Raiders/49ers Move to 2-1

Although they're each doing it in completely different styles, Jim Harbough and Hue Jackson have to be pleased with the way the season has started for their two football teams as each the 49ers and Raiders moved to 2-1 over the weekend.

The 49ers are doing it behind some inspired defensive play, and the occasional clutch throw from Alex Smith, but they've gone 2-1 and have yet to get Frank Gore going, which only bodes well for when he does. Gore has been battling a bum ankle for a couple weeks know and it's showing in his running as he's lacking burst and explosiveness that normally are the staple of his running style. It was hard to watch him on Sunday vs. the Bengals, then see Kendal Hunter come in and provide a noticeable difference. A lot of football people, especially fantasy football, believe Frank Gore is on the downhill side of his career already, but I don't believe that to be the case. Number 21 is still a top-10 back when he's healthy, but he's obviously not, and the 49ers O-line has struggled a bit in run blocking. Luckily though, the 49ers do have a guy like Hunter who showed his value with a big TD run vs. the Bengals Sunday, and should be given at least 30-40% of Gore's workload until his health improves. Hopefully he'll be ready for a bit match-up next week vs. Philly, but even if he is, I think Alex Smith is going to have to win this game for San Fran as they're most certainly going to have to at least double their 13-point output to even have a shot vs. Vick and LeSean McCoy.

While the Niners have been conservative in their offensive approach so far, the Raiders have been dynamic. The reason why they've been so dynamic is because of a very real, early season MVP candidate in Darren McFadden. Run DMC has built upon his solid 2010 campaign and is doing to opposing defenses what Arian Foster did last year, tearing them up on both the ground and through the air. In a game against an AFC favorite in the New York Jets, all the Raiders did was put up 34 points vs. the daunted defense and win the game by a convincing 10-points. Jason Campbell has been strong so far through 3 weeks, but it really wasn't about him on Sunday as D Mac went for 179 yards and 2 scores on just 19 carries, making a super bowl caliber defense look desperately over-matched in the process. This win really opened my eyes to the Raiders, and now have me believing this team has a more than legit shot at winning a declining AFC West. The Broncos and Chiefs are essential non-factors, but the Raiders will have a tough challenge in getting by the San Diego Cheifs, a team that's been a thorn in their side for the better part of this century. I do think that the Raiders finally have a dynamic enough offense, with McFadden established and Denarius Moore looking like one of the better rookie receivers in football, and their run defense is playing at a very high level. Between Moore and McFadden, the Raiders have themselves an explosive, young 1-2 punch offensively. They're still giving up too many big passing plays, but that's about the only area in which this team hasn't shined early in 2011.

We'll have much more on the upcoming games this Sunday inlcluding the Raiders and 49ers Previews, and a little Stanford/Cal football as well.

NFL Sunday Preview: Week 3

The first two weeks of the NFL season have flown right by and here we are, just 24 short hours away from kickoff in week three. Like we do each weekend here at the BASJ, we'll preview a little bit of the 49ers and Raiders games as well as check out a few other top games this weekend.

First off, as always, we start with the 49ers, who are coming off an embarrassing home performance a week ago in which they were torched by a punctured and wounded Tony Romo in a game they were really controlling up until the 4th quarter. The big decision that the media was focused on all week was Harbough's decision to keep the 3 points on David Akers 50 yard field goal, rather than the 1st-and-10 in Dallas territory. That move right there showed you how little faith Harbough has in his offense, and that was in a game in which Alex Smith was throwing the ball pretty well. Smith had 2 TD's through the air and finished with a QB rating of 99 despite throwing for just 179 yards. The problem for the 49ers vs. Dallas was their lack of pass defense, and their inability to get a running game established. Surprisingly, that's now 2 weeks in a row now that Frank Gore has yet to get going, as he hasn't even hit 100 yards for the season after two weeks. The 49ers face a much less daunting task the Tony Romo-led Cowboy's offense, but Andy Dalton and A.J. Green showed you last week that they too are a competent passing duo and will likely look to expose the 49ers pass defense again. So, the two big keys to the game for the 49ers in order to win this contest, which is very doable even with it being in Cinci, are to stop Dalton and the passing attack, and keep their own offense on the field by getting Frank Gore going and over the 100-yard mark for the 1st time in 2011. I see this one coming down to the final minutes of regulation. Prediction: Bengals 21, 49ers 17

The Raiders are coming off a week that saw their offense break out in all facets, but also saw their defense break down when the game was on the line. The Raiders were in line to start the year 2-0 with a late lead in Buffalo last week, but Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson showed why they are two of the most underrated skill players in all the NFL with their late comeback victory. The Raiders offense actually looks like it's going to be a pretty good one, and probably the best this team has had since the days of Rich Gannon, but they need to get that defense right. They looked good against Denver in week one, but were shredded by Buffalo in week 2, in both the passing game and rushing attack. This week, they get another tough test in the New York Jets, who, believe it or not, probably don't have quite as good an offense as the Bills, but their defense is one of the best in the NFL. Darren McFadden has looked like a top-3 back in the first two weeks, but this week will be the real measuring stick for him and the Raider offense. With it being a home game, that should help the Silver and Black a bit. I want to see them pressure Sanchez and rattle him early. Make New York try and run the football, which they've failed to do so far. If the Raiders execute on D like they did in week 1 with last weeks offense, they'll be tough to beat, but that's a tough assumption to make. Prediction: Jets 27, Raiders 23.

Other Game To Watch: Houston vs. New Orleans- The Saints have been bitten a little by the injury bug, and have yet to get their running game really going, but that hasn't stopped Drew Brees from continuing his brilliance. Houston also has been dealing with a key injury to their starting tailback and 2010 rushing champ, Arian Foster, who once again will likely be sidelined or limited by his hamstring problem. Still, these two teams are amongst the top in their respective leagues, and there's an outside chance we're getting a Super Bowl preview here. I'll go with the home team, because I think these teams are very evenly matched, but I'm really liking the way Houston's defense is taking shape, and they appear to be a much better unit than NO's bunch. This game has premium match-up written all over it and I'm surprised it wasn't scheduled as one of Week 3's night affairs. Prediction: Saints 31, Texans 27.

NFL Sunday Preview

Well, both teams in the bay area had a good week 1, and each will try and build off that and get win number 2 this week. Again, the Raiders will be on the road, but they'll have a much easier task at hand than what the 49ers will have in their host at Candlestick.

The Raiders ran wild vs. the Broncos on Monday night, and although the Bills look like a much stronger defense than Denver's, I think the game plan for Hue Jackson's squad will be much of the same. A lot of Darren McFadden, and some Jason Campbell basic passes when they need them. They're pretty evenly matched with Buffalo, so it should be a very good game to watch and if they can execute a little more through the air offensively this week, they should be in pretty good shape. That is, or course, if their defense is up for the task again. The D-line got tremendous pressure on Kyle Orton in week one and will have to do so again in week 2 because Ryan Fitzpatrick has the ability to pick them apart if they don't. The Raiders have to keep their eye on bay area native and play-making wideout Stevie Johnson (pictured making that tremendous TD grab in week 1), but can't lose track of tight-end Scott Chandler like the Chiefs did or else they'll get burned. I don't think the Bills are quite as good as their 41-7 opening win over KC, but they are a lot better than people realize and have an underrated, all-around back in Fred Jackson that will take up a lot of the defense's attention as well. With Buffalo being at home, and coming of the huge win and Oakland coming off a short week and a little banged up, I still give the edge slightly to Buffalo, but again, if Run DMC gets going early and opens up the passing game a bit, then the Raiders should be able to make it a tight ballgame.

Prediction: Bills 27, Raiders 23

For most of the 49ers/Cowboys preview, we did a whole post here, but still have some points to make and reinforce. Like, stop, at least contain Tony Romo. That's going to really be the whole key to the game for San Francisco. They have a real brand new secondary and will really be put to the test this week in going up against Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Whitten, who the 49ers should stick Donte Whitner(pictured) on and hopefully he holds him in check like he did Zach Miller last weekend. Felix Jones is also a play-maker out of the backfield in the passing game. The 49ers should really keep an extra DB on the field at all times and force the Cowboys to try and run the football. If the Niners can do that, then they'll have a shot. They're also going to need to cause a turnover or two, and again, they will have to hold onto the ball on offense, cause if they lose the turnover battle, or even if they match-up in turnovers with Dallas, it won't be good news. They have to win that area, and that's something they can actually do. They need to press Tony Romo like New York did late in Monday Night's game. Romo was picking the Jets' highly-praised secondary apart for 3 quarters, but then they got some pressure on him and he made some bad decisions, playing on the road. The 49ers crowd has to be loud and help this defense, and of course, offensively, give them a lot of Gore and a little bit of Alex, but come out shooting early to keep the Cowboys honest and from piling 8 in the box. Still see the 49ers losing by at least 7.

Prediction: Cowboys 24, 49ers 17

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Other games to watch: Besides the Niners and Raiders games, a few other games I'll be watching pretty closely will be the Vicks 2nd trip back to Atlanta, but first since becoming a starter in Philly and one of the best QB's in football, better than his days in Atlanta even. That should be an interesting one that I see going Philly's way, unless Atlanta rattles up Vick and rams Michael Turner right through Philly's undersized defensive front: Eagles 24, Falcons 21.

Also, I think the real game of the week will be the San Diego/New England projected shootout. I had San Diego picked as my pre-season favorite in the AFC. I just think it's Phil Rivers' time and with Vincent Jackson back, Gates in his prime, Ryan Mathews ready to break out and Mike Tolbert there in case he doesn't, they really have it all offensively. Their big question coming in is defense, and they're D won't get a tougher task this year than what they're about to face Sunday in Foxboro. Tom Brady took the commanding early season MVP-lead with a 517 yard performance vs. the Dolphins and looks primed for another big season. The Patriots have some questions on defense though, and if they gave up 412 yards to Chad Henne, they could give up 500+ to Rivers unless they tighten up. Still don't know why they cut Brandon Meriweather, one of the leaders of that defense and a young player still in his mid-20's. This game should see 60+ points scored, and I'll stick by my pre-season favorites, even though they're on the road and weren't as impressive as the Pats in their win over the Vikings: Chargers 38, Patriots, 31

49ers Need To Open Up Offense Vs. Dallas

The 49ers were able to win last Sunday with a very conservative offensive approach. They totaled under 300 yards of offense and failed to get either their passing game nor their running game in good rhythm.

Take away those returns by Ted Ginn and you have yourself a completely different ballgame. Now, some people are saying the 49ers didn't really open up the playbook Sunday cause they didn't need to and didn't want to expose any packages they may use in this upcoming match-up vs. Dallas. I think a wise move for them would be to come out gunning at Dallas early. I remember way beck when Jerry Rice and Steve Young were playing together and on the first play from scrimmage in a huge game in Dallas (believe regular season in mid-90's) when Young hit Rice on that quick slant and Rice took it to the house right down the middle of the field. It set the tone for the afternoon and the 49ers rolled into big D and whooped 'em all around their own house. That's the kind of strike I'd like to see them make early on in this game to show Dallas they can keep up with them offensively. I know Smith is a far cry from Young, and he has no Jerry Rice on this roster, but I'd really like to see them take some shots down field early in the game to Braylon or Vernon and back the defense off Alex Smith a little. I think Dallas will be totally preparing for Frank Gore and will make Alex Smith beat them, and Smith will be relied on much more heavily in week 2.

This 49er defense can make some stops and should do OK vs. Dallas, though their secondary could get picked apart a bit if Tony Romo is on his game. I expect them to give up the yards and probably a few touchdowns, so the 49ers offense has to enter this game with the mindset that they need to score 21-28 points to even have a shot in this one, and they can't rely on 14 of those coming from Ted Ginn kick returns. They'll need the defense to rush Romo into some bad decisions, which is when he can be exposed and throw picks. If you put the heat on him, and get into his head, he seems to come apart, especially late in games. Now this is a tough week for me because I have Romo on one of my fantasy teams and he's going up against the 49ers, so it's going to be a tough one to watch. If the 49ers want to have any hope of containing this offense though, they need to game plan for 4 players in particular besides Romo: DE DeMarcus Ware and WR's Dez Bryant and Miles Austin and TE Jason Whitten could all pose problems for the 49ers in their weakest spots of their team. They're offensive line is still growing, and had trouble opening up holes for Frank Gore against a sub-par Seattle D-Line, so they'll have their hands full with a hawk like Ware on the other side. He alone could change the pace of a game and I can definitely see 3-4 sacks by him alone if the 49ers are not prepared. As far as Bryant and Austin go, they're just two of the best receivers in the game period and Whitten is like the Cowboys version of Vernon Davis, do they have an aerial attack.

We'll have a little more on this game and a Raiders preview when we do our previews this weekend, but however you slice it, this is a huge game for the 49ers, and it's a huge game for Dallas. The 49ers get a real test, kind of like their first "real" game of the year, and an excellent measuring stick in Dallas. And the Cowboys are desperate to keep from falling to 0-2 and head towards another disappointing year. The one positive the 49ers have going for them is it's a home game, cause in Dallas, they'd really little chance! To betting tips on this or any other game this weekend, check out 11th hour review and results!

Raiders Take Down Broncos in Denver, Again

Well, let's just say the Raiders have the Broncos number in the mile-high city, cause they just can't seem to lose there lately, and Darren McFaden may think about joining the Broncos if he ever becomes a FA, because he absolutely tears it up in the high altitude setting!

The Raiders offense was Conservative, and the way they played really reminded me of the way the 49ers played their game against the Seahawks on Sunday. They tried some trickery early with Jacoby Ford, and it cost them, then Hue Jackson went into complete conservative mode. Jason Campbell wasn't explosive, but effective, going 13-22 for 105 yards and a score. He didn't turn the ball over and played just as good as he had to to get the job done, much like Alex Smith did the day before. Really, the only difference between the 49ers and the Raiders games was that the 49ers got their big plays on special teams, and the Raiders made most of theirs on defense. That Chris Johnson had one heckuva a game keeping up with Brandon Loyd, and keeping Kyle Orton's favorite target in check. He came up with some big tackles and a big deflection on 3rd down late in the game that helped seal it up for the Silver and Black. Add in a couple Janikowski field goals, and you have yourself a victory. The 63-yarder by Janikowski was just ridiculous, and he's by far the only kicker in the NFL I look forward to watching kick (also sailed all kickoffs into the stands kicking from the 35)!

Offensively, it was all about Run DMC, as he once again ended up with another huge game in Denver. DMac ran the ball 22 times for 150 yards and also caught a pass, as he and Michael Bush were able to run down Denver's throat's to work the clock and seal the game. Defensively, it was all about the pressure the Raiders kept on Orton all night, as they sacked him over 5 times and hurried him into bad throws many more times than that. Next week, the Raiders have a little tougher challenge, but not much, by way of the Buffalo Bills, but they certainly have a more explosive offense than Denver, and the Raiders are going to have to keep up with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson and the rest of the underrated Buffalo offense. And if you want to wager on that particular game, check out 11th hour SMS sports picks.

49ers Define A Conservitive Win Sunday

Well, it certainly wasn't a big blowout, or offensive showing either on the ground or through the air, but the 49ers offene did do something it had trouble doing in 2010, and that's holding on to the football.

The 49ers didn't turn the ball over a single time as they used a consevitive approach in week one vs. a much lesser Seattle Seahawk team. The 49ers showed us a few things this weekend, but there are still many question marks surrounding the team, even after the 31-17 win at Candlestick on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Smith threw for just 124 yards and had a few nice rushes, including a touchdown on a QB-keeper sweep in the first half, but it really was all about the special teams and the defense, mainly Teddy Ginn and Carlos Rogers. Ginn returned 2 kicks (one punt, one kickoff) for TD's and kept the 49ers in good field position on every return he had. He was a force, and showed that he should probably have some sort of role in this offense as well, something we here at the Journal have been asking for since he signed with San Francisco. Nobody in their recieving corps has that kind of speed to stretch a field so why not use him more a wideout? He certainly made a case for a bigger role in week one. Rogers made a few nice deflections, including a TD-saver, swatting the ball out of Ben Obamanu's hands at the last second on a third-and-goal for Seattle. He showed already he's 2 times the cover-man Clements was for SF.

As far as the running game, which Harbough promosied a heavy dose of, he did deliver, but the 49ers, for some reason, couldn't open up many holes for their star running back. Frank Gore finished with under 50 yards rushing on 24 carries and never really got into a rythem. He had a few nice runs, but was stuffed a few times, including on the goal line where he's normally a beast. Still though, the 49ers were effecient on offense, getting key first downs when they needed. Harbough had them playing fundamental football. They didn't look like the reckless Niners of old making stupid penalties or turnovers, so even though they weren't explosive on offense, they put up 31 points. It's like they just wanted to get the lead and keep it, it didn't matter if they were scoring or not, as long as they had the lead and Seattle wasn't moving the ball, they were happy with not putting up big offnsive numbers. But next week in Dallas, it's going to be a whole new ballgame, cause this offense will need to open up a bit in order to keep up with the Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Whitten, Miles Austin and that Cowboy offense.

Player of the Week: Ted Ginn Jr.- 2 kick ret. for TD's

NFL Playoff and Super Bowl Prediction

Just in time for kickoff on Sunday, here are BASJ's NFL Picks for this 2011 NFL season. With the akward, strike shortened training camp, teams who gelled well at the end of last year and stayed in-tact should be ahead of the curve. A few teams like that who I don't have on this list but would be next on my playoff tree are the Lions, Bears, Bucs, Giants Chiefs and of course, the Manning-less Colts (If he comes back for 2nd half and plays well, they'll be OK). But here's who I have as my picks at this point:

NFC Playoffs

Bye: Green Bay, Philadelphia

Wild Card Round:

Atlanta 27 - St. Louis 20

Dallas 37 - New Orleans 29

NFC Divisional Round

Philadelphia Eagles 31 - Dallas Cowboys 17

Green Bay Packers 24 - Atlanta Falcons 20

NFC Championship

Philadelphia Eagles 26 - Green Bay Packers 21

I love the Eagles as long as they stay healthy this year. It's a given Vick will probably miss a few games just because of the style he plays, but if he plays 14+ games and McCoy and those recievers stay healthy, they're tough to stop. Then on defense, they're stacked all around. Green Bay should give them a nice run but I don't think Rogers will pass as freely vs. them as Green Bay would like and they don't have that dependent running game yet. It's a close call though. I also like Dallas this year too... They're my wild-card to take the NFC Championship!

AFC Playoffs

Bye: Pittsuburgh, New England

Wild Card Round:

San Diego Chargers 28 - Baltimore Ravens 16

Houston Texans 27 - New York Jets 24

Divisional Round:

Pittsburgh Steelers 31 - Houston Texans 20

San Diego Chargers 38- New England Patriots 35

AFC Championship:

San Diego Chargers 21 - Pittsburgh Steelers 17

I really like San Deigo this year with a hungry Vince Jackson and Ryan Mathews. Their defense holds the key though, they need to improve in order to hold off elite teams like the Steelers and Patriots and I think they can, plus everyone is picking Pittsburgh and I want to go a different route. For the Super Bowl though, I have to go with the team I think will just be too tough to stop this year:

SUPER BOWL PREDICTION:

Philadelpia Eagles 27 - San Diego Chargers 17

Again, as long as that core stays healthy, with Asomugha covering guys with the rest of that secondary and pass rush, they'll be virtually impossible to pass against. So teams will have to beat them on the ground first and they're pretty good there too. If Vick or McCoy go down though, so do the Eagles chances. And if you feel like you know who's going to win the big game this year, put your money where your mouth is at 2nd half betting picks!