82-year old Raiders’ owner Al Davis was found dead at his home this morning at the age of 82.  Davis was a trailblazer in the NFL.  He hired both the first black head coach (Art Shell) and the first latino head coach (Tom Flores) in NFL history!  He also coined the term “Commitment to Excellence” which was the Raiders’ motto for a long, long time.  He first came to the Raiders in 1963 as the GM and head coach.  He was 23-16-3 as the head coach of the Raiders.  The Raiders won three Super Bowls while he owned the team, winning in 1976 and 1980 in Oakland and in 1983 in Los Angeles.  Davis was elected in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio back in 1992.  He is one of the greatest owners to have ever set foot in the NFL and he will always be an icon in Raiders’ history.  This is a huge loss to the Raiders and my prayers go out to Al Davis’ family……may he rest in peace.

The Raiders have released 24-year old WR/PR/KR Nick Miller.  Miller played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Raiders but he didn’t catch any passes.  He also returned 2 punts for 19 yards (9.5 avg) and 4 kickoffs for 61 yards (15.3 avg) for the Raiders this year.  Miller played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Raiders in his two years with them and he caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg).  Miller also returned 37 punts for 276 yards (7.5 avg) and 6 kickoffs for 98 yards (16.3 avg) in his time with the Raiders.  This move likely means that gamebreaker Jacoby Ford is finally healthy.

The Raiders have released 33-year old RB Michael Bennett.  Bennett played in 7 games for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg) for the Raiders last year.  Bennett also pitched in with 8 tackles on special teams last year.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Raiders.

The Raiders have released 29-year old guard Daniel Loper.  Loper played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last year.  He has now played in 58 games (9 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  The Raiders have imported a lot of younger offensive linemen in the offseason, which is the reason that Loper is looking for a new job.

The Raiders have released 24-year old CB Walter McFadden.  McFadden was a 5th round pick out of Auburn in the 2010 NFL Draft.  McFadden played in 4 games for the Raiders last year and he had 5 tackles.  McFadden just didn’t show enough to keep his job in Oakland.

The Raiders have voided 29-year old CB Nnamdi Asomugha’s contract due to him not achieving the needed stats to guarantee his contract.  Asomugha played in 14 games for the Raiders last season and he made 19 tackles and he defensed 6 passes.  Asomugha has now played in 122 games in his first 8 years in the NFL (all with the Raiders) and he has 310 tackles, 62 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 11 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Asomugha really excelled in 2006 when he intercepted 8 passes but after that he wasn’t really challenged much as he only has 3 interceptions in his last four years.  The Raiders will miss Asomugha because he shuts down one side of the field.

The Raiders have declined 46-year old head coach Tom Cable’s option for 2011 which was valued at $2.5 million bucks.  Cable led the Raiders to a 8-8 record this year and they finished in third place in the AFC West.  But, Cable was also 6-0 in the AFC West and that has to be worth something right?  I guess not!  The Raiders were 17-27 (38.6%) in Cable’s three years as the head coach.  The Raiders were .500 this season for the first time since they lost the Super Bowl in 2002.  I think this was a terrible move unless the Raiders get a star type coach.

The Raiders have waived 28-year old WR/KR/PR Yamon Figurs.  Figurs caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg) in the season opener against the Titans.  He also returned 5 kickoffs for 105 yards (21.0 avg) and 1 punt for 10 yards.  This comes as a big surprise as Figurs was a guy capable of doing three different jobs.  Jacoby Ford and Johnnie Lee Higgins will replace him on offense and as the return men starting this weekend.

The Raiders have released 24-year old QB JaMarcus Russell.  Russell played in 12 games for the Raiders last season in which he completed 120 of 246 passes (48.8%) for 1,287 yards with 3 TD passes and 11 INTs (50.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 44 yards (2.4 ypc) last season.  In his three years with the Raiders, Russell played in 31 games in which he completed 354 of 680 passes (52.1%) for 4,083 yards with 18 TD passes and 23 INTs (65.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 175 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run with the Raiders.  Russell was one of the worst QBs ever for the Raiders and they are a much better team today knowing that he won’t be getting any snaps for them this year.  But, he was still better than Ryan Leaf and Akili Smith.

The Raiders have released 31-year old DT Gerard Warren.  Warren played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 35 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, he had 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  He played in 44 games in three years with the Raiders in which he had 96 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 10 sacks and he forced 2 fumbles.  Due to the Raiders’ performance against the run last season I look for them to gut the entire interior of the defense and Warren was the first to go.