Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans Preview - CBS' Pat Kirwan on JaMarcus Russell

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NFL.com and CBS Sports Pat Kirwan knows his football and since we meet at the 2006 NFL Draft..



..I've had a number of personal conversations on everything from Vince Young and the Spread Offense to then-New England Offensive Coordinator and now Denver Broncos' Head Coach Josh McDaniels passing attack. I don't always agree with Pat and today's another example of why.

Pat's views on the upcoming Raiders v. Texans game are below:



Kirwan's comment that the Raiders..

JaMarcus Russell is struggling as much and they're trying to protect him and they're very sensitive about what anyone says about him. But I said as much when I went to camp and I'll say it again, the guy was not making decisions fast enough to have an effective passing attack.

Where I totally disagree with Pat is that he focuses on JaMarcus Russell rather than how he's coached and the design of the passing game. Maybe it's the rule of one coach (as Pat has been) not criticizing another coach, or something. But my issue is with the Raiders passing attack design, which I've discussed before.

In other words, any quarterback would struggle in that system.

I also take issue with Pat's look at the Texans. Pay says they can't stop the pass. The Houston Texans have one problem: they can't stop the run and haven't been able to since preseason which means its a scheme problem. They averaged 5 yards a carry on defenseagainst Jacksonville last Sunday; with stats like that, the Raiders won't have to worry about JaMarcus Russell, they'll just hand off.

My prediction: Raiders 20, Texans 17.