The Raiders have placed 22-year old OLB Slade Norris and 22-year old KR Nick Miller on I.R.  Norris was the Raiders’ 4th round pick out of Oregon State last April in the draft.  He played in 4 games  and made a whopping 2 tackles this year.  Miller was injured in the pre-season but the Raiders didn’t know that he had a fractured tibia.

The Raiders have sent 33-year old punter Shane Lechler and 28-year old CB Nnamdi Asomugha to the Pro Bowl.  Lechler has been one of the best punters in the NFL since the day he arrived in Oakland and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.  Lechler has played in 15 games for the Raiders this season and he has punted the ball 91 times for 4,647 yards (51.1 avg).  Lechler has only 11 touchbacks (12.1%) this season and he has pinned the opposition inside their 20-yard line 28 times (30.8%).  Nnamdi Asomugha has played in 15 games for the Raiders this season and he has made 34 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, defensed 4 passes and he has 1 interception.  Asomugha gets this honor based on his reputation as teams just don’t challenge his side of the field much anymore.

The Raiders got pushed around by the Cleveland Browns yesterday.  Charlie Frye completed 26 of 45 passes for 333 yards but he still thought he played with the Browns completing 3 passes to them too.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc).  Michael Bush led the way on the ground for the Raiders with 52 yards on only 10 carries (5.2 ypc).  Darren McFadden was also busy with 7 carries for 23 yards (3.3 ypc) and 4 receptions for 55 yards (13.8 avg).  Zach Miller was a beast in the passing game for the Raiders yesterday with 9 grabs for 110 yards (12.2 avg).  Chaz Schilens also had a solid game with 4 grabs for 64 yards (16.0 avg) yesterday.  The Raiders finished up with 389 total yards on offense (88 rushing, 301 passing).

Linebacker Kirk Morrison led the way for the Raiders yesterday with 14 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  Safety Tyvon Branch pitched in with 10 tackles yesterday.  The Browns finished up with 282 yards on offense (164 rushing, 118 passing) in this game.  The Raiders are now 5-10 on the year.

30-year old cornerback Chris Johnson is really playing well for the Raiders this season.  He has played in 14 games for the Raiders this year and he has made 66 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, defensed 18 passes and he has 3 interceptions.  Teams have been challenging Johnson all season long and he keeps responding by making big, game altering plays.

25-year old running back Michael Bush started his NFL career rehabbing but he is now starting to pay dividends for the Raiders now that he finally appears healthy.  Bush has played in 14 games for the Raiders this season and he has carried the ball 103 times for 519 yards (5.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 15 passes for 94 yards (6.3 avg) this year.  Bush has outplayed Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden this year so he might be able to win the job as the main ball carrier in 2010 if he finishes this season strong.

The one good thing about the game this Sunday is that the clock won’t be stopping much as both teams are going to tighten up the chinstrap and run the football.  Michael Bush had a huge game last week but he will have to share some carries with Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas against a Browns’ D that is allowing 149.6 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  When the Raiders do have to throw the ball they will likely attack the corners of the Browns who have been giving up big plays especially Brandon McDonald.  That means that Louis Murphy could have a big game if Charlie Frye can get him the football.

The Raiders have to key on Jerome Harrison who rushed for 286 yards and 3 TDs last Sunday against the Chiefs.  They would also been smart not to kick the ball to Josh Cribbs.  If the Raiders can take those two guys out of the game then they will have a good shot of winning in Cleveland on Sunday.  QB Derek Anderson is prone to throwing the ball into coverage and the Raiders’ CBs will make him pay for it if he tries it too much on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 17, RAIDERS 16

JaMarcus Russell has been one of the main downfalls of the Oakland Raiders (5-9) 2009 season, but he was the hero on Sunday against the Denver Broncos (8-6).  The Raiders’ starting quarterback Charlie Frye went 9/17 for 68 yards and 1 interception before leaving the game after a very hard hit early in the 4th quarter.  That is when Russell came in and went 5/11 for 47 yards and had the game winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds left.  The Raiders also got huge games from their running backs Michael Bush and Darren McFadden.  Bush had 133 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries and McFadden had 74 yards and 12 carries.  The Raiders finished with 241 rushing yards as a team.

The Raiders defense played well in this one, especially stopping the run.  They held the Broncos to 80 rushing yards on 28 carries.  They did give up too many yards in the passing game, with Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton going for 278 yards and 1 touchdown on 19/34 passes.  Russell may have been the hero on offense, but it was Stanford Routt who was the hero on defense.  With under 6 minutes to play, Broncos’ receiver Brandon Stokley ran 63 yards before being taken down by Routt at the 4-yard line.  Although Routt was called for a horse-collar penalty, it save a game-sealing touchdown and the penalty only moved the Broncos two yards up.  The defense then stuffed the Broncos, giving Russel his opportunity for the comeback only minutes later.

The Oakland Raiders did not fair too well against the Denver Broncos in their first meeting this season, and things are not looking too good going into Sunday’s game.  Bruce Gradkowski is out, and since JaMarcus Russell has been a disaster this season Charlie Frye is going to be the starting quarterback for the Raiders.  He has thrown for 3,573 yards and has 16 touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions in his career.  He is not exactly your ideal starting quarterback, so I’m guessing the Raiders offense is going to look pretty bad.

Defensively, the Raiders need to make sure they stay with Broncos’ receiver Brandon Marshall.  Marshall caught an NFL record 21 passes last week for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns.  If he has another game even close to that the Raiders probably wont have a chance.  Kyle Orton likes to look his way a lot, so maybe the Raiders can jump some routes and get an interception or too.  They are going to need some turnovers if they want to win this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Denver Broncos 24, Oakland Raiders 10

The Raiders have signed 28-year old QB J.P. Losman.  Losman played in 5 games for the Bills last season and he was 63 for 104 (60.6%) for 584 yards with 2 TD passes and 5 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 70 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Losman has now played in 42 games in his NFL career and he has completed 558 of 941 passes (59.3%) for 6,211 yards with 33 TD passes and 34 INTs (75.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 489 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  Coach Cable says that Losman will be his #3 QB but don’t be surprised to see him in the game if Charlie Frye gets injured at some point the rest of the year.

The Raiders will choose between JaMarcus Russell and Charlie Frye some time late in this week.  Russell would appear to be the favorite because of the fact that he has played this season while Frye has not yet.  Russell has played in 10 games for the Raiders this season and he has completed 106 for 221 (48%) for 1,138 yards with 2 TD passes and 10 INTs (47.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 39 yards (2.4 ypc) this year.  Either way, I think the Raiders’ offense loses because Russell has the superior arm but Frye is likely a better all-around QB and that’s all you need to know about these two guys.

UPDATE:  The Raiders are rolling with Charlie Frye as the starting QB this weekend.  Frye has a similar skill set to that of Bruce Gradkowski so he might be able to run the offense better than JaMarcus Russell.  This development leads me to believe that the Raiders are done with Russell after this year is over.