Raiders far from satisfied

[The_Philster]

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jerry Rice won't stand for being embarrassed in his 19th NFL season.

Something had better change in a hurry, because the likely Hall of Famer is annoyed with how the Oakland Raiders are playing.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 39-yard field goal, his third of the game, with nine seconds left as the Raiders overcame a lackluster performance in their home opener to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday....

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[The_Philster]

Win is not enough to gloss over this dog

It is Bill Callahan's job on occasion to make the indigestible seem yummy, the unpleasant look sublime, and the inexcusable seem downright courageous.

In other words, he didn't have a very good game, either.

Which is as it should be, frankly. The Raiders' nonloss (victory seems a gross overstatement, frankly) to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday was so comprehensively distasteful to everyone involved that they go into next Monday's game at Denver even less confident in themselves than they did after last week's loss at Tennessee. ...

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[The_Philster]

Stunned silence falls over Raider Nation

In stray minutes on Sunday, Network Associates Coliseum sounded like a golf course, or center court at a major tennis tournament. The place was hushed, startlingly so.

The Cincinnati Bengals had possession in a tied ballgame late in the fourth quarter, and Raiders fans weren't trying to rattle Jon Kitna, Cincinnati's quarterback, or interfere with any signals he tried to send to his teammates.

If not for all the black souvenir jerseys on their backs, they would have been unrecognizable, even more off their game than their team....

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