Oakland Raiders Blog

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.

Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos Week 3 Game Blacked-Out For Local Viewers

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:13:09 +0000

Again, the NFL’s stupid rule on blackout’s rears it’s ugly head. The Raiders failed to sell out the tickets for this Sunday’s 1:15 PM PST game against the Denver Brocos (2-0) and therefore the game will be blacked out to viewers within a 120 kilometer radius of the game.

For more information, here’s the Wikipedia entry on NFL blackouts:

In the NFL, any broadcaster that has a signal that hits any area within a 75-mile (120 km) radius of an NFL stadium may only broadcast a game if that game is a road game, or if the game sells out 72 hours or more before the start time for the game.If sold out in less than 72 hours, or is close to being sold out by the deadline, the team can sometimes request a time extension. Furthermore, broadcasters with NFL contracts are required to show their markets’ road games. Sometimes if a game is very close to selling out, but not quite there, a broadcaster with rights to show the nearly sold out game will buy the remaining tickets (and give them to local charities) so it can broadcast the game (usually, this would involve no more than a few hundred tickets because of cost). Other teams elect to close off sections of their stadium, but cannot sell these tickets for any game that season if they choose to do so. As a result, if the home team’s game is a Sunday day game both networks can air only one game each in that market. (Until 2001, this rule applied whether or not the game was blacked out, however, this was changed because some markets virtually never aired doubleheaders as a result.) Usually, but not always, when each network can show only one game each in a market, the two stations work out between themselves which will show an early game and which will show a late game. This only affects the primary market, and not markets in a 75-mile (121 km) radius, which always get a doubleheader each Sunday.

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.

Richard Seymour To Report Today

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:14:38 +0000

According to the NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora’s Twitter page, Richard Seymour’s agent has confirmed that the pro bowl defensive lineman will report to Oakland in time for Monday night’s game against the Chargers. Seymour, according to his agent, Eugene Parker, will be in Oakland later today.

Now that Seymour is in Oakland, the question remains, will he play the way he had for New England.

Richard Seymour Has 5 Days To Report To Oakland – Risks Staying A Raider Through 2010

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:20:16 +0000

Five days ago, the Oakland Raiders reached a deal with the New England Patriots to bring 5-time pro bowl defensive tackle/end Richard Seymour to Oakland in order to bolster a very forgiving Raiders run defense. In exchange, the Raiders agreed to trade the 2011 first round draft pick for the 29-year old defensive lineman.

Since the trade on Saturday, Richard Seymour has yet to report to Oakland. According to former teammate Rodney Harrison, Seymour is very “unhappy” with the trade.

Seymour himself has had little to the media.

But earlier today, the Raiders sent Seymour a letter informing him that he has five days to report to the team and pass a physical or else he will be placed on the Raiders’ suspended list.

If the Raiders decide to place Seymour on the Raiders’ suspended list, the Raiders forgo their option to void the trade. For Seymour, being placed on the list, Oakland the rights to keep him on the list for the entire 2009 season in addition to being able to keep Seymour for 2010 at his 2009 salary.

As for Seymour? Well all I have is this to say. You already have 3 Super Bowl rings, 5 pro bowl selections, $3.7 million in salary for 2009, and a chance to play in front of millions (on TV at least); what more do you possibly want? If the Patriots wanted to keep you, they would have. If you want to sit this out and potentially risk the remainder of your prime years on the suspended list only to come back at age 32 to find your skills have severely diminished, be my guest.

Being in the NFL is a privilege, don’t be a dick, Dick.

JaMarcus Russell Named Raiders’ Week 1 Starting QB

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:21:50 +0000

Alas, journeyman and bay area native Jeff Garcia will start the season on the bench. While Garcia came to Oakland looking to challenge the Raiders 2007 1st overall pick JaMarcus Russell for the Raiders starting QB job, a calf strain has limited much of what Garcia could do on the field during this pre-season.

To quell any kind of QB controversy, head coach Tom Cable announced this Sunday that JaMarcus Russell will start week 1 against the San Diego Chargers. “At this point, he’s the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders,” Cable told reporters on Sunday.

Related Blogs

Schilens Breaks Foot, Heyward-Bey Continues Dropping Passes, Raiders Goto Receiver Uncertain

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:49:45 +0000

After a strong showing against the Dallas Cowboys in the Raiders pre-season opener, receiver Chaz Schilens suffered a broken bone in his left foot from Tuesday practice in the Raiders Napa training camp.

Already beginning to establish himself as the Raiders #1 receiver this year, Schilens broken foot will likely require 6-8 weeks of rest to heal.

While Javon Walker is still in his final week of recovery from an ankle injury that has kept him off the field since November 9, 2009, Walker is still at least a week away from returning to practice.

Allthewhile, Raiders number one pick Heyward-Bey continues to struggle in practice. Heyward-Bey dropped 3 more passes in practice on Tuesday. The young rookie who only made 42 receptions in his final year at Maryland has yet to establish himself in the Raiders passing game.

As one of the NFL’s poorest receiving cores ramps up for the 2009 season, the Raiders are finding themselves in a challenging uphill battle.

Related Blogs

Tom Cable Punches Defensive Assistant Randy Hanson In Practice

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:56:02 +0000

As if Bill Romanowski punching and breaking former teammate Marcus Williams in 2003 wasn’t enough to promote a never again policy for the Raiders. Sources leaked on Monday that Raiders head coach Tom Cable was reportedly behind an August 5 altercation at camp in which Cable reportedly punched and broke assistant defensive coach Randy Hanson’s jaw.

The incident occurred at the Raiders training camp in Napa, CA. While Hanson did not tell Napa Police who broke his jaw, Fanhouse.com reports that anonymous sources have claimed Cable was behind the matter. Cable himself more or less dodged the questions this Monday, August 17th, “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to comment on that.”

As for what caused Cable to punch Hanson? No news or comments has arisen. Maybe Hanson deserved it. Until any official news comes out of either Cable, Hanson, or the Raiders – Just Win Baby.

Related Blogs

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.