Watch Out For The Bay Teams

[RavensAllTheWay]

Well I can honestly say, I am finally on the Raiders believer-bandwagon. It took a while, but I think beating a team like the Texans at Houston in a game in which they were outplayed, and coming off of the loss of Al....I would think that puts them over the hump. It also speaks to how great Hue Jackson is, or can be.

Meanwhile the 49ers are KILLING the Bucs in a battle of 3-1 teams. Just completely beating down what I still think is a good football team. Alex Smith is finally stepping up and becoming a better QB. Who knows how long it lasts, but he is the best QB in that division right now, and the 49ers are clearly the best of the four teams. Not to mention beating the 3-2 Bengals and erasing a 20-0 deficit to beat the Eagles. Both games on the road, in the eastern time zone.

Both these teams are dangerous. What do you think?

[ravens__]

I'm glad to see the Raiders doing good. I don't know why but I've always had a soft spot for them. I especially like the way they have accomplished to be successful; via a dominant run game and the usual Raiders smash-mouth football on all sides of the ball. I am secretly rooting for them to win the AFC West but I'd like to see how they fare against the Chargers..

As for San Fran, I'm shocked. Harbaugh #2 has managed to be 4-1 on his first year in an otherwise tragic division.. I knew from the start Harbaugh was a good coach but I didn't expect him to do all that on his first year at the helm. Alex Smith is still an average at best QB but they haven't made that show by not giving him as many touches and relying mostly on their run game and their decent D. Who knows... maybe if the 49ers draft a real QB (or maybe if Kaepernick develops), they can be contenders again.. Despite all the praise I hold for the job they've done, I still see no possible way they can beat us Thanksgiving night, a couple of weeks from now.

[bpytnjr58]

Raiders were not really doing that much on offense against Houston until Williams went down

[RavensAllTheWay]

[quote name='ravens__' timestamp='1318238633' post='819895']
[b]I'm glad to see the Raiders doing good. I don't know why but I've always had a soft spot for them. I especially like the way they have accomplished to be successful; via a dominant run game and the usual Raiders smash-mouth football on all sides of the ball. I am secretly rooting for them to win the AFC West but I'd like to see how they fare against the Chargers..[/b]

As for San Fran, I'm shocked. Harbaugh #2 has managed to be 4-1 on his first year in an otherwise tragic division.. I knew from the start Harbaugh was a good coach but I didn't expect him to do all that on his first year at the helm. Alex Smith is still an average at best QB but they haven't made that show by not giving him as many touches and relying mostly on their run game and their decent D. Who knows... maybe if the 49ers draft a real QB (or maybe if Kaepernick develops), they can be contenders again.. Despite all the praise I hold for the job they've done, I still see no possible way they can beat us Thanksgiving night, a couple of weeks from now.
[/quote]
Yep. The Raiders are certainly smash mouth. I know Lombardi and La Canfora said that the indentity of the franchise matters, but I don't necessarily agree. It kind of goes against "just win, baby" if you think about. That's why you have a coach to evaluate what is best for the team.

Having said that, it is clear as day, even tough McFadden was held in check yesterday, that [i]this[/i] Raiders team is certainly smash mouth.

[JO_75]

Jim Harbaugh just took the 49ers to a victory over the 5-0 Lions to improve to 5-1. Congrats to Jim Harbaugh, only needs 3 more wins to clinch the NFC West lol.

[bpytnjr58]

Raiders may be out of this topic of conversation now with Mr. Boller under center.

[bpytnjr58]

[quote name='JO_75' timestamp='1318798058' post='824302']
Jim Harbaugh just took the 49ers to a victory over the 5-0 Lions to improve to 5-1. Congrats to Jim Harbaugh, only needs 3 more wins to clinch the NFC West lol.
[/quote]
I like him and he is doing an awsome job in S.F. i just would not want to shake my hand and pat me on the back.

[theblackdog]

Methinks the Harbaugh Bowl is going to be verrrrrrrry interesting to watch on Thanksgiving.

[JO_75]

[quote name='bpytnjr58' timestamp='1318886091' post='826583']
Raiders may be out of this topic of conversation now with Mr. Boller under center.
[/quote]

As soon as that would be the case, they are right back in it with Carson Palmer now the starting QB for the Raiders.

[bpytnjr58]

[quote name='JO_75' timestamp='1319055714' post='828583']

As soon as that would be the case, they are right back in it with Carson Palmer now the starting QB for the Raiders.
[/quote]
Just shows that one can not predict the Silver and Black at any time.

[flaccopoe]

What about Green Bay? [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/wink.png[/img]

[flaccopoe]

I think Oakland's gonna do bad offensively with Palmer coming in. They're gonna rely heavily on the run game for the next few weeks. Defenses are going to prepare accordingly by going heavy up front, knowing that there won't be too much to worry about (Moore, Heyward-Bey) in the passing game. Plus, their defense is poor. Luckily, they're facing KC next, so they may win again anyway.

[flaccopoe]

I think SF is going to slow down in the coming weeks. Alex Smith is the 25th ranked QB in passing, and has been sacked more than all but 4 QBs. Their offense is a threat mainly in Frank Gore. However, their defense is great and they're in the weakest divison.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

[quote name='flaccopoe' timestamp='1319121429' post='829080']
I think Oakland's gonna do bad offensively with Palmer coming in. They're gonna rely heavily on the run game for the next few weeks. Defenses are going to prepare accordingly by going heavy up front, knowing that there won't be too much to worry about (Moore, Heyward-Bey) in the passing game. Plus, their defense is poor. Luckily, they're facing KC next, so they may win again anyway.
[/quote]

I don't think much of Palmer and what the Raiders gave up to get him was one of the stupidest trades I'll probably ever see but he isn't a downgrade from Campbell IMO. He will need time to get back into the swing of things and used to Oaklands offense but they don't lose much of a step. Whether they gain one in the longer run remains to be seen. I bet teams already stacked the box because McFadden is far and away their best offensive player.

[quote name='flaccopoe' timestamp='1319121902' post='829087']
I think SF is going to slow down in the coming weeks. Alex Smith is the 25th ranked QB in passing, and has been sacked more than all but 4 QBs. Their offense is a threat mainly in Frank Gore. However, their defense is great and they're in the weakest divison.
[/quote]

They are the overachievers of the season IMO, closely followed by the Bills. Alex Smith might not be throwing for a bunch of yards but he is being a solid game manager for them, he hasn't turned the ball over much this season. Frank Gore doesn't scare me considering we've already faced a group of good RBs (Mendenhall, CJ, Foster, Steven Jackson) and haven't had a problem with them. I think we will beat them on Thanksgiving if Flacco has a good game.

[bpytnjr58]

[quote name='flaccopoe' timestamp='1319121902' post='829087']
I think SF is going to slow down in the coming weeks. Alex Smith is the 25th ranked QB in passing, and has been sacked more than all but 4 QBs. Their offense is a threat mainly in Frank Gore. However, their defense is great and they're in the weakest divison.
[/quote]
Hopefully by Thanksgiving!