MVN: Most Valuable Network

In about eight hours the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Oakland Raiders. As usual, I will be at work tracking the game on my cell phone hoping for a Raider win even if it kills the Raiders' chance to get Darren McFadden. It looks like Josh McCown will be startin, but JaMarcus Russell could get extended playing time. Here are some thoughts from early morning on game day.

In Jerry MacDonald's latest blog he posts this opinion from a Raider fan:

– Shared an express shuttle van from the Jacksonvillle airport into town with a small group of Raiders boosters who had taken the short flight in from Ft. Lauderdale, and one of them seemed fairly certain that the “Tuck Rule” was a direct result of the NFL wanting the Patriots to win the Super Bowl because of 9/11.

On 18 April 2007 I wrote:

The sad thing is that it was not until the next day that the NFL started using the excuse of the ‘tuck rule’ to explain how the Patriots somehow managed to win that game from the ‘evil’ Raiders amid the patriotic fervor of immediate post 9/11 America.

And no, I did not share a bus in Jacksonville with Jerry MacDonald.

Dominic Rhodes will likely be making his first start as an Oakland Raider, with LaMont Jordan getting time as the backup. Back in training camp this was thought to be a strong possibility for the main rotation for the season. Justin Fargas's emergence changed a lot.

The Raiders must stop the dynamic duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. No questions asked.

A While back I predicted the Dolphins would beat the Patriots. I stand by it, even though the storyline got jacked up by the 'fins beating the Ravens.