A case can be made for either Daunte Culpepper or Josh McCown to start the season opener against the Lions.
If McCown is the choice than it may have a lot to do with the fact that Lane's playbook is much thicker than the preseason displayed.
In the preseason, unlike his predissesors , Bed and Breakfast and Shell "Of His Former Self", who opened up the entire play book in order to win preseason games last year, Lane is holding many plays in reserve.
One of the key plays for any zone blocking scheme is the draw, yet, we have not seen one.
I wonder how many more looks and timing plays he has waiting for the Lions.
It is possible, that as he says, Lane is not satisfied with Daunte's getting in and out of the huddle quickly enough. Daunte has only had Lane's playbook for 37 days!!!
It is quite possible that we won't see Daunte until the week after the bye.
Lane does STRONGLY believe in his defense's ability to win ballgames as long as his offense does not turn the ball over and executes well enough to score 20 points a game.
I mean, Trent Dilfer won a Super bowl with a defense first team.
In 2000, Trent Dilfer only threw 12 TDs. He also only had 11 picks.
Baltimore limited his potential for making mistakes by only letting him throw 226 times in 11 games.
As Raider fans we will never forget how our team was manhandled by the Ravens in the Championship game that year.
We were built on style and finesse, while the Ravens were built around a punishing defense and a run first offense. The dagger came on an underneath route, a simple 8 yard pass to Shannon Sharpe that turned into a LONG TD when a defender, Anthony Dorsett, took the worst angle in Raider History.
This strategy worked wonders for the Ravens who would rather take a sack, punt, and let the defense hold, than take the risk of a hurried pass or scamper leading to a turnover.
In fact, Dilfer had only one pick in the entire post season and was sacked 10 TIMES!!!
Another oddity is that he passed for the second most yards, 590, on only 35 completions. That is because the offense broke some HUGE plays and the defense didn't give ANY up...Well, and Saragussa's fat ass swan dove on Gannon. (I still get sick every time I see that Fat Tub of Lard!!!)
Now, it is unfair to compare our defense to the 2000 Ravens. Look at their performances in the Post Season:
INT Leaders:
Sack Leaders:
But, we can have a top flight defense and special teams unit that combined with a ball control offense will lead to more wins than losses.
I ask you Raider Nation:
CAN Daunte be a ball control QB?
I'd say that his 2004 performance would be IDEAL. 39 TD's and 11 INTs would work for ME!!!!
His performance over the past two years would not work.
I also know this, Josh McCown IS better than Trent Dilfer.
I can never get enough of this highlight of him beating Minnesota in the closing seconds in 2003:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wfYAGosi4
I wonder how many times Josh and Daunte talk about that play?
Lane has painted himself into a corner by playing this QB game. Now his first game as the coach will be based on the performance of a career back-up or aQB that has been here for 37 days.