RaiderDamus Friday Foretelling Week 12: Raiders vs. Bengals

Last week, Carson Palmer was beer. By that, I mean he was the cause of- and solution to- all the Raiders' problems. The offense was moving the ball and executing, and the defense did come up with a few key stops. But Palmer threw two key interceptions which totally railroaded the game in the Saints' favor.

This week, it will again be up to Palmer to win the day for Oakland. Let's just hope he remembers which team he is on, and that he should throw the ball to the guys in silver instead of the guys in orange. Ochocinco isn't walking through that door. Corey Dillon isn't walking through that door, although he would be a marked improvement over our current healthy running backs, even at his advanced age.

Who else isn't walking through that door? Hue Jackson. He will however be on the opposing sideline this week as the Bengals secondary coach, plotting and scheming ways to make Palmer's life miserable. It will be up to Palmer to overcome this and put an end to Jackson's dastardly ways. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if Palmer had to untie a young lady from a set of train tracks just before kickoff. If Jackson had a moustache, he would be twirling it will gameplanning this one.

I took a look at the overall fantasy football rankings yesterday. I was somewhat surprised to see that the top overall fantasy wide receiver is A.J. Green. It's not really close, either. He is in a class with Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Roddy White et al. He may be better than them. The Raiders will have to cover him on every single play, probably with more than one defender. The good news is that across from Green at the WR2 spot is ???. A bunch of scrubs and never-weres. Their only other good receiver is tight end Jermaine Gresham, who is a total boss.

The Bengals defense is so average their defensive coordinator's name ought to be Blandon McWhiteBreadson. They rank between 15-20 in the league in pretty much everything. They are good at nothing and bad at nothing. They don't suck but they don't excel at anything in particular. They might be able to get to Palmer once or twice but they certainly won't be in his face all game. They might force a few three and outs but the Raiders ought to be able to move the football on a regular basis. This game will come down to variables. Those variables are: AJ Green and Raider turnovers. I do not trust that we will not give them the ball, and I do not trust us (or any other team) to shut down AJ Green. With our injuries, we don't have the personnel.

Bengals win, 31-20.