The Career of Marcus Bobby

[NATIONofAmbition]

Lane Kiffin is fired
Raiders owner Charles G. Winningham announced that the new head coaching job has been given to Marcus Bobby, an Oakland native, after Lane Kiffin was abruptly fired shortly before training camp.

Not much is known about Bobby. We just know that he's relatively quiet and prefers to handle business in a quiet manner. Raider Nation is excited nonetheless, claiming a Super Bowl is in the near future.

Coach Name: Marcus Bobby
Skills Include: Level 5 Performance
Offensive Playbook: "Winning Formula O" (based off Kiffin Pass Attack)
Defensive Playbook: "Winning Formula D" (based off Rex Ryan 4-6)

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
State of A Franchise: Our Oakland Raiders
Welcome to my new site, Raider Nation Clubhouse. Thanks for visiting. You can call me Madden76. I am about as big a Raiders fan as it is possible to be and have plenty of access to the team. So I have made it my duty to provide you with everything Oakland Raiders! Please feel free to comment on my blog posts and we can have some hopefully civilized discussions.

I am a realist though. We have gotten rid of the nightmare that was Lane Kiffin. And Marcus Bobby seems promising but honestly...this team doesn't look too good.

We have Darren McFadden thanks to the 2008 draft but...what else is there? I mean we're still stuck with freakin' JAMARCUS RUSSELL at QB. We did trade for Josh Cribbs but he's basically just going to be running wildcat and maybe returning kicks and punts. But with Gregg Knapp still at offensive coordinator, I doubt the offense goes anywhere.

The defense may or may not be good, depending on Bobby's defensive scheme. We picked up Jonathan Babineaux from the Falcons but he's not all that impressive.

I'm very nervous for this season. We have 2 new playbooks. Big *** playbooks too. The defensive playbook reportedly has over 100 plays! That's way too much.

But anyways, here is our schedule for this year followed by my prediction on what our record will be this year:
Week 1 vs. DEN
Week 2 @ KC
Week 3 @ BUF
Week 4 vs. SD
Week 5 BYE
Week 6 @ NO
Week 7 vs. NYJ
Week 8 @ BAL
Week 9 vs. ATL
Week 10 vs. CAR
Week 11 @ MIA
Week 12 @ DEN
Week 13 vs. KC
Week 14 @ SD
Week 15 vs. NE
Week 16 vs. HOU
Week 17 @ TB

I'm optimistic so I'll say we get a win over Kansas City and that we beat the Jets, Failcons, Canthers, and Lolphins for a 5-11 record. Not too bad right? Right?

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
August 8, 2008 Preseason Week 1 vs. 49ers
We won our first preseason game over the San Francisco 49ers 17-3. I had some mixed reactions throughout the game still though.

The offense looks like it won't be absolutely god awful like I thought it would be. We had some terrible plays (like the backwards pass that lost us 30 freakin' yards) but we also had some nice promising ones. Russell finished the game with a QB rating of 107.1 after completing all 7 of his passes. McFadden got in 16 carries but only managed 49 yards. The 1st and 2nd team OL combined for 7 sacks. Bobby's offense looks exotic enough to cause problems for defenses around the league. We saw some jet sweep action, a designed QB run (with Cribbs and McFadden at the helm), and an assortment of pass plays Kiffin would have never though to run.

The defense is what shined. First of all, kudos to D'Angelo Hall, who returned TWO interceptions for touchdowns in the 1st half. The 1st team D looked incredible. Asomugha and Hall were looking oh so good out there. The defense overall was just nice. We amassed 6 total sacks, 2 coming from the supposed "weak link" of the linebacker core, Sam Williams. The 49ers did get 408 total yards of offense compared to our lol-worthy 95. They lit us up passing the ball. But anyways, the D looks good. I also saw some new formations, indicating that Rob Ryan has fully agreed to move from that Raider Rover crap. I don't know about you all but I saw some 4-3, 3-4, AND 46.

And another thing that kept me from getting overly excited...it's the 49ers. Even with Mike Martz running their offense, they still turned it over 5 times. I doubt many teams will look as bad as San Fran did in this game.

Halfback Michael Bush went down with a severely pulled hamstring and is expected to be out of action for 3-4 weeks.

I'm not gonna crown my Raiders just yet, but an impressive debut for Marcus Bobby's Raiders nonetheless.

BLOG COMMENTS

From ClosetheGallery: Don't let the score fool you. We sucked in this game. Our "halfback of the future" couldn't get any yards. Oh and nice job not mentioning McFadden's FUMBLE Madden76. Real smooth. The defense got lit up by Alex Smith in the 1st half but you're acting like we shut them down. I continue to be concerned for our team.

From Hallaso: Those 2 picks from D'Angelo were straight NASTY don't get me wrong but let's not pretend he didn't get picked on at least a few times in man AND zone coverage. He only got those 2 picks because Alex Smith felt he could test him.

From JustWinMore: In response to ClosetheGallery...shut the **** up. We WON THE GAME. Ain't that what matters? It wasn't pretty all the time but hey, it never really is and never will be. But it's about putting WINS in the record book. We got the job done.

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
August 15, 2008 Preseason Week 2 @ Titans
Madden76 here. We had Tennessee and that defense this week. And boy oh boy oh boy...now THIS was a horrible game right here folks.

Jamarcus Russell and Chris Leak's stats COMBINED: 166 yards on 11/26 passing, 2 interceptions, and a 61.4 QB rating. Oh my lord. And yes I added up their QB ratings to get that number. Also...please oh PLEASE don't tell me McFadden is gonna bust too. This fool had more carries than he did yards. How the hell do you even do that?! Kwame Harris alone gave up 3 sacks but he's Kwame Harris.

The 1st team defense got bullied by Vince Young who not only rushed for 90 yards but passed for over 100. Things hardly improved but 2nd team D didn't play all that bad.

But wow. If this is how we are going to play anytime we go against a solid-to-good defense, I am VERY afraid for this season.

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
Very Early Team Needs
As we prepare for the Arizona Cardinals in week 3 of preseason, I feel I should address some concerns I have for the team.

Offensively, we NEED to get rid of offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp. He just sucks. We all know this. We need to solidify this offensive line. We have some solid guys like Ben Noll (picked up FA during training camp) and Mark Wilson but the rest of the OL is terrible. Maybe that's why Darren McFadden has struggled so much? At QB, Russell is just not going to cut it. We can't release him because it'll screw us financially but we need to replace him.

On defense, we need a defensive tackle that can dominate. Kelly has gotten some good pressure and so has Babineaux at times but I want a DT that will consistently be in opposing QB's grills. We also could use a corner if we don't re-sign Asomugha (which we better!).

I scan the roster and it doesn't even look like we have that many holes but I'm very concerned after that performance in Tennessee.

BLOG COMMENTS

From BacktoLA: I agree completely with everything you said in this post. I am concerned after that game too. The offense looks so sporadic it's scary.

From ClosetheGallery: Uh-huh, what did I tell you? You shouldn't have gotten the crown out after just one PRESEASON game like that. Now you've gone and set yourself up for disappointment.

From TurtleSands: What about wide receiver? Are we really expecting Javon Walker to not suck? We have NO ONE to throw to. Russell sucks indeed but he doesn't have much help.

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
August 23, 2008 Preseason Week 3 vs. Cardinals
That was about as exciting a preseason game as I've ever seen. Preseason or not, both teams put on a SHOW. It got mighty close at the end but we kept the Cardinals at bay. The game ended in a draw, 10-10 after a full extra 15 minutes went by.

What to take from this game...hmmm, well Jamarcus Russell looked pretty good. 123 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 pick, and he completed 69% of his passes. Chris Leak, our current backup QB, didn't play too bad either. He had 125 yards despite being sacked 4 times. Interestingly, 2 of those sacks came from MLB Gerald Hayes, strongly indicating that the inside of our offensive line sucks. The outside was more or less secured. McFadden continued to look like poop though.

The defense let KEVAN BARLOW get 116 rushing yards. Now Barlow is a former 1,000-yard rusher but come on now. Deuce Lutui had 10 pancakes. We did get 4 sacks from 4 different players though: defensive tackles Gerard Warren and Tommy Kelly, right end Derrick Burgess, and left outside linebacker Mark Johnson.

So with one game remaining in preseason before the REAL games start, here's a quick analysis: Jamarcus Russell has been inconsistent. McFadden has been ***. Our receivers have been ineffective. The OL has been ***. The defense has shown flashes but is still for the most part inconsistent.

I'm not budging on my 5-11 prediction. BUT if we can't stop Kevan Barlow from running all over us, I'm not so sure we will be able to stop the likes of Thomas Jones (Jets) and Larry Johnson (Chiefs). And both of those teams are very run-heavy. Now I'm not saying I predict we will lose those games because I believe they are still very winnable but if we don't shore up that run D we MIGHT just finish 3-13.

BLOG COMMENTS

From FreeWillie: Yea man I agree with you on the run defense. Kevan freakin' Barlow? Like are they serious? How are we supposed to beat run-heavy teams like Kansas City and San Diego (DIVISION RIVALS) if we can't stop Kevan freakin' Barlow?!

From Hallaso: I actually think we can go 8-8. I think we'll whip up on Kansas City and we can maybe steal a win from the Bills and Texans.

[NATIONofAmbition]

RAIDER NATION CLUBHOUSE
August 29, 2008 Preseason Week 4 @ Seahawks
Wasn't expecting to win this one. A nice 31-16 victory.

Russell had another inconsistent performance. He did throw a TD but only completed 41% of his passes for 54 yards. At least the OL kept Russell and Leak upright this time. 2 sacks the entire game. The defense looked good again but nothing stood out. But anyways, I move on...

...I really, really want to punch Darren McFadden. Just one or twenty times. This guy has this amazing career at Arkansas, gets drafted FOURTH overall...and look what he's done. In 4 games, he had 44 rushing attempts. In these 4 games, McBadden has amassed 86 yards, 98 if you want to count his 12 receiving yards. What the flip man!

Our rushing game has looked absolutely horrid this year but come on now. This guy is supposed to be a SUPERSTAR in the future and here he is looking like pure poop in preseason. Just a little fun stat I pulled out: McFadden had the 4th most preseason carries among all AFC West guys that logged an attempt. Yet he's 8th in preseason rushing yards and near the bottom in yards per carry.

Darren McFadden, please read this. Because I'm warning you. If I see you in person, I will stick you in the face. I don't care if you can beat my behind. I'm going to do it and I'm going to make it count.