Matt McGloin looking for hometown magic in New York

The Raiders are making their second trip to New York this season. Last time they played there was week 10 while Terrelle Pryor was still the team's starting quarterback. Now they return to the Meadowlands to face the Jets not far from where Matt McGloin spent his entire life before heading out west to join the Raiders.

"For me it's exciting to go back east," said McGloin. "I grew up 2 hours from that stadium so I grew up playing in the cold weather so it's gonna be nice change for me. . . I'm used to it. I grew up in the east my whole life so I'm used to playing in the cold weather. Used to the grip of the ball, how it feels, how to stay warm, how to keep your hands warm and moist so that won't be too difficult of an adjustment for me."

He has the resume to prove it. The last time he played in that area was as the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions where he set school passing records as a senior. That was less than a year ago.

McGloin is expecting a lot of friends and family at the game who will be coming from Scranton in east Pennsylvania to see him start for the Raiders.

Feeling at home in the east is absolutely not something the Raiders have experienced of late. They haven't won in the Eastern time zone since Dec 6, 2009 - a string of 12 straight losses. That game in 2009 was the one in which Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski returned to beat his hometown Steelers. Could this be a sign the Raiders are due to break the streak?

Going home means something. McGloin already has plenty of reasons to play inspired football. Now he has a couple more.

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