The Raiders have hired 39-year old Dennis Allen to be their new head coach.  He has been an assistant coach in the NFL for 10 years.  He was the Denver’ Broncos’ defensive co-ordinator last season.  The Broncos gave up 126.3 yards rushing (4.1 ypc), 231.5 yards passing (93.1 QB Rating) and 24.4 points per game last season.  It was smart of the Raiders to go for a defensive minded coach in Allen.  I think he did the best he could in Denver with the talent on hand.  I think he will improve the Raiders’ D in 2012 and beyond, especially against the run.

The Oakland Raiders have fired 46-year old head coach Hue Jackson after only one year.  He led the Raiders to an 8-8 record and a three way tie for first place in the AFC West with the Chargers and Broncos.  But, the Raiders lost the tiebreaker to the Broncos.  The Raiders averaged 22.4 points per game and 379.5 total yards on offense under Hue Jackson’s direction.  But, the defense was pathetic for the Raiders last year.  The Raiders gave up 27.1 points per game and 387.5 yards per game last season and it did them in.  New GM Reggie McKenzie decided the Jackson was getting a little too big for his britches, so he decided to can him and start over.

The Raiders have sent a trio of players to the Pro Bowl.  32-year old DT/DE Richard Seymour got a lot of respect due to his past production as he has played in 15 games for the Raiders so far this year in which he has 27 tackles, 6 sacks and 3 passes defensed.  33-year old kicker Sebastian Janikowski will be the kicker for the AFC.  He has played in 14 games for the Raiders so far this year and he has connected on 27 of 31 field goals (87.1%) including a 63-yard bomb.  Janikowski has made 9 field goals of over 50 yards so far this year.  He has also made all 34 of his extra point attempts this year as he has scored 115 points so far this year.  35-year old punter Shane Lechler is also going to the Pro Bowl.  He has played in 15 games for the Raiders so far this year and he has punted the ball 77 times for 3,902 yards (50.7 avg).  He only has 8 touchbacks (10.4%) and he has placed the ball inside the opposing 20-yard line 27 times (35.1%).

The Oakland Raiders have lost 32-year old cornerback Chris Johnson for the rest of this year.  They have placed him on the Reserve/non football illness list, ending his season.  He is likely with his family as his sister was killed recently.  Johnson played in 4 games for the Raiders this year and he had 14 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 4 passes defensed.  He has now played in 59 games in his first five years with the Raiders and he has 146 tackles, 8 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 49 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 5 tackles for a loss.

The Raiders have signed 23-year old CB/KR/PR Bryan McCann.  McCann played in 5 games earlier this year for the Cowboys & Ravens and he has 1 tackle.  McCann has also returned 2 punts for 13 yards (6.5 avg) and 3 kickoffs for 79 yards (26.3 avg) so far this year.  McCann has now played in 14 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 16 tackles, 1 interception (he returned it for a TD), 2 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  McCann also has returned 10 punts for 178 yards (17.8 avg) with 1 TD return and he has also returned 26 kickoffs for 586  yards (22.5 avg) so far in his career.  This was a good pickup for the Raiders as McCann can help them on both special teams and defense.

Starting RB Darren McFadden is going to miss this weekend’s game with the Broncos.  He has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Raiders so far this year and he has carried the ball 113 times for 614 yards (5.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  McFadden has also caught 19 passes for 154 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Michael Bush should be able to step in and assume a heavy workload.  He has played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Raiders so far this year and he has carried the ball 60 times for 237 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Bush has also caught 9 passes for 111 yards (12.3 avg) in 2011.

The Oakland Raiders have waived 27-year old WR Derek Hagan.  Hagan played in 6 games for the Raiders this year and he caught 11 passes for 114 yards (10.4 avg).  He has now played in 65 games in his NFL career and he has caught 96 passes for 1,083 yards (11.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  With Houshmandzadeh now in the fold, the Raiders don’t need Hagan.  Look for Hagan to hook on with another team at some point this year.

The Raiders have signed 34-year old WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  Houshmandzadeh played in all 16 games for the Ravens last year and he caught 30 passes for 398 yards (13.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 135 games so far in his NFL career and he has caught 616 passes for 7,091 yards (11.5 avg) with 43 TD grabs.  Houshmandzadeh gives Carson Palmer a good hands guy that he knows well, so I like this signing for the Raiders.

With Sebastian Janikowski hurting, the Raiders have signed 28-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner played in 8 games for the Lions last year and he connected on 13 of 16 field goals (81.3%).  He also made all 16 of his extra points last year as he finished up with 55 points.  Rayner has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has made 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%).  He has also connected on 64 of 65 extra points as he has 229 points in his career.  I think Rayner will do a solid job for the Raiders until Janikowski is ready to return to action.

UPDATE:  (10/26/2011) – The Raiders have waived Dave Rayner.  He played against the Chiefs last weekend and he kicked the ball off 1 time.  The Raiders got shut out, so they didn’t really give Rayner a chance to show what he can do.  This is a good sign for the Raiders as Sebastian Janikowski appears ready to return after this week’s bye.

The Oakland Raiders are considering shutting down 33-year old kicker Sebastian Janikowski for a little while as he has a hamstring injury.  Janikowski has played in all six games for the Raiders so far this year and he has connected of 12 of 13 field goals (92.3%), including hitting on some really long ones.  He has also nailed all 16 of his extra point attempts this year as he has scored 52 points so far.  No matter who the Raiders bring in to kick, they are going to miss Janikowski’s amazing range.