Oakland Raiders Blog » Post-Game

Raiders Stun Football Nation; Beat Philadelphia Eagles 13-9

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:06:40 +0000

After an extremely disappointing 3-game stretch where the Raiders were outscored 96 to 16, where Jamarcus Russell had failed to show any inkling of being an NFL quarterback, the Raiders were the easy target and prey of sports writers and broadcasters everywhere. Coming into Week 6, Mike Ditka threw Jamarcus Russell in his dog house on ESPN’s NFL preview show. A Yahoo Fantasy sports writers ranked Jamarcus Russell as 129th when rating the top 32 fantasy starters. Hell, Raider Nation even booed Russell as he trotted on the field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

And despite everything, what happened? Jamarcus Russell came out and showed a glimpse of what much of the Raider faithful had hoped the former #1 pick would be. Russell found an open Zach Miller down the middle for an 86-yard touchdown (thanks to key blocks from rookie receiver Louis Murphy). And in the final minutes of the game, converted a big 3rd and long play to FB Gary Russell.

Numbers wise, Russell finished the game with his 6th sub-100 QB-rating. But in terms of showing a few flashes of some caliber plays? This was the biggest game of the season for Russell.

Although much due respect goes to the defense, after losing Asomugha early in the game, the Raiders held the then 3rd highest scoring offense in the NFL to three field goals while sacking McNabb six times.

For once, after all that seemed to be lost for the 2009 Raiders’ Season, the Raiders came out and surprised football nation.

…I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Silver and Black for life!

Watch the video highlights of the Raiders 13-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Raiders Beat Chiefs 13-10 In Arrowhead | Russell & McFadden Lead Late Game-Winning Drive

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:47:14 +0000

In an otherwise sloppy offensive game between the Raiders and Chiefs, the Raiders prevailed late in the game beating the Chiefs 13-10 for the Raiders first win of the season.

The Chiefs out gained the Raiders with409 total yards on offense to the Raiders 166. While the Chiefs trailed the Raiders 6-3 for most of the game, the Chiefs took the lead with a 29-yard TD pass from Cassell to Bowe with 2:30 left in the 4th quarter.

Despite finding little success on offensive side, Russell led the Raiders down the field in a late impressive drive to take the lead. In a 9 play 69-yard drive, Russell connected with Todd Watkins for a big 28-yard completion and finally capped off the drive with a McFadden TD run.

Watch McFaddens TD Run (NFL.com).

After last week’s demoralizing loss to the Chargers, the Raiders came close to falling victim to the same late-game defensive collapse after Bowe’s touchdown. Instead, Jamarcus Russell made the plays when he needed to and the Raiders came away with the game despite mustering only 166 total yards.

Throughout the pre-season, the Raiders continued to draw criticism from arround the league for drafting Heyward-Bey, controversey around how the organization is run, coaches punching coaches, and continual remarks to being the worst organization, not just team, in the NFL. But Raider Nation is always here in support, and after years of rebuilding, the Raiders are here to turn their image around this year.

The Raiders now head into week 3 1-1, and look to host the Denver Broncos in the black hole.

Game Notes

Safety Michael Huff picked off Chiefs QB Matt Cassell this week for 2 interceptions. Huff now leads the NFL with 3-interceptions.
Greg Ellis led the defensive line this week with 2-sacks.
The Raiders young receiving core struggled again for a second week. The Raiders totaled 99-yards passing. The Raiders receivers finished the game with 4 receptions (Watkins 1, Murphy 2, Heyward-Bey 1, Miller 0).
The Raiders had 0 turnovers.

Raiders Prevent Defense Fails To Hold Chargers In Monday Night, Raiders Lose 24-20

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:42:10 +0000

The Raiders put up a great fight against the Chargers on Monday night in hopes of ending an 11-game losing streak to San Diego stretching back to the 2003-04 season. For 57-minutes of the game, the Raiders were in line to pull off the upset. The Raiders dominated the game on defense holding the Chargers to 74-yards in the first half. The Raiders stopped the pass, contained LaDainian Tomlinson, and established an effective running tandem with McFadden & Bush. The game had the makings of a great upset from the start.

Led by newly acquired defensive lineman Richard Seymour, the Raiders defense contained the potent San Diego offense for the first three quarters until the final stand when the Raiders dropped the safeties and linebackers into prevent, and allowed Phillip Rivers and the Chargers to a final 79-yard game winning drive.

Despite the loss, the Raiders played a solid game and video highlights for the game can be found at the NFL Network.

Last season, the Raiders finished 5-12, and lost games to Miami, Buffalo, and Kansas City in similar fashion by playing a soft in the final minutes of the game. Perhaps, it’s time for the Raiders to believe in themselves and trust their players to do the right thing. Sure playing the team in prevent may be the safe route, but after the first three quarters, trust your players enough to allow them to play the same way they have all game; overpowering. Instead, playing back on the Chargers, Rivers and co. found numerous holes in the Raider defense that were non-existent earlier in the game.

The Raiders walked away Monday night with a very disappointing loss to open the season (though Cincinnati and Buffalo walked away with much tougher to bear late minute losses). But all-in-all, the Raiders showed lots of promise. The wide receiving core as well as Jamarcus Russell’s inexperience showed, but the Raiders defense and run game are the real deal.

So long as the team focuses around what they’re built for, the Raiders can potentially still pull out a solid 7-8 win season.

Next week, the Raiders take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. Let’s get a win boys.

Game Notes

Richard Seymour arrived in Oakland and started the game without participating in a single full practice. Seymour didn’t disappoint, contributing to a Raiders run defense that held both Tomlinson and Sproles to a combined 77-yards on the ground. Seymour also sacked Chargers QB Philip Rivers twice in the first half.
Raiders return man specialist and slot receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins took a hard hit in the 4th quarter on a 3rd and long play and is questionable for week 2 with a shoulder injury.
Rookie WR Louis Murphy caught a 4th-down 57-yard touchdown pass (first TD in his career) late in the game after having a TD catch overturned by officials earlier in the game.
Raiders first round draft pick Darrius Heyward-Bey had 0-catches in a night where Raiders receivers only made 5 receptions.

Raiders Open 2009 Pre-Season Strong, Beats Dallas 31-10

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:56:49 +0000

What can I say, the Raiders came out strong and pounced on the Dallas Cowboys thanks to a number of key turnovers by Dallas. Good start Raider Nation, let’s hope McFadden and Russell develop into the players we hope them to be this season.

Unfortunately the NFL doesn’t allow users to embed or share game highlights just yet. So for now, you can go watch the Raiders-Cowboys Highlights at NFL.com

P.S. I’m having issues with the website due to some Wordpress issues, the site will be back to it’s old form in no-time. Please bear with me until then.

Raiders Spoil Bucaneers Post-Season Hopes With 31-24 Win

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:40:53 +0000

Bush Powers By The Bucs Defense

Hey Philadelphia Eagles fans, you’re welcome. Didn’t think the Raiders could travel from west to east and pull a road win? Didn’t think the Raiders could win two in a row since…who knows? Think the Raiders didn’t stand a chance with top receiver Ronald Curry and pro bowl corner Nnamdi Asomugha out for the game?

You know where I’m going with this. In a game where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 6-1 home team, desperately needing to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Oakland Raiders went into Tampa and gave the Bucs more than they could handle.

Despite throwing a late interception returned for a touchdown, Jamarcus Russell settled down and led the Raiders down the field on two efficient 4th quarter drives sealing the game.

As for Michael Bush, a top 10 running back out of the 2007 draft had he not broken his leg at Louisville, the second year back ran for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns including a beastly 4th quarter run to the right blowing through every Tampa Bay defender. You can watch the game highlights here at the NFL.com site. Bush’s run is on around the 2:30 mark.

As for the final game of the 2008 season, the Raiders reaffirmed hope across Raider Nation that the team is progressing. Managing to beat a tough Houston team at home and traveling into Tampa on back-to-back weeks, Jamarcus Russell has clearly developed and the new Raider backfield tandem of Fargas-McFadden-Bush provides intrigue for the 2009 season.

At 5-11, the Raiders will have the 7th overall pick ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2009 Draft.

As for next season’s schedule, the Raiders will face the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens in Oakland. On the road, the Raiders will travel to San Diego, Denver, Kansas City, Dallas, New York for the Giants, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.

The Raiders have shown a lot in the final two games this season. Yet a tough off-season awaits the team as direction and guidance still remains hazy. Al Davis needs to re-evaluate his own future role in the Raiders organization. If Tom Cable doesn’t remain the coach, the Raiders need to begin their search. Asomugha becomes a free agent and the league would certainly offer him the world.

But amidst everything, Raider Nation heads into another hopefilled off-season.

Raiders Upset Texans 27-16 In Oakland

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:43:52 +0000

How good is Raiders corner back Nnamdi Asomugha? Ask pro bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson. Coming off 3 consecutive games with a touchdown reception and over 200 receiving yards against the Tennessee Titans last week, Andre Johnson didn’t make his first reception until the 4th quarter.

As the Raiders pulled off a 27-16 home upset against the Texans, everything came together for the Raiders in Oakland today. With rain coming down throughout the game in an half empty stadium, the Oakland Raiders clicked on all aspects of the game. Asomugha and the defense shutdown a hot Houston Texans team. Fargas and McFadden controlled the ground game. While Jamarcus Russell gave Raider nation a glimpse of his potential completing 18 out of 25 passes for 236 yards while throwing two touchdowns. And shining all season, Johnnie Lee Higgins caught a touchdown and returned another spectacular punt return in the 3rd quarter to lock up the game for the Raiders.

After another disappointing season, the Raiders did their 40,000 fans at the coliseum right today by ending the last home game of the 2008 season with a win. The Raiders displayed their potential and for at least one game met the expectations of Raider Fans at the outset of the season. Rather than going out quietly, the Raiders have certainly built momentum going into the off-season today and Raider nation can hold their breaths for another season.

Highlights are available here at the NFL.com website

The Raiders meet old time coach Gruden next season for a Super Bowl XXXVII rematch in Tampa Bay next week. The Buccaneers having struggled recently themselves, I have but one small peace of advice, watch the Buccaneers-Panthers game from week 14 and run to the right.

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Patriots Defeat Raiders 49-26 Old Raiders Shine

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:21:37 +0000

In December 2003, Brett Favre came to Oakland just days after suffering his fathers passing and torched the Raiders for 399 yards over the air and 4 TD passes. Favre led the Packers to a 41-7 victory over the Raiders that Monday Night.

Today, on another cold December, Matt Cassel also learned of his fathers passing before coming to Oakland. With half the passing yards, Cassel similarly followed suit to torch the Raiders with 4 TD passes and led the Patriots to a 49-26 win over the Oakland Raiders. With the Patriots, Dolphins, and Jets all winning this Sunday, the AFC East’s three-way tie for first remains unchanged.

As heavy rain fell on the Oakland Coliseum (McAfee recently dropped their sponsorship), the game ended early as New England jumped to a 21-0 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter. The Patriots dominated the Raiders over the air and ground game with recently departed Raiders shining through the clouds. Despite Asomugha’s best efforts, Randy Moss caught 5 passes and scored 2 TDs while Lamont Jordan returned from injury to run 97 yards on the ground including a 49-yard TD run.

After the game, Lamont Jordan had this to say about his return to Oakland:

“I was definitely happy for him [Randy Moss], especially the way the Oakland media had no good things to say about him. … We came here together to wear the Oakland uniform and to try to turn that program around. It didn’t work out and we both left on bad terms.”

Despite New England’s large lead, the Raiders at times had the opportunity to close the gap. Higgins amazing speed burned the Patriots junior varsity secondary for a 56-yard touchdown while Justin Miller, who recently supplanted Higgins on kick returns, ran a kickoff to the house in a 91 yard run. But the Raiders stalled in the redzone when Jamarcus Russell through a pass short of Ronald Curry who seemed to be reading a separate book, much less page

The Patriots scored the most points any team had on the Raiders in 2008 and all but 3000 of the Coliseums sold out crowd stayed past the 3rd quarter. I’m trying my best to stay positive, but let’s put this season behind us and renew our sense of hope for the 2009 season.

The Raiders host the Houston Texans whom won their last 4 games in Oakland next Sunday. Next week’s game’s slated to kick-off at 1:05 PM.

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San Diego Handedly Beats Oakland 34-7 On Thursday Night

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:13:30 +0000

In the 11th straight meeting between division rivals Oakland and San Diego, San Diego handedly beat the Raiders 34-7. The Raiders lone score came from Justin Miller’s kickoff return towards the end of the first half. For a rival series where the Raiders have failed to make the slightest competitive, getting blown out by more than 10 points in the last 4 meetings, the Chargers completely shut down the Raiders last night.

It didn’t help that Andrew Walter, who in 15 games has only threw 3 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, came in for Jamarcus Russel who injured his right ankle at the end of his first half. Russell himself played another poor game, throwing 2 interceptions and fumbling the football near the Raiders endzone in the first quarter.

After a brilliant Raiders red zone stand holding the Chargers to a field goal, the game quickly went out of reach as the Chargers went into the half leading 27-7 with only a late Miller kickoff return to put the Raiders on the board.

Tom Cable came into this game hoping to build momentum for the Raiders. After all with a win, the Raiders would have tied San Diego for second in the AFC West and the team still has youth to build upon for next season. Instead, the Raiders came out, continued Raiders football of the post-Buccaneers Superbowl eras failing to move the ball on offense and committing stupid penalties during crucial times.

The Raiders have a tough schedule ahead, and their next game is at home against the New England Patriots.

Raiders Lose To Chiefs 20-13 Second Time Around

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:27:16 +0000

Russell Completed Just 35.7 Percent Of His Passes Sunday

The Raiders opening drive was like no other. For the first time in 52 games, the Raiders looked as if they would score a touchdown on their opening drive. A big pass to Zach Miller, a hook and ladder from McFadden to Curry, and the Raiders were a few yards from scoring. Sadly, the drive stalled and the Raiders settled for a 23-yard field goal from Janikowski. But all looked good, the defense had been holding Tyler Thigpen and the Kansas City running game, and the Raiders moved the ball well.

There was only one problem, the Raiders got too cute. On the Raiders second drive, they methodically plowed to the KC 25 yard line. But after stalling again with back to back to back incomplete passes, the Raiders ran a fake field goal play on 4th and 10. Lechler took the snap as if he were setting up for the field goal, Janikowski streaked to the left, except Lechler’s no Chris Paul, and Lechler’s no-look behind the back pass missed Janikowski completely and KC would return the fumble for a touchdown.

Jamarcus Russell finished the day competing 10 of his 28 passes with no touchdowns or interceptions. Fargas ran for a hard fought 82 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, but fumbled the ball on a crucial drive in the fourth quarter. While McFadden was still being used sparingly and given only 7 carries for 13 yards.

I’m all for the Raiders trying new things to stir the players imagination and to get the offense moving, but a fake field goal run with the kicker on 4th and 10? Really? With the AFC West the way it is this year, the Raiders with a win were still mathematically in the race for a playoff spot. Had they pulled off the win, the Raiders would tie San Diego for second, and three games out of first. But I’m just having dreams, let’s spend the remaining games developing the team.

The Raiders gear up for a short break this week as they travel to San Diego for Thursday Night Football.

Raiders Win, Pound Denver 31-10

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:22:27 +0000

Jamarcus Russel Finished With A 149.1 QB Rating

As the Oakland Raiders went into the 2nd half ahead 10-3 this Sunday, the Raiders had still failed to score an offensive touchdown. The Raiders stretched their scoreless streak to 15 quarters and only took the lead with another spectacular Johnnie Lee Higgins kickoff return.

But as the Raiders came out the 2nd half, they realized that Denver defense is, well, Denver defense. The Raiders came out and shut down Cutler and company and beat the Broncos 31-10 after losing 41-14 in week one.

Fargas pounded out 104 yards on 24 carries while McFadden delivered the finishing blows with 38 yards and 2 touchdown runs. Ashley Lelie returned to Denver posting a big 7 catch 105 yard against his old team including a monster 51 yard catch over two defenders. As for Russell, the former number one pick worked efficiently and led the Raiders down the field on a number of key drives. He finished the day completing 10 of his 11 passes, throwing one touchdown pass to Lelie, and an outstanding 149.1 QB rating.

After a disappointing loss to Miami last week, this Sundays game against Denver brought Raider fans a glimmer of hope. With a healthy quarterback and backfield, the Raiders displayed what talent could do with proper coaching and belief. The Raiders face division rivals in the upcoming weeks and at 3-8 the Raiders look to top their 4-win season from last year.