NFL Season Begins! Raiders vs Titans Game Report!

Welcome, Raiderfans!

So, the Raiders are back in action! I'm here at Ricky's Sports Theater, famous for being the home of Raider Nation! And the place is packed out with folks cheering on the Silver & Black.

The Titans tried a little trickery to start out the game, but it failed miserably. The Raiders went straight to score a touchdown, and it looked like this would be another victory in Nashville.

However...

The Raiders' defense is struggling. Once the jitters left Titans QB Marcus Mariota, he put on a clinic in efficiency. He was 5-for-7 in 3rd down conversions, and he ran the bootleg without fear. 

Meanwhile, Raiders' QB Derek Carr had a 2nd-quarter drive where he was sacked twice in the same series. There is no doubt that the Titans want a victory in their home opener...they've suffered Raider Nation taking over that stadium in vast numbers the past two years and clearly want to give the Nashville locals something to feel good about.

RB Marshawn Lynch had a couple of good runs. WR Michael Crabtree looks great today, but the other Raiders' receivers & tight ends aren't making an impact in this game at all. They had some dropped balls...as in "plural" dropped balls.

Stats from the 1st-Half of this game: 

Ricky's is where Raider Nation watches games in Oakland!

The second half went kinda slow, but it was clear that the Raiders figured out how to shut down the Titans. After moving the ball so well earlier, the Titans never again saw the end zone as they had to settle for field goals the rest of the way.

Amari Cooper found better control of his hands, and Marshawn Lynch posterized an opposing defensive lineman Jurrell Casey that made you think of LA Clippers' Blake Griffin's monster dunk on Kendrick Perkins...that Marshawn dude is strong!

But hey, don't take my word for it! See for yourselves here from this tweet the NFL released: 

Sometimes... It's best to just stay out of BEASTMODE's way. pic.twitter.com/tr3ViqHdEh

— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2017

 "Definitely a shot to myself and my pride with Lynch coming up in here and running up and down on us like that," Casey said." (source: Adam Vingan, of the USAToday newspaper)


Seth Roberts got a touchdown (the Raiders are 10 wins-0 loses when he catches a touchdown pass) and the defense stepped up in the second half, limiting Mariota to 2-8 in 3rd-down efficiency in after halftime.

So, for the second year in a row, the Raiders open the season with a victory! And that is a very good thing!

No doubt the future placekicker for the Raiders made his debut today. Giorgio Tavecchio booted not one, but TWO 52-yard field goals today! Some kickers can't make that distance at all, but this guy did it twice!

Final stats from today's game:

Next week, the NY Jets come into Oakland. There was an infamous game where former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez blew out the Raiders 38-0, and was so bored with his mastery over the Raiders that he ate a hot dog on the sideline while the game was still in progress. Well, let's see who's gonna eat it now!  :-)

Thanks for talking with me. And of course, I welcome your thoughts on the game!

Before I go, here's a little peek into the vibe here at Ricky's today:

Thanks for your valuable time, Raider Nation! See you next week!

Yours,
Ken

p.s. Yes, CBS Sports: we know that this Tavecchio guy probably spells the end of long-time Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski's tenure with the team. But still, we didn't need your cameras to keep going over to catch Jano's reaction to each successful kick that Tavecchio made. Let the man be.