27pitches

We’re now two weeks into the NFL season, and it’s pretty apparent to me that the Oakland Raiders are the favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Miami this year. Sure, they may only be 1-1 right now, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. Anyone who watches football knows that it’s all about the heart and the ability to bounce back, both of which Oakland displayed in an instant classic this past Sunday when they matched up against a formidable Kansas City team and won. Let’s take a more in-depth look at my pick for this year’s Super Bowl winner.

The Good: JaMarcus Russell is the second coming of Warren Moon. This guy has a cannon of an arm. Sure, he gets a lot of flak for his inaccurate throws, but the fact of the matter is that he still has a 35 percent completion rate, and that’s pretty darned good. In fact, against the Chiefs, Russell became just the second quarterback since the start of the 1997 season to try 20 or more passes and complete less than 30 percent of them but still win. Talk about intangibles; this guy is rewriting history. The obvious benefactor this season is going to be Zach Miller, who leads the team in receptions after hauling in six catches in week one followed by zero in week two, totaling six on the year.

Another obvious playmaker that needs to be noted here is Todd Watkins. Look for this guy to get one or zero catches every week. But once again, it’s not about the numbers. This guy is a leader, and obviously his presence alone is going to help this team win games. Don’t look for big numbers, just look for Watkins to be tripled teamed on pretty much every play, leaving Russell to complete one of every three passes to Zach Miller.

The Bad: You never really want to call out a player, but I hope Nnamdi Asomugha reads this posting and uses it as a wake up call, because this is a guy who is just plain bad. I mean, teams don’t even throw to his area of the field. Yes, I know, you’re probably like everyone else who thinks that this is a good thing, a sign of respect for a top-notch cornerback. On the contrary, I have spoken to many NFL insiders only to find out that offensive coordinators are afraid to embarrass the guy. They know that if they throw in his direction it’s a guaranteed touchdown pretty much every single time, but they just can’t bring themselves to humiliate someone like that.

Darren McFadden is another guy who pretty much has no skill whatsoever. You try and look around for a guy on this offense who isn’t contributing, which is extremely hard to do, and then you look at this guy. He may have one of their three touchdowns, but don’t be fooled – this guy is destined to ride the pine for a majority of this season. When you have a guy like the aforementioned Russell, the sad fact is that you don’t even need a running back.

The Ugly: I know I mentioned this guy already,

and I really like him as a player, but man, this Watkins dude is ugly. Like, circus ugly. Like, Carrot Top and King Llort from “A Troll in Central Park” had a baby ugly. --- SEAN JOHNSON.