It would be easy to sit here and say the Raiders suck or something like that in a different variation of words. It is easy and people do it all the time. What is harder to do is look through the 45-7 shellacking to what really ails the Raiders and what doesn't. I believe it was Tom Flores who said if you lose badly, your aren't as bad that bad. If you win big you aren't that good. He was talking about the regular season, not the preseason, but I think it still applies. So although this was a game to forget, you can't put a lot of stock into the final score in the preseason. The Raiders lost to the Cowboys starters, 3-7. They beat the 49ers starters, 10-7. They lost to the Saints starters, 0-21 and in a lot of ways their backups beat our starters for another 17. It is also easy to dismiss this as "just preseason" trying to write-off how bad the Raiders played and move on. The Raiders and the fans shouldn't do this. This kind of thing happens for a reason. A...
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The preseason is still here and that means football, but not regular season football. So what do we do to bide out time? How about make some predictions and win some Raiders gear? Wednesday the media chimed in with their guesses for how many yards passing for JaMarcus (see previous post). The lone Thursday straggler was Chris Mortensen from ESPN, who came in with the highest media guess of 3,500 yards and as high as 3,800 if the Raiders use McFadden correctly. I'll give him a pass on the "range" guess. Thanks to the media the pot is up to $10.50 for everyone else. Not bad, but we can do better. Tell your friends to submit a guess for total yards for JaMarcus. You can check my Twitter favorites for a list of the current guesses. The next question will be revealed when we reach a $20 pot because you can't buy a gift card for less than $10 and the pot is split depending on the number of questions. Tell your friends, or submit a second guess by calling the co...
Use these as a guide. At least you can see what some of the media people are guessing and attempt to fight the urge to be a homer. I think we all have to fight that urge from time to time. So far: Peter King - 3,314 yards Nancy Gay - 2,999, she said Russell loses at least 150 yards with Schilens out. Jim Trotter - 2,800 Adam Schefter - 3,000 "taking the under" Still waiting for Chris Mortensen, Jay Glazer, Mike Silver, and ex-scout Daniel Jeremiah. Today is $1 pot, Wednesday. Every guess today is $1 in the pot. Pot is up to $9.25 after six guesses already today. I might regret this promo at the end of today, take advantage while you can!
First thing I want to get out of the way. I am not sure how many of you caught the pregame chat between Greg Papa and Tom Cable, but here is the link to the archive. 4 - 5 PM at about 45 minutes . 1) "You know it's a shame," Cable said. "I can't really talk about the supposed incident. I am waiting and anxious to get the facts out so this can all be settled and put behind us." Adding emphasis on the word 'supposed.' "I know what happened or didn't happen and hopefully people do the right thing and I'm speaking directly to the media when I say that." "If anyone really knows who I am, knows that I wouldn't say those things or do those things." Something happened, but it sure sounds like Cable is implicating that it is nothing near what has been reported. Stay tuned on this one. Cable also said he isn't letting it effect the football team or his staff. I've said this before: No way Hanson wants to come back and co...
We all know Al Davis ultimate goal is to win Super Bowls. Anything short is failure. Maybe not practically, but figuratively. Al Davis wants to retire as an owner with the most Super Bowl victories to cement his legacy. If he goes out on bottom his legacy will be of the owner for the first 25 years and not of all 50+ seasons. That is Al Davis' nightmare. In a period of the last six seasons where the Raiders have become the laughing stock of the league, fans and Davis have become impatient. Fans should look for young players, good plays, good drives, before they start to talk about star players, good games and good seasons. Fans grasp for more and more hoping someday they will have all the bragging rights. Davis is and always has been a fan, and he has done much of the same. I'm unsure if he will ever let go of the past, but one thing is for sure, no one tries or cares more than him. In this spirit I present to you, the 13 teams that have won a Super Bowl since the Raiders l...
After an attempt to negotiate with Al Davis to get his coaching job back failed, Randy Hanson decided to cooperate with police. At least that is the story out of the National Football Post this afternoon. A civil case is also expected. That is dirty. Blackmailing your employer with threat of legal action unless they do what you want them to do. Although I can't condone Cable throwing the guy out of his chair, you have to wonder what kind of person does something dirty like this. Think about it, he wanted back on Cable's staff. Would you want to be on the coaching staff of a guy that broke your jaw because he hated your guts? No, you wouldn't. You would have taken one of Al Davis' offers. Probably the one where you don't have to work, but maybe you like to work and take the front office job. Hanson knows that it wasn't a big deal, but now it will be a bigger deal. He knew he was in the driver seat, either the team gives him what he wants or they get what ...
Somehow my posting from work didn't go through. I had previously posted about Chaz Schilens breaking his fifth metatarsal. The broken foot means he will be out for at least 4 weeks. My guess was 6-8 for a full recovery. For more details regarding the injury, this is a good source. and so is this Hopefully it isn't anything serious that would require surgery such as a Jones fracture. So far it sounds pretty straight forward. It is hard to glean anything from these scrimmages, but one thing is apparent, the run defense is still struggling. The added area of weakness is the linebacker on backs in pass coverage, but that did improve in the afternoon session. Typically we had been pretty good in that area so chalk that up as a morning anomaly. Russell and Garcia were a bit inconsistent, but I'm not sure what to think of that. If Garcia was clearly outplaying Russell or vice versa it would be a little easier to see what was going on, but that isn't the case. DHB, Walker, Hig...
This information was gathered from a scout who received this information from a very good source and it perfectly explains some things. Cable did not punch Randy Hanson. Hanson was in a heated discussion with John Marshall and said something nasty to Marshall. Cable took offense and overturned Hanson's chair. Hanson hit his face on a cabinet. So there you have it. As if we didn't hate her enough, Nancy Gay's rumor mongering continues even at AOL fanhouse. Update: ESPN CONFIRMES
Do I sense a Al Davis league office battle? Cable could be in real trouble under the NFL's personal conduct policy especially if the Raiders failed to report it to the league office. It reads: "General policy Engaging in violent and/or criminal activity is unacceptable and constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League. Such conduct alienates the fans on whom the success of the League depends and has negative and sometimes tragic consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. The League is committed to promoting and encouraging lawful conduct and to providing a safe and professional workplace for its employees. Persons covered by policy The following persons ("Covered Persons") shall be considered subject to this Policy: (i) all players under contract; (ii) all full-time employees of the National Football League, its Member Clubs and related entities; (iii) all rookie players once they are...
Multiple sources are now confirming Nancy Gay's report that Tom Cable was the one that put Randy Hanson in the hospital. This is a very shocking. The Raiders have called a press conference at 3:30 p.m. PT supposedly to address the issue. All I can say is wow! The swagger of the Raiders is BACK! That is one way to gain respect from your head coach. He can put you in the hospital if you say something you shouldn't. More to come...
I decided to have a little fun. See the type of men Tom Cable decided to bring in. CSN Bay Area put together these little question and answer videos. I also found a few articles. Slade Norris Article Slade Norris Video Mike Mitchell Video DHB Video (Who didn't know about the black hole) Matt Shaughnessy Video Louis Murphy Video Louis Murphy's Parents Brandon Myers Video DHB College Article This one I was surprised about. His best friend is probably Chiefs WR Devard Darling. He had hamstring issues in college, and as Nnamdi has said to him and we keep hearing he still needs a lot of work on route running.
I went back and watched the first half of the game to see what I could gather from it. The first time you watch a game you miss some little things and aren't willing to spend 10 minutes in slow motion trying to see what went right and wrong. Of the first half penalties, I went back and looked closer at them. Which were legit, which were borderline, which were clear? Cooper Carlisle, holding, 10 yards - Unclear, it happened very low and on the interior. Whatever he did it didn't change the outcome of the play. Stanford Routt, defensive holding, 10 yards - He was holding, but many of these aren't going to be called in a game. Seth Wand, false start, 5 yards - It was actually not Seth Wand, but Cooper Carlisle. Seth Wand had just checked in. Bad call, he never moved. Tyvon Branch, holding, 10 yards (special teams) - Couldn't see it well, but looked like he rode him out of the play and then held the guy trying to chase from behind. He kinda layed on him. Borderline, but st...
Call (916) 776-6774 and tell me what you thought of the Raiders performance tonight. It was a feel good night. Wins feel great regardless of preseason or not, but obviously there was a lot to learn from this preseason match up. The wins doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. - Russell looked pretty good. He under threw a couple deep throws, but was a solid 6 for 9 with 50 yards. - Chaz Schilens looked like a stud. All his catches were great, in traffic or with strange body adjustments. That is how you end up with a stat line like 5 for 52 when you only play one quarter. - McBush looked superior to Fargas. I like Fargas, but he shouldn't be getting touches over McFadden and Bush. As far as a third back goes, would you want a guy like Rankin or Russell over Fargas? Either a shifty small guy or a big bruiser. Fargas feels like a Tweener. - Nick Miller is a feel good guy. He is certainly intriguing. He is going to need a couple more plays like that to make the squad thou...
Dave from The Raider Cast was kind enough to call and leave a message on the comment line. Check it out!
Preseason games can be very difficult to judge and some consider them to be boring. I typically enjoy watching the backups and trying to determine who makes the team and who doesn't. Which players could surprise? What other question need to be answered? I will ask 20 questions and without much thinking my knee jerk answer. Can John Wade, McQuistan and other offensive lineman be good backups or even start if needed? No. Is Morrison's job actually at risk? No. Will Mike Mitchell be able to lay the wood against higher competition? I hope. How will the running back rotation work? McFadden will get work regardless, otherwise evenly. Will Terdell Sands get cut? No. Is Schilens going to lead this receiver group? Yes. How will DHB look against a live NFL defense? Fast. Is Mario Henderson the answer at left tackle? Yes. Will Huff cement his bust status? Yes. Which two players will emerge and start at FS and SS? Huff and Branch. Is Oren O'neal truly healthy? Yes...
The coaching staff has done a good job giving the appearance of competition at linebacker. The only secure position appears to be WLB. That is Thomas Howard. Ricky Brown has been getting a lot of reps at starting MLB and Jon Alston a lot of first team reps at SLB. Come the season, Morrison could be right back at MLB and Ricky Brown at SLB, but is that a lock or are the coaches actually considering making a change? Cable admits they have thought about moving Morrison outside. At SLB he could have the opportunity to drop into coverage more and would also help cover up a weaker than expected job plugging the run. The question is can Ricky Brown be better in the middle? If they have considered it seriously, why isn't Morrison getting snaps at SLB? The dark horse in this is Jon Alston. If both Alston and Brown produce at SLB and MLB, could Morrison find himself on the bench in certain scenarios? Mostly, I think the coaches are trying to push Morrison. He must be better at pl...
Unlike my solicitations for Twitter and the comment line (916-776-6774) this doesn't come as easily. I'd like to ask for your support. As the season gears up, I'll be trying to improve the blog as much as possible. The blog is now available at www.raidersblog.tk . I also am in negotiations to buy a more prominent domain name. I ask for your donations for the continued upgrade of the blog as well as features and the new domain name. If you are in a similar position and have any graphic design skill, please contact me. I want to upgrade the look and feel of the site and your help would be rewarded as much as possible. I am a Raider fan like all of you, but you are not donating to some hack. I do have my degree in journalism. The biggest problem I have with most of the beat writers is they have checked their fan at the door. I don't want homers, but the saddest thing to me is when I hear or see them write that the job has taken the fan out of them. Who am I? I was one of ...
$10 Gift Card to the Raider Image to the 10th caller and still no callers. Not much in this life is free. Why is it you guys refuse to call the comment line? This is your outlet to tell the world how you hate or love this year's team. Get on it!
Update: The draft pick compensation could be as high as a two or as low as a five depending on performance. The Raiders have traded its disgruntled DE Derrick Burgess to the New England Patriots for a 2010 3rd round pick and 2011 5th round pick. This according to a tweet from former Raiders executive Michael Lombardi who now writes for the National Football Post. For a 30-year-old player who is a liability against the run and accumulated just 3.5 sacks last season, it appears to be a good deal. He joins ex-Raiders Randy Moss and Andrew Walter in New England and is expected to be converted to Linebacker. The LB position as it further exposes Burgess' coverage and run support liabilities. The Patriots fans immediate reaction to the trade was similar to that of Randy Moss, but they should not forget the Doug Gabriel trade. Burgess is on a one year deal, he is 30, and he is changing positions. Burgess is more of a technician. He used his hands well to separate from the slower R...
To the 10th caller 916-776-6774. ReTweet. Tell your friends. Don't forget to leave a good take! This wont be the first or last promotion. Need some ideas? -How many wins will the Raiders have and why? -Who will be the starting QB and why? -Who will be the starting RB and why? -Who will be the breakout player this year and why? -Who are you most looking forward to watch? -Which rookie will make the biggest impact? -Are you going to the Raider Nation Celebration and why?
ESPN is at it again. People who work for ESPN can't do anything on Twitter. They can tell you they are going to the bathroom or waking up in the morning, but anything sports related will have to go through ESPN approval process. Basically, all the ESPN peoples twitter feeds are nothing more than either A) Boring or B) tools of the empire. Twelve NFL teams also ban Twitter among players and beat writers during camp. For most teams with open training camp, that means the fans can better use Twitter to communicate things than can the beat writer. The beat writer would have to sacrifice his access to players and coaches to tweet. Now fans will tweet incorrect information that the beat writer would otherwise would have cleared up before tweeting it. Such as why a player sat out a practice, etc. Thankfully, our beat writers have kept the tweets rolling in from the "private" training camp in Napa. I won't be too hard on these guys, but there seems to be a disproportionate am...