When the Raiders selected the super fast WR Darrius Heyward-Bey with the 7th pick of the first round of last April’s NFL Draft they were expecting him to contribute this season and start down the road.  But to this point he has shown no signs of being a good WR any time soon.  Some of that blame has to go to JaMarcus Russell but Heyward-Bey’s hands are like a pair of bricks.  He has caught 4 passes for 64 yards (16.0 avg) and he has carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) this season.  The amazing thing about Heyward-Bey’s numbers is that he is third on the Raiders in receiving yards this season which is incredible as it says quite a bit about the offense.

In week #1 these two teams played on Monday Night Football in Oakland and the Chargers snuck out of town with a 24-20 win.  The teams look very different right now as the Raiders are only averaging 8.9 points per game and 227.6 yards of total offense per game.  The Raiders will come out running the football with Justin Fargas against the soft run defense of the Chargers which is allowing 137.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Raiders need to keep the ball on the ground to protect JaMarcus Russell who has turned the ball over 13 times already this season (5 lost fumbles, 8 interceptions).  The Chargers will be keying on stopping TE Zach Miller who is the best receiver the Raiders have to offer.

The Chargers will come out throwing the ball against the Raiders to get them out of their gamplan.  Philip Rivers will likely be aiming for Vincent Jackson deep and Antonio Gates on the short stuff.  The Raiders are allowing 169.7 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so the Chargers hope that LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles can give the team some balance on offense in this game. 

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 34, RAIDERS 13

27-year old linebacker Kirk Morrison is one of the busiest defensive players in the NFL right now.  He has played in 7 games this season for the Raiders and he has 67 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and he has forced 1 fumble.  This is nothing new to Raiders’ fans as Morrison has 4 years of 116+ tackles in a season.  It’s just too bad that the D-Line has not kept him clean or the run defense would be much better than it is.

The Raiders were awful yesterday in every facet of this game and it showed on the scoreboard.  JaMarcus Russell started this game and he was awful as usual completing 6 of 11 passes for 61 yards with 2 interceptions and he also lost a fumble.  The Raiders yanked Russell from the game and inserted Bruce Gradkowski who was not a whole lot better.  He completed 10 of 19 passes for 97 yards and he also carried the ball 2 times for 25 yards (12.5 ypc).  Gradkowski also lost a fumble in this game.  It’s too bad that the Raiders fell so far behind in this game because Justin Fargas was on fire.  He carried the ball 8 times for 67 yards (8.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg).  WR Louis Murphy pitched in with 4 catches for 58 yards (14.5 avg) in this game to lead the Raiders in the passing game.  The Raiders finished up with 263 total yards in this game (119 rushing, 144 passing) as they only had possession of the ball for 24:03.

The defense was simply awful in this game yesterday.  LB Kirk Morrison (9 tackles) and CB Tyvon Branch (8 tackles) led the way for the Raiders on “defense”.  The Jets finished up with 447 total yards on offense (316 rushing, 131 passing) in this game.  The Raiders are now 2-5 on the season.

This game pits the New York Jets (3-3) against the Oakland Raiders (2-4) who are trying to build a winning streak after beating the Eagles 13-9 at the Black Hole.  The Jets will no doubt come out running the football against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 145.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  Thomas Jones and Leon Washington will likely have field days against the Raiders.  But they did last week against the Bills and Mark Sanchez threw the game away throwing 5 pickoffs.  The Raiders do give up 220.2 yards passing per game so maybe Sanchez can turn things around this week. 

The Raiders will also come out running the ball with Justin Fargas likely being the workhorse.  The Jets are allowing 115.7 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so Huggy Bear Jr. (Fargas) could have a good game on Sunday.  The Raiders had better be able to run the ball or JaMarcus Russell could be in deep trouble.  The Jets only have 5 sacks this season so Russell will likely have time to throw the ball.  It’s too bad that only TE Zach Miller can catch the football.

PREDICTION:  JETS 13, RAIDERS 10

TE Zach Miller has been the go-to man for JaMarcus Russell.  Miller leads the Raiders in catches (21), receiving yards (354) and he is tied for the lead in TD grabs (1).  The tight end has always been the best friend of a young QB and Miller certainly has been that.  It’s only a matter of time until defenses devote a lot more effort into stopping Miller and that will be when the WRs need to step up.  That will be easier said than done.  Rookie Louis Murphy is the only other player on the Raiders besides Miller who has caught more than 10 passes (12) and has more than 100 yards receiving (174) this year.  The Raiders need to find more help in the passing game soon.

The Oakland Raiders played a great game defensively while doing just enough on offense to win this game.  Linebacker Kirk Morrison led the way for the Raiders on D with 11 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  DE Richard Seymour was unstoppable in this game for the Raiders as he finished up with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits.  DT Trevor Scott also stepped up with a huge game as he had 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  The Eagles finished up with 283 total yards in this game (67 rushing, 216 passing). 

JaMarcus Russell had his best game of the season completing 17 of 28 passes for 224 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 8 yards (1.6 ypc).  Justin Fargas led the way on the ground for the Raiders with 87 yards on 23 carries (3.8 ypc).  TE Zach Miller was outstanding for the Raiders in this game as he caught 6 passes for 139 yards (23.2 avg) with a 86-yard TD reception.  RB Gary Russell who was just signed last week pitched in with 55 yards on 5 grabs (11.0 avg) for the Raiders.  The Raiders finished up with 325 total yards on offense (116 rushing, 209 passing) in this game.  The Raiders are now 2-4 on the season with this shocking win over the Eagles.

This game could wind up looking like another train wreck for the Raiders.  At least the Raiders are playing this game at home.  The Raiders have only averaged 191.6 yards of total offense and 9.8 points per game this season so the Eagles’ D is likely licking it’s chops.  The Raiders will come out trying to run the ball in this game with Justin Fargas and Michael Bush against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 100.8 yards rushing per game but only 3.7 yards per carry.  If the Raiders can’t get a running game going against the Eagles they are in deep, deep trouble because the Eagles love to blitz as they have 13 sacks already in only 4 games this season.  Russell has been sacked 15 times already this season and he has turned the ball over 8 times so the Eagles will likely force him into a lot of mistakes.

The Eagles will likely come out throwing in this game as usual despite the fact that the Raiders are allowing 161.0 yards rushing per game this season and 4.3 yards per carry.  WRs Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson will likely be running deep early and often against the Raiders’ D.  The Raiders are allowing 221.0 yards passing per game this season so Donovan McNabb could be playing a glorified game of catch with his receivers.  McNabb will likely also attack the middle of the Raiders’ D with TE Brent Celek and the edges of the D with Brian Westbrook and Lesean McCoy out of the backfield.  Westbrook and McCoy will also likely get to tote the ball in the running game quite a bit this weekend. 

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 30, RAIDERS 6

The Oakland Raiders need to do something about JaMarcus Russell and that should be to bench him.  He has completed 51 of 121 passes (42.1%) for 606 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs.  He has also carried the football 10 times for 30 yards (3.0 ypc) this season.  Russell has now turned the ball over 8 times already this season as he has lost 4 fumbles in addition to all of his pickoffs.  It’s really too bad that the Raiders don’t have much of an alternative to playing Russell.  I mean, Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye also stink.  Maybe the Raiders are thinking about making a trade for Brady Quinn of the Browns.

The Raiders are lucky that the Giants showed mercy on them or they could have dropped 70 points on them in this game.  JaMarcus Russell was pathetic as usual completing 8 of 13 passes for 100 yards and he carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards.  But, despite being interception free for once he lost three fumbles which really hurt the team badly often setting up short fields for the Giants.  Michael Bush was the leading rusher for the Raiders in this game with 37 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  Justin Fargas had a awful time finding running room against the Giants.  He carried the ball 11 times for 18 yards (1.6 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  TE Zach Miller led all receivers for the Raiders with 4 grabs for 69 yards (17.3 avg).  The Raiders finished up with only 124 total yards on offense (60 rushing, 64 passing) in this game.

The Raiders’ D had an awful time in this game as they were on the field for 36:04!  LB Kirk Morrison led the way for the Raiders on defense in this game with 16 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  CB Tyvon Branch was also a busy body in this game with 10 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  The Giants rolled up 483 total yards on offense (220 rushing, 263 passing) in this football game.  The Raiders are now 1-4 on the season and looking worse than ever.