The Raiders are the best team in the NFL! Don’t believe me?
Well, a week ago, everyone was calling the Chicago Bears the league’s No. 1
team. Then the Cardinals played them to a virtual standstill, actually
outperforming them until giving away the game with several late blunders. So
you can make the argument that Arizona
was on a par with the NFL’s best. And we all saw what the Raiders did to the
Cardinals on Sunday; as Al Davis might say, they DOMINATED the opponent.

So I’d have to agree with running back LaMont Jordan’s assessment after the loss at Denver: “Eleven-and-five
is still out there.” Somewhere. Other thoughts from the game:

• When
  the Raiders run a screen pass, they look like an Amazonian tribe that has
  been recently introduced to the game of football, and has taken 10 minutes
  away from fashioning baskets from reeds to receive instruction on how to
  sucker the defensive line and loop a short pass to a running back.

Oakland
actually made some positive yards on a couple screens Sunday, but at least two
others looked horrible. One pass hit guard Barry Sims in the helmet, drawing a
flag. With their offensive line still a work in progress and an inexperienced
QB in the pocket, screens (and draws and flares) will need to be a major point
of emphasis.

I asked Art Shell about the play Monday, and he assured
everyone that Tom Walsh had indeed heard of the screen pass. “We worked on
screens in the offseason, worked on ‘em in training camp. We had periods for
screens and draws. We just haven’t run ‘em enough. We haven’t been efficient at
‘em, like we need to be. We had a couple tight end screens early in the year
that we weren’t successful with. This is a good opportunity for us to
incorporate more screens into our system. We need to do that.”

* There have been many complaints about Justin Fargas since
the Raiders drafted him in 2003: He runs too upright. He fumbles too often.
He’s always hurt. But toughness has never been an issue with this guy. Fargas
had a nagging case of turf toe in 2004, but got cortisone injections every week
- to play almost exclusively on special teams.

Last week, he bounced right back from a dislocated shoulder
he suffered at Denver.
Fargas not only avoided missing a single game, he established a career high
with 23 carries against the Cardinals. And for all that, his coach
mispronounced his name in public.

“Vargas
is a tough kid,” Shell blurted before correcting himself. “Fargas, Fargas is a
tough kid. He said before the game, he said it all during the week, he said,
‘Coach, I’ll be ready to go. I’ll give it everything I have. Don’t have any concerns
about utilizing me any way you want to. I can get the job done.’ And – he took
some shots yesterday. He took some shots, and he was very close to breaking a
couple of long ones yesterday, but he kept getting up, and fighting — even in
pass protection, he blocked, using his shoulder, using his arms and his hands.
That shows you want kind of player he is.”

• How long before the Raiders insert
  defensive tackle Terdell Sands into the starting lineup? He has probably
  made more big plays this season than either Tommy Kelly at tackle or Tyler
  Brayton at end, in fewer snaps. Sunday, Sands had his first NFL
  interception and was a split-second behind safety Michael Huff when they
  got Arizona’s
  Matt Leinart for a safety.

Sands
is a load at 6-7, 335 pounds, making him a better choice than Kelly against the
run – where the Raiders have sometimes been vulnerable this season in the
absence of Ted Washington. Rob Ryan’s defense might be better off with Sands
starting alongside Warren Sapp and Kelly substituting in the rotation. Or
better yet, start Kelly at right defensive end and Sands in the middle, and make
Brayton the relief man.