All Hail The Gritmeister
In addition to God and Country, and those who defend it, I am thankful today for Bruce Gradkowski, a.k.a. The Gritmeister.The Gritmeister rode the pine, biding his time, never faltering in his practice or preparation, despite the team's increasingly puzzling commitment to starting JaMarcus Russell. And when Gradkowski's moment came, he nearly engineered a game-winning drive against the Chiefs, only to be undone by DHB launching himself into the ball and bobbling it with his hands of cement.A week later, The Gritmeister (a.k.a. Dr. Evil, according to Moshbucket), got a second chance to deliver a game-tying drive

Bengals Game Thread
Well, the hour is nigh, and the Gradkowski era is upon us. One thing is for sure: it cannot be any worse than the Russell era, right?Of course, I thought nothing could be worse than our 2006 offense, and now look at us.I honestly think Gradkowski will be a shot in the arm. I'm not saying he's our quarterback of the future, but I think he gives us the best chance to win right now. It's a tall order against the new Bengals, but the Eagles were a tall order, too.So all I can say now is: Go Raiders!!!

One Postgame Take
Well, after canceling my season ticket package in a stroke of genius earlier this year, I waited until mid November to dip my toe back into the Coliseum waters.I arrived at the tailgate full of optimism. After all, we were entering the second half of the season, and some of our player

Just Move, Baby?
Will the Raiders leave Oakland again in search of greener grass (and more greenbacks)? The rumblings of this rumor are getting louder with the upcoming demise of the Coliseum lease combined with the recent lack of sellouts. I don't believe it, but stranger things have happened, such as the first move to Los Angeles and losing our past 13 games against the Chargers.Anyhow, this rumor has given rise to a peculiar perspective that has been voiced in the comments section here at Raider Take. Essentially, some folks are saying, "If you don't put your butt in the seats, you'll all get what you deserve if the Raiders

The Case for Hope
So what is my case for hope? I really don't know, I just liked the sound of it. To be honest, I'm not very hopeful about this season. How could I be?NY Raider pointed out this unfortunate little observation from the newspaper: "This offense is the NFL's worst in total offense, net passing yards, passing average per game, pass completions, pass completion percentage, passing touchdowns, overall first downs (tied with the 49ers), passing first downs, red-zone possessions, red-zone touchdowns and fumbles lost."NY Raider added: "This 2009 team has a good chance to rank statistically as the worst offense (worse than