GameDay: The Raiders Are Becoming Must-See TV
KPIX 5 Sports Director Dennis O'Donnell hosts "Gameday" every Sunday night at 11:30pm on KPIX 5 and offers his unique sports analysis here.
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- The Raiders are like sunflower seeds. Eventually, you get tired of them and put them away, but always find yourself going back for more.
I should know. I just put mine back in the cupboard. Until Thursday, that is, when the play Dallas.
The Raiders should have beaten Tennessee like they should have beaten the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Giants, and the Washington Redskins. The Raiders should be in the Wild Card playoff spot, not the Titans.
But here's the thing. The Raiders, despite all the preseason prognostications of a team in the hunt for the number one draft pick, have not only become respectable, but very watchable.
They are an immensely entertaining and competitive football team, whose playoff fortunes would have been greatly enhanced if they knew how to close a game. They don't, so they are where they are. But that's far better than what we initially anticipated when Raider Nation was calling for the heads of the GM and head coach after just one loss.
I don't know if Matt McGloin is the future or not. It's hard to believe that a quarterback who has been overlooked at every level could be the long-term solution. But he's got a better arm than Pryor, certainly more accurate, a very quick release, and has a better handle of the offense.
Perhaps it's more of an indictment of Pryor than a vote of confidence in McGloin. He's just two games into his career, so let the season play out and the question will likely be answered with time.
There is one position in which I've seen enough to make the call. Sign Rashad Jennings to an extension and let Darren McFadden go. The latter is overpaid and injury-prone. The former is among the NFL's leading rushers over the past four weeks behind an offensive line that clearly needs improvement.
While I'm not quite ready to concede another season without a postseason in Oakland, I'm committed to watching the Raiders the rest of the way. They have my attention and should have yours.
Now, where did I put those damn seeds?
See you on TV.
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