Bozo proving to be just that…a Bozo!

Busacca Bozo prides himself in being right about 99.9% of the time, give or take 1/10024th of an Indian heritage percent in my blood like Senator Pocahontas. However, right now I am in a slump and appear to be getting kicked in the shins by the Karma Gods, who take offense to my hubris and arrogance. Perhaps if I were to admit my sins and errors of my ways they may forgive me and cut me some slack?

Chucky Gruden: As you recall I openly mocked the hiring of John Gruden last year and in some ways he didn’t disappoint me. They were a dumpster fire in his first year, traded away their best player in Kahlil Mack for draft picks and then went after Antonio “Frostbite” Brown and traded picks for him only to have him get cut without taking a single snap. I was totally expecting a 2-14 season and chants of “Fire Chucky” to rise out of the ashes of Oakland.

Instead the Raiders have been a surprise team, are 6-4 and in the playoff hunt and have an outside shot of winning the division. Gruden became the QB whisperer and Derek Carr is playing like he did four years ago. The defense is aggressive and their running back (Josh Jacobs) will probably win rookie of the year. Meanwhile Mack and the Bears are a dumpster fire that can’t score. It’s pretty obvious Chucky knew exactly what he was doing when he declined to pay Mack $90 million and instead off loaded him for two first round draft picks. Right now the future of the Raiders looks much brighter than that of the Bears and we were all wrong when we knocked the trade last year. Chucky, I am sorry.

Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray: Last year I openly yawned about the spread QB’s who make most of their plays with their legs and was skeptical Jackson would have success in his 2nd year and was openly questioning if Kyler Murray would be best suited as another Dwarf on Game of Thrones instead of a starting NFL QB. Here we are ten weeks into the season and Jackson is unquestionably the league MVP as he has taken apart excellent teams like the Seahawks and Patriots. His passing improved demonstrably from last year and now he is standing in the pocket looking to hit receivers while defenders are afraid to cover for fear he will run the ball and make them look like fools on ESPN later that night during “Plays of the Day”.

Kyler Murray may only be a shade over 5 feet tall, but even Helen Keller can see that this kid can play. His arm is strong and accurate and he is amazing throwing on the run. What’s even more interesting is how he uses his legs only when he needs to. He would much rather hit his slew of untalented receivers than to instantly take off. Throw in the fact that his line is a spaghetti strainer and his accomplishments are even more incredible. It’s not just the fact that they have won 3 games when I thought they might go winless, it’s the fact that in every single game they are competitive. Last week they gave the mighty 49ers all they can handle before succumbing late. The kid is poised, makes good throws and for the most part has not made the typical rookie mistakes. One wonders what he will be when he gets a line and some young receivers to work with.

So this is a mea culpa of sorts. I was totally wrong and it looks like the Raiders will be the team to beat in the AFC West for years to come and that Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray might very well be battling for the MVP next year.

-BSB