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With his job security thinner than Ally McBeal after a stint on Survivor, Raiders coach Lane Kiffin made a mind-boggling decision to end the first half of Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
Kiffin called for kicker Sebastian Janikowski to try a Gus-style 76-yard field goal.
Seventy. Six. Yards.
Antonio Cromartie of the Chargers, who returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a score last season against the Vikings, caught the ball at his own two, but only made it 26 yards before being tackled.
The Raiders still lead by 12. The fourth quarter is starting as of this posting.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Either get fired or he’s trying to give Al Davis a heart attack.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Hell, why WOULDN’T he want to get fired? That means a buttload of cash for him for doing nothing but best of all he gets out of a bad situation.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
he should tie the superbowl trophy to the back of his car and drive around the parking lot
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Rating: 4.6 / 5 with 17 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
He’s a passive aggressive a$$hole..
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I didn’t really see any harm in trying the field goal. True that 76 yards is excessive distance even for Janikowski’s leg strength, but no harm no foul.
I don’t care what anyone says, the Raiders have all the makings a damn good football team. I think, if Kiffin keeps his job the rest of the year, they win 7 or 8 games. Next year is the year that will tell the tale. The thing holding Oakland back right now(aside from all the off the field shenanigans) is youthful inexperience. This is a talented group of football players who look like they’re starting to mesh with one another. To let Kiffin go at this point would be a huge mistake in my view.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Wow, that is awesome. Good for him. Although any player support he might have had will be gone immediately if he keeps that up. I can only imagine what Al Davis was thinking. That’s hilarious. Glad I’m not a Raiders fan.
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Maybe a certain fat-assed kicker put something in his drink to persuade him to do it.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Yes
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
That is AWESOME! Sounds like Al Davis and his crazazy personality are rubbing off on his protege/arch nemesis Lane.
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
AL davis deserves that
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
He should have tried the field goal on first down. THAT would have been ballsy.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Duh
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Lame Kiffin…
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was Al Davis who sent a message down to Kiffin to attempt a field goal of that magnitude. Wasn’t Warren Sapp saying the other week the they often have unrealistic expectations of their players in Oakland? Wouldn’t surprise me at all if prideful Al wanted the record holder for the longest field goal to belong to a Raider.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I don’t think I will stop laughing about this for quite some time. I bet Davis was livid. Kiffen just got my vote for coach of the week.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
that’s what i was thinkin bobbyjohn, that call came in on the bloody red fone from al’s coffin…
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Can you honestly blame him.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Kiffin is a schemer and doing exactly what he says Al does - look at the suspension he gave an assistant coach after week #1 - it was bs and then he demanded that the coach submit to a physical before returning to work all because he questioned the prep for the game - Kiffin is another college coach who cant hang in the NFL just like his mentor Pete Carrol - Let the Lofton era begin at least he wants to be there maybe he can stop the 4th qtr blues that have us 1-3 instead of 3-1 maybe the pro game is too long for Kiffin to pay attention- go back to USC and continue to underachieve.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
“Do not try and kick a Football 56 yards; That’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.
…There is no Football.”
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 28th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Good for Lane Kiffin. Nothing wrong with that play at all, as the last play of the half. The odds of something bad happening are about the same as the odds of making the kick. Unless your special teams sucks and gives up a lot of big KRs, it’s no big deal; it’s as good as a punt.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 12:01 am
“he should tie the superbowl trophy to the back of his car and drive around the parking lot”
Haha! Or, coach the next game in a “naked” suit.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 1:07 am
i dont blame kiffin for attempting it. hell if Al were my boss i woulda tried it from 86 yards out! dude looks like mr burns from the simpsons
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Davis has to be one of the Biggest assholes ever in the NFL. Would you want to work for him. No I didn’t think so and I’m sure he doesn’t either.
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September 29th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Here were Lane Kiffins choices as time ran out in the first half:
a.) Take a knee and go into the half with a lead.
b.) Use the huge arm of your QB and go for the hell mary.
c.) Attempt a 76 yard field goal that is literally impossible to make, knowing full well that Antonio Cromartie would be catching the ball and having a decent shot at scoring.
I’m not sure what Lane is trying to do, but that decision made zero sense. The announcers even said the wind was in their face. Even in Denver that is a horrible idea. Cromartie has caught 1 feild goal attempt and he took it back 109 yards. It’s the best athlete in the NFL verse offensive linemen, a holder and kicker, the odds are pretty high of him going all the way. I think Hester is 2 for 2 on those as well.
So if there is no way make it, then why try it when it could very easily backfire so badly? If he’s trying to lose his job, then maybe he will look so bad that no one will hire him again. He is lucky it didn’t make a difference in this game.
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September 29th, 2008 at 9:17 am
But leading up to that FG attempt, did those 2 AIRHEADS who argued with me last week that he was right NOT to use his final 2 timeouts on Bills game winning TD drive. Do you BRAINLESS AIRHEADS REMEMBER HOW YOU ACCEPTED HIS LUDICROUS EXCUSE that it is tougher to kick a FG with just seconds left on the clock than with 50 seconds. And you dimwits swallowed it hook line and sinker because you DON’T know a thing about this sport.
WELL yesterday Kiffin DID USE HIS TIMEOUT in the last minute of the Charger first half drive in order to save time for the Raiders to “possibly come back with his strong legged kicker” as I said he should have done last week. BUT point is he did the exact opposite from week to week after defending his stupid or purposeful move.
I said last week he tried to and succeeded in losing hat game.
Now after the way he again handled that last Raiders drive play calling for a 76 yard FG I hope you finally see what I said last week.
He should ave been disciplined by the NFL for what he did last week tanking that game.
Yesterday in a tough battle he has his rookie QB throwing and risking the ball deep in his own end which turned the 4th quarter into a Raider loss. Davis now must either be more stupid or cheap or both!
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