Are the Oakland Raiders and the Black Hole Gaining Mass?

I hear rumor from abroad that the Black Hole in Oakland, California is gaining mass and has already swallowed up one East Coast team, the New York Jets in last week’s action.

Many of the major pundits have targeted the Oakland Raiders to be contenders in the AFC from as early as the beginning of preseason. Myself, I scoffed at the notion. Al Davis is still alive, isn’t he?

But three weeks into the season the Raiders are 2-1. Granted, one of their wins was against Denver, but it was in Denver. A road win is a road win no matter who your opponent is. Against two very good opponents in the Jets and the Bills, they came away with an impressive home win vs the Jets and they almost defeated the Bills on the road.

So, what does it all mean? Will they be able to take their place among those elite teams to be reckoned with this weekend at home against the daunting New England Patriots?

The first thing that you have to think about when you consider how to beat the Patriots, is how to stop Tom Brady from carving you up like a Thanksgiving turkey. There are some disturbing numbers that jump out, however, when you look at the statistics of the Raiders defense.

Whether it is stopping the run, suppressing the passing game, total yards against, or the thing that matters most, points, the Raiders are among the bottom seven in the league. This would be disturbing to me, if I were a Raider’s fan.

Enter Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. I think they might be slightly pissed off after blowing the game with a rare four int performance by Brady. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to do it again any time soon.

This offense is blowing things up on a regular basis. They are first in total yards and passing yards, and they are tied for second with the New Orleans Saints for points scored at just under 35. In addition to their fantastic aerial display, they are still managing to run the ball for over 100 yard a game.

So, if you look beyond the hype and bluster, you might conclude that this game will end badly for the Raiders. Perhaps it might.

I won’t be surprised in the least if the Patriots exact their vengeance from last week's embarrassment by silencing the crowd in Oakland with a ruthless display of precision passing. Maybe there is something in the water over in the visiting team’s locker room, though, and New England suffers the same fate as New York.

If that is the conclusion of this game, I will be forced to conclude that, indeed, the Black Hole is gaining mass.