Bruce Gradkowski Is The Oakland Raiders' Mechanic!

The more the game progressed, the more week 2 was looking like a mirror image of the debacle against the Titans on opening day.  Our offensive line was putrid, allowing several sacks at the hands of multiple left tackles, and at one point I did not even know who to scream at while watching another drive stall due to an aggressive pass rush from our quarterback’s blind side.  As the first half concluded our receivers had little impact on our offense, our quarterback looked bewildered and scared, and our scoreboard, once again, illuminated 3 points.  Then something magical happened, and a tan, undersized quarterback was sent to my television from the heavens above.

Bruce Gradkowski, the mechanic, immediately drove us down the field, and matched our first half output in a matter of minutes.  I call him the mechanic because as soon as he reached under center, the offensive line woes seemed to minimize, as if he was reaching under the hood of a used vehicle, tweaking the parts to perfection.  After he fixed the offensive line he immediately moved his attention to the receivers completing 11 of 22 passes for 162 yards.  This stat line includes a crucial drop from his most reliable target Zach Miller, and a horrendous off the face mask miscue by Brandon Myers, both costing the Raiders first downs.  In the mist of our offensive explosion, DHB had 6 snags for 80 yards, and Louis Murphy had 6 catches for 91 yards with a touchdown.  Bruce “the mechanic” added some much needed horsepower to the engines of these two young receivers, and put the pedal to the medal as the Raiders sped past the Rams in the second half.

Once again I must emphasize that football games are not won with arm strength, speed, or size, and Bruce Gradkowski, once again, spit in the face of Al Davis’ ancient philosophy.  It was “the mechanics” flawless understanding of blitzes, defensive cover schemes, and offensive line protections that won the game for the Raiders.  Several times he cadenced audible resulting in positive yardage and proper game management, confidently commanding the Raiders offense down the field.  Bruce is a football player and a competitor, using his accuracy and fearless pocket presence as his tools to become the Raiders Mechanic!