The Raiders have released veteran receiver Doug Gabriel because they like other players better than him.  Mike Williams has been impressive in the pre-season for the Raiders with 5 catches for 53 yards (10.6 avg) with a TD grab.  Travis Taylor (3 rec, 35 yards) and rookie Johnnie Lee Higgins (2 rec, 59 yards) also passed Gabriel up on the depth chart.  Look for Gabriel to get another chance with someone soon as he does have some talent.

The Oakland Raiders played very well on Friday Night in their victory over the Rams.  Daunte Culpepper looked pretty solid again for the Raiders as he completed 4 of 8 passes for 47 yards with 1 TD pass and he also carried the football 3 times for 17 yards (5.7 ypc).  Josh McCown was also solid again as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 138 yards.  Andrew Walter didn’t look too sharp on Friday as he completed 3 of 6 passes for 26 yards.  LaMont Jordan did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Raiders running game as he carried the football 18 times for 41 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 49 yards.  Adimchinobe Echemandu also was very busy with 14 carries for 60 yards (4.3 ypc).  Justin Fargas also got his work in with 7 carries for 32 yards (4.6 ypc).  Ronald Curry led the way for the receivers with 3 grabs for 27 yards and a TD.  The Raiders carried the football 46 times for 172 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 13 of 23 passes for 187 yards.

The Raiders defense was bending but it didn’t break on Friday Night.  The Rams rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries (5.6 ypc) and they completed 21 of 44 passes for 236 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270824013

The Raiders have traded an undisclosed draft pick to the hated Denver Broncos for DT Gerard Warren.  Warren had a bad season last year but he is an imposing figure at 6′4″, 325 pounds so the Raiders felt they would roll the dice on the former first round pick of the Cleveland Browns.  Warren played in 15 games last season with the Broncos and he made 23 tackles, had 2.5 sacks and defensed a pass.  Over his six year career, Warren has played in 91 games and he has made 159 tackles, has 22 sacks and he has defended 10 passes.  This was a nice low risk/high reward pickup for the Raiders.

The Raiders looked much better on offense in their second game of the pre-season.  Daunte Culpepper looked sharp completing 6 of 8 passes for 75 yards with 2 TDs and he also carried the football 3 times for 13 yards (4.3 ypc).  Andrew Walter followed and he completed 9 of 16 passes for 78 yards with an interception.  Josh McCown finished up the game completing 8 of 17 passes for 97 yards.  LaMont Jordan looked like a legit #1 running back Saturday Night as he carried the ball 8 times for 67 yards (8.4 ypc) with a TD run.  Justin Fargas got some work in for the Raiders with 9 carries for 30 yards (3.3 ypc).  Adimchinobe Echemandu had another solid effort with 4 carries for 18 yards (4.5 ypc).  TE John Madsen was the leading receiver for the Raiders with 3 grabs for 55 yards (18.3 avg) with a TD grab.  The Raiders offense was in high gear as they carried the football 31 times for 133 yards (4.3 ypc) and they completed 23 of 41 passes for 248 yards.

The Raiders defense had some issues with stopping the run.  The Niners carried the football 26 times for 125 yards (4.8 ypc) and they completed 17 of 29 passes for 187 yards.  The Raiders have a couple of weeks to straighten the defense back out but they should be fine.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818025

 

 

Tight end is one position that the Raiders didn’t like so they are starting over.  With no clear cut #1 WR the Raiders might attempt to use their TEs more in the passing game.  2nd round pick Zach Miller will give the Raiders a weapon to attack the middle of the field and he could lead the Raiders in receptions as a rookie.

2nd year TE John Madsen looked o.k. as a rookie and the Raiders will probably get him the football a little more than last season.   He played in 15 games (1 start) last year and he caught 11 passes for 146 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.

The Raiders have brought in Tony Stewart as a free agent from the Bengals.  Stewart played in 16 games (3 starts) last season with the Bengals and he caught 14 passes for 120 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stewart has now played in 68 games (23 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 55 passes for 464 yards (8.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.