Daily Madden: Old Fashioned Football Wins On The Farm
(KCBS) - Stanford dominated previously unbeaten Oregon in a 26-20 victory on the Farm Thursday night.
"It was kind of old fashioned football, wasn't it?" John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew. "You wonder 'where did the t-formation go? Where did power football go? Where did the running back dominating the game go?' And then you found it. It went to Palo Alto and the Stanford Cardinal."
Stanford back Tyler Gaffney ran for 157 yards on a school-record 45 carries.
"He was the definition of a work horse," John said, noting Stanford stayed with their game plan throughout the game.
"It's always more difficult to run in the first half than it is in the second half. And the second quarter than the first quarter. The third quarter is easier than the second quarter. And you get to the point where you can dominate the fourth quarter with the easiest running you have."
The 6-2 49ers face the 5-3 Carolina Panthers at Candlestick Sunday. The Panthers have won four straight, but Madden likes the 49ers this weekend.
"(The 49ers) need some speed at wide receiver, but having said that, there are still a lot of things they can do without it...coming off a bye, playing at home, I think they'll be fresh and ready to go. Forgetting all that stuff, I think they're the better team."
In a match-up of two teams with losing records, the Raiders face the Giants in New York Sunday.
"(The Raiders) have to get off to a good start," Madden said, noting last week's early struggles on defense in their loss to the Eagles. "They can't let (the Giants) drive down the field, get a score, drive down the field, get another one, and then fight an uphill battle. The Raiders are not built to fight a lot of uphill battles." (6:55)
Daily Madden
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM. And catch John's extra report at 9:15 am Mondays and Fridays on KCBS during the NFL season.
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