Much better.... But not there yet

In a much improved showing across the board over the past few weeks the Raiders still showed their flaws. In a game that should have ended up being a blowout the Raiders made mistakes to keep the Chargers in the game. But the team seemed to get back on the path it was traveling following the unfortunate Campbell injury.

The biggest reason was our gameplan and return to the power running game. Michael Bush absolutely lit SD up and had a monster game on the ground and a big day receiving. I never understood why we got away from the run game which was our bread and butter all season. Sure we lost McFadden but the fact that we had a QB learning the offense and the best #2 back in the league in Bush we should've been pounding the ball the past few weeks. But it's over with we went back to playing towards our strengths and it payed dividends.

Carson Palmer continues to improve and he had a great day leading the offense. I felt he was impressive last week given that he's only been with the team a limited time but this week he was extremely good. Incredible when you take into account he's only been with the team for three weeks. He's really starting to show what he's going to be able to bring to this team for the next few years and I can't wait to see him next week.

We had another injury blow to our offense with Ford going down in the first quarter but Denarius Moore seemed to pick up where he left off back in week 2 and 3. He had a huge day catching five for 123 with two scores. He seemed to completely dissappear after the New England game but he had a solid week last week and kicked open the door this week. He has tons of talent and he's one of the best rookie WR's in the league at the moment.

The defense was hit and miss. While they looked much better with McClain back even though he looked like he was still hurting and tentative out there they were dominant at moments and at times looked clueless. More of the same I guess from what we've been seeing from this defense all year. At one moment they're locking down guys, pushing around the o-line, and harassing the QB while other times they're blowing coverages, over committing, and committing stupid penalties at inopportune moments.

They got to Rivers six times with Wimbley having a big day with 4 sacks while the front four brought the pressure all game making him look extremely uncomfortable all game. The corners played well enough especially considering all the injuries. But again the penalties kepte SD in the game and the LB's and safeties were a weakness at times.

But I was glad to see us commit to the run like we have for most of the season with success. The run game is this teams biggest strength whether it's DMC with his explosiveness or Bush with his strength. For this team to win we are going to have to make the run game our priority because when we can run the ball we win the game. It's as simple as that. I'm happy with the win and happy we're sitting on top of the AFC West but we're going to have to learn how to put teams away when we have them on the ropes and to pick our spots with the penalties if we have any ambitions of going anywhere this year. That being said I'm looking forward to seeing this team improve the rest of the year.