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Is The Pre-Season Without Merit? By Barbara Mason 8/14/09 Bay Area Sports/Raiderdrive.com
Thursday night as the Oakland Raiders took on the Dallas Cowboys at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the typical first quarter of the pre-season show-cased the Raiders 1st string, their starters, giving fans just a taste of what will come with the season opener. It’s vitally important that these guys remain healthy while getting back into game situations, thus the brief appearance in this first pre-season game.
While this story is dedicated to all of these hard-working, inspiring and aspiring young athletes; here are a few of the stats racked up by your Oakland Raider starters Thursday night against Dallas. Silver and Black quarterback JaMarcus Russell completed 6 of 9 passes for 50 yards and rushed for 18. #20 RB Darren McFadden carried the ball 4 times for 63 yards, while #29 Michael Bush turned in 23 yards on 3 touches. #81 Chaz Schilens caught 5 passes for 52 yards. It was an impressive game for the Raiders. Their first, second and third teams beat Dallas’ first, second and third. Oakland found the end zone four times in this game when TE Tony Stewart, RBs Louis Rankin and Gary Russell, and WR Will Franklin scored. The Silver and Black controlled the entire game for the 31-10 win over the Cowboys, and while it is only the pre-season, a win is a glorious thing especially when the Dallas Cowboys are in town.
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For the most part, pre-season games just don’t stand out in the minds of
fans, or anyone else for that matter, as anything particularly special or
out of the ordinary. First of all, the prices that fans must pay for
those tickets as part of their season package are ludicrous. Perhaps a
shorter pre-season and a longer regular season would be a welcome change.
One of the questions of course would be; is a shortened pre-season enough
time to sufficiently evaluate how the final roster will look? The
pre-season has more to do with that than anything else.
What these fans get to enjoy, however, is a three-hour long drama played
out on the field courtesy of those players who are not assured a spot on
the final roster. This is a life or death struggle for them, and it is a
real human-interest story. The next four weeks will determine whether a
life long dream comes to an end or becomes a reality. They have to
perform like they have never performed in their lives, they have to avoid
injury, and they have to thrive under immense pressure. Off the mark
passes have to be caught, and bursts through impenetrable lines will draw
a lot of attention. There are tackles to be made, and interceptions,
sacks, tipped passes and even then it may not be enough. It has to be
overwhelming for these young athletes. Most of them will be cut, and they
will disappear into obscurity, their names and dreams forgotten. It just
has to be remembered that all of these players are incredibly gifted
athletes; otherwise they would not have made it this far. Pre-season is
their time, and their time alone. We have to appreciate all of them for
what they will show us in these next few weeks.