The Racine Raiders took the boldest move since I’ve been with the team by signing former All-American Wisconsin running back Brent Moss.  Moss, now 35, definitely has talent.  He also has a lot of baggage.  This might be the most divisive topic in Racine since the 2004 Presidential election. 

A lot of people believe the Raiders, as a community-oriented civic partner, should’ve passed on Moss.  Moss does have a good-sized rap sheet on CCAP.  A handful of the items are drug-related, but the vast majority are money-related, including a recent judgement in early-July.

It seems just as many people feel that the Raiders did the right thing in helping this still relatively young individual straighten his life out.  Moss, and those that claim to know him, all say he has turned his life around. 

What’s my take?  Well, we’re told to get our kids involved in activities to help keep them out of trouble.   What’s wrong with having an adult try and do the same thing?  Moss made a mistake.  He got involved with drugs and it seems that all his problems after that stem from that one root issue. 

I’ve personally seen people’s lives ripped apart because of drugs.  It happened to me.  My parents were arrested for possession and distribution of a variety of narcotics when I was about 14 years old.  I still remember a Mount Pleasant police officer pointing a gun between my eyes as they entered our premises knowing there was a gun inside and not knowing what I was doing standing to the side of a door.  It happens.  I had a safety net of support around me that helped keep me on the straight and narrow.  It doesn’t appear Moss had that benefit. 

Head coach Jordan Kopac is a pretty strict disciplinarian on the football field.  Moss won’t be treated differently by the coaching staff.  He seems to know what his limits are and he’s not stepping on the field expecting to be a star on this team.

What he does provide is a proven winner on the football field, regardless of his off-the-field problems.  He was on top in high school, winning a WIAA Division 1 state championship.  He was on top in college, winning the Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl MVP and Big Ten MVP honors.  I have no doubt, had he kept clean, that he would’ve been on top in the pros too.  While you can’t predict a career off of 22 rushing attempts, Moss did hit the four-yard per carry plateau that people look for in a running back.  Unfortunately for Brent, that is his career and all we can do is wonder, “what if.”

Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Milwaukee Marauders this past Saturday.  They had nearly knocked off the Hoosier Hurricanes on the road and then gotten smoked by Kane County.  They were already eight games into the season.  What would they bring?

The only thing they brought to the game were their mouths.  They trash-talked everyone, from Raiders fans to staff.  It’s one thing to talk trash to someone who’s actually going at you one-on-one, but to trash talk a fan or staff member who doesn’t have the opportunity to retaliate is just ridiculous. 

I was talking to a former Raider player after the game and he said this may be the worst Marauder team ever.  It’s hard to argue that point.  They have a couple of playmakers, most notably Shannon King, but not a whole lot going for them.  The Marauders have been one of the best recruiting tools for the Raiders over the past few years.  Several key players have found out about this level of football through the Marauders and then figured it was worth the 30-45 minute travel to come down to Racine and play.  Who can argue with that?

The Marauders need to find new refs.  While it seemed like they were just homers at the beginning of the game, it became evident that a couple of them have no business being on the field.  That was the worst officiated game since we were in Indiana last year!

The Raiders face their arch-rivals to the north tomorrow, the Milwaukee Marauders.  With the exception of 2005, the Raiders have owned the Marauders.  No doubt linebacker Brian Sylvas and quarterback Dan Novotny want to exact some revenge on their old team.

Speaking of Brian, the man has been a beast this year, but he still isn’t happy with his play.  He’s been disappointed in his ability to get to the ball this season.  That will change I’m sure.

I’m finding out that the Raiders might be able to field a pretty darn impressive softball team if we ever needed to!  Jamie Isome almost reached the sho with the Florida Marlins, Brian Sylvas has great speed and can launch the ball 300 feet pretty consistently and I just learned that defensive back Quincy Scott played centerfield All-Navy Baseball Team in San Diego from 2002 to 2004 and won two Navy vs. Marines championships.  The outfield is nearly set with those three.  I also hear Wilbert Kennedy used to be a stud in his heyday too!  Intriguing!

Everyone knew this would be a tough game since we had to start a QB who had thrown only one pass in the Raiders’ system.  Brett Statema showed a lot of poise and heart but just couldn’t get anything going for us in the game.  The Pioneers picked up on our lack of a passing game early and started bringing nine in the box and blitzing the house up the middle.

 The plays where Brett rolled out of the pocket seemed to do well, however, we only used them a couple of times.  It would’ve been nice to see more of these plays, forcing the Pioneers to change up their blitz schemes at least.  They did blitz off the corners quite a bit too, but I like our odds if Bryan Jennings is one-on-one with a defensive back on a pitch play or short pass.  The end around plays just didn’t work because they took too long to develop and the Pioneers had several people in the backfield by the time the receiver got the ball.

 This week we play the Milwaukee Marauders at Horlick Field North.  Hopefully we have a few additions to the roster that will get people excited this week!

Well, the Raiders are 2-1 heading into the first road game of the year, against the Midwest Pioneers out of Arden Hills, MN, near Minneapolis.  The Pioneers lost to the Lumberjacks in a high scoring game last week.  The Lumberjacks are the team that, quite honestly, embarassed the Raiders in the Metrodome last year.

Minneapolis/St. Paul is a cool area.  I don’t think I’d mind visiting more often.  We’re heading up Saturday morning and should get there with a little time to chill before the game, but not too much.  Hopefully we can come away from this game 3-1, especially since our first and second string QB’s will not be making the trip!!!  Yikes.

A lot of people left the game early this past Saturday and are they sorry they did as they may have missed one of the greatest comebacks in Racine Raiders history!

The Raiders went down 14 points with just 1:55 left and came back to tie it with some great leadership from the offensive line and QB Dan Novotny! Dan led the team down the field twice for scores and looked sharp. He handled low snaps well and didn’t let some minor pressure phase him. It will be good having someone as the #1 QB this year instead of switching out every other possession!

The WR’s stepped up and even the defense and special teams, who were hurting all game, came through with key plays in that final two minutes and then in overtime! What a great game!