.

Last week, it was DeAngelo Hall who was beaten soundly, time and time again as Eddie Royal did his best Jerry Rice impersonation late Monday night. Hall kept playing the role of, well, DeAngelo Hall (usually reserved for matchups with Steve Smith though).

And today, as Bill Williamson notes, it's Antonio Cromartie's turn.

Cromartie finally drove Marshall out of bounds. Cromartie kept driving and was called for a personal foul. The Broncos ended up taking a 14-3 lead on a Jay Cutler touchdown pass to Tony Scheffler.

On Denver's next drive, Cromartie was charged with another personal foul after tackling Marshall. Cutler then hit Scheffler for another touchdown as Denver jumped up on San Diego, 21-3.

After each penalty, Cromartie, who was questionable with a hip injury, was jumping up and down and clapping his hands.

Somehow, through all of this -- an additional five yard penalty to keep a Broncos drive alive in the middle of the fourth didn't help either -- the Chargers are only down by one point.

This is, of course, no help to Cromartie, who has allowed Brandon Marshall to pick up a whopping 14 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. Clearly, when I told you to sit Marshall, I had no idea that Cromartie was playing with one leg and one arm today.

Update + Fantasy: As JJ notes via email, it's probably worth noting that Marshall has a franchise record 17 catches, and counting, already. And yeah, he would be a must start every week forever. I apologize.

The Denver Broncos and Jay Cutler have been playing the role of school yard bully the first two weeks of the NFL season, causing two different defensive backs to have awkward, game changing penalties called against them.

Last week, it was DeAngelo Hall who was beaten soundly, time and time again as Eddie Royal did his best Jerry Rice impersonation late Monday night. Hall kept playing the role of, well, DeAngelo Hall (usually reserved for matchups with Steve Smith though).

And today, as Bill Williamson notes, it's Antonio Cromartie's turn.

Cromartie finally drove Marshall out of bounds. Cromartie kept driving and was called for a personal foul. The Broncos ended up taking a 14-3 lead on a Jay Cutler touchdown pass to Tony Scheffler.

On Denver's next drive, Cromartie was charged with another personal foul after tackling Marshall. Cutler then hit Scheffler for another touchdown as Denver jumped up on San Diego, 21-3.

After each penalty, Cromartie, who was questionable with a hip injury, was jumping up and down and clapping his hands.

Somehow, through all of this -- an additional five yard penalty to keep a Broncos drive alive in the middle of the fourth didn't help either -- the Chargers are only down by one point.

This is, of course, no help to Cromartie, who has allowed Brandon Marshall to pick up a whopping 14 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. Clearly, when I told you to sit Marshall, I had no idea that Cromartie was playing with one leg and one arm today.

Update + Fantasy: As JJ notes via email, it's probably worth noting that Marshall has a franchise record 17 catches, and counting, already. And yeah, he would be a must start every week forever. I apologize.

It's pretty much been decided that Lane Kiffin is a short-timer in Oakland. Owner Al Davis unsuccessfully tried to push him to quit this offseason, and following the Raiders embarrassing showing in the season opener, coupled with an uninspiring four-win effort a year ago, he'll probably be looking for work in the near future.

In fact, according to the Mercury News' Tim Kawakami, that could be as soon as next week.

It happened to Mike Shanahan in 1989 after four games. It could happen to Lane Kiffin in 2008 after two games. Gone. See ya.

I hear it could happen to Kiffin on Monday or Tuesday, if the Raiders do not put up a half-decent effort in Kansas City on Sunday. Wouldn't surprise me if people around the Raiders are all but planning the firing press conference–whether it comes next week, the week after or in two weeks.

Because it's coming. The Rob Ryan Blow Up on Thursday–dictated, I'm sure, by Davis himself and directed at Kiffin and Kiffin's supporters–told us all that things are at a boiling point in the Raiders offices right now and the only way to ease it up is to fire Kiffin.

I applaud Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for his frankness. In a league full of automatons when it comes to interacting with the media, it's a refreshing change.

But it doesn't alter the fact that Oakland is an embarrassment, which was on full display during Monday night's 41-14 beatdown courtesy of Al Davis' nemesis, Mike Shanahan. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised; I mean, Warren Sapp told us the Raiders were going to suck and that DeAngelo Hall was the "flashiest, burnt-up corner in the history of the game," which is saying something with Fred Smoot still collecting a paycheck.

Not to worry, Raiders faithful: Ryan knows that a season isn't determined in Week 1, and he plans on rectifying the situation if it takes him all g-damn year. He's that m---erf--king committed to excellence.

Going back to training camp and the preseason, I've made more than a few (bad) jokes about how Lane Kiffin is just a puppet on the sidelines, while owner Al Davis is controlling him from his lair high on top of Mt. Davis. Well, apparently, based on Kiffin's comments on Wednesday afternoon, that's pretty much true. At least as far as the Raiders' defense is concerned.

"I'm not going to get really get into if I was the defensive coordinator what I would do because that doesn't really matter," coach Lane Kiffin said Wednesday. "I'm the head coach. I oversee everything and I control what I can control. Do I have the exact belief we do on defense? No, but it's hard to have the exact belief that we do. So, it is what it is."

That sounds like a young man just brimming with confidence in his defense. According to the article, the Raiders blitzed only four times on Monday night, while there's also that odd mention of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan being in constant contact with the owner - who, apparently, dislikes blitzing defenses. Is it normal for a defensive coordinator and an owner to always be in contact? I don't think it is.

After staying up until 1:30 in the morning and watching the Broncos do awful, awful things to the Raiders, I've spent some time this morning surfing the internet for reactions to the dismal Oakland debut in 2008. The early consensus seems to be unanimous.

Actually, it reads like a lot of knee-jerk reactions, and I understand those. Really, I do. We're all sports fans, and that's what we do, especially in the NFL where there's only 16 games and every game matters. And I can sort of relate to the Raiders fans since I've been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan for the previous 16 years, so I understand what it feels like to be embarrassed every season in strange new ways, while having those optimistic opening day thoughts be flushed right down the crapper.

Anyway, some reactions from Bay area scribes and Raiders blogs after the jump.

Total domination. Jay Cutler and Eddie Royal did everything and anything they wanted last night/this morning, and the Raiders' defense had no answer for any of it as the Broncos rolled, 41-14, to close out week one action.

Cutler completed 16-of-24 passes for 299 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Royal, a rookie, hauled in nine passes for 146 yards. He also ran the ball twice for nine yards, returned three kicks for 30 yards, recovered his own fumble and even attempted a pass. It was his night, and nobody was stopping him.

The Oakland defense was terrible, missing tackles and watching, almost helplessly, as Broncos receivers ran through the field wide open and uncontested all night. As a team, the Raiders were guilty of five personal foul penalties, including two from the always composed DeAngelo Hall on the same defensive series in the first half.

The Raiders seem to have no real problem taking a gamble on a troublemaker or two. And, if you look at the Randy Moss experiment, it has traditionally worked out pretty well for them. So no real shock that deep threat black hole DeAngelo Hall is already happy to be practicing and getting ready for the season.

In fairness, he does have a broken bone in his right hand. According to the Chron (via PFT) anyway.

"It affects everything," Hall said after going through virtually all the first-team drills Tuesday in Napa. "I've got a little broken bone in there. I don't even feel like I should even be out here practicing on it or even going into preseason.

"But it's something that no one else even seems to feel like its affecting everything so I'm out there practicing and playing the game.

Asked if it was decision to practice Hall, he said, "Nah."

"It ain't my choice. I'm employee (No.) 23 so I do what I'm told."

The Raiders have said he's dealing with a sprain, but clearly Hall doesn't feel the same way. And he should know. He is a doctor after all.

I get that it probably feels like his hand is broken. I've diagnosed myself with plenty of more-painful-than-they-actually-are injuries before, and I'm certainly not in first team scrimmages with an NFL team. But at the same time, Hall ain't exactly doing his due diligence right now if he wants to shake the full-on whiner image he's already got.

Besides, it could be worse -- he could still be stuck in Atlanta.