It always more fun to give out the Oakland Raiders Game Ball of the Week following a victory. While the easy choice is Darren McFadden, he is not getting my game ball. McFadden had 19 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns. And he is clearly deserving of the honor, but he will be deprived of my recognition.
I gave serious consideration to offering it up to Chimdi Chekwa. I was shocked at how effective he was at corner given his little practice time there against NFL players. While he was just average, that average is way better than anyone should have reasonable expected. His level of preparation is to be commended, but he already had the lofty honor of being the first shout out post after the game.
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Then there is Jarvis Moss. Moss was outstanding. He dominated in the second half with two sacks, a tackle for loss and tipped pass. It was an incredible effort for Mr. Moss in what was, to this point, his finest moment as a professional. But he doesn't get it either.
Antonio Cromartie can also lay claim to this award. He had four big penalties, and he also did his best Lionel Messi impersonation on a kickoff and sealed the Jets fate with a huge turnover. But there are far too many Raiders to celebrate for Cro to get this award.
That leaves me with the true winner of this award, and I am going to cheat because I am giving it to six players. This award goes to the offensive line plus Kevin Boss.
This unit was widely thought to be the weak link to the Raiders offense, if not team. They are anything but that.
This line was outstanding, and they did it as a group. The Jets defensive front seven gives even the best offensive line fits, especially in the run game. The Raiders manhandled them. They destroyed them for huge runs, and tough yards.
The Raiders had four rushing touchdowns in this game!
The offensive line also did not surrender a sack, or commit a penalty. The lone sack was a result of Campbell tripping on McFadden.
So, Jared Veldheer, Stefen Wisniewski, Samson Satele, Cooper Carlisle, Khalif Barnes and Kevin Boss I am cutting the ball into sixths and giving it to you.